Midwife Margaret

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sophie. She had bright red hair that did whatever it wanted, rosy pink cheeks, sparkly green eyes, and was going to be a Big Sister. All through the long weeks of waiting for the baby, who Sophie called JellyBean, to grow big enough to come out, Sophie went with Mama and Daddy to the visits with the mid-wife. Margaret. Sophie liked Margaret, and thought that maybe she might be a mid-wife, once she grew big enough. As summer turned from green to gold, the air getting crispy cold now and then, Jelly Bean grew bigger, Mama walked slower, Daddy cooked more suppers, and Sophie played mid-wife. Sometimes she was the mid-wife, delivering her dolls. Sometimes she was the Mama, a baby doll under her t-shirt. Sometimes she was the big sister, jumping up and down with expectation, singing songs of babies born and unborn.

One Saturday afternoon, Daddy came into to Sophie's room, which she now called Sophie's Birthing Center, and, after waiting quietly for Sophie's doll, Esma, to finish pushing her baby, BunnyBoo, out said, "Well done, Esma. What a cute Bunny you have!" Then, "Sophie, want to help me paint the baby's room?" "Do we have a baby's room?" asked Sophie. "Well that's the thing," said Daddy, "not yet. You know the big closet in our room? The one Mom uses to store all the stuff in the world?" "yeah." "We thought if we emptied it out, took off the doors, and painted it pretty, it would be a nice room for Jelly Bean." "Daaaaddyyyy," Sophie said with a sigh, "you can't keep a baby in a CLOSET!" "Of course not," laughed Daddy, ' the BABY will always be with us, but the baby's STUFF could be in the closet." "Stuff?" said Sophie. "Yeah, you know, changing table, drawers for onsies, and diapers, and socks, and snow suits. We'll get out your old baby toys and books, set them up on shelves, or, Mama thinks baskets on the floor would be nice." "Come on!" Sophie called over her shoulder as she ran down the hall, "where will we put all the stuff in the world"

"The thing is," Daddy was saying to Mama as they all took a mid-morning bagel and tea break, "a lot of it can be thrown out. A few things could go to the community center garage sale, and MOST of it is Christmas. It's just about time to be getting those things out anyway, Christmas, you know, IS just around the corner, and over Christmas break I can build those shelves in the basement we've been talking about and then put the Christmas things down there." " Honey," Mama said, "over Christmas break you are having a baby." "Right-o!" grinned Dad, and we don't want to put THAT on a shelf !" Mama laughed at the idea, and went back to her library work, while Sophie licked the last of the strawberry jam off of her plate. "What color will we paint baby's closet room?" Sophie asked. "I don't know," answered Dad, "what do you think?" "wellllllllllllllll................it's hard to choose ! My favorite color is always different..........yesterday was pink.......today is chocolate brown........tomorrow is alredy planning to be blue......." "Let's go down to the paint store and get some samples. That might help us decide."

"Alison!" Dad called up the stairs, after he and Sophie were dressed, helmeted, and ready to go, "we're off to the paint store!" "Take a blanket for Sophie!" Mom called back," the trailer will be COLD." "Got it!" Dad said, "come on, Alexander, off to the wilds!" "Why did you call me THAT?" "Alexander? Because he was a great explorer of the arctic, and you are so bundled up YOU could be exploring the arctic!" "OK!!!" Sophie laughed and climbed into the trailer behind Daddy's bike. Daddy bent down to tuck the blanket all around Sophie, adjusted her helmet, snaped the seat belt harness and they were off. Once in the store, Daddy talked to the store guy about how to get the walls ready to paint and Sophie collected the color samples they would choose from. By the time Dad was finished talking Sophie had 43 ideas. "Oh, Soph......" Dad started, "aw, let her keep 'em" the store guy said. "They're free." "Ok, " said Dad, picking up his sand paper and brushes and can of primer, "let's hit the road, Alex."

Back at home Sophie spread all of the colors out on the floor of Mama's study. FIrst, in rainbow order. Then in the order of best liked to least liked. Then in boy-colors and girl-colors. "Daddy loves lavender," Mama commented, "and isn't brown your favorite today?" "yeah," Sophie said, thinking. And she sorted, once more, by what-goes-good-together. "How can we ever CHOOSE?" Sophie wailed! They are all so BEAUTIFUL!!!."

"Green, the lighter one," said Mama. "Yellow," said Dad, any of them. "How about the pale blue?" Mama said. "Or the dark red? That would be WILD!" said Dad, holding up the red sample piece. "Hey, pumpkin, you're not saying anything," Dad said, both of them looking at her. Sophie was thinking. "Sophie....????" "We don't know what the baby likes.......we don't know if it's a boy, or a girl.......we don't know if it likes red, or yellow, or black, or what." "That's right," said Mama, "but we sure like a lot of colors!" "Poka-dots!" Said Sophie. "What?" Mom and Dad said together. "Poka-dots!" Sophie said again. "EVERYONE likes poka-dots and they could all be a different color ! Look !" Sophie ran to her mother's bed side table (remember? The one that fell over the other day,) and pulled some scotch tape (CAREFULLY!) from the drawer. Quickly she taped her color samples all over the walls of the closet-room. "TA-DA!" she said, flinging an arm toward the room like a circus ring leader.
"Not bad," said Dad. "I like it!" said Mom. "Our room is so plain. This would really make baby's room a focal point." "What's a focal point?" asked Sophie, but she didn't really care, or listen to the answer. She was re arranging the paint samples on the wall.

The following week the family went together to Margaret's. It was time for an ultra sound to see how close the baby was to being ready. "Like peeking at the cookies through the oven window!" said Sophie, "to see if they're done!" Sophie liked watching the screen on the ultra sound machine, but It was a little scarry, because it was sort of dark, and she didn't know if it hurt Mama. and the technician running the machine didn't want to talk to Sophie, and nothing on the screen looked anything like a baby. But when Margaret came in, and the technician left, everything got better. Margaret moved a wand over Mama's big belly, tallking the whole time about what they were seeing, how good it all was, how soon baby would come, and were there any questins. Because Margaret was so kind, Sophie wasn't afraid to ask, "where is the baby?" "Right here," Margaret pointed at a blob on the screen. "I'll show you." She took a yellow marker from her pocket and drew on the screen. "Here's the baby's little butt, then along here is it's back, see? And on around here is the head, and down the forehead, face, belly, and back up over the bent knees to where we started." Sophie looked at the drawing with wonder in her big green eyes. "Mama," she breathed, "Jelly Bean."

Braids

One particularly windy afternoon, when Sophie was playing outside while her Dad "put the garden to bed," her red hair was flying all over. In her face, in her eyes, around and around with the wind. "I CAN"T SEE!" she yelled. "Put your hat on," Dad suggested. "I DON'T LIKE HATS!" Sophie yelled into the wind. She turned around and tromped into the house. Even before she was through the door, she started, "I WANT BRAIDS!" Getting no response, she kept going, "I WANT BRAIDS! I WANT BRAIDS ! I WANT BRAIDS!" Marching, now, to the rhythm of her chant, and swinging her arms, "I WANT BRAIDS! I WANT BRAIDS!" From room to room, looking for Mom. Not in the kitchen. "I WANT BRAIDS! I WANT BRAIDS!" Not in the living room. Not in the bathroom. "MAMA! WHERE ARE YOU !? I WANT BRAIDS!!!" Pausing for a moment, listening for her mother, she marched on, "I WANT..." "Sophie!" Her mother whispered from the bedroom, "SHHHHHHHHHHH!" Pointing at the phone she mouthed, "I'm on the phone!" "I want braids," Sophie said, whispering this time. "I'm TRYING to play out side and the wind blows and blows," she spread her arms and waved them like windmills, trying to demonstrate. Adding some bends and twists to the explanation, and, without realizing it, chanting again, she swooped to the left and CRASH! Sophie's arm somehow, got caught in the cord to the bed side table lamp, which was for some reason wrapped around the bed side table leg, and the whole thing came CRASHING down. The lamp, which went out when it hit the floor; Mama's beautiful water carafe with the painted violets on it, and the drinking glass to match, shattered; The stacks of books that are always there; pencils and pens, rolling across the floor; even the PHONE; and the table itself. After a gasp, and a moment of silent shock, Mama said into the phone, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Edwards, there's been a bit of an accident here, and...no, no.....no one is hurt, but I will have to get back to you......yes......yes I know......yes.......I'll call you back yet this evening. I'm am so sorry. Good bye."
While Mama said good bye to Mr. Edwards, Sophie, crying and wiping her nose, was trying her best to clean up the mess. She couldn't get the table to stand up, the lamp was all in a tangle, and she knew she shouldn't try to pick up the very sharp pieces of broken glass. So she was crawling around, gathering up pens and pencils . She couldn't see very well because of the tears, so she didn't notice the long, thin shard of glass right in her path. "OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!" Sophie screamed as the glass went into her leg. "OWOWOWOWOWOWOOOOOWWWWWWW!" She grabbed her leg, bleeding now, and started to roll over onto her back when Mama said "Watch it, Sophie! Hold still. There's more glass right there beside you. Just HOLD STILL." Holding still is not at all easy to do when you are holding your leg that hurts, and there is slippery blood running all over your hands and tears running down your face, nose dripping. But Mama moved quickly and had Sophie in her arms in a flash. Just then Daddy came in saying, "what's all this commotion? Oh, wow! What happened?" "I think some wind blew into the bedroom," Mama said, eying Sophie, "there's a glass splinter in her leg. We've got to get it out. I'm afraid she's pushing it farther and farther in every time she moves. Go get one of your clamps!" Trying to keep Sophie's leg still Mama carried her into the bathroom, soothing her, murmuring quietly, smoothing back her hair, as they went. "We've got to get some of this blood off so Daddy can see to pull the glass out." she said. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" exclaimed Sophie "IT WILL HUUUUUUUURT!!" Mama got a warm wash cloth very very wet and gently squeezed it to flow over Sophie's leg. "Does that hurt?" she asked. Sophie shook her head. Mama did it some more. "You're getting the floor all wet," Sophie said, almost smiling. "I don't care," Mama said, "We'll dry it." They decided that the best thing do to was to lay Sophie in the bath tub, keeping her leg over the side to help hold it still. Daddy brought in the cushions from the couch, then a few from the bed, and finally Sophie's favorite butterfly blanket. Mama folded a towel over the edge of the tub, and, gently they lay Sophie in the tub-nest, keeping her leg, which was still bleeding, as straight as possible. Mama gave the wash cloth another squeeze saying, "there! See it? It's right there." "Rinse it again," Daddy said. He got down on his knees, his face close to Sophie's leg and as the water washed the blood away, quickly got the clamp onto the end of the piece of glass. Taking a big breath he said, "hold real still, now, pumpkin, this might hurt, but you HAVE to hold still!" With a yank, and an OWWWWWWWW and a big spurt of blood that got all over Daddy, the splinter was out. As Daddy and Sophie examined the very long, horrid sharp glass Mama ran to the freezer to find a bag of peas. She wrapped it in a cold wet wash cloth, and put it gently on Sophie's leg. "This will help stop the bleeding," she explained. Daddy and Sophie were staring at the glass. "Look, " Sophie said to Mama, "there's a tiny bit of a painted violet, see? Right there."

When the water and blood all over the bathroom floor were cleaned up, the cushions and blanket returned to their places, when the night table was set right, a new bulb in the lamp, and all of the shattered glass swept away, Mama put Sophie back in the bathtub - this time with warm soapy bubbles instead of pillows. "I'm sorry I broke your pretty water bottle and glass," Sophie said. "I didn't mean to." "I know you didn't sweetie, " Mama said. " I'm sorry I didn't call to you when I heard you looking for me. Mr. Edwards needs my recommendation for the new library and I guess I was thinking about that and not paying attention to you. I'm sorry about that." "I just wanted braids," said Sophie, softly. "I know you did. How about I go call Mr. Edwards right now, while you soak that leg, and when we're finished, I'll brush out your hair and braid it. OK?" "Sure." said Sophie, sliding down into the bubbles, " AND a band aid!" "Maybe two," smiled Mama

So Mama talked on the phone, and Sophie soaked. But after a while, the water started to get cool. "I know," thought Sophie, "I'll get the hair bands ready. I know where Mama keeps them!" She climbed out of the tub, and rubbed herself dry. Then she ran into her bedroom to get the chair that Mama had painted for her, last Christmas. Pulling it into the bathroom, she set it carefully by the sink. Climbing onto the chair she found she still couldn't reach the handle to open the medicine cabinet where Mommy kept the hair things. Stretching her leg up as high as she could, and grabbing hold of the faucet,she was able to get from the chair to the sink, and from there, easily reach the handle. Sliding it open she found the basket of hair bands. But there was more than hair bands! There were Mommy's lipsticks, her good smelling creams, nail polish, and a stick of black stuff. What is that? Pulling it out and looking in the mirror, Sophie thought she remembered seeing her Mama put the black stick around her eyes. Like this? Sophie painted large circles of eye liner around each eye. Then choosing a bright sort of orange lip stick, drew a circle around her nose. Standing in the sink like that, right in front of the mirror, naked and clean from her bath, Sophie tried a little pink lip stick around her belly button. She took a real dark red one and drew lines out from her belly button, like a sun shine. This was getting really good ! Looking on another shelf she found a little box of blues and grays, like a tiny paint box! Only these were dry, like poweder. Using her finger, she drew a tree all the way down her chest and belly. Then she drew birds flying to the tree, and, with a really REALLY pretty red lip stick, flowers on both cheeks. A tulip under her right eye, and a rose under her left. With a satisfied sigh, she sood in the sink, admiring herself in the mirror.

Jelly Bean

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sophie. Sophie had bright red hair, pink cheeks, and green eyes. She was a very good little girl, but her hair just never would stay where it should be. When Mommy put Sophie's hair on the pillow for a nap, that hair sprung right up off the pillow! ALL BY ITSELF! When Daddy carefully tucked Sophie's hair into a hat, the very minute Sophie ran out side her hair pushed the hat right off of her head ! And another time, when they were visiting Aunt Catherine, who had a very, VERY fancy house, Mommy and Daddy talked to Sophie ALL THE WAY THERE about sitting still and not singing TOO loud and being POLITE and being a little LADY and on and on. And Sophie tried. She DID! She sat still on a dark green velvety chair, rubbing her hand back and forth across the soft seat for a really long time. She sang Aunt Catherine only 2 or 3 of her best songs - the one about the kitten in the snow, the one about taking a bath, and a bit of the one about falling off her bike, but that one started to get too loud, and Sophie, as the song got exciting, fell off of her chair and.......well, Daddy came over, picked her up, and said parbably that was enough singing for right now. She said "please," and "thank you" as often as there was reason, and, in general, behaved like a little lady. BUT HER HAIR!!!! When Sophie was back in the dark green velvety chair, while Sophie was dreamily stroking it's softness, (I think she was thinking up a song about a drak green velvety cat) her HAIR pulled Sophie right down onto Aunt Catherine's carpet! Now, this was no ordinary carpet as, I'm quite sure Sophie's hair could tell. It was a creamy white. It was thick as a matress, soft, and BIG! (Well, the room itself was very large, so, of course, the carpet was, too.) Sophie's hair just HAD to get right down there IN the carpet to get a good feel of it. And of course, as everyone knows, the BEST way to get to know a carpet is to fling your legs into the air, and stand on your head. And that is exacely what Sophie's hair did. Sophie was quite good at standing on her head, and proud of being able to do it at all! The problem was, she had on a dress. It was a nice dress, Sophie liked it. It had a red top with kind of shiny poka dots all over and a GREAT spin-around skirt, striped in the colors of the poka dots. With her hair in that pillow of a carpet and her legs up in the air, the striped skirt fell down all around her. Sophie felt like she was in a brightly colored tent! But when she heard Aunt Catherine laugh, she came crashing down. Sprawled on the carpet like a rag doll, Sophie realized why Aunt Catherine was laughing. Last night when Mommy was too tired to come up stairs to help Sophie get ready for bed, when she had told Sophie she was getting to be a big girl now and could get ready for bed perfectly well by herself, Sophie had made a decision. Instead of taking off her swim suit - which she had been in all day long because after swim lessons, when she couldn't find her underware (did it drop out of the swim bag? Did they forget to pack it? Was it on the floor of the car?) she put her clothes on over top of her suit. They had met Grandma and Grandpa at the tea room for lunch, and by the time they got home, both Mommy and Sophie had forgotten all about the lost underware. Sophie decided to STAY in her swim suit. Why bother to take it off? She would PROBABLY go swimming again the very next day (she didn't know about the trip to Aunt Catherine,) so why waste all that time to take it off and then put it on again. She pulled her nightie right down over it, brushed her teeth, sang a song about tooth paste, and was busy picking out books when Daddy came up. He picked up her play clothes, tossed them into the laundry hamper, and didn't seem to notice the absence of underware. So ! In the morning, when Mommy, again asked her to dress herself for the trip to Aunt Catherine, again she made the decision to stay in her swim suit. So while her hair had been enjoying the carpet, and Sophie had been enjoying the striped tent, Aunt Catherine, Mommy and Daddy had noticed the bottom on her Little Mermaid swim suit!

So much for Sophie's bright red hair !

One day Sophie's Mommy and Daddy took Sophie out to her FAVORITE ice cream store. It was one of those places with a loooooooooong window full of chopped up candy. You got to choose which ice cream you wanted, which kind of candy you wanted smushed into it, and which kind of cone to put it in! Naturally it took Sophie a looooooooooong time to do all of that choosing ! Quite a number of teen agers had come into the shop, waiting their turn, by the time Stevie (he lived next door to Sophie and worked at the Frozen Slab ice cream store,) handed Sophie her cone. "You picked a good one, kiddo," he said, winking at Sophie. "Thank you, Stevie," her Dad said.

"Let's eat out by the big tree," Mommy said, looking around at the now croweded store, "GREAT!" said Sophie, turning to go. "Careful there, girl!" Daddy said, reaching for Sophie's cone, "your cone is tipping a bit." Settled at the table under the tree, they had their usual talk about whose was the best. (Mommy had a DOUBLE DIP!!!) And, as usual, all agreed it was Sophie's ! "Sophie," Mommy said, "we wanted to talk to you about something." "OK," said Sophie, watching some kids playing frisbee with a dog on the green. "Well," said Mommy, Daddy and I wanted to tell you that you are going to be a big sister!" "Why?" asked Sophie, paying attention now. "Because I'm going to have a baby," Mommy said, patting her tummy. Sophie's green eyes opened wide, her pink cheeks seemed to be even pinker (but that COULD have been because they forgot the sun block yesterday afternoon at the lake,) and her bright red hair seemed to tingle. Shophie herself was FULL of questions: "When? Is it a boy? Is it a girl? How does it get out? Are you sure it's not a puppy? Can I hold it? What will it's name be? Where will it sleep? Is it cold from all that ice cream in there? Can I have a baby, too?" "It should be born around Christmas time, in about 5 more months." "We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but it definately is NOT a puppy!" "It will come out by Mommy pushing REALLY hard, and the baby pushing, too. It's hard work for both Mommy and the baby." "Of COURSE you can hold it. Whenever you want!" "We can't know it's name until we know if it's a little boy, or a little girl. We have 5 months to think about it. Be sure to tell us that you think about a name, too, Sophie." Sophie nodded. " It will sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed, like you did before you had your Big Girl Bed." "Can I still sleep there, too, sometimes?" Sophie interrupted. "OF COURSE!" Mommy and Daddy said together. "And no, the baby doesn't feel the cold from the ice cream, even though Mommy DID have a double dip!" "And, to your last question, yes, Sophie, love, you can have a baby too, but not just yet." Sophie thought and thought, looking down into her cone of melting ice cream. "I am going to call the baby Jelly Bean," she said. "Can I go play frisbee with those kids?" "Sure," laughed Mommy and Daddy, but she was already gone.

Cinnamon Rolls

"Here." She handed the cork to Mary, who looked over to Grand Dad Jim. "Go ahead," he said, "hand me the handle, and try to work the cork up in there." "It's too big!" wailed Mary, her hands and arms covered in milk. Quickly Grand Dad Jim flipped open his wood carving knife. "Give it to me!" In a flash he cut away part of the bottom of the cork. "Try again!" He handed the cork back to Mary. Pushing with all of her might against the flowing milk she got the cork to stay! "It's a perfect fit !" she cried. The milk stopped flowing. "But," said Grand Dad Jim, "it won't hold. We've GOT to find that screw!" Mary plopped down on the soggy bottomed dog food bag, Emily, on Grand Dad Jim's lap and for a moment, they all were silent. The room was filled with relief and sorrow and the sounds of milk being lapped up from the puddles in the yard. As they sat there they heard the familiar clanking of Friend Farmer's old truck. As he pulled into the yard, seeing Ruffles and all of the cats feasting on milk, Friend Farmer burst out of his truck. "Whaaaaaa????????????" Mary and Emily came to him through that bright yellow door, both of them crying again. Between gulps and tears and the happy barking of Ruffles, they tried to explain. "You weren't here....and........and......." "We waited and......we WAITED......and....." "......the families.......breakfast......" "we'd helped you............before........and.....we......" ".......we knew how.........we THOUGHT we knew......." Grand Dad Jim patted his lap for Emily to return to him. Mary ran into the open arms of Hilde, both girls spbbing.

"We just ran into town," Friend Farmer said. "This morning when I came out to get started, I noticed that, that old screw was really loose. We don't have any more replacements. I used the last one on the tractor the other day. So I just ran into town to get a couple............how...............how much is gone?" He pulled down the ladder (this tank is SO BIG, as I have said, to get to the lid you have to climb a ladder that is kept clamped to the top of the tank.) He unscrewd the lid and with a crank and pully, lifted if off. Looking deep inside he said, "About half." He cranked the lid back in place, climbed down the ladder and clamped it. Looking at the floor he shook his head. "That's a real loss," he said quietly. Instantly Mary and Emily were on their feet, jumping around Friend Farmer. "Oh ! We'll pay for it" they said together, "I can baby-sit!" "I'll get a paper route!" "we can have a bake sale !" "Grandma will help!" "I will, too," said Hilde, " me, too," piped in Grand Dad Jim. "We'll give you our allowence EVERY WEEK!" "We can rake leaves in the fall!" "shovel snow in the winter!" "we can...." "Now, now girls. It wasn't all your fault. You shouldn't have tried to do the milk by yourselves, but I knew you were coming this morning. I could have left you a note. I SHOULD have been back on time. We would have been, too, but they were JUST taking cinnamon rolls out of the oven at the coffee shop. We smelled them all the way from the hardware." "I think they must have a fan that blows that smell all over town," added Hilde. "We were just going to run in and out, but we ran into Jess, you know how she goes on and on, and then Peter had to talk to Fred about some new tractor gizmo, you know how it goes in town on Saturday morning! EVERYONE in there and wants to talk, talk, talk. We should have realized...." "So we were late getting home. I should have been here by the time you came. I KNOW when you come! It's not your fault. It just happened." By this time Ruffles and the cats had finished up their feast. Ruffles lay down by Grand Dad Jim's chair, Mama cat returned to her kittens on the porch, the farm cats to the barn where they found cozy straw to curl up in. "I sure could use some help cleaning up this mess!" Friend Farmer finally said.

While Mary got out the hose, and Emily found the broom, Grand Dad Jim talked to Ruffles, and Friend Farmer spoke quietly to Hilde. Mary and Emily carried the table by the tank out into the sun and spread the wet cow books on it to dry. The scooped the part of the dog food that didn't get wet into a big metal trash can, and the part that was ruined into a trash bag. They spread their wet jackets on the grass, took off their soggy shoes and socks and laid them in the sun, too. Then they got to work in the milk house. They took turns with the hose and the broom, spraying and scrubbing every thing they saw, including each other. By the time Hilde came out with a pitcher of raspberry ice tea and cinnamon toast for everyone, Emily and Mary were thoroughtly and truely soaked. But they were laughing again, and proud to show Hilde, Friend Farmer, and Grand Dad Jim the sparkling clean milk house. "We even washed the yellow door!" Emily said. "Hasn't looked this good in some time, " said Friend Farmer, "nice job, girls."

As they all enjoyed their morning snack by the stone wall, Firend Farmer said, "I should have replaced the extra screw the minute I used it on the tractor. Then I could have replaced the old one in the faucet THE MINUTE I noticed it was loose. It was just irresponsible to let that go." "I think we need a big chalk board, " said Grand Dad Jim. It could help us keep track of things. You could keep a list of who the girls deliver to, and their phone numbers. You could keep track of which cows need medicine, or are about to calf." "And when we need supplies - like screws!" added Friend Farmer. "That's a GREAT idea!" chimed in Hilde. "There could be a corner just for notes. Like, when you're out in the field and I want you to know that dinner will be late, or early, or well, whatever." "And you could leave notes for us!" "It's DONE!" said Friend Farmer, smiling. "I'll run back to town this afternoon and pick one up." "No need," said Grand Dad Jim, "I've got one from when they took the old school house down. Kept it all these years for no reason at all." "I guess there is a reason, afterall," said Emily with her mouth half full of toast. "Maybe," said Hilde, "there's always a reason for things and most of the time we just don't see it."

On their way home Mary and Emily stopped at each house that had been expecting fresh milk to explain why there was no milk today. On this Saturday, there were no blueberry muffins, or fresh squeezed ornage juice, or pancakes. It was, afterall, almost afternoon!

Grand Dad Jim

The beautiful, creamy white fresh milk slowly ran out of the faucet into the bottle. Mary held it very, very still, useing both hands. Not a splash, not a drip. Perfect! As the bottle bagan to fill Emily said, "don't forget to turn it off a little BEFORE it's cleaar full!" "I won't," said Mary quietly, one hand now on the faucet handle. Both girls held their breath as they concentrated on the milk. The bottle was ALMOST full. Emily said, "NOW!" "Ok," said Mary, and she carefully turn the handle closed. Emily reached to take the full bottle But......BUT.......BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! The faucet DIDN'T close !!! The bottle started over flowing, milk pouring out over the top! Not just one precious drop, but POURING! Franticly Mary turned the hendle HARD. Maybe it's the other way!" yelled Emily. Emily had carefully placed the full bottle on the table and reached for another to hand to Mary. Mary turned the handle the other way, while at the same time trying to get the new bottle under the faucet, and then back the first way. No matter which way she turned, milk kept pouring out. "Let me try," said Emily, and when she did, the handle came clear off into her hand. By this time there was milk all over the floor of that yellow doored room. Mary and Emily's shoes were sloshing in milk. The bag of dog food Farmer Friend kept in the corner was standing in milk. And the books about how to raise cows, and take care of them when they get sick were starting to float off of their low shelves. It was a flood. A flood of milk. A flood of precious, precious, fresh milk. And it was still coming out. More and more and more. Mary sat right down in it and started to cry. "NO!" shouted Emily, "come ON! We've got go find help!" She pulled at Mary to stand up when, surprising them both, Mary jumped up! "I've got an idea," she said, running to the clean rag drawer, "let's see if we can stuff one of these in there!" They tried and they tried, but the force of the pouring milk kept pushing the rag out. "Let's go find Grand dad Jim," Emily said, quiet now.

Grand Dad Jim was Hilda's father. He lived sort of next door, but, because it was a farm, surrounded by pasture, his house wasn't exactly just right THERE. But Mary and Emily knew the way! Grand Dad Jim was one of their favorites, and they had often been to his house. He was too old to work anymore so he mostly sat in the yard and carved animals out of wood. He made BEAUTIFUL birds and then painted them just the right colors. He made small woodland animals, and, sometimes made up creatures. He always had a story to tell about the animals he carved.

QUICKLY! Past the big red barn, past the farm house kitchen window, through the garden, around the apple trees, "Why didn't we think of Grand Dad Jim right the minute it HAPPENED?" panted Emily as she ran, tripping over Ruffles, who wanted to play more ball. Emily fell. "Oh!.. Emily! Are you all right?" Mary said. "Yes!," Emily said scrambling up and wiping off her knee at the same time, "let's go!" Just on the other side of the apple orchard, running along the wall to the back pasture was a little stream. Friend Farmer had built a small bridge over the stream, to get back and forth to Grand Dad Jim's place more easily. Now, over that bridge ran the girls, around the corn field (milk still pouring!) and THERE! There was Grand Dad Jim's woods! Mary and Emily knew the trail well and even bofore they were into Grand Dad Jim's sunny yard they both started shouting. "Grand Dad Jim! Grand Dad Jim ! Oh!!! GRAND DAD JIM!!!!!" And there he was. Sitting in the sun, his back to the forest, bent over his carving. Of course he heard the girls, and turned slowly toward them with a big smile. "Mary!" he said, "Emily! Come on over here quickly and take a look at this little racoon I'm......" When he saw their unhappy faces, and realized they were both crying and talking and pointing toward the farm, he turned his chair, looked directly at them and listened. "Slow down. One at a time. Take it easy. Whatever it is, it'll be all right." "NO!" cried Mary, "it's NOT all right !" And she handed him the faucet handle that whe still had clentched in her fist. As quickly as they could, Mary and Emily explained to Grand Dad Jim that milk was pouring all over the milk house floor. "Let's get there!" He said, turning his chair toward the path even before they finished. Now, I may not have mentioned that Grand Dad Jim was in a wheel chair. Many, many years ago, back when Hilda was just a girl herself, Grand Dad Jim had fallen from his tractor and broken his legs, both of them, so badly that he was not able to use them again. But he sure could use his arms, and they were STRONG! And now those strong arms went into action, spinning the wheels, flying towards the woods. Through the woods, around the corn field, over the bridge. It was a bumpy ride all right, but Grand Dad Jim took that chair over the bumps so fast Mary and Emily could only just keep up. By the time they got to the milk house, milk was pouring into the yard. Ruffles and all of the barn cats sure were enjoying that ! Mama Cat had even left her kittens in the box on the porch to join in the feast. Grand Dad Jim stopped at the door and took a deep breath. "OK girls, let's get to work. I'll tell you exactly what to do." He handed the faucet handle back to Mary. "Put this right back on the faucet where it was. Try to get it lined up, straight. That's right, good. Now, put the long screw carefully down the center." "What screw?" asked Mary, looking around. "You don't have a long center screw?" he asked, showing with his fingers how long it should be. "NO" said Mary, crying again. Emily was crying, too, and the milk kept pouring. "Mary," said Grand Dad Jim. "Hold steady. Just keep hold of that handle right where you have it. Emily, over there, in the top drawer, no, no, the one on the right, there should be a long screw in there. Do you see it?" Emily was rooting around in a drawer full of all sorts of stuff. String and pens, a band aid, twisty ties, nails, tiny screws, cough drops, corks......CORKS! "Can we stop it with a cork?" "Don't think so, " Grand Dad Jim sighed, but I guess it's worth a try, eh? Are you SURE there are no long screws in there? MAN I wish I could get through this door!!!" "Yes," said Emily, running over with the cork. "I am sure."

Fresh Milk

Once upon a time there were two little girls and their names were Mary and Emily. Mary and Emily lived with their Mama and Daddy in a small, friendly village. To the north of the village were the mountains, where their friend Betsey Bear lived. To the south of the village was the forest. They liked to take picnics there. To the east was the city, so busy and full of noise and lights! And to the west was the prairie with it's wind and sun and sweeping grasses.

Mary and Emily's Mama and Daddy had a friend whose name was Fred. He was a farmer, and when Mary and Emily were very little girls, they called him Friend Farmer. They still call him that! Only, once in a while, they call him Friend Fred, or, Farmer Fred. ONCE they tried Friend Farmer Fred, but that took too long. Well, Friend Farmer had lots of cows. I mean LOTS of cows! Maybe 75 or 100. He milked the cows with a big machine, not with his hands like Grandma did in the old days. That would take all day! He lined up 12 cows, each in a little stall, each with a rack of cow food. Then he attatched the machine to their teats and truned it on. Voila ! Milk! Then those 12 cows went back out to the pasture and the next 12 took their turn in the stalls. It went on like that till all of the cows were milked. He did this twice a day, morning and evening. Now you can imagine that this made a big, big, BIG amount of milk! The milk was kept in a big, big BIG tank, about as big as your Grandma's swimming pool, only taller. Many of Mary and Emily's neighbors liked fresh farm milk, instead of store milk. So Mary and Emily had a special Saturday job. They would get up early Saturday morning and line their bike baskets with plastic bags, the kind you get at the grocery store when you forget to take your own cloth ones. They put on old shoes, special for going to the farm, zipped their jackets, found their bike helmets, and were off to Friend Farmer's farm. Beside the big red barn was a room that had almost nothing in it but the giant humongous, google-plex tank of milk. This room had a door painted bright shinny yellow. It always made Mary think of sunshine. It made Emily think of butter! While Friend Farmer filled bottles and jars with milk from the tank, Friend Farmer's wife filled the bike baskets with ice, to keep the milk cold while being delivered. Mary and Emily helped them both and soon were on their way with about 4 bottles of milk in each basket. They delivered the milk right into the kitchens of all of the neighboars who loved that fresh milk. Sometimes, in one of those cheerful kitchens they would get a warm blueberry mufin, or a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Once, pancakes ! It was a great job!

On this particular Saturday, Mary and Emily got up bright and early, lined their bike baskets with plastic bags, and rode off to Friend Farmer's big red barn, just like always. But when they got there, no one was there. Not Friend Farmer, and not Friend Farner's wife, who, by the way, was named Hilda. The cows had all been milked, Mary and Emily could see that they were already out in the back pasture, but there was no one anywhere about. What should they do? They knew that the families were expecting their milk for breakfast, but, what should they DO? They decided to wait. They climbed a few trees, ate an apple or two from one, walked along the stone wall as far as the woods, and played ball for awhile with Ruffles, the farm sheep dog. But time was passing ! And Mary and Emily knew the families were waiting, maybe even watching out their windows, looking for them.

Mary and Emily KNEW how to get the milk out of the tank. They had helped Friend Farmer do it many, many times. They knew how to wipe off the rim of each bottle with a clean rag from that drawer, right over there. They knew how to hold the bottle, just so, RIGHTunder the faucet so you don't lose a single DROP of milk. They knew how to turn the faucet handle slowly, so no milk would splash, and how to turn it off just BEFORE the bottle was all the way full, not spilling the teeniest drip. That fresh milk was PRECIOUS! Mary and Emily looked at each other. They looked at the tank. They looked at the clean, empty bottles, lined up on the shelf. Together they walked to the drawer of clean rags. CAREFULLY they lifed each bottle down and wiped the rim. CAREFULLY they carried the bottles to the table beside the tank, just like Friend Farmer did. CAREFULLY the put the first bottle under the faucet, just SO, and CAREFULLY they turned the faucet handle.

Sometimes Dreams Really Do Come True

It took Steve, with lots of help from the kids, several weeks to change the crooked, old chicken house into a nice, strong, cozy barn, so it was close to Thanksgiving by the time they could REALLY get ready for April. They had to buy horse food, and a couple of buckets, ropes, and reins and brushes, a blanket. Grace and Rosebush had a little trouble reading the big fat books that they found in the library about How To Take Care Of A Horse. Lily and Danny jumped right in and helped them. It was exciting to learn SO MUCH ! They learned how to clean the the horse's hooves, how to brush her, when she would need shots, how to check if her teeth are
healthy, and even how to braid ribbons into her tail !!! Of course Susie was all ways eager to help, too, showing the girls how to brush April's mane. Grace and Rosebush went to the farm several times to help Susie clean April's stall. "It's the worst part of having a horse," Susie said, "but it's worth it !" Rosebush agreed, "it makes me feel like a REAL cow girl!" Grace, on the other hand, thought it was pretty yucky.

Much to everyone's surprise, Mrs Gymson, it turns out, had done quite a bit of riding as a girl. She had grown up on a ranch, and, she told everyone at the cook-out they had to celebrate that the barn was ready, that she had started helping her dad with the horses when she was little more than Grace and Rosebush's age. She explained that not only did the children need to learn to ride, but April needed to learn how to carry a rider. "We can learn together!" sang a VERY happy Rosebush.

And so it was decided that the Saturday before Thanksgiving they would rent a horse trailer and bring April to her new home. It was raining, and pretty cold when the day finally came around, but nothing could dampen Rosebush and Grace's excitement. They laid a thick bed of clean straw in the stall where April would sleep, and they washed the bucket they would use for her water. They checked that her food was in the bin, and then they sat down in the barn, cuddled up in the straw, just to see if it was warm enough in there. They could hear the wind howling outside, and the rain beating on the roof, but inside they were snug and warm.

What no one expected was that April would be scared. But scared she was! She whinned and tosssed he head. She snorted, and stamped her feet. She backed up, and backed up until she was against the wall. She wouldn't even let Susie get close! Everyone was just standing around wondering what to do when Susie's father, Ed, came into the barn carrying a big rope. " I'll get her, move out of the way, folks, let me in there," and "APRIL! BACK!" "NO! " Cried Rosebush, running up and grabbing at Ed's sleeve, "leave her alone ! Leave her alone!" Then she fell down, crying. "I know how it feels to be scared," she cried. Mama ran over and picked Rosebush up, sitting down with her on a bale of hay. Rossebush cried for awhile longer while everyone else, not knowing what to do, just watched. The barn got quiet, the only sounds were Rosebush snuffling, Mama murmuring. Soon Ed noticed that April had calmed down. "Rosebush, he said, all these people in here, all these kids, the commotion, you're right, April is scared. I'm here to say that you will make a fine horse woman!" No one else knew quite what to say next so Mama said, "We'd better get up, Rosebush." Then, pointing to the bale of hay, continued, " We may be sitting on someone's dinner.!" Everyone laughed, making April snort again! Ed suggested that everyone, except Rosebush, wait on up at the house. Then, speaking quietly to April, Ed went into her stall. Without turning around to Rosebush, he said, "this horse's favorite treat is carrots. She LOOOOOOOVES carrots. They're over in that corner, in a bucket. Go ahead an get a couple, but walk real slow." Rosebush did EXACTLY as he said, and as she approached April in her stall, Ed said, again, low and quiet, "real slow, now." Rosebush stood perfectly still, the carrots in her hand. It didn't take a minute for April to know that the carrots were there. April took a step towards Rosebush. "It's ok, honey, just stay still. You ok? You scared?" Ed asked Rosebush. Rosebush shook her head, but couldn't say a word. When April took another step, and stretched her long neck toward the carrots, Ed said, "ok now, slowly come on around here and stand right by me." Rosebush did. She reached her hand out and April took the carrots! Both of them at once ! "Oh!," said Rosebush, "her nose tickeled my hand!" "Yeah," smiled Ed. As April happily munched on her carrots, Rosebush, VERY slowly, reached up an stroked April's soft, nose. "I think we're friends, now," she whispered.

Many months later, when April knew how to carry, and Grace and Rosebush AND Lily AND Danny AND a few of Grace's brothers and sisters all know how to ride, when Mrs. Gymson was no longer "Grumpy Old Mrs. Gympson," but Mary, Grandma was looking out the kitchen window. What a fne summer day it was ! The sun was turning everything golden. Mary was out, working, as usual, on her flowers. But now she was not alone! Lily was helping and talking to her a mile a minute about school . And back by the barn she could see Rosebush riding her horse. Her cow girl hat had fallwn off, and her chestnut hair was flying, free, behind her. Grrandma noticed that with this summer sun, Rosebush's hair was almost exactely the color of April! As Rosebush galloped through Mary's wild flowers, the birds were twittering in the trees, and butterflies were busy going from flower to flower. She rode past the old peach tree, where Grace was sitting on the fence eating a peach, streaching out her hand, Grace tossed her a juicy, ripe peach. Grandma was so happy that she stood by that window and laughed and laughed, But this time she didn't wake up. This time she was already awake.

After supper, when, Mommy and Daddy had already told her to get to bed, Rosebush turned to Grandma and said, "Grandma? Could we take April to run by the sea?" "Oh, my," said Grandma, I don't know where there ARE any seas around here." "Yeah," laughed Rosesbush, heading for the stairs, "that's what you said about horses, too!"

The chips angel

When Grandma woke up the next time, the REAL time, there was no rolling over and pulling up the covers. She LEAPED (well, as you know, Grandma can't really LEAP) out of bed, ran (well, there, again,) to the closet, JUMPED (???) into her clothes, talking to herself the whole time. "it's perfect....mumble, mumble, mumble......it's got to work......memble......good for everyone......memble........responsibility..... ......I've got to convince .........memble, memble......." She dashed down the stairs quickly drank a cup of tea that was too hot and burned her tounge, and started pulling things from her cup boards. "mumble, mumble mumble......blueerries.....mumble..... sugar, flour, oh dart! Were?..........mumble, mumble, there!" As she yanked a mixing bowl off the shelf it went flying out of her hand and crashed onto the floor. Grandma stood there, amid the pieces of shattered bowl and looked at it like she didn't understand what it was doing there, broken, on the floor. She cleaned it up and sat down. "I've got to slow down," she said to herself. She took a deep breath and started over. First she had breakfast. Then, slowly and carefully, she mixed up her good blueberry-rhubarb coffee cake. By the time the dishes were washed and away, the stove buzzer was dinging, and the cake was done. After drizzling on a bit of frosting, she wrapped it carefully in her blue Tupperware cake carrier, dug around in the drawer for that fancy Russian coffee that someone had given her last Christmas, threw her shawl over her shoulders, and set out.

As she approached Mrs. Gymson's house she realized she had not thought through what she would say. "Oh, well," she thought. "I'll just do my best." She boldly knocked on Mrs. Gymson's door. Nothing. She knocked again. Still nothing. "I hope she's not asleep." thought Grandma. She was just turning to go home when the door opened a crack. "Hi!" said Grandma, "I hope I didn't wake you." "Oh, no," Mrs Gymson replied, opening the door a little wider, "I was on the phone with my daughter. She's out in California." "Oh," said Grandma. Then after an awkward silence, "I've brought you a coffee cake, and an idea! Oh ! And this coffee. I don't drink the stuff and someone gave it to me. Do you have a minute?" "Sure,
said Mrs. Gymson, opening the door all of the way this time, "I have all the time in the world. Days are, I've nothing BUT time. Come on in and sit a spell."

While Mrs. Gymson prepared the coffee, and heated water for Grandma's tea (Grandma always carried a tea bag of two in her jeans pocket,) Grandma looked around the kitchen. Mrs. Gymson was grumbling about this and that and Grandma wasn't really paying much attention when she heard Mrs. Gymson say, "so she wants me to sell this house and go sit in an old people's home! Can you imagine!?" "Why?" Grandma asked, startled. "She's way out there in Californ-i-a and can't be bothered with a trip home now and then. She thinks I 'way too old' to live here, here, in my very own home. Bother!" "Sounds like she's concerned about you." "Fiddlesticks! " barked Mrs. Gymson, " 'what if you fall?" " she mimicked in a sing-song voice, " 'what if you get sick?' She says I have no one to look after me." Looking down at the floor she went on, "I quit church when Herman died. Don't have any family around. And, well, as you know, I'm not the neighborly type." "Looks like that coffee's ready, here, sit down, have a piece of cake. I won second place with this coffee cake at the fair a few years back." "Well good for you, honey," she said, sliding out a chair and sitting across from Grandma. "what's this big idea you have?"

Grandma and Mrs. Gymson talked and talked. Mrs. Gymson had more coffee, and talked. Grandma dug another tea bag out of her pocket, and talked. One of them cut them each more cake, and talked and talked. Finally they both sat back, smiling. "I think this will be really good," said Grandma. "And I KNOW you will make two little girls very, very happy!" "I'm getting a bit excited about it myself," said Mrs. Gymson, "Haven't had animals around for awyile and II wouldn't mind at all getting to know some young'un again, expecially that Patty of yours. She seems like a real live wire!." "Uh-oh! Please! You musn't call her Patty!" "But isn't that her name?" "Yes, well it was. It is. It's just that -- and Grandma proceeded to tell Mrs, Gymson all about how Rosebush came to be called Rosebush, but you already know that. After a good laugh, and Grandma could tell that Mrs, Gymson hadn't HAD a good laugh for some time, Mrs. Gymson said, "maybe, if my daughter knows the girls are stopping by every day, she will let me be. When will you tell them?" "Right after school, I think. We've a lot of work to do to get that old chicken house ready for April," said Grandma, but don't you worry about a thing! Steve will do all of the construction. Is there electricity out there?" "Yep, " said Mrs. Gymson, "had to put it in for the incubators." And, again, they were off and talking.

"Girls, " said Grandma while handing each one a plate of ants on a log and some chips. "You know that old chicken house in the back of Mrs. Gysmon's yard?" Both girls nodded their heads, mouths full. "Wouldn't that make a nice little barn for, a horse? Say, for April?" Rosebush starred at Grandma, her eyes big. "Who's April?" Grace asked, chewing. Rosebush answered, slowly, at first, "a.....horse........she's a..............horse........that horse.........The horse I told you about! The-horse-that-those-people-on-the-way-to-the-apples-have-to-give-away-oh!OH!OH!GRANDAM!!!!! DO YOU MEAN IT!?"
"Yep," said Grandma, "We......." but there was no more talking at the moment. Rosebush had jumped from her chair, flapping her arms like a bird, sending the plate of chips flying. Grace, who had just popped another celery log into her mouth, looked startled as Rosebush grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her! She laughed and talked jumped and tried to dance Grace around the room, crunching the spilled chips under their feet. When the girls finally collapsed onto the floor (yes, right into the mess of crunched chips,) they continued to laugh, although I don't think Grace yet understood what all comotion was about!. Rosebush lay there, laughing and kicking her legs and arms like she was making a snow angel (well, in this case it would be a chip angel,) sometimes just screaming a scream of joy then laughing some more, peddling her legs in the air.

Grandma got them each a glass of milk, and helped them back to the table. "It's like this," she said. "Becky's family needs to get rid of April. They just don't have the money to feed another animal! Mrs. Gymson is really old. She needs someone to look in on here every now and then, every day, to see if she's ok. You know, if she got really sick, no one would know it, no one would help." "Mom would help her," Rosebush interrupted. "I know she would, sweetie," said Grandma, "but how would she KNOW?" So. If Steve can turn that rotten old chicken house into a snug little barn, we could adopt April and......." Rosebush jumped up again, starting another spin around the kitchen when Grandma stopped her. "Now sit down, Rosebush, you have to hear the rest of this. It involves YOU." Rosebush sat back down, but couldn't sit exactely STILL. "that would mean that two girls I know," she winked at Grace and Rosebush, " would have to go EVERY MORNING before school and EVERY AFTERNOON, to take care of April, it....." "Can we ride her?" Rosebush interrupted again, " We don't have a SADDLE! Where will be get a saddle? What will she eat? Will she be lonely without other animals in the chichen house, I mean the barn? What if we're at camp? Who will feed her then? Are there horse baby sitters?" "Hold on!!! " laughed Grandma, "one thing at a time! FIrst of all, she is still too young to ride, so we'll worry about a saddle later. Second of all, I don't KNOW what horses eat, or how much or how often. We have a LOT to learn, fast! And as for horse-sitters, I'm pretty sure Lily and Danny will pitch in, and, Grace, would your brothers and sisters be interested in this venture? And there's the cousins, and" "YES!" shouted Grace, ALL of them, except probaably not Tiffany.......she too busy with her stupid MAKE UP...." "Good!" said Grandma, "see, we've got lots of help." "And I'll bet Susie would help sometimes, too. Does she go to our school?" "Don't know," said Grandma, "you can asked her when we ride out to pick up April."

Just then, the door opened and Ellen walked in. Her big smile turned to a question when she saw Grandma sitting at the table, smiling over a cup of tea, Grace, sitting at the table munching, and Rsosbush not at the table anymore but flying towards her, and CHIPS ALL OVER THE FLOOR!

The Idea

So, the next day as Grandma was walking home from taking Rosebush to Grace's birthday party she noticed Mrs. Gymson planting a new little oak tree in her front yard. Mrs Gymson (the kids all called her 'Grumpy Old Mrs. Gymson' because, well, because she WAS usually grumpy and she was DEFINITELY old. Sometimes Lily and Danny, and even Rosebush said they were afraid of her. Once Danny called her a witch, but it got him is BIG trouble with Mommy and Daddy and Danny had to come RIGHT HOME from school for a WEEK without stopping at the playground!) A long, long time ago the Gymson fram covered this whole neighborhood. Where Grace's house now is, was the fruit orchard. There's still an old, gnarled peach tree back against Grace's fence. Lily, Danny, and Rosebush's house AND garage are build right where the barn had been. And the house between Grace's and Mrs. Gymson's had been a very large garden. The Gymson's raised sheep, but also had chickens. They say that, in those days, vegetables from that garden, and eggs from those chickens, earned almost enough money to feed the sheep all winter. The chicken house was still there, at the very way back edge of Mrs. Gymson's yard. There are no chickens, now, though. Mommy and Daddy sometimes talk about how hard it must have been for Mrs. Gymson to sell, first the sheep, then all that land. They think that's why Mrs. Gymson, even as old as she is, still works so hard in her yard. She is ALL WAYS planting something, usually trees or flowers.

Grandma was in no hurry so she decided to stop and say hello. "Good morning, Mrs Gymson!" Grandma called, waving as she walked up the stone path leading to the house. "umgh," came the reply, "at least it's good enough to get this tree in the earth," "Your yard is lovely," Grandma said, looking around. "Can I give you a hand with that?" "humph. Here. You hold her straight while I fill in the hole." As Grandma held the little tree, trying to keep it straight, she look around. "What's that bush, over there?" "Can't see what you're talking about," grumbled Mrs. Gymson, her face near the ground as she patted and scooped and patted loose earth around the roots of the tree. When she was finished, she stood up with MUCH difficulty, brushed her hands off on her jeans and said, "which bush?" "That one, the big, dark green one, back there." "Oh that," scowled Mrs. Gymson, "that one's a Box Elder. It's an old one. Was here when we cleared the place for the sheep. It never did too good back then. The sheep ate off all the leaves they could reach. Never could figure out why it even stayed alive. Been doing great since we sold off." They were quiet for a moment, looking at the Box Elder when Mrs. Gymson said, "Guess there's things in life you just can't figure." "I guess so, said Grandma.

Later that evening Grandma couldn't get Mrs. Gymson and her Box Elder bush out of her mind. How OLD that bush was ! How old Mrs. Gymson was ! Let's see, thought Grandma, Ellen (that's Rosebush's mom) and Steve (Rosebush's dad,) bought this house........when?.......maybe 10 years or so ago.........and they got it from the Henderson's who moved to town (yes! I remember!) in about 1982 or 1983 to start our library. Mrs. Gymson sold the sheep after Mr. Gymson was disabled in that horrible tractor accident, Then, I think, they just started selling off the place as they needed money to pay his medical expenses. Then, when he died Mrs Gymson sold everything except what she has now, her home, that old chicken house, and the yard. She did keep a nice piece of yard, maby an acre? Acre and a 1/2? Something like that, lots of room to plant her trees and flowers ! "Ah, well," thought Grandma as she got ready for bed, "I should visit her more. Maybe take her some soup. She is so very alone..........." and then Grandma was asleep.

Grandma saw Rosebush riding a horse, her chestnut brown hair flying loose behind her, was almost the same color as the horse itself. They were galloping through a field of flowers, with birds twittering in the trees, and butterflies landing on Rosebush's shoulder, even as she rode. Rosebush rode past an old peach tree, and without even slowing the horse, reached out a plucked a juice, ripe peach from the tree. Grandma felt so happy that she laughed out loud, and that laugh is what woke Grandma up!

She turned over and pulled the covers up around her shoulders. It was too early to get up. She lay there, remembering her dream and half awake and half sleeping got an idea.

The Horse

After Rosebush and Grandma finished their errands, (they had gotten a lovely pink soccer ball for Grace's birthday, as well as a necklace with a princess dangling from a sparkly chain that came in a tiny plastic egg from a gum ball machine,) Grandma thought it would be a good idea to drive out to that farm where you can get apples, and pumpkins and, sometimes, fresh eggs. It was SUCH a beautiful day, the bread was rising at home, ready to be popped into the oven, and Rosebush was happy in the back seat with her new library books. Maybe Grandma could pick up the last of the the fall apples and get one more batch of applesauce in the freezer before winter set in. She drove out of town, down a small road past her friend Joelene's big porch, past the sun flower field, the flowers all gone this time of year, to the corner with a stop sign, where she turned onto a dirt road. Just before she reached the apple farm she noticed a hand written sign at the end of a long drive. "Free Horse," she read to herself...........free horse?............free HORES!?!?!?! Grandma brought the car to a SCREECHING stop. "What's the matter?" Rosebush asked, looking up from her book, grabbing at the pile beside her that was slipping onto the floor. "Oh!" said Grandma, "are you ok? Sorry about that." Grandma carefully backed up, and turned into the long driveway, with blackberry brambles thick on both sides. "Where are we going? This isn't the same apple farm we went to last time." "No. This isn't the apple farm. I just want to check something." There were lots of pot holes and turns in the drive, so Grandma had to go very slowly. Around one curve they passed an old, broken down, terribly rusty tracker. Around the next, a half burned building that looked like it used to be a chicken house. "This lane must be a mile long!" said Grandma. At that, they rounded another bend that opened to a house, yard, barn, and beyond, fields and fields of corn. Grandma stopped the car and wondered what to do next. She didn't have to think too long because a woman, 3 dogs and 5 children burst through the back door of the house. The dogs were barking, the children running, yelling, chasing each other and the dogs. The woman was drying her hands on her apron. Grandma got out and leaned into the car's back door to unbuckle Rosebush, as the woman walked over to them. She had a long, long red braid hanging over her shoulder, skin the color of almost done taffy, and a big, warm smile. "Hi," she said, "I'm Becky. Can I help you? Are you lost?" "No," said Grandma, " Hi, I'm Emma, nice to meet you. I don't think we're lost. I, eh......I saw your sign at the end of the drive....." "Oh! That!" laughed Becky. Susie wrote that out yesterday. We had a foal a few weeks ago. It's a beauty ! But we just can't afford to feed her. We've got all THESE little mouths," she spread her arms to include the children and dogs, "as well as the cow, the work horses, you know. Ed, my husband, was saying at breakfast yesterday that it was time to get rid of the foal. The kids couldn't stand the thought of it, so Susie wrote out that sign." "Get.......rid......of it?" Grandma asked. "Yeah, she's not going to amount to much. She's a little thing, and won't ever grow to pull the plow. Want to see her?" By this time Rosebush was off and running with the children and dogs and was no where to be seen. Grandma could hear her, though! She seemed to be showing Becky's children how to make dogs sing! Grandma could recognize Rosebush's high, mournful YOWWWWWWLLLLLLLL, which ALWAYS brought an answering YOWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLL from any dog in the neighborhood. "Sure," said Grandma, following Becky toward the barn. Becky opened the big barn door and they walked into a wide hall way. There were animal stalls on both sides, and another large door at the other end opening to a pasture. The barn smelled of fresh straw and warmth and animals. It took Grandma a minute to adjust her eyes to the dim light, but soon she saw bales of hay in the loft, bags of oats over against the wall in an empty stall, reigns, and ropes, a saddle, buckets, shovels, a pitch fork, all lined up, hanging on hooks on the wall. "This is a beautiful barn," Grandma said. "Thanks," replied Becky, "it's our pride and joy - well! After the kids!" Ed and I put a lot of time into keeping it up. It is, after all, home for the animals that we depend on to feed us." And then Grandma looked more closely into the stalls. There were 2 huge draft horses, and, on the other side of the barn, a smaller quarter horse. "She's just for riding," Becky said. "the only one in here who doesn't earn her keep. Except that, like I tell Ed, joy counts." There was a cow, and down at the end, Grandma could hear a the cluck and scratch and flutter of chickens. The pigs, a huge sow with 4 teen-age sized piglets were in a far corner of their own, with a door to a small outdoor fenced area. "Where's the foal?" Grandma asked. "Down here," said Becky, we have to keep her away from her mama, now. It's time for her to stop nursing. I'll get her out so you can see her better." Grandma wondered out into the pasture as Becky clicked a lead line onto the little horse. Just as Becky and the horses entered the pasture all of the children (including Rosebush, but none of the dogs,) were over the fence and running toward them. The foal was beautiful. "What's her name?" breathed Rosebush. "April." declared Susie. "April?" asked Rosebush. "Yeah. That's when Mr. Dillard's stallion broke through the back fence and......well, that's when our Black Star got pregnant." "Oh." said Rosebush. Everyone stood, starring at the little horse. Even the boys were still. "Well!" said Grandma, breaking the silence, "we've got to get going. I was on my way to see if Abraham has any apples left. Come on, Rosebush, back in the car!" "Oh, Grandma, please, please, please please, please, please can I stay and play?" "No, dear heart, not this time. Maybe another time?" she said, looking questioningly at Becky "We'd LOVE to have you, any time, Rosebush. Susie gets tired of nothing but little brothers out here. Give us a call to be sure we're here - but we ALWAYS are! We're in the book Ed and Becky Zingly." "Zingly!" exclaimed Grandma, "are you related to....." and at that, Rosebush was sure the conversation would go on and on so she started to slip away with Susie when Grandma broke off. "Into the car, young Rose, we've got to pick up those apples and get home to bake the bread. It's probably risen to the ceiling by this time! Do YOU want to clean bread dough off of the ceiling fan?" "NO! NO! giggled Rosebush, running for the car. "What about the horse? Do you want the horse?" Becky asked, quietly. "Oh, Becky, I don't know what on earth we would DO with a horse. I do have a spare bedroom up stairs, but......" at that, Susie and the boys joined in, "do you have a nice big bath tub?" "the room will need a looooooooooog feeding trough, she gets reaaaaaaaaaaaally hungry!" "if she gets scared at night she will have to crawl in with you." "Oh, boy," said Grandma, shaking her head, "I'll call you, Becky."

As they drove back out the long, long bumpy lane, Rosebush waved out the window at the children chasing the car. "Good bye! Good bye! See you soon! OWE!" "what happened?" Grandma asked, looking in the rear view mirror. "I got scratched by that blackberry bush, said Rosebush. But I don't care ! I'm ROSEBUSH! And I have brambles, too!"

Ruth and James

Once upon a time, in a little log cabin built in the shade of a very large forest, lived two pioneer children named Ruth and James. One winter day, when the snow had melted but it was still cold, Ruth and James were playing in the forest. They decided to run to the river to see if they could spot a deer coming for a drink. As they ran toward the river they made up a song about running to the river and the river running and then they tried to add about the deer running to the running river and they started laughing and laughing and laughing. Well, if you have ever tried to run through a forest laughing and singing, you will know that you cannot ALSO watch where you are going! And sure enough, SPLASH! James fell in the river! Before Ruth (who had been running and laughing and singing AND spinning around and around in a dancy sort of way) could realize what had happened, a tall Native American boy dashed from behind a tree and pulled James out of the river and onto the soft mossy ground. James was FREEZING! He had water in his shoes, and water dripping from his hair and water in ALL of his pockets. For a moment James and Ruth were so surprised that James forgot his shivering and Ruth didn't have a thing to say. "Who are you?" she finally asked. "My name is Standing Still," said the boy. (I think he was a little older than Ruth, who was a little older than James.) "Come on," said Standing Sill, " we've got to get him warm," as he scooped up James and started through the forest in the opposite direction of the cabin. "Where are we GOING!?" cried Ruth, following after him, "This isn't the way home!" "I know, " said Standing Still. I know where your cabin is. But my tee pee is closer and we've got to get him warm, NOW!" "What were you doing behind that tree?" Ruth asked, breathlessly. (Standing Still was walking, carrying James, very fast.) "I'll explain when we get there!" he called over his shoulder.

As they entered a hidden clearing, Standing Still pointed to a young girl bending over an old woman by a fire with a steaming cup. "That's my sister, Dancing Flower," said Standing Still. "She is taking care of the old grandmother today. Grandmother is as old as the sky." Standing Still stopped and gently set James on the ground. "Why is that boy so wet!?" asked Dancing Flower, quickly coming over to them. "First we must get him warm and dry, then stories," commanded Standing Still. "I've just made some tea from the korankunoda leaves. I'll get him some!" "I'll get a buffalo robe," called Standing Still, dashing into the teepee. Grandmother Old As The Sky motioned to James and Ruth, "Come. Come children. Sit near me. It is warm here."

After James was out of his wet clothes, into a dry, soft (sort of smelly) and very warm buffalo robe, and everyone had had a cup of korankunoda tea, Ruth turned to Standing Still. "Why WERE you standing behind that tree by the river?" "I was waiting by the river to watch the deer drink," said Standing Still, but there was a laughing-loud-crashing-birdsong noise that sacared all of the deer away. Did you see a very large laughing-crashing-noisy bird in the forest?" Ruth and James looked at each other and burst out laughing. "No!' they laughed together, "that was us!!" "We wanted to see the deer, too," said Ruth, "but we forgot to be quiet," james added. Dancing Flower looked around the circle of and said, "I still don't know why James arrived here so wet." "He fell in the river," explained Ruth. "brrrrrrrrrrr" added James.

Well Ruth and James, Standing Still, Dancing Flower, and Old As The Sky spent the rest of the afternoon telling stories. James and Ruth learned some new songs, some that sounded like the wind, and sang a few of their own to their new friends.
As James fell asleep leaning against Old As The Sky, Standing Still put new logs on the fire, and Dancing Flower took Ruth to her corner of the teepee where they played and whispered and giggled and danced as little girls all over the world will do. When evening began to fill the forest with the twitter and rustle of preparetion for sleep, Standing Still invited Ruth and James to join them for stew. Alarmed by how late it had gotten, Ruth woke James, saying, "Oh! No! No thank you! We have GOT to get home! Come ON, James, hurry!" "I'll take you home," said Standing Still. "I know where your cabin is." Standing Still whistled and called, "Come, Peanut!" In a single leap he was on the large horse. "Can you hand that sleepy boy up to me?" he asked Ruth. "Sure," said Ruth. But when she tried, James was too heavy, Peanut too big. "I can help," called Dancing Flower, coming out of the tee pee with the stew pot. Together they got James safely nestled in Standing Still's arms. Standing Still walked the horse over to a chopping stump at the edge of the cleraring. "Climb up on the stump, Ruth, then grab a good hold of Peanut's tail and pull hourself up behind me. Are you ready? I'll keep him still." And Ruth DID!

With James still asleep, and Ruth holding tight onto Standing Still, the trip home was quiet. Ruth saw a fish jump out of the river. She heard a squirrel chattering high in a tree, saw ducks on the sunny side of the river, and a rabbit dart across the path. As Standing Still bent under a low hanging branch he silently pointed. There ! A doe and her fawn, drinking by the river. "It's nice walking quietly in the forest," Ruth thought.

James and Ruth's parents (and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins) were so grateful to Standing Still, Dancing Flower, and Old As The Sky for taking such good care of James, and bringing the children home. They invited all of the families living in the tee pees as well as all of the families living in the cabins to a party. It was in the spring, when the cherry and apple trees were blooming, when the air was soft and fresh, and fireflies were just beginning to scatter light into the darkness. Everyone brought food, lots of it! Some brought musical instruments, many brought songs. One, an old ball to kick around. They ate and they danced and talked in quite corners until long after the fire flies went to bed.

As the sky began to cast pink light into the new day, the tables were cleared, the music stilled, all was quiet as the families gathered to say good bye. "This was great!" Old As The Sky loudly proclaimed, "Let's do it again, next spring!" Everyone laughed, and began talking again, hugging, exchanging garden ideas, and recipes, as the poineers returned to their cabins, the Native Americans to their tee pees.

Rosebush

Once upon a time there were three dear children. Their names were Lily, Danny, and their little sister, Rosebush. Now, you may think that this Is a strange name, so I will tell you how she got it.
 When Rosebush was born and Lily and Danny got to go to the hospital to see her for the very first time she was so, so tiny! Lily, who is the oldest and has had the most experience in the world said, “Oh she is petite!” (This is a French word that Lily learned from her ballet teacher, who always spoke to the class in dance and in French. It means small.) Danny, wanting to get in on the action started dancing, like he had seen when he went with Mommy to pick Lily up at dance class. He jumped and ran spinning and leaping around the room shouting “Petite!! Petite! Petti! Pet! Pat ! Pat! Patti! Patty!” “Stop! Stop!” Daddy laughed, “”you’ll land on the baby!.......on.....Patty! And so it was agreed. The baby would be named Patty.

Well our Patty grew and grew and developed quite a mind of her own. She wanted her toast to be cut in triangles, please, her juice in the PINK cup. She wanted to fly, drive a train, and ride on a wild horse by the sea (she had seen this on TV,) and, most of all, she wanted to be a princess. “NO ONE,” she would complain, “will believe I am a princess with a name like PATTY!!!!! It sounds like a HAMBURGER!!!" and it went on like that for quite some time, until one day while out back hanging laundry, Mama said, “What name would you choose, Patty.” Well.......what? She LOVED Lily’s name! It was the name of a flower, and, she assumed, all princesses love flowers............but she had read the book about Chrysanthemum, and she didn’t want to use that .........and the lady down the street was called Daisy, so she didn’t want to choose that one, either. Then Danny said, “Patty! How about Rose? You love pink so much, and......” He ran over to Mama’s prize rose bush. "TA DA!!" It was called Blushing Bride, and everyone loved it. Patty’s face lit up and she twirled her way (flew?) across the back yard to the roses. Then her face fell. “Rose is just one flower and......." then with the big smile of a wonderful idea she flung her arms wide and said, “I want them ALL! MY name is ROSEBUSH!”

And that was that.

One day when Rosebush was spending the day with Grandma, Grandma said, “we have lots of errands do today, Rosebush. We must return the library books, go to the meat market, stop in at the yarn store, AND choose a birthday present for Grace. Isn’t tomorrow her party?” “Yes! Yes ! Yes!” sang Rosebush, what should I get her?” “I don’t know, what do you think Grace would like?” Rosebush ran to the fireplace and sat down in her Thinking Chair. (others in the family called it her Thrown.) She thought while sitting with one leg over the arm of the chair. Then with a quick shift, she thought with both legs over the arm. Grandma went to the kitchen to start the bread. In a while she peeked in at Rosebush again. Now she was thinking with her feet where her head should be and her head near the floor, where, of course, her feet should be. She was thinking so hard that Grandma again went to the kitchen and sat down to write her grocery list. When she finished, she put the list in her pocket and set out to see how Rosebush was doing with her thinking. This time, Rosebush had taken the cushion off of her chair and was lying on the floor with it, fast asleep.

Grandma put another log on the fire, made herself a cup of tea, and found her knitting. When the phone rang (It was Mama reminding Grandma and Rosebush to make the bread for church supper) Rosebush woke up with a start and said. “I know EXACTLY what I will get for Grace’s birthday. “Wonderful!” said Grandma, “What is it? “A HORSE!” said Grace, and Grandma could see the determination in Rosebush’s face. (Did I mention that Rosebush is a very DETERMINED little girl?) “A horse?” Grandma asked. “You mean, a stuffed horse?” “No, no, no! Not a STUFFED horse!” “Oh, well, you mean a.......plastic horse? A My Little Pony horse? The kind with the sparkly tails and hairbrushes? That kind?” “No, no, no ! NOT A PLASTIC horse!” " If you are thinking about a ceramic horse, maybe we’d better talk about that. Grace is a bit of a.....high energy girl, isn’t she? Don’t a lot of things......break.....at her house?” “Oh, Grandma! NO! Not a CERAMIC horse!” “A gingerbread horse?” Grandma hesitantly ventured. “No, no, no! Not a COOKIE!” “A rocking horse? A broom stick horse? A wind-up horse? WHAT kind of horse do you want to get” “A REAL HORSE!!!!!” Then, under her breath she added, “duuuuhhhhhhhh.” Fortunately Grandma didn’t hear that. She was too busy laughing. (Grandma has a real loud laugh!) “ Oh my very dear, dear Rosebush,” Grandma said catching her breath and taking a sip of tea, “you really are a piece of work!”

Grandma went into the kitchen and came back with a fresh cup of tea, a cup for Rosebush, too, and a plate of grapes, bunny grahams, and cheese slices, cut in the shape of stars.

Grandma and Rosebush ate their snack quietly. Then Grandma said, “I don’ t know how to buy a horse. Are there horse stores around here? And anyhow, where would Grace KEEP a horse? Don’t they live in that little house down the street? Her and her mom?” Rosebush was silent for a long time. “Grandma. You don’t get a horse at a horse store.” “Well, where do you ? “ Grandma asked. Two bunny grahams later, Rosebush said, “You catch one. By the sea.” “oh, dear," said Grandma slowly, " maybe you could think of something else you’d like to give Grace, until we have time to take a trip to the sea and look around for a horse.” “Great idea!” said Rosebush. “Come on!” she called, already half way up stairs, “let’s get ready and go shopping!”

Grandma found her red crocks, her back pack, and the car keys and sat down to wait for Rosebush. Finally she heard Rosebush coming down the stairs. She had dressed in her nightgown, (“because it is long and pink and silky like a princess!”) a large red hat with an even larger purple feather from the dress up box, and, on top the nightgown, her brother’s basketball shirt, (“just in case.”) She carried a VERY large “purse” that she seem to have made from a Christmas gift bag, lots and lots of ribbons and tape, and a scarf through the handles to go over her shoulder. “Shoes,” grandma said. “You need shoes.” “Oh!” said Rosebush, and she ran for her flip flops.

And off they went.


I love you, I love you

Mary and Emily's Surprise Picnic

Once upon a time there were two little girls and their names were 
Mary and Emily. They lived with their Mama and Daddy in a small 
village. To the north of the village were the mountains - usually with 
snow on top. To the south of the village was the forest - deep and 
dark and cool and green. To the east of the village was the city - so 
full of lights it made Mary and Emily blink! And to the west of the 
village was the prairie - vast and sunny and open with the biggest sky 
in the world!

One winter Emily and Mary's grandma didn't feel well. She had slipped 
on a ladder and hurt her back. She had to walk very slowly and she 
couldn't bend. Mary and Emily went to her house EVERY morning to help 
her get her shoes on, and tied. And then they went every evening to 
UNtie hem, and take them off. In between the morning and the evening 
they rode their bikes to the store to get Grandma a movie, or tea, or a 
brownie. They brought wood in for the fire, and sometimes read their 
school work to Grandma, or played the oboe, or guitar or piano. Mary 
and Emily's Mama or Daddy went every lunchtime with soup, and every 
suppertime with meat loaf, or spaghetti, or chicken. "Could you 
bring me a fresh glass of water while you're here?" Grandma called as 
Mary and Emily put the tea in the cup board and the brownies on top of 
the fridge so Grandma's old dog couldn't get them. "Coming right up, 
Mam!" the girls giggled.

Well, Grandma's house was a mess! For two weeks, snow had been 
melting into mud. And for two weeks Emily and Mary had been running in 
and out, doing Grandma's errands, tying her shoes, along with Mama and 
Daddy coming and going. The mud made a trail from the front porch, 
down the hall to the living room, right over to the couch where Grandma 
spent most of the day lying by the fire. The muddy tracks even went 
on, into the kitchen.

One morning, at the end of the second week of Grandma's back ache Mary 
and Emily noticed a fresh, clean feel to the air. They both must have 
noticed at the same time because they looked at each other and, 
together shouted, "SPRING!!!" At once they started running and ran all 
the way to Grandma's house, up the sidewalk, leaped onto the porch, in 
the door and WHAM! Mary slipped on the mud in the hallway and fell 
backwards. WHACK! She crashed right into Emily who toppled onto the 
floor beside her. AGH!!! They didn't know if they wanted to scream or 
cry or laugh. Grandma, who felt a little better today, walked (slowly) 
into the hall and at the sight of her two dear little girls sitting on 
the floor, with their backs against the door, their legs spread out in 
front of them and mud all over the place, couldn't help but laugh. And 
she laughed and she laughed and she laughed. Of course that got the 
girls going and they all laughed so hard that Grandma ALMOST fell over 
on the muddy floor herself.

When they were able to catch their breath, Mary and Emily helped each 
other up and opened the front door. "Grandma! SMELL!" the girls 
commanded. "Ah, yes," said Grandma, "spring is in the air! I knew 
there was a reason I was feeling better today! OH! It makes me want 
to go dig in the garden. That Betsey Bear better not get my tomatoes 
THIS year!" Then, closing the door because it still was quite cold, 
Grandma looked at the floor and said, "well with all the mud in here 
maybe I should just start a garden in the hall." "Oh! GRANDMA," said 
Mary, shaking her head. "I'm really feeling lots better, but I still 
can't bend enough to get these floors clean." "We'll do it," said 
Emily, you go back and lie down." "Oh THANK YOU!!!" Grandma smiled, 
"then can you stay a bit for a brownie and hot chocolate before you to 
home?" "Sure!" the girls called, already on their way to the pantry 
for the mop and bucket.

The next week Grandma's back was even better. Now she could tie her 
own shoes and fix her own food. So Mary and Emily asked their Mom if 
they could take Grandma for a surprise picnic. "I think it's a 
wonderful idea," said Mom, "getting out will be really good for her." 
"But be careful she doesn't over do it," said Dad. "I have an idea, 
Mom said, "Dad and I can take all the stuff you will need up to the 
meadow, then, you girls could take Grandma on a 'walk,' and she'll 
never know a picnic awaits!" "GREAT!" shouted Mary. "I'll take that 
lawn chair she really likes," added Dad, "I doubt she's ready to sit 
on the ground." "YES!" shouted Emily. And so it was set up. The 
surprise picnic would be on Saturday - when the girls had no school and 
Mom and Dad didn't have work. "What should we take? What are some of 
Grandma's favorite foods?" "I could pack some fried chicken," said 
Mom, "there's a couple of pieces left from last night." "Noooooooooo" 
thought Emily. Then all at once both faces lit up and together both of 
the girls said, "MEATLOAF SANDWICHES!" "With lots of lettuce," said 
Mary. "And mustard," added Emily. "I could make a peach pie," offered 
Dad. "YES!" said both girls, AND Mom. "Hot tea?" "potato salad?" 
"maybe some chips?" "Or soup? Instead of tea? Something warm anyhow." 
"And let's take that old soft blue blanket for her chair," added 
Emily.

That Saturday, as Mary and Emily walked to Grandma's house they made 
their plan. They would tell Grandma that they wanted her to go with 
them for a walk to the meadow so she could teach them the names of the 
wildflowers. They had brought their wildflower book along, to be 
convincing. They would promise her that they would walk slowly. Mary 
said she would tell Grandma that she had to know the names of the 
flowers for a school project. "I really do," she told Emily, "it's 
just that I have already DONE it!" "That'll work," laughed Emily

And it did. In fact, they had such a nice time walking slowly 
together, looking at every new little green stem bursting from the 
earth, talking along the way, stopping to rest now and then, laughing, 
that they had no idea how much time was passing. When Mary finally 
looked at her watch it was 1:30 in the afternoon! They had asked Mom 
and Dad to have the picnic there by 12:00!! Oh well, shurgged Mary, we 
have all day, and she walked over to see what Grandma and Emily were 
looking at.

When they finally got to the meadow they saw that it WAS a perfect day 
to learn about wildflowers. They were EVERYWHERE! Like a quilt of a 
zillion colors. Mary and Emily immediately spotted the picnic site. 
There was Grandma's chair, set up by the big flat rock, and there was 
the blue blanket. There was a quilt for the girls to sit on, and on 
the quilt was Mom's best. biggest picnic basket. When Grandma looked 
up from the flower identification book and saw the picnic her face 
burst into a huge smile. "GIRLS!" she laughed, I think someone has 
left us a wonderful surprise!" Mary and Emily couldn't help but hop up 
and down and dance and sing, "it was us! It was us! Mom and Dad ! 
And us!'' "Well it's a good thing. I'm mighty hungry!" "There's hot 
garden soup in the thermos - it's the last from Mom's freezer, and your 
favorite meat loaf sandwiches! There's potato salad, apples, and 
carrots." "Maybe Dad got some chips," interrupted Emily," "And 
there's peach pie AND cookies!!!" "YUM!" shouted Grandma to the sky, 
"let's go get it!" As they climbed up to the big flat rock Emily 
slowed to a stop. Something was funny. There was something that 
didn't seem right. What was it? Emily tugged on Mary's arm. "Mary?" 
she said, "why do you think the....." but she never got to finish 
because they were all there now, looking at the basket. The napkins 
weren't folded nicely in the basket, In fact, they weren't folded at 
all OR even in the basket. They were..........well.............they 
were torn and wet and tossed around all over the place. 
And..................oh! NO!...........the lid of the basket was 
Open. Emily could see the sandwich bag hanging over the basket handle, 
empty. And the cookies were gone, the plate up side down in the grass. 
The apples were gone, too, the potato salda, the carrots and the 
chips! "OHHHHHHHHHHHHH" the girls wailed, "what happened to our picnic 
surprise !?!?!" Mary plopped down in the chair and started to cry. 
Before Grandma could get over to Mary to try to comfort her, she heard 
Emily shout, "Look!!!" Emily was pointing to a tree a little farther 
up, toward the mountain, where a potato chip bag hung on a pine tree 
branch. "Whaaaaaaaaattt????"

SOMETHING had gotten their picnic, but what? WHO? Oh! The SADNESS 
that covered the meadow! It blocked the sun light and hid the colors 
of the flowers. Every heart felt heavy. Grandma sat down and shook 
her head. What to do? What to do? "OK," she said, 'let's see if 
anything's left." "Soup," said Mary taking the thermos from the 
basket, "and pie. It's in that old tin box with a tight lid." "Soup 
and pie?" asked Grandma, "sounds good to me! Those are my favorite 
parts!" "Mine were the chips," said Mary sadly. "Me, too," echoed 
Emily. "Oh, poof!" said Grandma, "we can buy chips any old time. I'll 
get you a bag as soon as we get back. I was thinking anyhow that I 
should give you two a thank-you party for washing up that muddy floor 
of mine. What do you say? Chips and games at my house? Pringles? Or 
Ruffles? " she asked, knowing that Mary wanted Ruffles, Emily Pringles. 
"BOTH!" laughed the girls, suddenly feeling better. "Come on, let's 
eat what's left before WHATEVER it was comes back for more!" She 
poured them each a cup of garden soup. Ahhhhhhhh did it ever taste 
good! And feel good. And smell good, like summer. "That's better," 
they all agreed. Lazily the girls lay on their backs, Grandma in her 
chair with the old blue blanket over her lap, looking at the clouds, 
seeing the shapes of animals, faces, an old time truck. Then Mary 
said, "look over there at that little fluffy one. No, over THERE," as 
she pointed way to the left. "Doesn't that one look exactly like a 
rabbit? See his ears? His tail?" "I wonder," said Emily dreamily, 
"if it was a rabbit that goat into our picnic." They were all quiet 
for a while, the sun shinning on their hair, seeping into their bones, 
warming the earth. "No," said Mary, "it had to be bigger than a 
rabbit." "Racoon?" asked Emily. "Still too small, I think," said 
Grandma. "That was a LOT of food." "Well............then a FAMILY of 
Racoons?" "I suppose it could have been." "But the chips bag -- it 
was sooooooo high in the tree......." "Racoons climb trees." "Yes, 
but look, If a RACOON carried the bag up the tree, wouldn't it have 
been left more in the CENTER? Don't you think? Near the trunk? See? 
It's just dangling from the outter branches. See?" "Yeah."

"Maybe it was kids from school." "Alice Ann knows about this place! 
Remember? We brought her here last time we came!" "Alice Ann would 
never do anything this mean." "You're right, she wouldn't." "Maybe," 
said Mary, "maybe.................it was something even bigger than 
Alice Ann. " 
"Maybe....................maybe..............something 
like..................maybe something like a...........PANTHER!" No 
one knew what to say. Mary and Emily moved a little closer to Grandma. 
Emily rested her head on Grandma's lap, Mary reached for Grandma's 
hand. "I wonder," said Grandma. "What?" "I wonder if it was Betsey 
Bear." "Oh, Grandma!" said Emily, more than ready to be rid of the 
panther, "I'll bet it WAS!" "Come on!" said Mary, pulling at Emily's 
sweater sleeve, "we know her favorite spot to drink down at the stream! 
Let's go look for paw prints!" And off they went.

Grandma was just about to fall asleep in the sun, in her chair, with 
her old soft blue blanket, when she heard the girls, "YES!! YES!! 
YES!!" The sound rose from the creek bank, bounced off the tree 
tops, brushing through the wildflowers like birdsong on the wind, and 
Grandma smiled. The girls came running from the creek both talking at 
once about the bear paw prints they'd seen and how they were SURE they 
were Betsey's prints because they recognized her one paw with the scar 
from that time she stepped on the broken glass, and the hospital where 
Uncle Jake works wouldn't put stitches in a BEAAR and the vet said HE 
didn't work on bears and Dad had to rent that truck and drive her all 
the way to the zoo in the city! REMEMBER?????

Feeling warm and happy and safe, Grandma said, "how about pie?

Mary and Emily's Winter Picnic

Once upon a time there were two little girls and their names were Mary 
and Emily. They lived in a small friendly village. To the north of 
the village were the mountains, usually covered with snow. To the 
south was the forest, deep and dark and green. To the east was the 
city with tall buildings and many lights, and to the wast was the 
prairie, vast and golden in the sun.

One day when winter was still deep and dark, Mary and Emily got to 
thinking about spring time. They thought about all of the things they 
like to do in the spring: Build castles in the sandbox; ride bikes; 
run up the hills near the mountains and roll, roll, roll down; gather 
spring flowers; help Grandma plant her garden; and......GO ON 
PICNICS!!!!

They ran to Mommy and said, "Please, please, PLEASE may we go on a 
winter picnic!?" "Oh! My no!" said Mommy, "it is MUCH too cold today 
and the wind is FIERCE. But I heard on NPR that the sun is supposed to 
come out in 2 days and perhaps then, IF you wear your snow suits, we 
can think about a winter picnic."

TWO DAYS!!!!! What would they do for two days!?!


One of Mary and Emily's regular jobs in the winter was to go to 
Grandma's house and help carry in wood for the fire. They also feed 
the cats and bring in the mail. Today they were especially eager to go 
so they could tell Grandma that they had to wait TWO DAYS to go on 
their picnic. They walked down the street, past the school, past the 
church, past the grocery store which was called Mr. Grocer's and that 
really WAS his name, to the edge of the village. Then, through 
Grandma's garden gate, past the sleeping flower beds and the picnic 
table, still out in the snow, and into Grandma's back porch. Emily 
helped Mary pull off her boots, and Mary helped Emily with a knot in 
her hood. They hung their mittens on the radiator to dry, put their 
boots on the rug by the door, and dumped their coats on the floor. 
"Oh!" said Grandma, "I am SO GLAD you are here!" I was just needing 
two girls to measure." Grandma was sewing both girls flowered dresses 
for spring, ("because spring WILL come, she says,) "How tall are you 
today?" she asked. "But wait! you look like you could use some 
warming-up. Come on! I just got a big box of oranges in the mail. 
Let's make some hot chocolate and peel oranges by the fire. Mary, you 
heat up the milk. Emily, measure in the chocolate and get us each a 
few of those little marshmallows, you know, they're in the pantry. 
I'll go get the oranges, they're on the back porch." The girls got 
right to their tasks but soon heard a loud "AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH" from the 
back porch. They ran in to see what was the matter and found Grandma 
holding two drippy wet, cold coats from the floor. "HOW did you girls 
get so wet on the way over here?" Grandma asked. "We made snow angels 
on the church lawn," Mary said. "No one had walked there and the snow 
was PERFECT!" "And then we had a little snow ball fight with some kids 
in the playground," added Emily. "But it was just for fun, not really 
fighting." "Then we had to help Mr. Addison catch his dog. TWICE I 
almost got her, but both times Winnie jumped away just as I was 
reaching for her. She ran off down the street and I landed in the 
snow!" "It was pretty funny," Mary laughed.

We got her though," Mary said, "at the top of that hill just before 
the turn onto your road. We held her tight while Mr. Addison climbed 
up the hill. "Good grief!" said Grandma, "These coats will never 
dry piled here in a heap and you will be plenty cold if you have to go 
home in wet coats. Let's see....." She looked around, thinking what 
to do. "What we need is a clothes line." Grandma found a piece of 
rope, some nails, a hammer, and the ladder. She put the ladder in the 
far corner of the porch. "Emily, can you climb up and pound this nail 
right there in the corner?" "I'll try," said Emily. "I can do it!" 
said Mary. "Good," said Grandma, "because we need another one in that 
corner. Be careful not to pound your finger!" When both girls had 
successfully pounded nails into the corners, Grandma handed one end of 
the rope to Mary, still on the ladder. "Here. Can you loop this 
around the nail and tie it?" Then Grandma handed the other end of the 
rope to Emily, who was standing on the radiator with one foot, and on 
the windowsill with the other foot. "Here. Now pull it pretty tight 
and tie your end., Don't fall!" They hung the coats on the clothes 
line. There! They will dry quickly since it's right over the 
radiator." "But look, Grandma!" said Emily, "our coats are dripping 
right onto our mittens!" "oh, dear. Well, we can just move the 
mittens over." "Grandma," said Mary, "can we move the boot rug over 
there beside the heater? Then ALL of our clothes will be warm when we 
go home." "Great idea!" said Grandma. And they did.

Once they were all settled by the fire with their sweet, juicy oranges 
and hot, hot chocolate the girls said, "Grandma, we wanted to go on a 
winter picnic and Mama says that we have to wait TWO DAYS. NPR told 
her that maybe there will be sun shine and not so much wind by then. 
But Grandma! TWO DAYS!!!" "Well!" said Grandma "It seems to me that 
two days is just exactly enough time to get a winter picnic ready. But 
we had better get right to work!" "what do you mean?" asked Mary. 
"Finish up that chocolate and come with me,"said Grandma.

"OK," said Grandma, stacking cook books onto the kitchen table, "what 
were you thinking of packing?" "I don't know," said Emily, "we didn't 
really think about that." "Sandwiches," said Mary. "Peanut butter and 
jelly." "Good!" said Grandma, "Here." She handed them each a paper 
and pencil. "Make a list. You should take something to warm you, 
too." "SOUP!" the girls shouted at once, "And cookies!" "Cookies to 
warm you? laughed Grandma. "YES! " giggled the girls. "You can see 
we'd better get busy."

While Mary and Emily looked through the cook books to choose what sop 
to make and what kind of cookies, Grandma started the bread for 
sandwiches. "Do you have potatoes?" "I think so. Look in the 
pantry." "Milk?" "No." "Write down milk." said Mary to Emily. 
"Butter?" "Yes." "Parsley?" "There's parsley in the freezer that you 
girls picked for me last summer." "Great!" "Grandma?" "Yes?" "Can 
we make ginger cake instead of cookies?" "Sure." "Do you have ginger 
and flour and brown sugar and baking powder and," "SLOW DOWN!" laughed 
Grandma. "Ginger, yes. Flour, I think there's enough. Sugar, no. 
Write down sugar. Baking powder, yes. what else?" "cinnamon" "yes." 
"salt, water, molasses?" "yes, yes, no. Write down molasses." "oil, 
lemonade, LEMONADE???" "yes! That's the secret ingredient , but no, I 
don't have any. " "And can we make the hot lemon sauce? And can we 
keep it warm in a thermos? And then our cake really WILL help warm 
us!!" "Of course! " said Grandma and they laughed and laughed and 
laughed.

As grandma spread flour on the counter and put out two lumps of dough 
she said, "I got a new game the other day and have been wanting to play 
it. We can try it out while the bread rises. You guys come here and 
knead this dough and I'll got the game set up. Are your hands clean?" 
"Yes!" said Mary. "No!" said Emily. "How about if you both wash up 
first, just to be sure. Shall we play in here or by the fire?" And 
all at once, at the exact same time, all THREE shouted, "by the fire!" 
Mary and Emily, with spotlessly clean hands, kneaded and punched and 
mushed and smuched the dough and Grandma set up the game. It was 
called "How does your garden grow?" When all was ready Grandma said, 
"AGH! Winter is so much work ! Look !" She pointed to the wood box. 
"We're each going to have to go get a load of wood before we can start 
this game. Boots on, everyone! The woodshed is COLD."

In the warm kitchen the bread rose. In the warm living room, the three 
happily played. The game was about getting seeds planted and drawing 
enough sunshine cards and rain cards for the seeds to grow and trying 
not to draw too many weed cards or insect cards and then getting to the 
place where you could pick the vegetables before the cold came. And 
things like that. At the end of the game Emily said, "Grandma, winter 
is a lot of work. We have to dry our coats, and mittens and carry wood 
and all of that. Bur summer is a lot of work, too! " "You're right," 
said Grandma, "but isn't it all such FUN!!! Let's go check on the 
bread and how about a little lunch?" "But Grandma!! " Mary and 
Emily cried, "Did you forget?!? You are having lunch at our house! 
REMEMBER??? THE COUSINS????" "Oh! I DID forget! We were so busy I 
completely forgot! How could I? We'd better get going! I want to 
be there when they arrive!"

And off they went, into the snowy day. And that was day one.

Day Two was gray, and a little rainy. The first thing that Emily and 
Mary did, that is AFTER eating several of Daddy's great pancakes, was 
plan the day. "We have to make the soup and the cake." "We can make 
the sandwiches, too, and put them in the fridge." "No, let's make them 
tomorrow so they are really fresh. We have to heat up the soup anyhow 
and we can make the sandwiches while it gets hot." "Yeah. We have to 
go to the store. Grandma doesn't have everything." "Do you have the 
list?" "No. Do you?" "NO!" Just then they heard feet stamping on 
the front porch and they ran to see who was there. "Hi, Grandma!" 
"Hi, Sweeties, I found your grocery list and thought you might need it. 
I am out of dog food so I'm driving to the pet store. Want me to drop 
you at Mr. Grocer's and pick you up on my way home? Then we can start 
the soup. There will be lots of potatoes to peel!. And we should do 
the cake today." "YES! YES !! YES!"

It rained and blew coldness all day long. Mary sat sadly by the window 
and said, "it sure doesn't look like a picnic out there." "Sure 
doesn't," said Emily. "Oh, you just never know," said Grandma. "When 
I was in getting dog food I had an idea." "What?" asked Mary and 
Emily. Grandma went on, "Betsey Bear has been in hibernation all 
winter long now, since when was it? When was the last time we saw her? 
Was it just after Thanksgiving?"

(Now you may not know about Betsey Bear. She is from 
a different story of Mary and Emily. She is a bear that lives in the 
mountains, just north of town. She was rooting around in Grandma's 
garden one summer day and, after finishing off all of Grandma's 
tomatoes, actually walked into the house to see what Grandma, Emily and 
Mary were eating! They have been good friends, and have had a few 
adventures together since then.)

Back to the story. "Yes! It was 4 days after, remember!? She 
followed us to school and all of the kids were so scared!" "Yeah !" 
"Yes, you are right. Well, anyhow, it's been a long time. And it's 
not spring, not yet, and she has to sleep a bit more. But I FEEL 
spring in the air, just around the corner, and she is going to be ONE 
HUNGRY BEAR when she wakes up. Why don't you have your winter picnic 
somewhere near her cave and you can take her some kind of snack. You'd 
have to leave it just outside of the cave. You can't wake her up ! 
It's important that she sleep all the way till spring, but then, when 
she DOES wake up Voila ! Snack! Think how happy she would be!" "What 
should we take?" "Oh, I don't know. What's her favorite thing, 
BESIDES my tomatoes!" "BERRIES!" "I have some blueberries in the 
freezer, and some of that strawberry jam that we made last summer." 
"Can we make her a strawberry jam-blueberry sandwich!?!" "Sure!" And 
so, they did.

Mary and Emily had a hard time falling asleep that night. They kept 
hearing the rain falling, falling. Mary said, "I bet there a million 
rain drops." "Let's see if we can count them," said Emily. "One, two, 
three, four......" So, of course, they were soon asleep, and that was 
Day Two.

The first thing that Mary and Emily heard when when they woke up was NO 
RAIN! Emily leaped out of bed and ran to the window. The rain had 
nmelted the snow away and all of the world, well, as much of it as 
Emily could see, looked brand new clean. "MARY!" she shouted, "LOOK! 
It's going to be a BEAUTIFUL day !!!" Mary ran to the window to see 
for herself and sure enough, a big bright sun was just peeking it's way 
over the church steeple. Of course, it was still very cold, still 
winter, but! The SUN!!! Mary and Emily pulled on thights and 
t-shirts, the first layer. Then they added sweat pants, sweat shirts, 
and socks. They gobbled down a quick breakfast. Mary had 2 bowls of 
cheerios with banana, and Emily had corn flakes, no banana. They were 
ready to go! "Wait!" called Mama. "Don;t forget your picnic basket 
and I have a blanket ready. The ground will be wet. You can sit on 
this." "I think we'd better take the wagon," said Mary. We have so 
much to carry: blanket, basket Betsey's surprise. I want to take my 
drawing table and colored pencils. Are you going to take that knitting 
you started at Grandma's?" "No, I want to take my book. I'm at such 
an exciting place! I will sit in the winter sun and read and you can 
draw me!" "LET'S DO IT!!" And off they went.

Mary and Emily walked north, toward the mountains because that is where 
Betsey, and all of the mountain bears, would be hibernations. They 
followed their favorite trail, the one that leads to the meadow of 
flowers, that is in the spring, when there ARE flowers. The meadow, 
even without flowers was BEAUTIFUL on this rain-washed winter day. 
When they got there Mary and Emily decided that it was indeed time to 
eat. They would deliver Betsey her surprise snack after lunch. Betsey 
was asleep anyhow. Mary and Emily spread out their blanket by a wall 
of large rocks. On one side was a stream, now frozen solid. On the 
other side were green pine trees, and the white-barked aspen. With 
their backs against the sun-warmed rock, the girls looked out over the 
whole valley. They could see the church steeple, and the sign for Mr. 
Grocer's, and they could ALMOST see over to Grandma's house. "I bet if 
I climb up on the rock I can see it," said Emily. "I don't know about 
that, " said Mary. She was already deeply busy drawing. There are a 
lot of colors in the meadow ! Even without flowers. Enily scampered 
up t he rock to take a look and she DUD see Grandma's house! "I see it 
! I see it !" she said jumping up and down. "I see it!" and "OH!" 
Swish ! Thump ! Scrape ! CRASH! Emily landed SPLAT! Right onto 
Mary's lap! Emily had forgotten that the rock was wet from the rain. 
She had forgotten that it was slippery. "EMILY!" Mary said angrily. 
"You landed on my picture! You broke the lead of my GREEN!!!" Then 
she saw blood dripping down Emily's cheek, and she heard Emily cry. 
"Oh! What's wrong? Where do you hurt? Why are you crying? Oh ! 
HELP!!" Mary gently lay Emily down on the blanket and bunched up one 
corner to make a pillow. She took a napkin out of the picnic basket 
and carefully wiped the tears and blood off of Emily's face. It was 
scraped. "I slipped and fell off of the rock." "I KNOW you slid off 
the rock! You slid right into ME! Are you ok?" Emily laughed a 
little remembering how surprised mary was when she landed on her. "I 
think I'm ok. I was really scared, and my face stings." "I will check 
you, " Mary said. Mary gently moved one of Emily's arms, then the 
other. "Arms ok." she said. Then she moved Emily's legs. "Legs ok." 
Mary poked around on Emily's stomach like she had seen Dr. Small do 
when they went for check ups. "STOP!" laughed Emily. "THat tickles!" 
Mary took the napkin to the stream and found a little edge where the 
ice had melted. She dipped the napkin in and brought it back to Emily, 
cold and wet. "This will help your face stop stinging," she said. 
Emily lay back on her bunched up blanket-pillow with the cold napkin on 
her face and smiled. "I DID see Grandma's house," she said, and 
settled down to read the last few chapters of her book. Mary had to 
start her picture all over again, but, it turned out that the second 
was even better than the first.

By the time Emily had finished her book (the ending was wonderful) and 
Mary was happy with her drawing, the sun had crept across the afternoon 
sky toward the prairie, and evening. "We've got to get going," said 
Emily "We still have to find Betsey's cave and leave her snack," Mary 
added. They packed up all of their stuff and set off, up the trail to 
the caves. "Which one do you think it is?" "I don't know." "Think 
it's that one ? Over there? By the big tree?" "Or maybe that little 
one, near the stream?" "What should we do?" Emily asked. "I'll go 
look," said Mary, and off she ran to the entrance of the nearest cave. 
"NO!" shouted Emily. "There are a lot more bars in these mountains 
than just Betsey! The other bears don't know us. If they wake up they 
might be really grumpy and REALLY hungry! Don't go in there!" Too 
late. Mary had walked into the cave. Emily ran to the door of the 
cave and listened. "Mary?" Emily whispered. "Are you there?" "Yes," 
mary whispered back. "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Listen. I hear 
something funny." Emily listened and listened but she couldn't hear 
anything. She squeezed her eyes closed and listened with all of her 
might. She was listening so hard, and her eyes were squeezed so tight 
that she didn't notice that Mary had come out of the cave and was 
standing right beside her. When Mary said, "did you hear it?" Emily 
was so sruprised and scared that shescreaded and jumped and grabbed 
hold of Mary. And THAT so surprised and scared Mary that SHE screamed 
and jumped ahd grabbed hold of Emily! Then they were both so scared 
that their screamingmight wake up a scarry bear that they screamed some 
more and ran all the way down to the trail where their wagon was 
waiting. They laughed and laughed and cried and laughed and told each 
other over and over what had just happened. "What WAS the sound that 
you heard?" Emily asked. "Was it like.......snoring?" "no, not 
really." "was it like.......bear breathing?" "I don't think so." 
"Well WHAT?" "I know that yoou are going to think this is really 
weird," Mary said, "but it sounded to me like......like.....Emily do 
you remember when we were little and I had a baby doll that squeeked 
when you squeezed her in the stomach? Remember?" SUre," said Emily. 
"THAT'S what it sounded like." "You think your BABY DOLL is in the 
CAVE??" "No!" Mary laughed. "That;s just what it SOUNDED like. I 
think we'd better go back and look. It was a sad sound. Something in 
there is sad. Come on!" "Let's take Betsey's snack just in case there 
in a grumpy bear in there. we can throw it to him and run." "Ok." 
Quietly, slowly, quietly, slowly Emily and Mary climbed back up the 
till towards the cave. The cave looked very, very dark. "I sure wish 
we had a flashlight," Emily said. "I have a candle in my pocket! " 
said Mary, "and some matches, too! They're left over from when we went 
Christmas caroling, remember?" "But Mom would NEVER let us light a 
candle by ourselves, Mary." II have an idea! said Emily, and she was 
gone. Emily came back with the tin foil that Mom had used to cover the 
ginger cake. " Foil doesn't burn, right? That's why we use it to wrap 
up our stew when we cook on the camp fire. And here's the lid of the 
thermos. I also brought the cake knife. We can dig a little hole in 
the earth, here, just inside the cave. Now, put the lid in and cover 
it with foil. Now we can stand the candle in it, and smush the foil 
all around so the candle stands up. That will light the cave a little 
bit and we won't have to carry the candle. Look !" "WOW!!! What a 
great idea!" "Now, we have to light the candle." "You strike the 
match, it was your idea." "No, Mom doesn't allow me to." Well, she 
doesn't allow ME to, either.....but......this IS an emergency. OK, 
said Mary, "I;ll do it. Stand back." The plan worked perfectly. By 
the light of the candle, and holding tightly to each other, Mary and 
Emily tip toed into the cave. They took 5 slow steps, and stopped to 
listen. Nothing. Then 5 more steps, listen. There it was. It DID 
sound like that old baby doll! It Was something sad! But what could 
it be? 5 more steps and it was getting darker. "LOOK!!!!!" There, 
stumbling and falling and crawling and crying were 4 tiny baby kittens. 
Oh my oh my oh my. How did they get into the cave? Where was their 
mother?

I think the kittens could smell Mary and Emily. Or, maybe they heard 
their soft whispers. Maybe they felt the warmth of Mary and Emil, 
standing there, for stumbling, falling, crawling, and crying they made 
their way right to Mary and Emily's feet. "Oh just LOOK!" Mary was on 
the cave floor scooping up a kitten. "It;s so SOFT!" she said. "And 
so cold," added Emily, picking up the gray one. "I'll bet they're 
hungry! Shall we see if they like blueberries and strawberry jam?" 
"No.......kittens just need warm milk." "But we haven't any!' "Let's 
take them home." "How!? We can't take them out of the cave! It's 
MUCH too cold out there and the sun's going down fast - it will be even 
COLDER." "But, said Mary, "they will die if we leave them here." Mary 
unzipped her snowsuit and put the orange and white stripe kitten down 
her sweatshirt. "He;s tickling me!" she laughed. Emily put the gray 
kitten in the pocket on her sweat pants, and the black one in a mitten, 
and then zipped it into her snowsuit pocket. Mary picked up the 
littlest, a calico and stuffer her into her sweatshirt with the orange 
stripe. "Hey! No fighting in there," she told them.

Mary and Emily, and all four kittens found a large, flat smooth rock 
that was pretty much close to the doors of all of the caves. That is 
where they left Betsey Bear;s Spring Snack, blueberry and strawberry 
jam sandwich, and, a piece of ginger cake. THey were sure that 
wherever Betsey was sleeping she would walk up and find her surprise. 
"WE found a surprise, too" laughed the girls as they carefully found 
their way back to the trail, and home.

And that is the story of Mary and Emily's winter picnic.