IONA DALE has also been given one of the most important jobs in the orchard. She has to collect all the different kinds of fruit and sort them into different baskets before they go off to market. She has learnt precisely when a plum is ripe for picking and knows exactly when a cherry is past its best, and she has also become quite an expert at telling her Granny Smiths from her Golden Delicious! She much prefers this part-time job than going to school because she can snack on as much fruit as she wants and there are no teachers around to tell her she’s had quite enough!