By Arem Roder
Today, Emil and his little sister Alma…found something!
Emil and Alma lived many steps up a clovered hill near a piney cove called “Hereunto.”
A round town, Hereunto had pine trees of uneven heights, some blue and some ever green - that lined wedged paths leading to a center of sky top and meadow bottom.
Based on their belief that there are three sides to every story; what you saw, what I saw, and what God saw, their homes had three sides.
Before one entered the front door on the big side, they’d pass a garden of carrots, sage, turnips, potatoes, onions, basil, parsley, sweet corn, tomatoes, beans, peas and pumpkins.
Lilies, Gladiolas, Hollyhocks, hyacinths and climbing roses, looped this way and that.
Sweet peas followed the garden’s track, stopping where the big trail began.
The side door came out of the kitchen. “Toos” (What town people were called.) could walk all the way around their homes, and get all their work done.
Every Toos had at least one horse, a milk cow and some chickens, and a back door that opened into their field and coupes.
“Untoos,” people like Emil and Alma, lived outside of town on farms, where they had lots of land to grow cows, pigs, sheep, clovers and grain.
Chapter 2
Emil, a bit tall and a whole lot skinny nine year old boy, dressed ready for wherever a day might take him. Orange and navy stripped T-shirt tucked under pale brown overalls. His one good green cap shaded his freckles, and gray boots with solid leather soles and thick heels carried him in and out of adventures.
And today...he found the best adventure.
Chapter 3
Alma liked to pretend she was a princess.
Wearing a burgundy blue plaid skirt... with tiny lilacs embroidered on the button down suspenders... over a puffed sleeved blouse, helped.
She tried hard, to comb a straight part down the middle of her light yellow hair and into short bangs that were always straighter than her part.
But Alma was only five... and still learning things.
Only yesterday she teached her shoe strings to stay where she put them.
And today...she found something too!
Chapter 4
Running towards their Grandpa, Emil and Alma breathlessly whooped “Grandpa! Grandpa! We found something!”
“Some thing, that looks…uh…maybe…uh…like a saddle?” said Emil.
“A treasure!” said Alma, clapping her pudgy hands. “We found uh…yes! Treasure!”
Looking up from the small block of soft fir he was whittling on, Grandpa Nature softly asked, “Tell me what you saw Alma…Emil…”
“Well Grandpa, I’m not sure…we tried to lift it…but it’s stuck!” said Emil, scooching his right foot into the dirt.
“Yes Grandpa. We wanted to bring it to you…we pushed it…wiggled it…rocked it…but it wouldn’t move! It’s stuck, stuck, stuck!” said Alma, jumping, tugging at air.
Suddenly she stopped, drooping her little head down hard.
Chapter 5
Grandpa Nature gently folded his knife and layed it and the wood carefully on a short workbench kept close to his rocking chair.
He sat very, very still, studying Alma and Emil's faces.
His rugged hand stroked the gold fur on Sundrop's back.
Sundrop, a squatty, smiley mutt, turned her head back and forth from Alma to Emil, back to Grandpa Nature.
Watching, waiting, she could feel something really important was about to happen.
Slowly, Grandpa stood up and walked over to the iron hook that held his grey felt hat.
"Well..." said Grandpa while snuggin' the hat onto his head, "Where is this...stuck thing...you think...looks like a saddle? Maybe I can help."
Chapter 6
"Please! Follow me Grandpa! It's down there by the fat trees..." A backwards running Email shouted.
Grandpa gathered up Alma's tiny hand in his, and began walking.
Alma always felt so safe...and proud being with her Grandpa Nature.
She knew he was tall enough to see over the tallest tree in Hereunto.
