Boy With Down Syndrome Grows Champion Pumpkin
LONDON (KDKA) -- The story of a prize-winning pumpkin and the boy who grew it is warming hearts across the world.
CBS News reports Benjamin Ben-Eliezer worked hard all summer to try and win first place in the Royal Horticultural Society Show in London. The 14-year-old slaved away in the garden of his school in Nonington, Kent, U.K., alongside his teacher, Mario.
In a video he is heard talking about the beginning of the pumpkin's story.
"All winter I turned a compost pile that would feed the pumpkin," he said.
The pumpkin seed was dropped in May. Ben moved it outside under a special tent, which led to the gourd growing quickly. By August he said the pumpkin was "drinking 600 gallons of water a week."
When the day of the show finally arrived, a crane had to be used to hoist the pumpkin from it's patch. Ben joked he was worried it might be rotten underneath, but the pumpkin was perfect.
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It weighed in at 1,248 pounds and stunned plenty of people on its way into town.
"People could not believe their eyes," he said. "Even the judges were surprised."
Ben took home first prize.
