A TAMARILLO once loved jokes. "It's a real art", he used to say to the other fruit and vegetables of the garden, and always tried to make them smile, especially when he saw them sad. Yet, they thought he was just goofing around and lost no chance to let him down.

Until one day, when they decided to hold a competition to see which fruit was the most talented of all. "You can choose whichever art suits you best", the tomato, the carrot and the pear, who would be the judges of the contest, announced to the fruit and vegetables of the garden. No sooner had they finished their phrase and they accumulated a big heap of applications from excited fruit and vegetables, eager to present their talents. And so our good Tamarillo thought his turn had come to show them that making others laugh is an art of its own.

When the day of the competition came, the first to show up on stage was a melon with a microphone. "I'd like to sing to you", he presented himself to the judges, then unraveled his talent in front of them. Half-way through, however, he felt embarrassed and his voice started trembling. "It's ok, just keep going on until you get it right", the pear and the tomato told him to give him courage, yet the carrot disagreed. So they asked to see the next contestant.

The second to show up was a parsley who was known for his talent in acting. He first told them a poem, then followed it up with a famous monologue from Shakespeare's Hamlet so as to impress them. Yet, after a while, he lost his words and was left standing speechless in front of the judges. "We realize that what you are doing is difficult indeed", they told him as he left the stage disappointed, after earning three "NO"s from all three judges.

The third one to get on stage was a ballerina banana, who did her best to perform the most beautiful ballet in front of the committee. As soon as the show was over, the three judges applauded her and went so far so as to declare her the winner of the contest without seeing any other contestant.

"It would be a pity not to see me!", complained the Tamarillo who was patiently sitting in his corner and watching the other contestants so as to get ideas. The committee then agreed that it would be indeed unfair and gave him the chance he wanted. Yet, the other fruit and vegetables started laughing in secret, thinking that he would be ridiculed. The Tamarillo lost little time, however, putting on his hat and climbing on stage along with another two tamarillo helpers.

"What will you present us?", the carrot asked in a strict manner.

"Comedy, of course!", the Tamarillo answered, and this time made sure to follow his jokes with singing, dancing and spectacle. Along with the other two helpers they first sang cheerful songs, then presented funny scenes from both theater and cinema. Soon all the fruit and vegetables that were watching the show burst into applause, realizing that what he was presenting was far superior to anything else they had seen before, as it combined skills from many arts. And so they started cheering so as to force the committee to declare him the winner of the contest.

"Why do you think your art is better than the art of others?", the judges asked, and the crowd impatiently waited for the Tamarillo's answer.

"Because I make others forget their troubles", the Tamarillo answered and everybody realized that they had indeed forgotten everything that troubled them for the short while that his show had endured. And even the strictest judges agreed that he had indeed accomplished his goal, and gave him the winner's trophy.

Rumor has it that many years later, our good Tamarillo became the greatest showman in Greece.

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