Thanksgiving on Thursday (3 page)

Is that Squanto?
Jack wondered.
The Wampanoag Indian who helped out the Pilgrims?

Two Pilgrim men stepped forward. One had a smile on his face. The other was frowning.

“Good day!” the friendly-looking man said. “Who art thou?”

“I'm Annie,” said Annie. “This is my brother, Jack. We come in peace.”

“Welcome to Plymouth Colony,” said the man. “I am Governor Bradford. This is Captain Standish.”

Captain Standish kept frowning. He carried a long gun over his shoulder.

“Oh, wow!” said Annie.

“Wow?”
said Captain Standish.

“Wow?”
whispered others, as if they didn't understand.

“I've just heard a lot about you,” said Annie. She looked around. “Is Priscilla here?”

“Shhh!” whispered Jack.

“I am Priscilla,” said a young woman. She looked about seventeen or eighteen. Her face looked weary, and her eyes were sad.

“Hi,” said Annie shyly. “I was you.”

“Annie,”
warned Jack.

“Thou was me?” Priscilla asked. She sounded puzzled.

“Never mind my sister,” said Jack. “She's nuts.”

“Nuts?”
repeated Priscilla.

“Nuts?”
whispered others.

“Oh, brother,” said Jack, with a nervous laugh.

“Oh, brother?”
repeated Priscilla.

Annie giggled.

“Um. Never mind,” said Jack. “That's just how we say things at home.”

“And where
is
thy home?” Captain Standish asked. He didn't sound as friendly as Governor Bradford or Priscilla.

“Um, we live in a village up north,” said Jack. “Our parents sent us here to, uh”—he remembered something from their research book—“to learn how to grow corn.”

“But how and when did your family come to America?” the captain asked.

Jack was worried. Now that he had started making up a story, he couldn't back out. Luckily, he remembered something else from their book.

“We sailed to America with Captain John Smith,” he said, “when he was exploring the coast. Annie and I were babies then.”

“Ah, indeed?” said Governor Bradford.

Jack nodded. “Indeed,” he said.

“I believe Squanto knew Captain John Smith when he was in Plymouth,” said Captain Standish. “Perhaps he remembers thee.”

Everyone in the crowd turned to the man with the braid.

Oh, no!
thought Jack. He knew Squanto wouldn't remember them.

“These children say they sailed with Captain John Smith,” Governor Bradford said to Squanto. “Does thou remember two wee babes named Jack and Annie?”

Squanto moved closer to Jack and Annie. He looked carefully at their faces. Jack held his breath. His heart pounded.

Squanto turned to the governor.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I remember.”

Annie grinned. “Good day, Squanto!” she said.

“Good day, Annie,” said Squanto. He smiled at her and Jack.

Jack was too surprised to speak.
Why did Squanto say he remembers us?
he wondered.
Is he mistaking us for two other kids?

Captain Standish looked surprised, too. But Governor Bradford smiled warmly.

“ 'Tis a wonder,” he said. “We welcome all
the small folk sent to us. Children are a gift from God—no matter where they come from.”

That's a nice way of looking at things,
Jack thought.

Just then, a boy ran up. “Chief Massasoit is here with ninety men!” he shouted.

The boy pointed to a long line of men walking down a path near a cornfield.

Chief Massasoit walked ahead of the others. His face was painted red. He wore a fur robe and white beads.

Governor Bradford, Captain Standish, and Squanto went to meet the visitors.

“Mercy!” a Pilgrim woman whispered.

All the Pilgrims looked worried.

“Art thou afraid?” Annie asked.

“Oh, no,” said Priscilla. “We invited Chief
Massasoit and his men to our harvest feast. But we did not expect so many. We have not prepared enough food.”

Governor Bradford and Squanto spoke to the chief. Then Squanto led a number of men into the woods. And the governor walked back to the Pilgrims.

“The Wampanoag men will hunt more deer,” he said. “But we must also bring more food to the table. Priscilla, please tell the young folk what they must do.”

The grown-ups went back to the village as the Pilgrim kids gathered around Priscilla. She told some to carry water or set up tables. She told others to gather vegetables or hunt small animals.

Once the kids were given their jobs, they rushed off to do them. Finally only Jack,
Annie, and a small girl holding a big basket were left.

“Jack, would thou like to go fowling with the boys?” Priscilla asked him. She pointed to a group of boys who had just headed off with the dog.

Jack stared at her in panic.
What does she mean?
he wondered.

“What's ‘fowling'?” Annie asked.

“Thou does not know?” said the little girl. “ 'Tis hunting water birds, of course.”

“Jack doesn't know how to do that,” said Annie.

“ 'Tis true? How does thou eat and live?” the little girl asked curiously.

“We, uh … ” Jack froze.

“We catch—fish!” said Annie.

We do?
thought Jack.

“Ah, good!” said Priscilla. “Then I bid thee bring back as many eels and clams as thou can. We have near one hundred fifty mouths to feed.” Priscilla took the basket from the small girl and gave it to Annie.

“We will see thee later!” Priscilla said,
waving. “Mary and I must go help with the cooking.”

“Um … ?” said Jack.

But before he could ask any questions, Priscilla and the little girl started back to the village.

Jack looked at Annie.

“We can't stay here,” he said.

“What?” she said. “We can't go home now. The Pilgrims need us to help them.”

“But we don't know how to do anything!” Jack said. “And Squanto is going to figure out he doesn't really know us. And—”

“Don't worry so much,” said Annie. “We help Mom and Dad make our Thanksgiving dinner every year, don't we? We can help the Pilgrims. But we'd better hurry!”

Clutching the big basket, she started running toward the bay. Jack sighed, then ran after her.

At the rocky shore, they stopped and looked around. Little waves rolled onto the short stretch of sand. The salty air felt clean and fresh. Seagulls swooped over the water.

“I wonder where the eels are?” said Annie. “And the clams?”

“I'll look in the book,” said Jack.

He pulled out their book and looked up
eels
in the index. He turned to the right page and read aloud:

“That sounds fun!” said Annie. She put
down her basket and pulled off her shoes and stockings. She held up her long skirt with one hand. Then she walked over the rocks to the edge of the water.

Jack put the research book into his bag. He pulled off his shoes and stockings and joined Annie.

They dug their bare feet into the wet sand.

“I don't feel anything,” said Jack.

“Let's wade into the water,” said Annie.

Together they stepped forward.

“Brrr!” said Annie.

“No kidding!” said Jack with a shiver.

He kept squishing the muddy sand with his toes. He felt pebbles and shells. Then he felt something soft.

“Hey, I think I found one,” he said.

Annie splashed over to him. “Where?”

“Stand back,” he said. “Here.”

Jack squished harder with his feet. The soft thing moved! Jack squished more. An eel slithered through the water.

Jack grabbed it with both hands!

“AHH!” he yelled.

The eel was long and skinny like a snake. It felt slimy and icky! It twisted and squirmed. Annie laughed as Jack tried to hold on to it.

The eel wiggled out of Jack's hands and fell against Annie.

“Yikes!” she yelled, jumping away and bumping into Jack.

With more screams, they both tumbled into the cold water.

They scrambled up and splashed back to shore. Annie was still laughing.

“Poor eel!” she said, trying to catch her breath. “We scared him half to death!”

“Him?”
said Jack.

“F-forget eels,” said Annie, her teeth chattering. “What about c-clams?”

Jack was wet and cold. But he took out the book again and looked up
clams
. He turned to
the right page and read aloud:

“Oh, forget it,” Annie broke in.

“What?” said Jack.

“We can't catch
them,
” she said. “They live to be so old. We can't just end their lives.”

Jack sighed. He sat down on a rock. Annie sat next to him. Their clothes were soaking wet. Their feet were caked with muddy sand. Their basket was empty.

“What other things do Pilgrim kids do to help?” said Annie.

Jack opened the book again. He looked up
Pilgrim children
. He read aloud:

“Oh, man, I feel tired just
reading
this,” said Jack, closing the book. “We make lousy Pilgrim children.”