On the ninth day of autumn, the Harvest Festival, also known as the Harvest Feast, was held in Rose Square in Mineral Town. It was one of the most important holidays of the year for the town's residents: a kind of alternative ritual for celebrating the harvest, praying for good weather and a bountiful year to come, and sharing in the joy.
So even though it was only ten in the morning, many Mineral Town residents had already brought the foods they thought were delicious to the square. They were ready to toss them into the enormous iron pot in the middle, which was set over several fireboxes and a huge pile of wood and blazed like a blast furnace.
By now, the pot was already full of all kinds of things. When Annie strolled over, it seemed the enormous, towering pot had been cooking for a while.
"Hurry!"
"If you brought something, don't go off chatting just yet. Get in line over here... Quickly hand me what you brought. Zac and I will inspect it and toss it in for you. We need to get this part done early if you want to taste this year's delicious Harvest Festival stew sooner!"
"Come on, line up over here!"
"Oh! Little Annie!"
"Don't hide, I see you... Very good, very good! You brought a whole basket of things. As expected of the owner of the biggest ranch in Mineral Town. I knew I'd been right about you!"
"But get in line first. No cutting, and don't start chatting just yet. You'll have time for that later. We'll be celebrating here all day!"
Thomas, Mineral Town's mayor—the old man with the red nose—stood at the base of a ladder beside the enormous iron pot that looked like a blast furnace. He accepted