HitH - Simply Trusting - Part 2

Howdy, FFFs,

I see you were all too busy to do much reading last week. That's okay. This story isn't going anywhere. Well, it's going somewhere as in I'm writing it, but it's not going somewhere as in leaving the blog. So you can read it later.

How was your week? I had a good week.

Friday we decorated for the Widows' Luncheon. We did a picnic theme this year and had such fun! It really didn't take long to decorate.

Saturday was the Luncheon. Everyone loved the decorations. And everyone wore a hat! We had invited everyone to wear their picnic hat, but since I knew many wouldn't have one, I brought all my hats, plus three from a friend, and set them all out so people could borrow one. I wasn't expecting everyone to wear one, but they did. Each person found a hat and wore it! The group picture was so cute!

Sunday afternoon I got to read. I finished my 24th book for my reading challenge, and then read another book. We watched "Chariots of Fire" while we ate supper.

Monday it rained, but it was warm. I wrote that night.

Tuesday it rained and got cold. It was almost 70º when we ate breakfast, but within half an hour afterwards, it had dropped to the 40s. And by the time I taught writing classes, it was in the 30s. I got 1,200 words written that night.

Wednesday was cold and icy, and cloudy. Church that evening was cancelled because we were supposed to get more freezing rain. So I wrote another 1,200 words instead of working in the nursery.

Yesterday was pretty normal. Except my mom took my oldest nephew out to shop for his birthday, and then out for lunch. In the late afternoon and evening the kids were over here so their parents could have a date. The kids wanted to play dress-up. So I let them. Then they wanted to do a play. So, spur-of-the-moment me, had to come up with characters, get them dressed, and then figure out what the play was about. It actually worked! And "Newsy Jones" saved the day! I'm thinking of writing this story in a play form and posting it here. Would you enjoy it?

That's it. Here's your story this week. I'll be back next Friday with part 3.

Simply Trusting

Part 2

    Monday was a blur of activity to Belle, what with the washing being done and the children rushing about here and there. Everything seemed utter confusion at times. Rome and Kade, as though to make up for their good behavior the day before, got into one scrape after another until Ali was sent up to the fields to fetch Pa or Zeke. Belle tried to help where she could, but not being used to the way things were done, felt as though she were only causing more trouble for her aunt.
    “Auntie, should I take Mattie and Benny outside out of the way?” she finally asked.
    Looking up from the washtub, Aunt Lillian pushed back her hair from her face. “Goodness, Child, if’n ya can keep track of ‘em, yer welcome ta take ‘em. Think ya can manage if’n Tabby goes ‘long too?”
    “I can try.” She picked up Mattie and held out her hand to Benny who had been clinging to his mother’s skirt and crying. “Come on, Benny, let’s go outside and I’ll tell you a story.”
    Tabby inched closer from the corner where she had taken herself. “Me too?” she whispered.
    “Yes,” Belle smiled. “And Si and Sade if they want to. Come on, Benny,” she coaxed.
    With Tabby there, Benny gave in and allowed his cousin to take his chubby little hand. As they started out of the house, Belle broke into song.

“Simply trusting every day,
Trusting thro’ a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all”

    Together the four children made their way to a rock on the sunny slope where they sat down.
    “Now I’ll tell you a story,” Belle began, settling Mattie in her lap. In a sweet voice she began to tell of the little children who came to Jesus and the disciples who tried to send them away. “But Jesus loves children. He told his disciples to let the children come to Him.”
    “Did they?” Tabby wanted to know.
    “Yes, and Jesus let them sit in His lap, and He blessed them. Jesus loves all children.”
    “What if they ain’t good?” Tabby demanded, looking over toward the house where Pa had disappeared inside with Ali.
    Belle gave a sad smile. “He still loves them, but it makes Him sad when they aren’t good. If they will let Him, He will help them be good.” She watched as her uncle came out of the house with Kade and Rome and led them around the house and out of sight. A sigh escaped her lips, for she wasn’t used to children as determined to get into trouble as those two young cousins.
    “Ya sing a song now?” Tabby asked.
    “Yes, I can sing now,” Belle replied, and she began singing the song that was in her mind.

“Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’re befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Brightly doth His Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine’
While He leads I cannot fall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.”

    Ali sat down beside her and Belle finished the chorus and then stopped. “Does Auntie need us?”
    Ali shook her head. “She said ya had taken the young’uns out ta tell a story. Did ya tell one?”
    “Yes.”
    “What about?”
    “Jesus blessing the children.”
    “I ain’t never heard that. What happened? They won’t mind if’n ya tell it again.”
    Belle looked at each young face. Four-year-old Tabby looked eager, Benny satisfied to listen to anything, and the weight of Mattie in her lap suggested that she had fallen asleep. “All right. I’ll tell it again.” It was a longer story this time, for Ali asked questions and wanted to know many things. Belle did her best to answer them until at last Ali fell silent.
    “Hmm,” Ali mused, looking at her cousin. “How’d ya learn that story?”
    “I read it in the Bible.”
    “Kain’t ya teach me ta read soon? I ain’t never learned how, an’ I reckon it’d be nice ta know.”
    “All right. We’ll have our first class here, but–” She looked down at Mattie’s dark head, “What do we do with Mattie?”
    Taking off her apron, Ali laid it in the shade and picked up her sleeping sister. “She can take a nap out here’s well as not.”
    “Everyone needs a little stick,” Belle began, spying a patch of dirt.
    At that Benny’s eyes lit up. He loved sticks.
    Soon Ali, Tabby and Benny were gathered around their teacher as she showed them how to write the letter A. Si and Sade, still hesitant and unsure about this stranger, hung back and watched for a long time until Sade ventured to get a stick. Belle, sensing that any word spoken to either her or Si might send them back into their shells, pretended she didn’t see them and went about instructing the others.
    Benny didn’t do well in copying the A in the dirt, but Ali did and Tabby, after some help from Belle, made a remarkably good A which brought praise from her cousin and a smile to the shy girl’s face. And, although she didn’t say anything, Belle smiled at how well Sade traced the letter in the dirt.

Have you ever been in charge of younger kids outside?

Did you ever try to teach someone their alphabet?

Do you want to read about "Newsy Jones"?

HitH - Simply Trusting - Part 1

Good morning Friday Fiction Fans!

I actually have a story for you today! Or at least part of one. :) I finally remembered to get it ready last night.

I've had a good week. It was busy at times, I got some reading in, and some writing. I babysat my nieces and nephews for several hours on Tuesday (9:45-2:30) and then in the evening from 7:30 until 9:15. That last time we got the youngest one. He's almost 7 months old and crawls. But he wanted held that night because it was bed time. He got mad at Papa's beard because it brushed his head and wasn't soft. Oh, did he cry! I finally got him calm, and he grabbed the zipper of my sweater in one hand, my shirt in the other and stuck his thumb in his mouth and sucked it fiercely as he cuddled. He later got over it, but would complain when he tried to play with Papa's beard. It was rather funny. :)

The weather here has been really nice! On Wednesday it was in the 60s and we had the windows open some. Then yesterday it got into the low 70s! It was really windy, but it was so nice! This morning it's cloudy and in the 30s.

Later this morning my sister and I are headed over to decorate for the Widows' Luncheon that is happening tomorrow. Three other friends are joining us to decorate. I can't wait! :D

But here's your story. If you haven't read "Hymns in the Hills" go up and click on the tab at the top. I added chapter 3 to it. This is the start of Chapter 4. Each chapter is about 4k words long. But instead of giving you a thousand words each week, I gave you 700-800 so that it would last 5 weeks. :) Enjoy!

Simply Trusting

Part 1

    Ali leaned closer. “What’d ya tell ‘em, Belle?”

    Staring off at the window panes where the evening light seemed to shimmer, Belle clasped her hands together and began composing out loud. “Dearest Mama and Papa, I have so much to say. First off, I miss you both, but I am safe at Auntie’s. You’ll never guess, Mama, at least I don’t think you will, at least you never told me, but I have a dozen cousins here. And these are just Uncle and Auntie’s children. I heard there are more, for Uncle Nathan is married, but I haven’t met them yet. I will tell you all about them once I have.

    “But I am going to start with the ones I have met. Zeke and Ez are the oldest and they are five years older than I am. Next comes Jess–” Belle broke off abruptly and said, “I know the names that you are called, but what are your given names?”

    “I weren’t given nothin’,” Rome complained. “She give you somethin’ Kade?” And the small boy glared across the table at his brother.

    “Hush,” Jess scolded. “Kade weren’t given nothin’ neither. Belle jest wants ta know yer real name.”

    “Rome is my real name,” insisted that fellow indignantly. “I ain’t got no other.”

    “Yes, ya has,” Ali said. “It’s the name ya get called if’n yer in a heap a trouble.”

    Rome’s eyes widened. “I ain’t tellin’ that when I ain’t done nothin’.”

    Before anyone else could say anything, Belle broke in. “Rome,” she tried to explain, “your real name isn’t just for when you get in trouble, it can be used if you want to be fine and proper. Then you tell someone your real name. Mine is Isabelle, but everyone calls me Belle. When I am introduced to someone of importance, I tell them my real name, not the short name that those who love me call me.” She smiled as she watched a look of understanding begin to creep across her young cousin’s face. “My name is Isabelle Standish, what is yours, sir?”

    “Roman Russum.”

    Belle’s gentle hand was reached across the table as she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Roman Russum.”

    Coloring, Rome shook her hand quickly and then ducked his head.

    Turning to the cousin beside her she again introduced herself and asked his name.

    “I’m McKaidric.”

    “I’m pleased to know you, Mr. McKaidric.” Belle let her bright eyes rove over her other cousins. “Am I going to have to introduce myself to each one of you in order to learn your full name?” she asked.

    “Reckon so,” Ali giggled.

    “We’ll be here all night,” Jess sighed, and then without waiting for an introduction added, “I’m Jessica.”

    Belle smiled, nodded and moved her eyes to the younger twins. Sade and Si, having finished their supper, had been staring at their cousin, but the moment her eyes rested on them, they looked down and Si scooted closer to Ez. “How can I learn names when the younger ones won’t talk?”

    “It’s Sadie and Simon,” Jess replied. “An’ Pa has Tabitha; Benjamin,–he were named after Pa–is sittin’ with Ma.” She looked around, gave an exclamation and sprang from the table, but Zeke beat her to the stove and snatched up the baby before she could touch the hot surface.

    Mattie, finding herself deprived of her exploration, set up a howl and struggled to get down. That seemed to end the introductions and the lesson on polite manners, for Mrs. Russum rose and said, raising her voice to be heard about the screaming baby, “Start cleanin’ up the dishes girls.” She turned to take Mattie, but Zeke was handing her over to Ez and the child’s screams subsided.

    As the girls prepared for bed, Belle asked, “Ali, what is your full name?”

    “Alison.”

    “And yours Riss?”

    Riss’s voice was quiet as she replied, “Clarissa.”

    “Oh, what a lovely name. And are Ez and Zeke, Ezra and Ezekiel?”

    Climbing into bed, Ali nodded. “An’ Mattie is really Matilda. But we aint’ never called them longer names less we’re in a heap a trouble.” She gave a sigh and added, “Then we’re likely ta get a lickin’ an’ the name.”

    Belle didn’t answer but read her verse, knelt in prayer and then silently crawled into bed as Jess blew out the light and the room became dark.

    There was a long moment of silence before Ali whispered, “Belle, are ya mad?”

    “No,” came the whispered reply. “Why should I be mad?”

    “Well, ya ain’t never said nothin’ after I said that ‘bout our names.”

    “I was just thinking.”

    “‘Bout what?”

    “About how lovely your names all are, but no one ever uses them to make you feel proud of them.”

    “Weren’t you ever called yer full name when ya got in trouble? Or did ya never get in trouble? I kain’t seem ta picture ya bein’ bad.”

    Belle gave a long sigh. “Yes, I have been bad many times, Ali, and sometimes Mama or Papa would use my full name, but it was always said in a tone of loving reproof, and I knew I hadn’t pleased the Lord Jesus.”

    When no answer came from her cousin, Belle closed her eyes and thought back over her day. It had been a very different kind of Sunday than she had ever experienced before. “Did I please the Lord Jesus today?” she wondered, unaware that two other persons in the house were silently singing the hymn she had sung that morning in the wagon.

 

Do you get called your given name, or a  pet name?

Have you had to explain the difference in names before?

Have you enjoyed spring weather this week?

Searching for a New Story

Good morning Fans,

I don't have a story again today. Sorry. I was going to get some of "Hymns in the Hills" ready, but that didn't happen. I think it's because I'm missing a day or two. Not sure which days, but it can't be Friday already.

This week has been busy teaching Writing Classes and getting things ready for the Widows' Luncheon that was supposed to happen tomorrow, but due to a forecast of freezing rain tonight and tomorrow, we had to decide to postpone it. (Many people live a distance away.) So that'll hopefully take place next Saturday. But things didn't get decided until last night.

I worked in Cubbies on Wednesday night, so I didn't get anything written.

Earlier this week I heard that a cover designer was having a sale on all her pre-made covers. So off I went to look at them. Well I saw one. Actually there was more than one. But there were two I really liked, but one in particular caught my eye. But I didn't have a story that fit it. So the search began. Could I come up with and write a story for that cover? I figured if I could at least get a good start on one, I could get the cover and then finish the story. Well I started writing on Tuesday and got 1k written of a story. But after looking at the cover again yesterday, I don't think this story will fit it. So I either start again, or I forget it. Not sure what I'll do. I also have Hymns in the Hills that needs written. And eventually I'll have to write my June and July stories.

Oh, the other thing you might be interested in is the Christmas story that I finished, got corrected and am working with a cover designer. I would have done the cover myself, but all I could think of was a burning barn. Not exactly what you'd think of for a Christmas cover, right? And this is a different sort of Christmas story. It takes place in AZ.

If you haven't already heard, my February story is now published. I just haven't added it to my website. Maybe I can do that this afternoon. It's called "Forget Not."

Well, hopefully I'll have something for you next week.

Have you been writing anything?

Do you have bad weather forecasted for tomorrow?

Have you been reading any interesting books?

Just an Update

A lovely February to all you FFFs,

Changing the calendar yesterday felt so strange. I wasn't in the least bit ready to move on to another month. I wanted to protest.

So, I don't have a story for you today. That means you can do a little catching up reading from other places on my blog. Old posts with short stories or longer stories are just waiting to be discovered once again. It's probably a good thing I didn't have to worry about posting today. This week has been one of those crazy sort of ones where my brain just doesn't want to focus, or else there are to many things to focus on and it can't decide what is most important.

I did get my March story written, so that's good. Those of you who are signed up as Beta/Test readers will get notified near the end of the month. If you aren't signed up and don't know what I'm talking about, you can go to Read Another Page and find the place where you can sign up to be a Test/Beta reader. Right now I'm trying to get a short kindle story published each month this year. January's got done, and February's is almost ready to be released.

What is my brain so busy about?

• Getting my February story corrected, formatted, and the cover finished.
• Correcting 2 chapters of "Hymns in the Hills."
• Editing my March story which still doesn't have a name.
• Writing!
• Planning for, preparing, and in general, getting ready for the Widows' Luncheon (at church) that's on the 10th and I'm in charge of it for the first time. We have 11 widows and almost all of them have 2 Secret Sisters, and this is the luncheon that we reveal who those ladies were.
• Trying to get reading in here and there.
• Taxes that need filed.
• Organizing some files on my computer so I can find things and so I don't have quite so many.
• Replying to emails.
• Keeping up with all the books being read for the Reading Challenge (which is so much fun!).
• Preparing blog posts for Read Another Page. (Part 3 of my bookshelf tour will be on Tuesday.)
• Babysitting my nieces and nephews.
• Life in general.

And that, my dear readers, is what I've been doing. And I'm sure I haven't mentioned some things.

How was your week?

Does you brain ever get too busy?

Which story are you going to go read? 

After the Fair - Part 3

Good morning FFFs,

It's still dark this morning. No bright colored sunrise, or anything like that. I think it's supposed to be cloudy today. Don't know about rain. Yesterday was windy and in the 60s! Delightful!

This week has been, for the most part, a good week. I did have trouble on Wednesday night and couldn't get anything written. I was trying to come up with an idea for my March story. I had a picture I wanted to use, but the only idea I could think of just wasn't working. But yesterday morning my mom gave me an idea, my brain started working, and last night I wrote 1,364 words of the March story. And I have ideas for more of it. 😀

I finally got the rest of my books and stories added to Read Another Page. I had managed to get "Dylan's Story" and "Finding Joy" added to the Bookshelf shortly after I published them, but I hadn't gotten any of my Christmas Collection added. Now you can find them all under the Christmas pop-down. And I added the January story under Short Kindle Stories.

Have you been reading any books for the Reading Challenge? I have. I love getting to read books like this! Not only do I find myself reading many different genres, but I read books that I might not otherwise have read. So far I've only read one book that I didn't like. Surprisingly, I've read half the categories, and have started on the 13th book. I don't know what I'll do when I reach the end of the list though!

Okay, here's the last part of this story. I want to know what you all think of it.

After the Fair

Part 3

    His wide eyes stared unblinking up at the darkening sky as the first stars peeked out. He lay still and silent. The sounds of the fair ended, and instead of the music, laughter, and happy voices which had filled the air, the gruff, tired voices of the workers, the metallic clatter of rides being disassembled, and the rumble of truck engines filled the night. They were all sounds Bear had heard most of his life, but this time it was different. This time he was not packed into a dark box with the rest of the animals and dolls. Instead, he lay all alone in the grass, his fur ruffled by the soft summer breeze. Forgotten. When the sounds of the fair being packed up had ended, and the last engine rumble had faded in the distance, a lone cricket came over to Bear and chirped sweetly. And the bear wondered if this was what happened to all the bears and dolls at the fair.

*

    Not very far away from the fair grounds stood a small house. One tiny light, as though of a candle, gleamed from a tiny window. Inside a mother, worn, tired, and anxious, sat beside the bed of her little boy. Her head was bowed and tears trickled down her cheeks. With a gentle hand she pushed back the brown locks from the flushed and feverish face. It was so hot in the room, but the noise of the fair made Bobby restless, and the doctor said he must sleep.

    As the mother sat, it gradually dawned on her that the gay music of the fair had stopped. Softly she rose and pushed open the window, breathing an inward sigh of relief at the breeze which caressed her cheeks and blew out the lone candle. She peered out into the darkness, but no lights were to be seen where the fair had stood. Perhaps it was over.

    Returning to her seat, the mother bathed the face on the pillow, grateful for the coolness of the breeze. This done, she slid to her knees and bowed her head wearily beside her small boy. “Dear Jesus,” she whispered, “I don’t know much about You. But the minister said You came to save sinners such as me, and I am a sinner. I ask that You would save me and forgive my sins. And Lord Jesus, the minister also said You care about the widows and the fatherless. Please, dear Lord, help Bobby to get well. Tomorrow’s his birthday an’ he’s sick, an’ I don’t have any money to get him a present at all.” The whisper ceased for a few minutes as the mother wiped away her tears and looked at the steady rising and falling of Bobby’s chest. “Lord Jesus, if You do care for us, for Bobby and his sisters, would You send something little for Bobby? Nothing big, just something so we’ll all know You haven’t forgotten about us.”

*

    The sun was shining and clouds danced on the warm summer breeze. Two little girls, hand in hand, with their brown hair loose about their thin faces, wandered toward the empty fair grounds.

    “I liked the pretty lights,” one girl said.

    Her younger sister nodded. “And the music was pretty too, but it made Bobby not sleep.”

    “Yes, Mama is glad it is gone now. Let’s go look around.”

    Some time later the pattering of eager feet sounded on the porch, and the screen door shut with a soft thump. The mother, roused from a doze, rose and, after seeing that Bobby was sleeping, hurried from the little room, hoping his sisters would not wake him.

    “Oh, Mama!” one of the little girls exclaimed softly, “see what we found for Bobby!”

    Together the girls held out a teddy bear. The red ribbon bow was untied, his smile was slightly crooked, and one ear drooped a little.

    “He was waiting for us,” the youngest girl said. “He wasn’t in any of the dirty places, just lying in the grass away from everything. Can we give it to Bobby for his birthday?”

    “Where did it come from, way out there?” the older girl asked. “It was far off from where everything was.”

    Tears filled the poor mother’s eyes. They hadn’t been forgotten. Her little boy would have a present when he woke from his nap, for the doctor said he was on the mend now that his fever had broken. “Yes,” she whispered, “we’ll give it to him when he wakes up. We have not been forgotten.”

Was this the ending you were thinking?

Did you enjoy this story?

Do you want to read more of "Hymns in the Hills"?

After the Fair - Part 2

Hello FFFs,

Guess what? I've been writing this week! Yes! Every day. (Except Sunday.) And three of those 4 days I've actually written 1k words or more. It's all been on "Hymns in the Hills," and I'm eager to write again tonight because the story is moving. I'm loving this story!

Let's see, the weather. That's a good topic, right? On Sunday it snowed. And we made it to Sunday School and Church, but the evening service was cancelled because of the weather. Then the temperature dropped. Usually we'll get snow and the next day it's mostly melted. Not this time. Monday was in the 20s, and Tuesday Writing Classes were cancelled because it was supposed to be high of 9º with a windchill of -24º Yeah. Cold. At least for this area. Yesterday is the first day since it snowed that it reached above freezing. It was in the 40's. Today is supposed to get to 50º and I'm sure things will really start to melt. It's been pretty seeing everything sparkle in the sunshine, because even if it was cold, we had sunshine.

I hope you all were able to check out my January short story. But I'm going to let you get to reading this next part of the story. At least if you have time. And don't forget to click a reaction button on the bottom of the post if you don't have time to comment.

After the Fair

Part 2

    Nearly choking, the boy leaned his face close beside the bear. “Is he my long lost twin?”
    Bear wasn’t sure what that was, but he smiled his crooked smile and gazed unblinkingly into the bright, sunny world of the fairgrounds. He wasn’t very old, just old enough to have already been to several fairs, but always before he had remained on the shelf as folks came and slapped down their dimes and five cent pieces, or carefully counted out their pennies. He had watched fellow bears, some with red bows like himself, and others with different bows, go off in the arms of some person. He had seen the dolls be whisked away, sometimes by awed little girls and other times by laughing ladies. He had always wondered what happened to the bears and the dolls, and now he knew. Or at least he thought he did.

    When the food had been eaten, Bear was tucked under the girl’s arm, and he stared at the world sideways for a time, watching swinging arms and people bumping into each other. He smiled at the eager faces of young children and listened to the happy music and laughter of those passing by. It was all quite fascinating to a bear just removed from a shelf and out into the real world of fairs. After a while the girl shifted Bear into her other arm, and he took a good long look at the ground. He wasn’t quite sure what the different items were which got trampled under the feet of every person, but at the least the shoes were different.
    “Oh, Johnny, let’s get some cotton candy,” Sally suggested.
    “All right. Then we can go take a look at the animals.”
    Bear, growing a little tired of seeing nothing but the ground, was delighted when he was righted and the girl wrapped her arm around his middle. He felt very secure and comfortable, and the world looked so much more interesting. The boy, Johnny, stepped back from some booth with two piles of fluff on sticks and handed one to the girl. Bear could only stare with wide eyes. He’d never seen anything like it. After the girl took the fluff, the two young people started walking on, not realizing that Bear’s nose was sticking into the sticky, sweet fluff. It had been an accident. He hadn’t done it on purpose, but when Sally held her cotton candy in her left hand, she had forgotten about Bear.
    Bear stared at the candy until the girl noticed and laughed at him. His face was wiped off with something damp and his nose kissed. He studied the ground some more, watched people sideways, sat on another table, and had his bow untied when it became caught on something.
    All in all, it was a very exciting day for a Bear who had never known anything but the little tent with the man who shouted, and urged the people to come spend money, and grumbled and muttered when he had to pack things up again.
    At last, as dusk was settling around, Bear was settled between Johnny and Sally on a hard seat. He could see their clasped hands in front of him and thought it must be nice to hold hands with someone.
    Suddenly there was a strange rumbling from the seat, then a jerk, and Sally screamed while a wind blew Bear’s untied bow over his face so he couldn’t see. He thought he might be glad not to see, for Sally screamed again, and Bear felt himself squished between the girl and boy. All that time the seat had rumbled and shaken, making bear think of those dark days when he had been packed with all the other bears and taken from one fair to another. He had heard somewhere that they traveled on a train, but he was never quite sure what a train was.
    The shaking stopped at last, and so did the screaming. Johnny and Sally stood up, and Bear fell over on his side. At least he could see again, for the ribbon fell from his face. Neither Johnny nor Sally seemed to have remembered the bear with the red bow, for they walked away, and Bear was left on the hard seat staring before him at the back of another seat.
    It was growing darker. Bear could hear voices.
    “Just once more, please, mister,” a young voice begged.
    “Well, all right, but then I’ve got ta shut ‘er down an’ pack ‘er up. Fair’s endin’ tonight.”
    The rumbling started again, and with a sudden lurch the seat began to race forward. At first Bear remained where he was, plastered against the back of the hard bench by the force of the air, but when the seat tilted, he slid, first one direction until his feet bumped the side, and then another until his head touched the opposite side, He was shaken and jostled about, and then, as the seat made a sudden movement, he was launched out into the darkness and sailed through the evening shadows until he dropped to earth with a soft thump.

You probably didn't expect that to happen, did you?

Did you get any snow this week?

What do you think will happen to Bear?

(There is one more part to this story.)

After the Fair - Part 1

Good morning FFFs!

As you can see, I'm not shutting this blog down yet. :) So you'll at least get to enjoy it for a little while longer.

This week has been pretty good as far as getting things done. Except writing. That has been terrible! I had a full evening on Wednesday to write, but I couldn't get a single sentence of anything written! It was as though every idea I ever had ran away or hid. I couldn't write on any started story, nor could I write on any new story. Bother. So I pulled out my newly printed Character sheets (for my WriteMind Planner) and started filling in characters for two stories. The first was the Kelsey stories. Since I will probably write more of them, I needed to know all the characters names and if I said what color hair or eyes they had. So I re-read the stories and got the characters written down.

Next I turned my attention to Hymns in the Hills. That took more doing since I had more chapters (each about 4k words) to read. And lots more characters! I didn't finish it until yesterday. And then, guess what? I wrote! I wrote 656 words of Hymns in the Hills! It was so delightful!

Yesterday we had some interesting weather. When we got up it was in the 50s. My sister and I walked mid-morning because it was 58º. But within 5 minutes after we got back home, the wind shifted from the south, to the northwest and the temperature started dropping. By noon it was in the 30s. And by supper time it was 20º. And boy, was that wind strong last night! I heard we could get gusts up to 34 mph! Brrr!

This story was just something I wrote while trying to get back into writing. I'm changing the reaction buttons on the bottom of the post. So, if you don't have time to comment, if you could at least check a reaction button, that will let me know that someone read the post. :)

Enjoy!

After the Fair

Part 1

    Sitting high up on the small shelf, the brown teddy bear looked down with dark, unblinking eyes at the faces of the crowd. Its smile was stitched on slightly crooked, and one of its ears flopped just a little, but around its neck was a large, red bow. Perhaps the bear was hoping to hide its smile, for it seemed to have tipped its head just a little, its nose barely showing above the perky ribbon. The voice of the attendant rang loudly over the babble of talk around the small tent.
    “Come and try it! Only ten cents for five throws. Come on, little lady, step right up and win a prize. Everyone wins a prize. Just throw the ring over one of those pegs and win yourself a doll, a teddy bear, or one of the other fine prizes! Ring ‘em all and choose yer prize. Step right up, sir. Win something for the little lady. Here we go! A gentleman!”
    From his lofty seat right under the roof of the tent where no cooling breeze ever blew, the bear, warm from the sun on the tent roof, watched. A young man with sandy hair, scarcely into his teens, plunked down a dime and picked up the rings. “What d’ya want, Sally?” he asked the girl beside him.
    “Oh, I don’t know. Just win me something, Johnny. I’ll like anything you get me.”
    The crowd laughed a little and nudged one another.
    At this the young man’s face grew red, and he tossed the first ring. It landed over a peg and the crowd cheered. Another ring circled the pin, and a grin of confidence settled on the face of the boy. Each successive toss earned him a ringed pin. With a laugh, after the last pin had been snagged, the boy pointed up towards the top of the tent. “I’ll take that bear up there.”
    The attendant turned around and grabbed the arm of a lower bear, one with a green bow.
    “No, not him. I want the red bow.”
    “Listen, bud,” the attendant said, “you can pick which prize ya get, but that don’t mean you can decide which of them specific things ya get.”
    “Aw, come on,” a man in the crowd called, “let ‘em have the one they want.”
    “Yeah,” cried out another voice. “What’s the matter with that other bear? Got a diamond ring hidden in it?”
    A laugh went around the bystanders.
    “Come on, be a good sport and get ‘em the bear they want.”
    The attendant was growing flustered. “There’s not diamond rings or anything else different about that bear,” he snarled. “It’s jest hard ta get without knockin’ everything over.”
    Looking down, the bear saw the girl tug on the boy’s arm, and though he couldn’t hear what she was saying, he thought she might be pleading for the bear with the green bow because the boy shook his head. “It says on the sign that I could pick my own prize. I want the red bow.”
    “What for, sonny?” a man asked, pushing his way forward, the hot summer sun shining on his policeman’s badge.
    The boy shrugged. “I like red is all. My mom’s cherry pies, the red geraniums on the porch, the scarf my grandma knitted me last winter–” He gave another shrug. “Just like red.”
    With a scowl, the attendant turned back around and reached up. Snagging the teddy bear’s foot, he jerked him down. It was a good thing the bear’s head was stuffed with soft cotton because he hit it against the shelf on its way down after his legs.
    “Here.”
    The world spun a bit before the bear landed in the boy’s arms upside-down. He was quickly righted and passed into the girl’s arms. “Now let’s go get something to eat.”
    The bear wasn’t hungry, being stuffed with stuffing until his tummy was round and firm, but he didn’t mind going along for the ride.

    Soon the bear found himself seated on a table leaning against nothing. It took him a little while to get the hang of hunching forward instead of resting against something solid, but it wasn’t difficult he decided, after the boy and girl had helped him.
    The boy shoved the bow down a little and grinned. “His smile looks like he’s got a joke.”
    Laughing, the girl fluffed the bow again, careful to keep the bear’s face from being hidden this time. “I think he looks a bit like you,” she retorted, picking up her hot dog.

Have you ever been to a fair?

If so, have you ever won a prize there?

What color ribbon would you want on your bear?