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Stanley was a very serious slug. He was the head gardener of the vegetable patch, and his favorite plant was the broccoli. He believed that broccoli was the most noble of all vegetables, a miniature tree of healthy goodness. But the sprouts, oh, the sprouts were a constant source of trouble. They were mischievous and giggly and always trying to escape.

One sunny afternoon, Stanley was taking a nap on a cabbage leaf when he heard a tiny squeal. He woke up to find the sprouts were gone! There were only little trails of slime leading away from the patch. The sprouts had staged a rebellion! He saw them, a dozen little sprouts, rolling away toward the fence, trying to make a break for it.

Stanley, a serious slug who had never run a day in his life, had to give chase. He slimed after them, his little antennae twitching with determination. "Come back!" he cried. "Don't you know how good you are for you?"

The sprouts just giggled and rolled faster. They were getting close to the fence, which led to a field of delicious, but very unhealthy, weeds. Stanley knew he had to stop them. He reached the first sprout and gave it a gentle nudge. "Come on," he pleaded. The sprout, whose name was Penelope, stopped and looked at him. "We don't want to be noble!" she squeaked. "We want to be fun!"

Suddenly, Stanley had an idea. "What if... you could be both?" he suggested. He gathered all the runaway sprouts. "What if," he said, "we make a game? The first sprout to get from one end of the patch to the other wins a prize." The sprouts loved games. They lined up and raced, giggling and rolling and having the best time. They were still growing, and they were still healthy, but they were also having fun. Stanley learned that being good for you didn't have to be so serious. And from that day on, the vegetable patch was the most fun place to be, with games and races and even a few silly songs about slime trails.