La Zucca Grande

It is a warm Sunday morning in Palermo. Emma is on holiday and walks towards a small fair in the square. The air smells of fried bread and oranges. There are many colorful stalls with food, flowers and small objects. Music comes from a nearby bar and people laugh and talk. Emma is happy to take a walk. She stops to look at the local honey and olives and buys a small bottle of lemon oil.

While she walks, Emma sees many people in the middle of the square. There is a big wooden stall with orange decorations and a sign. The sign says, “Guess the weight of the giant pumpkin!”. Emma looks up and is surprised. The pumpkin is huge, almost as tall as a child. Its skin is bright orange with small green lines. People take photos and the children walk around in a circle, amazed.

A kind man is near the pumpkin with a notebook. He says, “You can guess too!” “Write your name and the number.” Emma smiles and nods her head, but she does not remember the Italian words for “grams” and “kilograms”. She makes a confused face. The seller helps: “Grams, kilograms”, he says softly; Emma repeats and the man says, “Well done!”.

Now Emma thinks about the number. She looks again at the pumpkin. It is so big! Maybe two hundred, no, three hundred. She says in a loud voice, “Three hundred kilograms.” The man writes the answer in the notebook and says, “Very good!” Emma thanks him and waits near the stall.

Other people write their number. Some say one thousand, others five hundred. A boy with curly hair holds his mother’s hand and quietly says something. The mother laughs and writes it down. The seller raises his hands and announces the real weight. He says: “One thousand two hundred and fifty kilograms!” The crowd claps and laughs in surprise; Emma opens her eyes wide and says: “It is very heavy!”

The seller smiles and reads the names. He says: “And the winner is… Marco!” Little Marco jumps up and waves his hand. Everyone applauds even louder. The man gives him a small toy pumpkin as a prize. The boy is very happy. Emma claps and shouts: “Well done, Marco!”

When people start to leave, Emma stays for a moment more. She laughs to herself and repeats: “Three hundred kilograms.” Then she says: “Almost!” Now she knows how to say weights and numbers in Italian. She learns something new and has fun. The sun goes down over Palermo. Emma goes back to the hotel and thinks about the giant pumpkin and her almost correct answer.