Did you ever want something really badly? Well, one of my Fern Valley kids knows exactly how you feel. Sammie Gruff, an only child and somewhat shy individual, recently saw a bike that she wanted and this is the story of her and that bike.
The
Bike
It was shiny chrome and candy apple
red with a white basket and a squeaker horn. It was absolutely the best bike
Sammie Gruff had ever seen. As she stood there admiring the new bike at the end
of the ladder aisle in Mr. Flocks Hardware store, she could already imagine
herself riding it down the main street. Sammie had a dream that she had never
told anyone yet, and that was to own a brand new girl’s bike.
Sammie had an old bike which had
been handed down to her from a cousin. But it was a boy’s bike with no basket
and lots of dings and scrapes. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful for the bike.
Sammie was always the most grateful and pleasant goat you could find in Fern
Valley. Any of her friends would
tell you so. It was just that she had never had a brand new bike before.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said under
her breath.
“What did you say dear,” said Mr.
Flock who was walking past with a box of new hammers. He set them down and
began scratching behind his wooly black head. “Now where am I going to put
these hammers,” he said to no one in particular. He had already forgotten he
had even asked Sammie a question. Mr. Flock was like that. He was one of the
nicest sheep you could ever meet and an extremely fair merchant, but he was
easily distracted.
“Nothing,” Sammie answered as she
left the store and headed for home. Four blocks down from the Hardware store
and three more blocks to the left was Sammie’s home. It was a beautiful
Victorian house with stained glass windows and an enormous front porch. As she
let herself in the front door, she could hear her mother singing in the
kitchen.
Sammie’s mother Martha was in the
same choir as Betsy Woolrich’s Grandmother and could often be found singing
hymns as she cooked, cleaned, or just sat relaxing. It always made Sammie feel
warm and happy inside to hear her mother sing joyfully to the Lord.
Sammie went into the kitchen and
sat down at the table. Her mother was putting a noodle casserole in the stove,
so she didn’t see or hear Sammie come in. When she turned around, she let out a
startled noise. “Oh hello muffin, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said. “So
what have you been up to this fine summer day,” she asked?
“Well,” Sammie said a bit
hesitantly, “I was at the hardware store and I saw the most beautiful bike ever
made.”
“Really, said her mother with a
smile in her eyes. “And what made this particular bike so beautiful?”
Sammie spent the next ten minutes
explaining the beauties of the bike. It’s shiny chrome, its perfect color, the
useful basket, its newness, and the fact that it was made for a girl. Her
hesitancy turned to excitement as she explained the dream she had to own such a
bike.
“I see,” said her mother. “Well,
let’s discuss it when daddy comes home from work.”
It was another hour before Mr.
Gruff got home and they sat down to dinner. As her mother scooped generous
helpings of noodle casserole and green beans onto each plate, Sammie told her
father all about the bike.
“Since you already had your
birthday last month, perhaps we could come to some sort of an agreement if you
really want this bike.”
“Oh yes, daddy,” Sammie nodded
eagerly.
“You might want to wait until you
hear the bargain,” he laughed. Mr. Gruff agreed to pay for half of the bike if
Sammie would pay for the other half. This meant that she would have to do extra
chores around the house and neighborhood to earn enough money.
Since the bike sold for forty
dollars, she needed twenty dollars to pay for her half. She had seven dollars
left from her birthday, so that meant she had to come up with another thirteen
dollars. She thought that should be a cinch. Well, she hoped it would a cinch.
She noticed Mrs. Rocky the elderly goat who lived next door had a lot of weeds
in her flower garden. Maybe in the morning she would see if Mrs. Rocky needed
help weeding.
Sammie was awake with the sun the
next morning, and after quickly dressing and practically inhaling a bowl of
cereal she was out the door. She rang Mrs. Rocky’s doorbell and patiently
waited. When Mrs. Rocky answered the door, she invited her in.
“It’s so good to see you dear,” she
said.
“It’s nice to see you too Mrs.
Rocky,” Sammie said politely.
“And what are you up to this
summer.”
“Well,” said Sammie who was
suddenly attacked with a case of shyness, “I was wondering if you had any odd
jobs like weeding that I could do. I’m trying to save money for a new bike.”
Mrs. Rocky smiled encouragingly at
Sammie. “As a matter of fact dear, I could really use some help weeding the
flowers. I could also use some help cleaning out the attic. You know I’m not as
young as I used to be.”
So after a few instructions, Sammie
got busy weeding. Mrs. Rocky had a large lot with several flower beds, so it
took Sammie the better part of the morning and afternoon to finish the weeding.
After she was done, they agreed that the attic would have to wait until the
next day.
“Mother, Mrs. Rocky paid me two
dollars for weeding her flowers,” Sammie said excitedly as soon as she got
home.
“That’s wonderful dear,” her mother
said as she added some pepper to the black bean soup she was making. “How much
more do you need?”
“I only need eleven more dollars.
And tomorrow I am going to help Mrs. Rocky clean out her attic.”
“Well, that should be quite
interesting. I don’t think Mrs. Rocky has cleaned out that attic for at least
twenty years.”
Sammie’s mother was right. Mrs.
Rocky’s attic was crammed full of odds-n-ends of things. In one corner stood
several tall dressers with old clothes peeking out of the overstuffed drawers
and in the other corner were all manner of lamps, baby strollers, tricycles,
plant pots, pictures, and boxes. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust
which made Mrs. Rocky and Sammie start to sneeze. “Why don’t you begin by
opening those two windows,” said Mrs. Rocky.
They spent the whole day dusting,
sorting, and organizing. One pile was to be picked up by the thrift store man,
one pile was to be given to Mrs. Rocky’s grandchildren, and one pile was for
the trash barrel. Sammie began carrying the trash pile down an armload at a
time. By the time the two of them finished the attic, Sammie was one dirty,
hungry, and tired child.
“You’ve done a fine job Sammie,”
said Mrs. Rocky as she handed her a ten dollar bill.
Sammie could hardly believe it. She
had never earned ten whole dollars before. She hugged Mrs. Rocky so hard she
about toppled the woman over. This meant she would only need to earn one more
dollar. Sammie thanked Mrs. Rocky again and headed home to show her mother.
As she lay in bed that night,
Sammie wondered what she could do to earn that last dollar. Nothing came to
mind immediately so she just said her prayers and went to sleep.
The next morning when her father
had learned she only needed one more dollar he asked if she wanted to help him
wash the car.
“Oh, yes daddy. Thank you very
much.”
Sammie was eager to earn her last
dollar, but she also wanted to do a good job for her daddy so she took her
time. Her father washed and rinsed the high parts and Sammie washed and rinsed
the low parts and the wheels. Finally they were done and Sammie had enough for
her half of the bike purchase.
“Can we go to the hardware store
now,” she begged her father.
“Yes, muffin, I just need to grab
my keys and wallet from the house,” he said.
Sammie was already in the car
waiting when her father returned. He just smiled and got in the car. Sammie,
who was usually pretty quiet, chatted all the way to Mr. Flocks. Once there,
she quickly found Mr. Flock and told him she wanted to purchase the bike. As
she counted out her twenty dollars and added it to the twenty her father had
already set on the counter, Sammie felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
Not only would she be the owner of the most beautiful girl’s bike ever made,
she had also worked hard to earn it and that felt really good.
“I’ll see you at home,” she told
her father as she mounted her new bike outside of the hardware store.
“OK muffin,” he said. “Have a good
ride home.”
“I will daddy,” she said. And he
knew that she would.
If you enjoyed this story of how Sammie learned as she earned, then you will probably also enjoy the other eleven stories in my book
Fern Valley-A Collection of Short Stories which is available in both paperback and Kindle versions. So what are you waiting for, go get your very own copy right now.
Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!
