Stories I wonder if I should include

One such story is Who Is Poor Will

Tell me the truth.

It was the first day of spring. It had been a very warm day. The frogs were out splashing here and there; the lizards were in rare form. Wooffer had a fine time all day long, chasing first one then diving for the other. Now, it was evening, and he was just dozing off, lying on the sofa with his mom and watching television.

He barely heard it. He was almost asleep, but there it was again. He listened without raising his head at first. It was a mournful, clear call. “Whip poor will … Whip poor will!” At first Wooffer thought he had been dreaming. “Whip poor will! … Whip poor will!” the sound came clear and crisp over the cool night air. There was no other sound… just “Whip poor will!” … over and over again. Wooffer sat up and listened with all his ears. “Whip poor will! Whip poor will!”

He ran to the door and barked out, “Who is poor Will? Who is whipping poor Will?”

But the answer he got back was “Whip poor will, Whip poor will!” and nothing more. The eerie call stopped and there was no other sound on the wind.

It puzzled Wooffer a great deal. He went to sleep that night thinking of poor Will, and why someone would want to whip him. It was a restless night for Wooffer. He would wake up suddenly thinking he had heard poor Will crying, and listen for a long time… but no sound ever came. Finally, he just lay awake, waiting for the sun to come over the horizon. He had decided to look for poor Will … if morning ever came.

When the sun got just above the trees, Wooffer wanted to go out. He leaped from the porch, and went to the spot that he thought the sound “Whip poor will” had come from. All he could smell was bird feathers. He was not sure it was the right spot. But nothing was there to help him find poor Will.

All day, Wooffer asked everyone he came across if they had ever seen poor Will. Mr. A.A. Corn said, “I had a cousin named Will once, but he was not poor. No, No, No, not by any means “poor.” He had more acorns in his vaults than any squirrel I ever knew. Selfish, too. Would not share a single acorn.”

Wooffer left Mr. A.A. Corn still muttering about the stingy cousin Will, and found Old Agnes, who did not even know what a Will was … and on and on.

No animal had ever heard of poor Will. At last, it was getting close to dark, and Wooffer lay on the front porch, just thinking of what he should do next when Cho Lee Yen came limping into the front yard and up to the porch. “You look a little long in the ears, Wooffer,” said Cho Lee. “What is the matter?” Cho Lee had been off to Lester’s Field all day, visiting Ibie the Ibis and chatting with Maudie, the old horse that lived there.

Wooffer explained the whole thing to Cho Lee … how he had heard the words “Whip poor will,” and how he had been looking for poor Will all day, with no luck at all. Wooffer sighed a disappointed sigh, and put his head down on his front paws.

Cho Lee smiled to himself. He did love Wooffer very much. “I know about poor Will,” he said, very quietly. Wooffer sat up straight and listened.

“What you heard was a bird call,” continued Cho Lee. “You see, every bird has a call, that they use to say ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Night’, depending on whether it is morning or night. All birds can understand the call of every bird no matter what kind of bird they are. But every bird has its own language to talk to their own kind, that no other kind of bird understands. Do you see?”

Wooffer did not see.

“Sit here by me, and I will teach you some of the things you do not know,” said Cho Lee. Saying that, Cho Lee gave his own bird call. “NEEE-OOOW, NEEE-OOOW! NEE-OOOW! Now, you must listen very closely, and I will tell you what you hear!”

Wooffer had almost leaped off the porch when Cho Lee had given his call. It was so loud. Wooffer thought he had said, NOW! NOW! NOW! But Cho Lee explained that what he said was, “Day is done! Day is done!” If he had done his call in the morning, it would mean, “Get up and see the sun!”

Wooffer said it did not sound like that at all. Just then, he heard, “PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!”

Cho Lee pointed to a bird in the oak tree, “See, that is the flycatcher calling his good night call. It means, “Good night until the day is new!” and in the morning his call will mean, “Good hunting to all!”

Next, came, “TEA-KETTLE, TEA-KETTLE, TEA-KETTLE!” and Cho Lee pointed to a very small bird with a yellow breast, who was sitting in the branches of the Crepe Myrtle, calling with all his might.

“That is the Carolina wren. He is saying, “Rest safely until the morning dew!” and in the morning it will mean, “Safety to all the whole day through!”

That whole evening, Wooffer sat there on the porch with Cho Lee and listened to every bird call his “Good night” while Cho Lee explained what every bird was saying at night and what it would mean in the morning until the sun was quite down below the horizon. The crickets and the frogs had begun tuning up for the “music of the night”, when the mournful, clear call, “Whip poor will! Whip poor will! Whip poor will!” came piercing the silence of the evening.

Wooffer was on all fours in a second. “That’s the one! What bird is that and what does “WHIP POOR WILL” mean?

Cho Lee listened to the call and cleared his throat. “Well, Wooffer, that is the nighthawk. He only hunts at night. His call of ‘Whip poor will’ means ‘Last one to say good night, first to say good morning!” and in the morning, “First to say good morning, last to say good night!”

Wooffer was so proud to know all these new things, and when he was talking to his mom late that night, he tried to explained how the birds’ calls meant one thing at night and quite another in the morning. His mom listened to all he said, and then she told Wooffer, “I think we should get up very early in the morning and make a picnic of our breakfast, and go out and hear all the birds call “good morning!”

When morning finally came, Wooffer’s mom made fried egg sandwiches and a big thermos of coffee, a big jug of water, and put it all wrapped neatly into a little box. Then she and Wooffer went out to the Old Oak Tree to listen for the “good morning” greetings of all the birds. As they sat there munching on the sandwiches and sipping the coffee and the water, “whip poor will” echoed across the lawn. Wooffer explained that the nighthawk was saying, “First to say good morning, last to say good night!”

The next call came from Reginald, the rooster, “COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOO!”

Margaret, the chicken, and her eleven new little chicks were standing close behind him.

“That’s my dad!” whispered one small chick.

Margaret was smiling from one side of her beak to the other. She looked at Reginald out of one eye and then the other with pride in her heart. He was SO beautiful. She did love him so much.

Wooffer and his mom listened to every call, until at last, Cho Lee’s clear, strong voice was heard throughout the country, “GET UP AND SEE THE SUN! GET UP AND SEE THE SUN! GET UP AND SEE THE SUN!”

The day had begun.

Wooffer’s mom told Wooffer he was “The smartest dog in the whole wide world!” Which put a wag on Wooffer’s tail all day. He loved his mom.



Love,

Betty

Johnny Thorne is a young man of 21. He has just completed his education, and has no clear idea if what he is supposed to do next. That's when he meets a strange man named Daniel. He talks to Daniel about his concerns, and Daniel talks to him about what it all might mean.

I hope that Daniel does as good a job as Cho-Lee and Mom.

I am inspired to keep trying by the story of Poor Will.

Ann

Dear Ann,

I often think you live on a little cleaner air than most people. If anyone can write the conversation between Daniel and Johnny Thorne and have the reader of your lovely books understand what it all means, it is you.

Thank you for your kind words.

How complicated, yet how simple is is the idea of the thread that connects all life together. The reason that your work,The Redstone Valley Trilogy, (stories that encompass time in all it's stages, present time, past time and time forward) resonates, is that you, personally, understand the fluid nature and connection of all time and all life.

I always wonder, while I am about this selection of stories, about how to introduce the characters. If no one had read any of the stories going before this story, whould they be lost and wonder who Cho Lee is? Do I need to have a blanket introduction of characters at the beginning of each story so that people who read the story of Poor Will know that Cho Lee is a peacock? Reading this story out of the context of the whole of the stories, does everyone know that Wooffer is a dog.

Love,

Betty

I am humbled that the Poor Will story has lighted your way.

I would know that Cho-Lee is a large bird that doesn't fly, that Wooffer barks, and I've heard the call of the whippoorwill.

Yes, it is all clear as it stands, but even better as we keep reading and put it all together. The discovery is part of the excitement of the book. The connecting threads are there, because we get that connection, too.

Ann

Loved it, Betty. Just this past week as I was sitting on my balcon watching the little birds chirping, I wondered what they were saying. Words of cheer? Amazing how you are able to create possible answers to the beautiful, yet mysteries sounds.

Dear Ann and Abe,

Thank you for your responses. I think that I will make a character list for each story that not only includes that story, but others as well. The map will kind of build as the stories go on. and show the ditch bank where Old Agnes lives, where Basil and Marygrey live, Wooffer's house, the Chicken's roosting places...the squirrels and The Old Oak Tree the nursery and the pots....Wooffer's Mom, Lester's Field, Ho Chi's pen and the route of her escape, the Stankers bog.....

For each story, individually, the same map can have highlights to show where the story is taking place. In the end, the map will be complete as will the stories. I hope this is a good idea. I hope I have explained this well. I am in a flurry and can see it all as if it is right before my eyes. I can see Old Agnes smiling her odd smile as I write these words.

I love maps in books!



Love,

Betty

It's a great idea, Betty. Look forward to seeing it.
I love maps in books, too.

Ann