Mr and Mrs Grape had it all, almost...

Mr and Mrs Grape had it all, almost. They had a great place on the vine, friends and enough Grape money in their savings. The only thing they wanted was a little grape to call their own. They tried and tried for weeks, making intimate grape love everynight with no success. One night they decided to take a break and go visit the circus that just pulled into the vineyard.

The circus was amazing and they enjoyed a peaceful night not worrying about babies, as they were leaving they noticed a small tent off to the side and they entered it. An old wrinkly prune sat in front of a table and spoke to them "I know what you seek, a child to call your own, I can help you but it comes at a price." "Anything" Mrs Grape replied "we have money, antiques, anything!" "No, no, no, drink this potion, in 6 nights you will give birth. He will not be handsome, he will not be timid, if you can not love him, you will return to us and he will live here in the circus, yes?" The prune asked as she handed a small bottle to Mrs Grape. Knowing she would love him no matter what he was like, Mrs Grape drank the potion.

True to the prunes word Mrs Grape fell pregnant, six nights later she gave birth, he was small, very dry, brown and shrivelled. Mr & Mrs Grape tried to care for the little boy, they nurtured him, stayed awake with him, gave him everything they had but he never stopped crying and once he could move he never stopped trying to destroy their house. After several weeks they were exhausted. The little one never grew, he stayed dry, small and wrinkly, the stress was becoming too much.

One day Mr Grape returned from work with a small cage, he convinced Mrs Grape they needed a nights sleep and to decide in the morning if they would return the child to the circus. They locked him in the cage and moved him to the furthest part of the vineyard. For the first time in weeks they held each other and slept. In the morning with a fresh outlook they knew something was not right with their child, they walked hand in hand to the cage, ready to take him to the Prune.

Mr Grape spoke sadly "I'm sorry buddy, we've tried, we are exhausted and I don't even think you understand us? We've given it our all but we are taking you to live with the circus. You're just not the child we planned on *raisin*.