Bike Bargaining by Gammy

One day, Gigi sat on her front porch, hands cradling her chin, watching her friend ride down the street on a bicycle.  Her dad was also sitting on the porch.  Gigi asked, “When can I get a bike Dad?  I’m already twelve years old.”

“Gigi, you’d need to save money for a bike.  It will cost $30.  I will match whatever you save until you have enough.”  

Thirty dollars was a lot of money when Gigi was young.  “It will take me forever to save my half of the money,” Gigi thought.  Then she had an idea.

“Dad, can I start charging money for the babysitting I do?”

“No Gigi,” he said.  “The people you babysit for are poor.  You have much more than they do.”

“But how can I save any money if I work for free?”

“You’ll have to find another way.”

Later that day, Gigi walked to her free dance lessons at the Moose Lodge in town.  As she entered the lodge she noticed a sign in the entrance.  It read:

“Kids, help us get more children to join the Moose Lodge’s Free Saturday Children’s Program and earn 50 cents a child.” 

Gigi thought of all the kids she babysat for.  If she could get some of them to come to the Saturday program, that would help pay for a bike.

By the next Saturday Gigi had six little children walking along the sidewalk holding a long rope to keep them all together.  When she arrived, the students sat in a circle and joined the fun.

Gigi earned $3.00.  She would need 12 more dollars to pay for her share fo the bike.  It took Gigi two years to save the rest!

The end                                                                                                        

How to Catch a Lizard

Gammy stopped sweeping the kitchen floor and looked up.

What was that sound? Kissing sounds, but no one else was home. Gammy entered the nearby hallway.

She looked up there on the wall hanging like a painting was a scaly brown lizard.  Gammy stared at the creature. She knew a little bit about lizards. The tiny hairs on the sides of their feet made it possible for a lizard to stick to a wall, even a ceiling.

Its skin was rough and its tail whipped back and forth letting Gammy know it was ready for anything - good or bad.

Gammy moved a little closer, the lizard scurred across the wall.

Whoa. How would she ever catch such a quick reptile? Her children would soon be home from school. What if the lizard got in the nearby closet and scurried out just as they were hanging up their jackets?

Just then the lizard scurried higher up the wall. How am I going to catch this lizard, Gammy wondered?

He can run very fast. Could she sweep him out with a broom? Use a box. Yes! A box.  Gammy found a sturdy box in the house with a flat piece of cardboard inside it.  She removed the piece of cardboard and turned the box upside down,

Walking slowly and quietly, Gammy got his close to the lizard as she dared.

Gammy flipped the open box over the lizard still pressed against the wall. The lizard was very quiet in the box. Gammy slid the cardboard under the box so the lizard could not escape.

She carried the box outside and placed it on the ground. She grabbed a stick and flip the box over with it. The lizard ran away never to be seen again.

The end.

Dueling Pianos

One day, Gammy and her older brother, Bob, became very worried about their piano teacher. Usually, their teacher called them to play the instrument one at a time. But on this day, the teacher said, “Children, I want both of you to come forward and sit at the piano together.”

They sat down shoulder to shoulder and looked up at their teacher. “Wouldn’t it be fun for the two of you to learn a duet?” she said.

“What’s a duet?” asked Bob.

“Two people at the piano playing one song. It can be quite beautiful, but it will take teamwork.”

Gammy and Bob looked at each other both thinking, “How will this ever work?”

But the two returned home each determined to practice so as not to let their teacher down. A few days later, their mom called them from their play. Gammy was busy designing a house for her doll using little cardboard boxes for furniture. Bob was dribbling on the driveway basketball court.

“Time to start practicing that duet. Let’s hear how both of your parts sound together.” Mom seemed as excited as their teacher. Gammy and Bob weren’t so sure.

“Plink. Bam! Ouch!” “Move over.”

Not the beautiful music the teacher had promised.

“You missed the beat!”

‘I did not!! You are playing too fast!” 

The children’s comments went back and forth like a ball in the game of ping pong. Each blaming the other for the awful sounds.

They weren’t any better when their piano teacher listened at their next lesson.

“Plink. Bam! Watch out!”

“Both of you, please put your hands in your lap, their teacher said.  “Bob, what do you like about how your sister plays the piano? “

(Hesitates) “Hmm … she’s really good at playing her notes smoothly, I guess.”

And Gammy said, “Bob always remembers his notes. Sometimes I forget. He’s better than I am at everything!”

“Huh? That’s not true,” Bob said. Neither child would look at the other.

“Let’s try this piece again. Bob, you imagine your fingers are gliding smoothly over the keys and your sister is concentrating on remembering the notes. Okay, Begin!”

This time, the music did sound much better. The more they practiced, the better it sounded. So good, in fact, they were asked to play the piece at the school piano recital.

On the day of the recital, brother and sister sat at their home piano and practiced one last time. It wasn’t perfect but it was very good. Could they perform that well in front of a real audience?

Just before they went on stage that afternoon, the siblings looked at each other. Really closely, smiled, and whispered, “Teamwork.” When they came out on stage, they saw their parents and friends. Other people from their school.

Their piano duet sounded excellent, and they bowed when finished.

After the performance, everyone clapped.  “Bravo! That was beautiful,” their teacher said afterwards. “Let’s learn another duet for next year’s recital.”

Bob and Gammy both yelled,” No way!”  (Pause) “Well, maybe.”

Tulla in Tangles

Liebchen and Tulla were sisters – two toy poodles small enough to hold in your lap. But nothing else about these sisters matched.

Liebchen’s hair was the color of ripe peaches. Tulla’s coat was as white as whipped cream.

Liebchen was strong with a steady stride. Tulla was smaller and lighter and ran like a wind-up toy, often falling over herself.

Liebchen never ventured into the street or into the patch of woods behind her house. She followed the rules. Tulla was more curious and more likely to get into trouble.

She lived in the house behind Liebchen’s that was connected by a small hill with the woods nearby. Often, when no one was looking, Tulla would run down the hill in search of her sister. Without even a bark from Tulla, Liebchen could usually sense her coming and would run to the back door. She would bark and scratch at the screen door until someone let her out.

The two sisters would jump on each other, standing on their two back legs. They would nip at each other’s tails and wrestle in the grass. That’s the kind of playing dogs do with their best friends.

After a while, Tulla’s family would realize she was missing and look for her in Liebchen’s yard.

One day, Tulla had meant to sneak out and visit Liebchen but as she ran down the hill, her little feet got twisted around each other and she tumbled into the nearby woods instead. Tulla was curious. “Look at all the leaves and pebbles in here. Sticks – even insects,” she thought. She sniffed and pushed sticks and leaves aside with her nose. One sniff led to another, then another. Soon she was deeper into the woods and got tangled in a ball of leaves and vines.

She tried to break free by pulling on her legs but she wasn’t strong enough. She barked several times but no one answered. Tulla started to cry. Would anyone hear her or find her?

After a long while, Tulla heard her name being called. “Tulla, Tulla, where are you? She’s not in Liebchen’s back yard.”

When Liebchen heard people calling for Tulla, she became worried. Liebchen could sense Tulla, but not this time, so her sister must be far away. But where? Liebchen began barking and scratching at her door. Gammy let Liebchen out and the poodle began to sniff and sniff, trying to smell Tulla. SNIFF, SNIFF. Finally, Liebchen got a whiff of Tulla’s scent. She followed the smell. It got stronger and stronger but was leading to the woods where Liebchen knew she was NOT allowed. She looked up at Gammy and barked as if to ask, “Can I go in there?”

Gammy said, “It’s okay, Liebchen. Keep sniffing. Lead the way!”

Finally, Liebchen sniffed her way to Tulla, who was still crying and trying to pull herself out of the brush. When she saw Liebchen and Gammy, she bowed her head as if to say, “I’m sorry.”

Gammy gently removed sticks and leaves from around Tulla’s legs until she was free. The two sisters licked each other and walked back out of the woods, safe and happy.

Garbage Fun

There was once a little boy who loved garbage trucks about as much as any little boy could.

He loved the rumbling of the truck’s engine as it traveled down his street. (SOUND)

The squeaking and hissing of the brakes. (SOUND)

The clanking of the trash as it entered the mouth of the dumpster. (SOUND)

The beeping sound as it pushed the load deeper. (SOUND)

As soon as the boy heard the garbage truck coming to his street (SOUND), he would grab a nearby stool and peer out his front door window.  (SOUND) The garbage man would hop off the truck and dump the bins into the dumpster. (SOUND) The driver in the front cab would touch the controls that would push the load deeper. (SOUND) Then the garbage man would wave to the boy and the boy would wave back. The man would hop back on the side of the truck and be off.

The little boy practiced being a garbage man. (SOUND) He would fling soft toys onto the steps leading to the second floor of his house, then hang on to the bottom banister as if it were the edge of a real truck. (SOUND) He would push his load deeper into the truck and drive off (SOUND).

One day, Mom asked the boy, “Would you like to help me make cookies for the garbage men.

The boy said, “That would be great!”

The next time the little boy heard the truck coming (SOUND), he had a surprise. (SOUND) The boy stood on the sidewalk near his garbage bins. When the truck got close to his house, it was much bigger than the boy imagined. He held his Mom’s hand as he gave the cookies to the garbage man with his other hand.

“Thank you for the gift young man,” the trucker said, smiling down at the boy.

Later that summer, the boy was playing in his front yard when the garbage truck appeared. (SOUND) The trucker lifted the bins into the back of the truck (SOUND) and asked, “Would you like to take a ride in my garbage truck?” The little boy couldn’t believe that his mother said yes!

Soon he was headed down the street in the front seat of a real garbage truck with his mother running close behind them. Can it get any better than this? Yes, it can!

At Christmas, the little boy was playing with other children at a family Christmas party. Suddenly a fire engine siren could be heard in the distance (SOUND). The siren was getting louder (SOUND). The children ran to the door and saw the fire truck stop at the little boy’s house. Suddenly they heard “Ho, ho ho!” There in the fire engine was the boy’s favorite garbage man with Santa Claus! The garbage man raised a microphone and announced, “Santa, I have a special friend at this house.” So, Santa climbed down from the fire truck, walked into the little boy’s house, and gave each child a candy cane. Then he got back on the truck and left, with his sirens blasting. (SOUND) “Ho,ho,ho.”

Liebchen’s Wild Ride!

By Gammy

Gammy’s dog Liebchen was a very tiny one, even after she was no longer a puppy.  But Liebchen didn’t think she was tiny. When a bigger dog six times her size came near her yard, Liebchen would bark and bark “Woof woof, woof woof woof!” The bigger dogs would just stare at her in wonderment thinking, “don’t you see how big I am?”

Liebchen hated getting her hair cut at the pet shop. Arriving home all fluffy, smelling of shampoo with a pink bow in her hair.  Immediately she would wiggle and squirm along the rug.  “Rrrrr, rrrr, rrrr” until the sweet smell was gone and the bow had fallen off her head. At Christmas, Liebchen loved to open gifts right beside the rest of the family. She would scratch at her tissue-wrapped presents until a little toy or doggie biscuit popped out. 

What fun she had chasing rubber balls across the lawn. One by one, Gammy and her brothers grew up. They left home for college, jobs, weddings.  Gammy’s Mom and Dad were still there, but Liebchen needed a new place to rest.  She tried Gammy’s old bed but it was too big, too sad without Gammy. She tried sleeping under a desk, under a dining room chair, even next to the piano. They were awful. Then one winter’s day, Gammy’s mother left a fluffy white winter coat on a big swivel rocking chair in the living room. Liebchen looked to the left, she looked to the right. No one was around to tell her it was a bad idea. She jumped up and the chair moved a little, up and down and side to side. Liebchen kept her balance and dropped into the coat. 

The coat was a soft as a cloud. She found her new bed. Liebchen continued chasing rubber balls and barking at dogs until the day everything changed. The doorbell rang and Gammy’s mom answered it and of course Liebchen barked. “Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” Mom welcomed 6 people into the house that Liebchen had never seen before. “Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” They brought boxes, tissue paper, tape and markers. They began wrapping up all the plates, pots, pans, pencils, pad, putting everything in boxes with a sticker on every box. Liebchen cocked her head at the boxes with tissue paper wondering if all this meant Christmas was coming. But when a huge truck pulled into the driveway, Liebchen sensed something was big was happening. Liebchen heard words she did not understand. New job, new home, Chicago.  Airplane. Mom picked up Liebchen, gave her a kiss and placed her into a travel box, with graded windows on the side and a handle on top. The door was shut and Liebchen peered out. It will be alright girl, Gammy’s mom said. Liebchen wasn’t so sure. After the car ride to the airport, Mom held the boxes as they walked through the busy terminal. She knew her family was carrying her so everything would be fine. Then it wasn’t. Mom looked at Liebchen’s box and said, “I’m sorry but you’re not allowed to fly next to us so you will be going into a special part of the plane just for animals. This lady will take you there. It will be alright so be brave, we’ll see you in Chicago.” Soon Liebchen was riding on small open-air truck with other boxes stacked around her. 

Up ahead she could see a huge plane, a man in a blue uniform gave Liebchen a big smile and carried her to a special corner of the plane. When the big doors shut, Liebchen began to cry a little. “Mmm, mmm, mmm” She felt lonely just like the first time she met her forever family and had to sleep under the bathroom sink. She tried barking and barking “woof, woof, woof”, no one came. The plane’s engine began to rev up. Then the plane began to move faster and faster until Liebchen felt like she was floating. Liebchen cried a little more “mmm, mmm, mmm”. Then she grew tired of crying. 

She remembered that her mom said to be brave. If she could bark at big dogs, scratch bows out of her hair and unwrap Christmas presents, she could certainly fly in a plane. This was almost fun!  After a good while, Liebchen heard a big braking sound and the movement of the plane stopped. Soon the doors opened and another man with a big smile said, “Welcome to Chicago!” He picked up her box and carried Liebchen off to her family. They took the box to her car and lifted her out of it. Liebchen stayed very still. She hardly moved. Her eyes were closed. “Oh no Dad, what has happened to our precious dog?”, said Mom. “Don’t worry, she is exhausted, wait until we get her home. She will love her surprise.” Surprise?  Liebchen opened one eye. She loved surprises! When they reached the new house in Chicago, Dad carried her inside placing her into her favorite rocking chair with the fluffy coat spread out just the way she liked it. Liebchen was happy again, and glad her first and only plane ride was over.

The Scrawny Snowman

By Gammy

“I'm eight years old and I've never built a snowman!” Jack said, staring out at the ocean in San Diego, California. His sister Peggy began collecting pebbles dug from the sand.

 “If we lived in Maine, or Alaska, we would have built millions by now.” She said. “All we can make here are sandman.”

The two shoveled mounds of sand and patted them into three round circles on top of each other.

“Remember the last sandman we build? Seashells for eyes, four pebbles for a mouth, and a nose from a wooden spoon we found near a snack stand, and long hair made from seaweed.”

“Yeah, and we placed Dad's blue cap from the taco shop on his head.”

“Terrible!” They both yelled.

“Not one of our sandmen came alive after we finished them. No magic, not like snowman in the movies. “

“I guess it's just not the same.” said Jack after finishing their brown sandman.

A few days later, Dad announced this weekend we're going to the snow.

“I have a new friend who owns a cabin on top of a mountain. We'll need to find our winter coats.”

Mom climbed the stairs to the attic to find our boots and coats and gloves. Even though it is winter in San Diego, you almost never need a warm coat.

On the way to the cabin, Peggy and Jack needed only their T-shirts and jeans in the car. But they still sang all the snowman songs they knew. As the car began to climb higher, Jack and Peggy began to feel chilly. Ooh, a shiver made Peggy grab her coats and gloves. When they reached the top of the mountain, they saw snow. It was only a dusting of snow. More like a sheet than a blanket. But still snow.

The two jumped out of the car. Dad shook his head.

“This isn't very good snow for making a snowman.”

“We've got to try!” Jack said.

“Okay.” Dad said, grabbing a clump of snow, but it wouldn't stick together. “Usually,” he said, “You form a small ball of snow and roll it over more snow until it grows bigger and bigger. Then you stack two more.”

No luck. They couldn't even make one ball. The icy snow fell apart in their hands. Jack would grab a handful of snow and try many different ways to mold it, squeezing it hard, massaging it gently. Hmm. Nothing worked. The children spend a whole hour outside trying to make a real snowman. The best they could create was a scrawny little snowman the size of a coffee cup. It had two eyes made out of little leaves and two twigs for arms. It looked as if it hadn't eaten for months.

“Oh my.” Jack and Peggy sighed with disappointment.

“He is really cute though.” thought Peggy.

“I love him. Let's make a few snow angels before we go inside.” said Jack.

They laid on the ground with their backs touching the snow. “Swish, swish, swish.” They slid their arms up and down on this note and then rose up.

“Well at least the angels look pretty good.” said Jack.

“Let's go inside now.”

That night the family played card games next to the fire. And in the morning, they left the mountain for home. What they didn't see as they pulled away was the magical glow inside the scrawny snowman, for he always wanted to be a snowman as much as Jack and Peggy wanted to build one. He felt strong inside because building him wasn't easy. It took effort. It took love.

As the winter wore on Scrawny the snowman, as he was called, had many friends. All of them were bigger snowmen with carrot noses, and some with fancy wool scarves around their necks. But Scrawny was considered to be the best snowman because he was made from the least and wanted the most.

You Can’t Hug a Goldfish 

By Gammy

When Gammy was seven, she asked her parents a very important question. Can we get a dog? No, dear, they said, a dog is too much work. Well, what kind of a pet can I have? Mom thought for a moment and then said, “How about a goldfish?” So Gammy’s family went to a pet store and bought two goldfish, a fishbowl, fish food, and a small net. Gammy was in charge of cleaning the fishbowl every few days. She would catch the fish in the net and place them in a small bowl of water while she emptied the bigger fishbowl. It was a messy job. After refilling the bigger fishbowl with fresh water, Gammy returned the fish to their home. She would watch them swim for a few minutes, and then leave. Because you can't hug a goldfish, you can't play catch with a goldfish, you can't run with a goldfish! All you can do is watch.

Next her mom and dad bought Gammy a turtle. It crawled around on a dish from time to time. But Gammy grew sad. You can't really hug a turtle. You can't play catch with a turtle. You can't run with a turtle! All you can do is watch.

A few years passed and Gammy gave up on the idea of a dog. Then one day her neighbor's dog had puppies, soft little furry dogs with big brown eyes! Gammy brought one of the puppies to visit her parents. The dog was so cute, even her parents’ hearts were full. Gammy had a new puppy!

The family decided to name the dog Liebchen, which in German means little love. On the first night dad said Liebchen can sleep in the downstairs bathroom. We set up a small bed in the corner under the sink. But Liebchen didn't like the bathroom. She was lonely and cried and scratched at the closed door. 

The next night dad said let's try letting her sleep in the family room with a gate. Liebchen was still lonely and tried to chew the gate apart. Gammy was worried about her new dog, but happy too! She could hug Liebchen. She could play catch with her. She could run with her. She could watch her dog play for hours. 

On the third night everyone was really tired. Dad gave up and let Liebchen and sleep in Gammy's room with her little bed in the corner. But after Gammy fell asleep, Liebchen jumped up on Gammy's bed. Every time Gammy turned in her sleep, Liebchen crawled closer to her. In the morning, Liebchen was snuggled in the middle of the bed and Gammy was on the edge of it and it felt perfect.

I Dare you?

By Gammy

Betty and Gammy were friends. They didn't go to the same school. So they only got to play together on the weekends. Not even every weekend.

One day Betty surprised Gammy as they passed a pipe. It was used to hang a rope for drying clothes outside. Betty stopped and said, I dare you to push that stick down the pipe. Even at eight years old, Gammy knew she didn't like dares. A dare usually meant there was danger involved. And she wasn't sure she could trust Betty. No, Gammy didn't like danger. But the sticks sitting inside that old pipe in her neighbor's backyard. didn't look dangerous. Why would Betty dare her to do something that seems so easy and harmless? What could possibly go wrong? Gammy walked up to the stick. She folded her hands around it, closed her eyes and pushed! Out came six angry Hornets, "Bzzzzzzzzz", chasing after the children playing nearby, including Betty's younger sister, Judy. "Bzzzzzzzzz".

Everyone ran to Betty's house as fast as they could. "Bzzzzzzzzz, Bzzzzzzzzz.” They were all fast runners, except for a little Judy. She began to cry, "Ough! It hurts mommy! A hornet stung me!" Betty's mother rushed into the room.

"Who pushed that stick down the pipe?" Asked her mother.

"Betty you know there are Hornets down there!"

"Well, she did it!" Said Betty pointing at Gammy.

"I didn't know there were Hornets down there. Sorry Judy got hurt." Gammy said.

Gammy was very disappointed with Betty and she never accepted a dare again.

The End

Thunderstorm

by Gammy

Crash!  Boom!  Gigi was afraid of thunderstorms. In the Mid-western part of the United States, afternoon thunderstorms can be very big. The air gets hot and sticky. And then thick black clouds begin to form. Sooo dark it feels like nighttime. The wind grows strong whewwwheww. Dad always like to sit on his covered porch when a thunderstorm approached. He would call to Gigi to come out to sit on his lap. Even though she was a little afraid, she felt safe enough in Dad’s arms. They would count how close the storm was to them. 

Crash!!! The lightening would flash and sizzle, siiis. They would count, slowly. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Boooommm! 

The thunder roared. The storm was 5 miles away. 

Dad would point to the clouds. “Look that cloud looks like a cat. Oh and see that one? A bunny rabbit.” 

Crash! Sizzle. 1, 2, 3, 4 …Boooommm! 4 miles away.

Gigi curled in tighter to her father. “See that could on the left,” he pointed, “It looks like an elephant.” 

Crash! Sizzle. One, two, three…Booommm! 

Gigi’s mom came to the door from inside their house. “The storm is getting close, you two should come inside.” 

“Oh we’re fine right little one?” Gigi wasn’t sure, but she felt very brave. 

Suddenly the rain started to beat down on the porch roof. Poota poota poota. 

“I would feel better if you came inside,” said her mom. So they did, just as they heard Crash! Sizzle. 1, 2, Boommm! 

When the storm was over Gigi and Dad scrambled out to see if there was a rainbow. Yes! There was a beautiful one. Red, yellow, green, purple, glowing through the departing dark clouds.