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Notes: Individual authors The setting of each story is
Stories on this page: 1. The Santa Hunt 2. The Swimming Hole 3. The Bear That Read 4. The Aftermath of 5. Sweet Home
Alabama 6. The Annoying
Parrot
7. A Big-League
Dreamer 8. Fishing (1962) 9. The Key Lime Pie 10. The Termite Storm 11. Super Dog 12. Bronto on the
Beach
13. Uncle Bob to the
Rescue 14. Real Storms
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Mom and Dad, Thank you for letting a little boy chase a This ring for me more than represents an This ring belongs much more to you than it Your son, |
Since the sad death of Jim’s dad, his mother still holds the ring with pride and honor.
Rogan Pransky; Ohio, USA
8.
Fishing
Lake White Cloud, Michigan, USA; 1962
Once when my mom was a kid, she was taken with her brothers on a fishing trip to Lake White Cloud, Michigan. When my grandpa and my uncles were setting up the lines, getting bait, choosing who would get what rod, what line they would use — all the things you need to do in order to fish — my grandma and my mom were going around the shore picking flowers. Then my grandpa yelled, “Hey, Marjorie, it is time to fish!”
My mom replied, “Coming, Dad.” And then the fishing began.
My uncles, my mom, my grandpa, and my napping grandma had been sitting there for a while when my uncle just spontaneously shouted out, “Hey, Dad, I think something is happening with rod #3.”
“Good eye, Dave; I think that is your line getting a tug.” And so it turned out that my uncle Dave got the first fish — and it was a beautiful trout. My grandpa was very proud. He was thinking to himself, “That is my firstborn son.”
All that changed, though, when my other uncle got his first tug on line #2, but he had a harder time pulling in his catch, because he was not as strong as his older brother. But eventually Dan got his catch in. It was even more amazing than Dave’s fish, because Dan caught a gigantic walleye. Then my grandpa changed his mind and thought, “That is my favorite son.”
The fishing continued, but line #1 never got a tug. My mom especially waited and waited, but nothing happened. The rod just sat there sleeping. When my grandpa started to take the line out, he handed it to my mom saying, “Here. This is for you.”
My mom hesitated for a second, and as she was reaching for the rod, a humongous blur pounced out of the water. Everybody stood in shock and awe as they stared at what looked like a rainbow. It was actually a stunning rainbow trout waiting in cold, dark silence on the hook. Everybody broke out in “Oooooooooooh” and “Ahhhhhhhh” — except my mom. She was like the fish, sitting in silence. This time my grandpa didn’t just think it but shouted out, laughing, “That is my favorite daughter! Who would have thought this girl right here could fish?”
It was great hearing this story because of the comedy and the lesson that you never give up. If my mom had not hesitated, the fish would have missed the hook and swum away.
Adi Elinoff; Colorado, USA
9.
The Key Lime Pie
Gainesville, Florida, USA; c. 1964
My mom tells me this story, time and time again, about the key lime pie.
Once upon a time there was a family of four. In our story we only meet three. Their names were Marc, Karen, and their mother, Richelle (my grandmother).
One day Richelle decided to make a pie — not any pie, but a key lime pie. Richelle worked very, very hard on this pie, putting on whipped-cream puffs and key lime slices, and trying to make it perfect.
She tasted some of the pie right as it finished, and then found out that she had forgotten the sugar! The pie was so sour that you could not eat one bite without exploding. It was sour beyond belief! But since she had worked very hard on it, and because it was so beautiful, Richelle couldn’t bear to throw it away. She kept it, hoping she would find a good way to use it without throwing it out.
Every morning Marc would find some leftovers from dinner and take them into Karen’s crib, and he and Karen would eat them for breakfast. Sometimes it was spaghetti, sometimes it was meatloaf — whatever they’d had for dinner, the leftovers became breakfast.
The morning after Richelle made the sour pie, Marc found it and decided, “Hey — pie! That’s good; we’ll have this for breakfast!” (not knowing that Richelle had forgotten the sugar). He took the pie and went into Karen’s crib with a couple of spoons.
Later Richelle went to Karen’s crib, expecting pasta or something. Instead, she found an empty pie tin, two full toddlers, and a couple of crumbs. She was so surprised that Marc and Karen had eaten the entire sugarless pie all by themselves! Richelle was astounded that her two toddlers had eaten an entire pie that was too sour for even a grown-up to bear.
To this day, it is a mystery how two toddlers ate the sour key lime pie. This story is a story that my mom always tells guests whenever we are having key lime pie for dessert. This story isn’t very meaningful, but our family always loves to tell it. This story is meaningful to me, because my mom has passed this story on to me, so I will pass this story down to my children.
Jonah R. Defez; Colorado, USA
10.
The Termite Storm
Graie Town, Nimba County, Liberia; 1966–1968
When my aunt Linda was twenty-one years old, she joined the Peace Corps and traveled to Liberia in Africa. She was going to Graie Town in Nimba County to help with education. She taught elementary grades, such as first and fourth. Everyone wanted an education, so the students would walk miles and hours from their homes, carrying their chairs on their heads. The students’ grade levels were determined by how much English they knew, so the first graders ranged in age anywhere from five years old to thirty years old.
In Graie Town, there was no electricity. The people did not have clocks; therefore, they went to bed when the sun went down. There was one road, and the town was no bigger than a city block. There was only one store, and all of the houses were mud and stick structures with either a thatched or a tin roof.
My aunt was in Liberia for two years.
One year, just before the first rain, thousands and thousands of termites would all fly up into the air. A person would be stationed in an open area to watch the termites all night long. If the termites landed, then the person would run through the swirling black hurricane and wake up the entire town.
The next step would be to dig a giant hole and lure the termites in. They did this by taking a stick with fire on one end and putting it in the pit. After the termites were killed by the fire, they would be spread out onto a mat and dried by the sun. Then, after they were dried, they would be tossed into the air. In the air, the wings would blow off and away, and the bodies would fall back down to earth. Then they would be cooked and salted. The people of Graie Town loved these termites. Even my aunt tried them and liked them. These termites were a great source of protein and energy.
My aunt Linda loved her time in Liberia and wanted to go back. But when she arrived in America, a huge civil war broke out in Liberia. She couldn’t go back. She was very concerned about her friends that she had made in Liberia. My aunt was afraid that they might have gotten caught up in the violence.
My aunt stayed in America, but she will never forget about all of her wonderful experiences in Liberia. She hopes that others can understand the importance of sharing and helping others in our world.
Hannah Marvin; Missouri, USA
11.
Super Dog
Wolbach, Nebraska, USA; c. 1968
It was 1968 in the outskirts of Wolbach, Nebraska. My mother’s family consisted of her parents, her brothers (Steven, Kevin, Larry, and Alan), her sister (Connie), and a dog named Sparky. They were in for an exciting day. They just didn’t know it yet.
BOOM!
The family was in the house when everyone was startled by a loud, unusual noise. Sparky, the brown and white farm dog, went completely crazy and began to run around the house. Grandpa said, “What the heck are you doing? Stop running in the house, Sparky!”
The dog knew, however, that something bad was going to happen that day, but he wasn’t sure when. He was, however, going to do something about it!
The six children were in the living room playing games when Sparky came running through and trampled their board game. All the kids yelled, “Sparky! You just ruined our game!” Sparky ran to the window to see if anything was going on, but all was silent. No grasshoppers were chirping; no birds were singing. It seemed like the family was the only one left in the whole world.
Sparky had been thinking about how he was going to save the family from the storm, but first he had to learn what kind of storm it was. He had guessed it was a tornado because of the way the other farm animals were acting. The cows were all huddled in the corner of the pasture with their backs against the fence. That was when it hit Sparky: He knew he needed to lead the family to the storm cellar.
When the storm came, it was fiercer than a raging bull. There was a huge gale of wind. The rain sounded like bullets hitting the house. Sparky knew it was time to save the family. He started to scratch frantically at the door. Grandpa said, “I think he is trying to tell us something!”
The family started to follow the barking, yelping dog. Sparky quickly led them down to the underground storm cellar. All of them rushed into the cellar just in the nick of time. The deadly tornado hit the farm with tremendous force! They could hear it ripping and tearing the whole farm apart. The family was shaking in fear and praying that the house was still up.
Suddenly, it all just stopped. The wind was no longer blowing; the rain was no longer pelting down. The cows were mooing, and the horses were neighing, sounding as though they were relieved to be living.
The family came cautiously out of the underground cellar. Huge trees had been torn up by the roots. The fence was completely wrecked. But the house was still standing. The main relief, though, was that they were still alive, all thanks to Sparky. They all grabbed Sparky, hugging and petting him. Everyone cried, “Good dog! You saved us!”
Sparky, the “super dog,” was happy with himself and happy that the family was safe.
Michael Schumacher; Nebraska, USA
12.
Bronto on the Beach
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA; c. 1968
My grandpa likes to tell stories. This is one of his favorite stories — and mine, too.
“In about 1968, when I was in high school, some of my friends and I were part of a drum and bugle corps called the Warriors. One night two of my friends, who had been drinking and were not thinking straight, were walking by a Sinclair gas station. They saw the large brontosaurus mascot on the top of the building. They thought it would be fun to cut it down and transfer it to Lake Winnebago, which was three or four miles away.
“A few weeks later, I snuck out and borrowed my dad’s truck. One of my friends borrowed his dad’s snowmobile trailer. We drove to the gas station, where some of us went on top with bolt cutters to cut the heavy cables that held the dinosaur down. As we took the dinosaur over the edge of the building, it swung against the metal building and made a lot of noise! This was at 1:00 a.m. We were able to hold on to it, despite it swinging. We got it on the trailer and covered it with a tarp. We drove to Lake Winnebago, and some of us rode the floating dinosaur, since it was full of air, fifty feet into the water.
“The next morning a patrolman found the dinosaur as it appeared out of the morning fog on Lake Winnebago’s beach. Someone called the newspaper, and they took a picture of it. The picture appeared on the front page of the newspaper. My dad saw the newspaper and thought it was pretty funny. He did not know, of course, that I had used his truck to do it.
“A few weeks later my friends and I went to a party. All the girls and boys from the drum and bugle corps knew what we had done, so they cut out the article from the newspaper. We did something really stupid — we autographed the articles. The worst part was that one of the boys’ uncles was the chief of police! I think that is how the police found out about it.
“A few days later I was sleeping late when the phone rang. My mom answered it, didn’t say much, and hung up. She came into my room, where I was still half asleep, and said, ‘Mark, do you know anything about a dinosaur?’
“Nervously, I replied, ‘Yes, I know something about a dinosaur.’ We went to the police station, where I had to pay twenty dollars for destruction of property, probably to replace the metal cables.”
My grandpa and his friends were also going to steal a large plastic rocket from the Rocket Olds car dealership and put it in someone’s tree. Because of this experience, they decided not to. This story was funny, but you really should not do this. My grandpa was fortunate that all he had to do was pay twenty dollars.
Elisabeth G. Knutson; Wisconsin, USA
13.
Uncle Bob to the Rescue
Greeley, Nebraska, USA; 1970
This is one of the stories from my mother’s childhood. It is very exciting, and it makes me realize how important she is to me. Her life-risking story stars her heroic uncle.
It was 1970, Easter Sunday, and my mom’s relatives were at her grandmother’s house for their Easter gathering. Everyone was inside and enjoying a huge feast.
After their meal, Mom and her cousins went outside for an Easter egg hunt. After finding all the eggs, they started climbing the huge hill to get to the old jeep they always played on. It was the only vehicle up on that hill, and no one knew why it was there in the first place. The steep hill was very bumpy and rough, and was very hard to climb. At the bottom of the hill was the house, and just beyond the house was a huge twenty-five-foot-deep ravine.
Mom and her cousins started wrestling around in the old jeep, having a really good time. One of the cousins pretended he was driving the jeep. He was playing with the gearshift when he accidentally put the jeep into “drive.” Suddenly they all felt a jerk, and then they started rolling rapidly down the hill. Everyone in the jeep was scared to death and hung on to anything they could find. Then all of them started yelling for help, but no one inside the house heard them. They were all sure they would go over the cliff and that would be the end of them.
From inside the house, Mom’s uncle Bob just happened to glance out the window. He saw the runaway jeep flying down the hill, so he yelled to everyone else in the house as he dashed outside. The jeep was almost at the bottom of the hill and was heading for the cliff at a high speed.
Uncle Bob ran after the screaming children as fast as he could go, but the jeep was still gaining speed. He ran as hard as his legs would carry him and finally reached the jeep. He jumped inside and slammed on the brake as hard as he could. He stopped the jeep right before the edge of the cliff!
The children all gave out a sigh of relief, but they were still shaking and crying. After Uncle Bob calmed all of them down, they went to find their parents. Their parents were grateful that no one was hurt, and thanked Uncle Bob for his heroic act. They asked him how he did it, and he didn’t even know the answer to that question.
Everyone knows still today that if Uncle Bob hadn’t stopped the jeep and saved their lives, no one would ever have seen their children again. Yet no one knows how Bob got to the jeep when it was going at that rate of speed. They do know, though, that Uncle Bob is a true hero.
MaKenna Rother; Nebraska, USA
14.
Real Storms
international waters between Sweden and Denmark; c. 1971
If you asked my parents, they would both tell you they love sailing. You could ask them if they’ve been in storms, and they would say yes. But you have to understand, when they say “storms,” they mean real storms — like seriously-injure-or-kill kinds of storms. Especially with my mom.
My mom grew up in Germany. When she was thirteen, she found an article in the newspaper about a nonprofit organization that renovated old windjammers (a type of sailboat) and took on crews of teenagers to be supervised by a few nautical officers on a long sailing trip. She thought it sounded fun, so she sent a letter with her application. Well, they accepted her, so she packed her bags and went to the rendezvous point, a small town in Germany called Travemünde, just north of Lübeck. From there, they departed in a restored 100-year-old wooden windjammer with three or four sails.
When they went aboard, they were welcomed and taught the locations of the bunks, the galley,* etc. There were about fifteen kids living on a boat that was approximately 120 feet long. They were assigned four-hour shifts for the watch, two shifts apiece, six kids on watch at all times. The plotted course would take them around Denmark through the Kattegat and the Skagerrak, the bodies of water separating Denmark and Sweden.
As they were heading into the Kattegat, the officers saw storm clouds gathering, boiling up into a harsh, thundering mass of darkness. The officers began listening to the weather radio and confirmed their worst suspicions. The wind continued to build, making the waves choppy and severe, so the crew started reefing** the sails. Then the storm hit. The captain quickly realized that reefing the sails wasn’t going to be enough, so he roared into the gale, “All hands on deck! You four, take down the sails!”
My mom was part of the group the captain told to take down the sails, so they started heading to the bow*** to take down the foresail,**** but in the confusion of trying to take down the sail and battle the waves and listen to the captain, they lost control of the main line that held the foresail to the bow. The wind was the ringmaster, the rope his whip, snapping back and forth. One of the girls reached out to restrain it, but with one swift crack, it snapped her arm like a twig. Several officers came forward and helped tie up the sail. They then doubled up into groups of eight for the rest of the sails.
The storm blew them off course, and they had to sail even farther off course to the nearest hospital for the girl with the broken arm, but at least she was alive and well, more or less. And the next time, when they hit storms that were even worse, they were ready.
* A galley is a ship’s kitchen.
** Reefing means folding or rolling up part of a sail so that less of the sail is exposed to the wind.
*** The bow is the front part of a ship.
**** The foresail is a sail in the bow of a ship.
Alex Souris; Texas, USA
Read additional stories from the Vol. 6 books:
- Stories dated 1665 – 1939
- Stories dated 1939 – 1948
- Stories dated 1975 – 1999
View the illustrations in Grannie Annie, Vol. 6
Sneak a peek at Grannie Annie, Vol. 6 Expanded
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