Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Gossip Mill (05/08/14)
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TITLE: Ginseng theft | Previous Challenge Entry
By Robert Douglas Brown
05/14/14 -
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“Well, it is about time that you two showed up. What prey-tale is your excuse for being two minutes late?”
“Please forgive us Queen Molly; Toe-Top overslept by 20 seconds, and I, Aaron Siegel, forgot to tie one of my tennis shoes.”
The three kids laughed merrily as they made their way to Grandpa Jim-Top’s back porch screen door. Molly lightly tapped on the door, and they waited patiently for an answer.
“Hello my young friends, I see you are up early and ready for Ginseng hunting. There’s plenty, and all I ask is that you bring to me what you collect and we will sort things out.”
Grandpa Jim-Tom owned over 250 acres that were some of the best for growing Ginseng throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way from North Carolina through West Virginia.
“My young friends, please follow my rules. I am going to give you each 150 Ginseng seeds. What I ask for you to do when you unearth the Ginseng root, plant 2-3 seeds in the ground where you removed the root. Please limit the number of roots that your harvest to 20. This should give you about ¼ pound of Ginseng and enough money for your charity.”
Not long after the loss of each kid’s father, the threesome decided to start a charity to assist families in Pine Mountain that lived in poverty with food, clothing and other needs that families faced.
“Toe-Top why don’t all three of us work together instead of alone? I am sure each of you remember Jim-Ed Haskle getting lost for two days when he decided to work by himself gathering ginseng on Grandpa Jim-Tom’s property.” spoke Molly.
“You are right Molly, I think we should stay together and work as a team.” spoke Aaron.
The threesome walked about a 1.5 miles up the side of a mountain ridge, and soon came across a cool shady area teeming with very old hardwoods.
“I bet when we work our way over the ridge, we will be rewarded with a wealth of the best Ginseng this side of West Virginia.” spoke Toe-Top.
“Toe-Top, Aaron, hit the ground now! Do you see what I see?”
“Wow Molly, isn’t that the Burgelcut gang with what I think is a sack of Grandpa Jim-Tom’s ginseng?”
The Burgelcut gang consisted of Wilber-Bob, Hubert-Joe, and Tammy-Annabelle Burgelcut. They were near the same age as Toe-Top, Molly, and Aaron. They often were accused of doing bad things, but always seemed to wiggle their way out of it.
“Rumor has it that they have been stealing ginseng all over Pine Mountain the past few weeks since Ginseng harvest started.” spoke Aaron.
“I have heard that their father lost his job for drinking on the job,” added Toe-Top.
“Let’s sneak out of here and go and see Grandpa Jim-Tom and let him know about these right away guys,” said Molly as they quietly walked away.
The threesome of Molly, Aaron, and toe-Top were just about to burst at the seam to let Grandpa Jim-Tom know about the Burgelcut kids stealing his ginseng.
“Grandpa Jim-Tom, we have some very important news that you should know about. We saw those nasty Burgelcut kids picking your valuable ginseng. You must be proud of us for bringing you this news!” The threesome all chimed in together and looked as proud as three peacocks in a beauty contest.
“My young friends, I know that you were picking ginseng for a very good cause, and I can always count on you to do the right thing. However, those nasty Burgelcut kids, as you call them, may lose their home. The very charity that you have started could help them keep their home and have enough food until their father recovers from an accident where he worked.” Grandpa Jim-Tom did not have to say another word.
The threesome suddenly felt badly about what they had said. They learned a valuable lesson that day, and never again would they speak of rumors about those in need. The threesome bowed their heads and prayed to the Lord for forgiveness and wisdom.
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This unique story fit the topic completely in a subdued, yet powerful way and allowed an important message to filter through at the right moment.
Great job! I pray this does well.
God bless~
Seems a lot of us forget there are people we all know that could use a helping hand up at times.
Keep up with the Blue Ridge Hillbillies and their old fashioned look at Christianity. :)
God Bless!
These comments are now from my own childhood experience(about 1950). I liked an author by the name of Lois Lenskie (sp).(Strawberry Girl was one of her books.) she wrote in a (I think I can say this.) southern hillbilly style of talking. I loved reading her books until one of her new books was written in regular English. I didn't like that style for that type of setting. I didn't finish that book and I couldn't find any others written in her old style. Maybe that is when I quit going to the library.
I wonder what this story would sound like if words were spelled like I imagine they sounded. (I hope I am not out of line in anything I have said. I just really liked the way her books were written as it made it seem the kids in the story came to life.)
Great writing, friend.
Many Blessings, Lynn