And as weeks passed by, the peas became yellow, and the shell became yellow.
"All the world is turning yellow, I suppose," said they,—and perhaps they were right.
Suddenly they felt a pull at the shell; it was torn off, and held in human hands, then slipped into the pocket of a jacket in company with other full pods.
"Now we shall soon be opened," said one,—just what they all wanted.
"I should like to know which of us will travel furthest," said the smallest of the five; "we shall soon see now."
"What is to happen will happen," said the largest pea.
"Crack" went the shell as it burst, and the five peas rolled out into the bright sunshine. There they lay in a child's hand. A little boy was holding them tightly, and said they were fine peas for his pea-shooter. And immediately he put one in and shot it out.
"Now I am flying out into the wide world," said he; "catch me if you can;" and he was gone in a moment.
"I," said the second, "intend to fly straight to the sun, that is a shell that lets itself be seen, and it will suit me exactly;" and away he went.
"We will go to sleep wherever we find ourselves," said the two next, "we shall still be rolling onwards;" and they did certainly fall on the floor, and roll about before they got into the pea-shooter; but they were put in for all that. "We shall go farther than the others," said they.