Scary Campfire Story

    After a long day of going to the Farmer’s Market, and more time tending the farm, Curtis decided to have a nice relaxing campfire with his pal Harry by his side. As the Farmer was building the fire he thought he noticed something from the corner of his eye. Soon the fire was going strong and they were settled in for the evening. 

    With his cup of tea resting on his leg, he looked over toward Harry and began, "Harry ol' buddy, I've heard there's a fearsome creature that lives out in these parts, and it's rarely seen, ‘cause it only comes out at night to feed!" Harry raised his head and gulped a little as he wondered what sort of creature that might be.

    The farmer went on to ask, "Would you like to hear a campfire story about this creature?" Harry gulped a little more as he looked intently toward his best friend.

    The Farmer leaned back in his favorite campfire seat. He took a sip of his tea, set the glass on the arm of his chair, then began his scary story;

    "Its teeth are long and very sharp, 

    A scary creature indeed.

    Its belly is hungry every night, 

    That's when it wants to feed!"

    Harry slowly pulled his tail closer to his body as Curtis continued with his story.

    "It can wait without a sound, 

    Until it sees you there,

    Then with claws that grip the ground, 

    It leaps into the air!" 

    Harry eased a little closer to the Farmer's chair and pulled his tail tight up against his body. Curtis leaned in closer and lowered his voice, as if to avoid having the creature be able to hear him speak of it.

    "Its ears can hear your beating heart, 

    When it's trying to find you

    It's so sneaky you'd never know, 

    If it's right behind you!"

     Then with a sudden look of fear all over his face, the farmer whispered "Oh no! Harry, I think I see it right there behind ya!" Harry gulped again really big this time as he slowly crawled right up against the Farmer's ankle, too scared to turn around and look. When he finally did turn to look where Curtis had pointed, he saw it too... A Bunny rabbit with a mouthful of clover. 

     Curtis laughed and slapped his leg, nearly spilling his tea. Harry gave him a sideways look, as the bunny rabbit just wondered what the heck was going on.

     They sat there by the crackling fire as the stars were shining bright, and the Milky Way in all its glory stretched across the sky.  Soon they heard, "Hello there Curtis!" It was Mary Shodder. "I was out for an evening stroll when I noticed your campfire! Would y'all like some company?"

     "Why sure, Mary. Glad you can join us!" the Farmer answered. "Pull up a chair, the fire's gettin' going just right." Mary pulled up the spare chair and adjusted it to have a good view of the warm fire, as the farmer fetched her a glass of iced tea. 

     There was a large amount of firewood stacked along the fence, all the way from the barn to where the fence stops by the gravel road. Curtis picked up a few pieces, and laid them on the ground near the fire.

     After a moment, Mary looked up from the fire and said, "Ya know, Curtis, I was feeding and watching the songbirds today, when I noticed something." "And what would that have been?" he asked. Mary answered, "I saw a very young bird today, flying to the feeder for its first time, and it got me thinking. I came up with a little something that ya might enjoy. Would you like to hear it?"

     "For sure! I truly would." Curtis responded with a wide and genuine smile. "Let's hear what you've got." Mary sat up straight in her chair, cleared her throat a little, and said, "It's called...

 Little birds  

     Baby birds just sit at home

     Because they're scared to fly

     ‘Till one day the time is right

     Their Mama makes 'em try

     Soon they're having lots of fun

     Mama bird knew best

     But Mama bird sits home and cries

     Because they left the nest"

      Curtis sat there silent for a short moment, letting it sink in. Mary was nervous, wondering if he liked it. The story telling farmer looked right into her pretty brown eyes and said, "Mary, that's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard."

     Even Harry eased over to Mary’s chair, as if to say that he liked her story too. And, he’d like to be petted.

     Mary blushed a little, and relaxed back into her chair. She rubbed ol’ Harry behind his ears, then answered, "I'm so glad you liked it. I've enjoyed so many of your stories, that I'm happy to be able to return the favor." She went on to ask, "Do you ever feed the song-birds?"

    The farmer laughed a little, then answered, "Ya know, when I first started tending to this wonderful farm a friendly squirrel approached me as if to say, "Hello, welcome home!"  It touched me right here." The farmer pointed to his heart. "I proceeded to make a way to feed the squirrels, but I had a bit of a problem." A moment passed, then Mary asked, "What sort of problem?" 

    "Well, I attached a wooden plate to an old tree stump and filled it with food for the squirrels, but I just couldn't keep the birds out of my squirrel feeder." 

    Mary started laughing, then began to say, "I think most people tend to have the opposite..." Curtis went right on talking, "So, I figured, what the heck. There's plenty of food for everyone. Before I knew it, there was every sort of critter you can think of, calling this little farm it's home!”

     Mary just sighed and said, "Well Curtis, I can't argue with that logic. So, do ya have any good stories to tell here in front of this lovely fire?" Curtis sat up to put a couple more pieces of wood on the fire, then answered, "How about this one, it's called 'Tee-Tee & the Horsefly...