MAGIC BLUEBERRIES
My mother sent me out to pick some blueberries so she could make a blueberry pie. I got my bucket and went up the trail to the place where the best blueberries grow. I picked and picked and picked. Finally, I had the bucket just about full and I was ready to start back down the trail.
Suddenly, I heard a loud noise around the bend in the trail. Then, it appeared. The Abominable Snowman! Eight feet tall, all white, and very angry-looking. And it was coming right toward me!
I turned and started running the other way. Then I heard another loud noise and another huge creature appeared. It was Bigfoot, that big, ferocious, bear-monster! And it was coming toward me, too, and making hungry noises.
I was trapped. I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there, wondering which one of them would get me first. I wondered if they would eat the blueberries, too, or just me.
Then I remembered something my Grandma once told me about blueberries. She said there were some bushes with magic blueberries. You should always listen to your Grandma. She said some blueberries could make you invisible when you eat them. Well, what could I lose? I grabbed a handful of blueberries and gobbled them down as the two monsters got closer.
And it worked! Suddenly, I was invisible. I dodged to one side just as they both grabbed for me. They collided and started fighting with each other.
I stepped carefully around them and ran down the trail. I ran a long time, until I had to stop for breath. Then I saw a man with a shotgun. He was pointing the gun at something in the bushes. I looked to see what he was aiming at, and I saw a deer. Actually, it was a buck, with antlers.
“Don’t shoot,” I called out.
“Who said that?”
I put on my most serious voice. “This is your mother speaking. Don’t shoot that deer”.
“This is some kind of trick. I’ll find you, wherever you are.”
He waved the gun around, pointing it in my direction. I was worried he might shoot. Invisible is not invulnerable. I hope you know the difference.
I ducked behind a tree. The man said a few more angry words and went away.
I was beginning to enjoy this invisibility thing. I went by the cave where the Great Ugly Varmint lives. I decided to have some fun. I went closer and called out, “Hey, Varmint. You can’t catch me!”
Normally, if I did something that foolish, the Varmint would catch me and eat me, but I was invisible. Or I thought I was. Actually, it was wearing off. I was invisible in spots, like a ghost with chickenpox.
The Varmint came out of the cave, looked at me, and growled, and went back inside. Then three baby varmints came running out and started toward me, snarling and yipping. They probably would eat me too, if they could catch me, but they couldn’t run as fast as their Daddy. I ran off down the trail.
They came right after me, still yipping and snarling. I could keep ahead of them but no matter how fast I ran, they were still there on the trail behind me.
I was getting tired and the little varmints were still coming.
I needed to stop and rest. By now, the invisibility had worn completely off. I grabbed another handful of blueberries and gobbled them down as fast as I could.
Then, I remembered something else my Grandma had said. Only a few of all the blueberries can make you invisible. Most of them do nothing at all. But there’s another kind of magic blueberries. They make you small.
And that’s the kind I got. Soon, I was not much bigger than the little varmints and they were just about to catch up with me.
I didn’t know what to do. I climbed up into a bush, thinking I could hide. Then I remembered that Great Ugly Varmints can smell even better than they can see. They would easily find me in the bush.
Then I noticed the deer. It was the same buck whose life I had saved. It was standing right under the bush I was hiding in. Its antlers reached up into the bush. I crawled down the antlers and found a place to sit on top of its head.
The deer ran down the path and was soon far away from the little varmints. The small magic was beginning to wear off. I was getting bigger and the deer was running slower and slower. Finally, the deer put its head down near the ground for me to climb off.
I said, “Thank you,” to the deer and went on home. With all of these troubles and problems, I still had almost half a bucketful of blueberries left. I thought this was pretty good, but my mother didn’t seem to think so.
“You took an awfully long time,” she said. “And look, your bucket is barely half full. Now, don’t try telling me some story about Bigfoot or that Bomb-in-a-Bubble thing. I’m plumb tired of your stories and excuses.”
And all I could think of, we kids don’t ever get a fair break, do we? I mean, even when all this stuff really happens, nobody believes us.
My mother sent me out to pick some blueberries so she could make a blueberry pie. I got my bucket and went up the trail to the place where the best blueberries grow. I picked and picked and picked. Finally, I had the bucket just about full and I was ready to start back down the trail.
Suddenly, I heard a loud noise around the bend in the trail. Then, it appeared. The Abominable Snowman! Eight feet tall, all white, and very angry-looking. And it was coming right toward me!
I turned and started running the other way. Then I heard another loud noise and another huge creature appeared. It was Bigfoot, that big, ferocious, bear-monster! And it was coming toward me, too, and making hungry noises.
I was trapped. I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there, wondering which one of them would get me first. I wondered if they would eat the blueberries, too, or just me.
Then I remembered something my Grandma once told me about blueberries. She said there were some bushes with magic blueberries. You should always listen to your Grandma. She said some blueberries could make you invisible when you eat them. Well, what could I lose? I grabbed a handful of blueberries and gobbled them down as the two monsters got closer.
And it worked! Suddenly, I was invisible. I dodged to one side just as they both grabbed for me. They collided and started fighting with each other.
I stepped carefully around them and ran down the trail. I ran a long time, until I had to stop for breath. Then I saw a man with a shotgun. He was pointing the gun at something in the bushes. I looked to see what he was aiming at, and I saw a deer. Actually, it was a buck, with antlers.
“Don’t shoot,” I called out.
“Who said that?”
I put on my most serious voice. “This is your mother speaking. Don’t shoot that deer”.
“This is some kind of trick. I’ll find you, wherever you are.”
He waved the gun around, pointing it in my direction. I was worried he might shoot. Invisible is not invulnerable. I hope you know the difference.
I ducked behind a tree. The man said a few more angry words and went away.
I was beginning to enjoy this invisibility thing. I went by the cave where the Great Ugly Varmint lives. I decided to have some fun. I went closer and called out, “Hey, Varmint. You can’t catch me!”
Normally, if I did something that foolish, the Varmint would catch me and eat me, but I was invisible. Or I thought I was. Actually, it was wearing off. I was invisible in spots, like a ghost with chickenpox.
The Varmint came out of the cave, looked at me, and growled, and went back inside. Then three baby varmints came running out and started toward me, snarling and yipping. They probably would eat me too, if they could catch me, but they couldn’t run as fast as their Daddy. I ran off down the trail.
They came right after me, still yipping and snarling. I could keep ahead of them but no matter how fast I ran, they were still there on the trail behind me.
I was getting tired and the little varmints were still coming.
I needed to stop and rest. By now, the invisibility had worn completely off. I grabbed another handful of blueberries and gobbled them down as fast as I could.
Then, I remembered something else my Grandma had said. Only a few of all the blueberries can make you invisible. Most of them do nothing at all. But there’s another kind of magic blueberries. They make you small.
And that’s the kind I got. Soon, I was not much bigger than the little varmints and they were just about to catch up with me.
I didn’t know what to do. I climbed up into a bush, thinking I could hide. Then I remembered that Great Ugly Varmints can smell even better than they can see. They would easily find me in the bush.
Then I noticed the deer. It was the same buck whose life I had saved. It was standing right under the bush I was hiding in. Its antlers reached up into the bush. I crawled down the antlers and found a place to sit on top of its head.
The deer ran down the path and was soon far away from the little varmints. The small magic was beginning to wear off. I was getting bigger and the deer was running slower and slower. Finally, the deer put its head down near the ground for me to climb off.
I said, “Thank you,” to the deer and went on home. With all of these troubles and problems, I still had almost half a bucketful of blueberries left. I thought this was pretty good, but my mother didn’t seem to think so.
“You took an awfully long time,” she said. “And look, your bucket is barely half full. Now, don’t try telling me some story about Bigfoot or that Bomb-in-a-Bubble thing. I’m plumb tired of your stories and excuses.”
And all I could think of, we kids don’t ever get a fair break, do we? I mean, even when all this stuff really happens, nobody believes us.