14 Thanksgiving and the Fun Fall Months

CHAPTER 14 Thanksgiving and the Fun Fall Months After a successful harvest of all the gardens, Plumfield closed its windows and prepared for fall. With the October frosts came shorter days and longer nights spent by the cheery fire playing games, reading, and talking. But the activity everyone loved the most was storytelling. Each night Mother Jo or Father

Bhaer would tell the boys a tall tale. Sometimes they would be so scared by the end of the story that heading upstairs for the night became an adventure of looking under beds and opening up closet doors. One night, when everyone was getting up to mischief and calling one another names in the playroom, Franz, who was watching them, decided that enough was enough. "From now on, everyone who enters the room must tell a story—those are the rules. And no more jokes, especially you, Tommy. It will be fun to see who comes in first." Tommy scowled at being the only one called out and said, "Thunder turtles!" under his breath. The boys didn't have long to wait before Mother Jo came into the room to find Nan. She was making a new dress for the growing girl and needed to measure her. The boys led Jo into the playroom by the hand and demanded a story. She laughed and said, "Am I the first meek mouse

you cats have caught?" "Yes!" Tommy shouted. "But who better to start off our game with than you, Mother Jo?" "Well, what shall I tell you about?" Jo wondered. "I know. I'll tell you the tale of 'The Suspected Boy.'" Before she started, she smiled and winked at Nat, who blushed a little, as he always did when someone paid attention to him. Then Jo told a story about a small boy living in a house, somewhat like Plumfield, filled up with boys who needed to be taught lessons like not stealing gooseberries and always telling the truth. Jo was about to start her second story when little Rob came tumbling into the playroom in his pajamas. "I heard noise," he said as he rubbed his eyes, "and I wanted to know what was going on." "You march right back into bed," Jo said, but she was interrupted by Demi, who shouted, "He has to tell us a story, Aunt Jo. It's the law!"

Rob's story was three lines long and involved a water pump, a boy, and a great fall—much to the merriment of all listening. Then Father Bhaer came into the room saying, "What's going on in here?" The children all fell into laughter once again and enforced their law. Father Bhaer sat down beside his wife and put his hand on his chin for a moment. "I know the perfect story!" he said. Eyes grew wide and there were shouts of "oh no!" and "really!" as Father Bhaer told the tale of the time Jo's father, known to them as Grandfather March, was almost robbed—and how his kindness toward the man stopped the evil deed from happening. At the end of the story, Father Bhaer stood up. The boys surrounded him, trying to pull him back down to tell another story. He barely escaped to his study, and he sent the laughing boys racing back into the playroom. Finally the boys settled on a lively game of

blind man's bluff, and apologies were made for earlier name calling. By the time the night bell rang for bed, imaginations were stirring from a grand night of storytelling. As the fall progressed, everyone grew more and more excited. Thanksgiving was by far the favorite holiday at Plumfield. For days beforehand, the girls helped Jo and Asia in the kitchen, making pies and puddings, dusting off the good dishes, and sorting fruit. The boys hovered outside, impatient to taste whatever was cooking—it smelled so delicious! A general air of hustle and bustle filled the house. Even the great pumpkin Rob had grown in the garden couldn't help but be busy—it was turned into a half-dozen golden pies! When at last the day came, the boys went off

for a long walk in the woods so they might have a grand appetite for dinner. The girls stayed back and helped set the table before they hid themselves away in the schoolroom to prepare a grand performance. Hardy little Teddy stood guard at the schoolroom door and refused to let anyone in, especially his father. When Nan finally came out of the room, she said, "It's all done, and it's perfect!" Daisy added, "Franz knows exactly what to do now, and then we're all set." "The boys are coming," Nan said. "I hear them now. We'd better go get ready for dinner." The girls raced upstairs to get dressed in their good clothes as the boys returned from their walk. Faces were scrubbed and jackets were brushed off and put on. With combed hair and glowing cheeks, the children filed into the dining room the minute the bell rang. The meal contained so many wonderful things the children had grown themselves that they each