Tales from WannaBea Farm

Walking across the pasture to the blackberry patch, my cousin Bobby was watching me enviously as I chomped and chewed on my bubble gum, blowing bubbles, popping them and just thoroughly enjoying my carefully hoarded piece of gum. Finally, he could stand it no longer and asked if I had another piece. Now why on earth did he think I would give him a piece of gum when he was always so mean to me? But thinking quickly, I replied, “Sure, open your mouth and close your eyes”. The dummy did just that! Standing still he obediently closed his eyes and opened his mouth wide as I bent over and broke off a small piece of dried “cow patty”, and popping it into his mouth I turned and ran like the wind for the house where my grandparents and I were visiting.

Spitting and screaming that he was going to get me, he chased me back to the house but I had already reached the safety of my grandmother. He hung around for a while, waiting to catch me away from the grown ups until Aunt Laura asked him where the berries were. Then he reluctantly left again for the berry patch, while I pretended a tummy ache so I wouldn’t have to go with him.

After supper and a delicious blackberry cobbler, the adults settled down to a game of canasta while Bobby, his older brother Jim and I took turns playing the winner at checkers.

“Hey Jim, why don’t we take her on a snipe hunt?” asked Bobby.

“Oh no”, Jim replied, “She’s too little”.

“Am not, I’m almost as old as Bobby and I can do anything he can do”.

We all argued back and forth until my Uncle, hearing the raised voices but not the words, ordered us outside to play, where we continued the argument.

I had never seen a snipe much less been on a snipe hunt and I was really eager to go. Especially after they explained that one person would hold a burlap bag and a flashlight and the others would go into the woods and make noise and the snipes would run towards the light and into the bag.

“Oh yes, please take me, please”, I begged, until at last they agreed to let me go along as it would be better with three people. Not only were they going to take me with them, but they were even going to let me hold the bag. I was so proud.

At twilight we set off for the woods, with me dragging the burlap bag behind me. Reaching a clearing in the woods, we sat down and waited for darkness, while the boys whispered directions to me again.

At last, they handed me the flashlight and the bag, telling me to be very quiet, listen for the noise they would be making, and when the snipes ran into the bag I was to pull it shut, trapping the snipes inside.

I stood there as still as possible, holding the bag in one hand and the flashlight in the other, waiting for them to start yelling and beating the bushes and for the snipes. But, except for a few giggles as they left me there, I didn’t hear any noise, and finally realized that they had left me there alone. Angrily I threw the bag and the flashlight down and started home, all the while thinking that I was being tricked into staying there while they went off to really hunt the snipes.

Arriving back at the house, embarrassed and not wanting anybody to know that I had let them trick me, I sneaked into the bedroom, crawled onto the pallet on the other side my grandparents bed, and quickly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Bobby and Jim, crept back to the clearing, intending on scaring me, but instead, finding the bag and the still lit flashlight, they immediately went into panic mode. They searched half the night, not knowing what could have happened to me and scared to face their parents and grandparents. Finally realizing that they needed help they mustered up the courage to go home and face the music.

A search party was organized and everybody fanned out into the woods, searching for me, while blissfully unaware, and unseen on the floor, I slept on. Around 2:00am I awoke, needing the bathroom and nearly scared my poor grandmother to death when I walked up on her crying at the kitchen table and innocently asked why she was upset.

The next day as we left, I stuck my tongue out and waved good-bye at Bobby and Jim as they stood next to the huge barn with their paint brushes, watching us leave. Then they turned and continued with their punishment…. painting the barn, after their other punishment that was administered behind the barn.

To this day they still think that I deliberately put one over on them. And of course, I never told them different!