Dedication:

For my daughter, Holly, whose wishes I can make come true, only through the magic of story telling.

“Daddy and I have a surprise for you Holly. When he gets home from work we are going for a drive so we can show it to you. Maybe we can arrange a “school’s out party” next week. We’ll have to ask Daddy first because we are all going to be very busy for the next couple of weeks. I’m not going to tell you anything else right now because it would ruin our surprise,

But after we show you the surprise I think you will be making some new summer plans.” Holly’s mother smiled and finished packing their picnic basket. “Daddy will be here in a few minutes and he will be ready to go. Why don’t you change into some comfortable old clothes we are going to have a picnic supper.”

Holly ran to her room and changed into a pair of cotton shorts and an old t-shirt. She was just slipping on her old sneakers when Daddy opened the front door and yelled, “is everybody ready?” Daddy hugged her tightly when she ran to the front door to greet him. “How’s my little girl?”, he questioned as he kissed the top of her head. “Are you ready for your surprise?” Holly nodded her head as her mother headed for the door with the picnic basket on her arm.

Daddy brushed a kiss on her mother’s cheek and smiled at them both. “I stopped on my way here and filled the cooler with ice and drinks. Let’s get to that picnic. I’m starved.” Holly and her mother followed him out the door and climbed into the truck. Mommy and Daddy grinned at each other and Holly couldn’t help but wonder what kind of surprise they were going to show her. Her parents chattered as they drove along but no one mentioned the mysterious surprise. Holly watched the scenery with interest as they drove more than forty-five minutes down backcountry roads. Finally, Daddy pulled the truck into an old gravel driveway that appeared to go nowhere.

“Where are we?”, Holly asked. “We are just about to get to your surprise.”, said Daddy with a grin. As the truck climbed a hill Holly could see a barn and a pasture to her right and a very old house to her left. “Who lives here Daddy?”, Holly asked. “Well”, said Daddy, still grinning. “Right now no one but

those horses in the barn over there.” Holly was puzzled. Daddy parked the truck and pulled a blanket out of the back. “Does this look like a good place for a picnic to you Mommy?”, Daddy asked with a wink. “Sure does. Come on Holly help me spread out this blanket while Daddy gets the cooler.”

Holly and her mother spread out the blanket on the ground. Her mother opened the picnic basket and took out a container of fried chicken. The smell of her mother’s fried chicken made her mouth water. “Mmmmm”, said Daddy, “That smells delicious and looks almost as good as mine.” Daddy always teased Mommy about her fried chicken. Her mother made the best fried chicken in the world next to Daddy and Meem’s. Daddy would often tease her because he was the one who taught her how to fry chicken in the first place. From the basket her mother produced biscuits, napkins, forks and an apple pie. After Holly gulped down half a biscuit and a few bites of chicken she looked at her father and said, “I don’t get it. Why did we come to an old abandoned farm for a picnic and what does it have to do with my surprise?”

Holly’s parents smiled at each other and then at her. “Well”, said Daddy matter of factly. “That farmhouse has been empty for years, but the farm’s not exactly abandoned. You see Pap and I have been working out here on the weekends for the past two months. Pap needed some more land to graze his cattle and more land to grow corn to feed them. So, Pap bought the farm for his animals and your Mom and I bought the house from Pap. That’s the surprise, we are moving as soon as we get the house in order.” Pap was the name Holly lovingly used for Daddy’s long time friend, a spry old man who could have been seventy years old though he didn’t look a day over fifty. Pap had always been kind to Holly and had always

welcomed her just like family since she was a tot. She was very fond of the aging old man who looked and acted far younger than his years. Sometimes Daddy and Pap would share a ‘nip of the hard stuff’, (which meant they would drink alcohol), and Pap would dance a jig around the old barn on his farm making Holly laugh.

“But I don’t want to live there!”, Holly said pointing at the old house. “It looks spooky! Besides all my friends live near our house! You can’t be serious!” Holly looked like she had just lost her best friend, as her gaze fell on the ancient looking house to their left. The big old house loomed in front of her eyes, gloomy and frightening from the outside. Outside the paint flaked and peeled from the wood, while the shutters hung limply from their hinges. If the outside looked this bad, the inside couldn’t possibly be any better. “It’s not the end of the world Holly.”, her mother said with an encouraging smile. “Besides we knew you would be lonely without your friends. They can come out to visit as often as you like. Finish your supper and we will take you to meet your first friends on the farm and give you a tour of the house.”

From the barn to their right Holly heard the soft whinny of a horse. “What was that?”, she said with a sudden spark of interest. Her father smiled at her broadly. “That was a horse silly.”, he said. Holly’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “Hurry and finish your chicken and we’ll go see them.” Holly finished eating as quickly as she could. Barely chewing the bites of food before she swallowed them down. The barn didn’t look as ominous as the house. The sounds of the horses inside sparked her interest much more than the fried chicken on her plate. “Hurry up you two slow pokes.”, she said with a smile. “I’m ready to go visit the horses!”

“You go on ahead while your Mom and I finish our dinner. We’ll be there in a few minutes.” Holly ran for the barn as fast as her legs could carry her. She pushed open the barn door and went inside. In the back of the barn she could see two stalls that opened onto a small pasture. Inside the two stalls were two brown horses. Holly quickly made her way to the back of the barn to pet the horses. Holly reached up and patted one of the horses, stroking his mane and speaking to it soothingly. The horse whinnied and nuzzled her hand. “Here”, said her mother with a smile. “See how they like this.” Her mother handed her a few sugar cubes to feed the horses. “Mommy they love it!”, Holly shouted. Daddy reached out and rubbed the horse with a white patch on her forehead. “This is Star. She’s all yours baby girl. And this one”, he said reaching over to pat the other horse, “is Sugar. She belongs to your mother. We’ll have to get you both a saddle before you can ride them. How’s that for a surprise?”, her father said with a wink.

“You’ll have to help me take care of them Holly. They have to be fed, watered and brushed everyday. They also have to be exercised regularly. But there’s still a surprise or two left so we’d better move on. Follow me.” Holly followed her parents out of the barn and around the side. On the right side of the barn stood a rabbit hutch. Inside Holly could see a mother rabbit and four baby bunnies. Holly could scarcely believe her eyes. She had declared bunnies her ‘most favorite animals’ since she was old enough to talk and her mother had given her ‘Bunny’, a stuffed gray rabbit for Easter. “These are all yours Holly. I know how much you like rabbits so Pap and I built a hutch and I picked these up for you. You’ll have to feed and water them everyday too.”, her father said.

Holly squealed with delight. “A horse and bunnies! I can’t believe it! When are we moving?” Holly threw her arms around her father and squeezed him hard. “This is the best surprise ever!” Her parents were glad that her attitude had changed about the move. “This farm is going to be a lot of work.”, her mother said very seriously. “Pap will come out and help with his animals from time to time but you and I will have to make sure that our animals and Pap’s have food and water everyday. Daddy will still be working everyday so he won’t have much time to help us. Daddy is going to build a hog pen back there and a chicken coop. We’re going to raise a couple of hogs to butcher next winter and get some good laying hens so we can have fresh eggs everyday. Before you go to school every morning you will have to help me feed the animals and gather the eggs.” Holly’s excitement dwindled for a moment. “You’re going to kill the pigs? I can’t possibly watch you kill something I have to feed everyday. I’d probably choke on a pork chop if I thought it was an animal I had feed and talked to everyday!” Laughter rose from deep in her father’s belly, he laughed so hard she could see his belly jiggling under his blue cotton t-shirt. “You don’t seem to mind eating the deer I put in the freezer every year.”, he said still laughing. Holly wrinkled her nose and made a grunting sound as if he had insulted her.

Mommy and Daddy headed for the old house and Holly crumpled her nose. She was excited about having pet rabbits and a horse of her very own but that old house still looked spooky. “Wow”, said Holly as they got closer to the house, “it’s huge!” The old wooden porch went all the way across the front of the house and down the left side. At both ends of the porch old wooden swings hung from the roof. “Cool”, said Holly, who was already swinging before Daddy could turn the key in the lock to open the front door.

“Come on Pumpkin”, said Daddy, “it is a big old house and there is lots to see.” Daddy flipped on the light switch by the front door. Just inside the front door they were standing in a small room with a huge curving staircase. “This is the entry hall. Those steps lead up to the second floor and the attic.” Cobwebs and dust covered everything. “Ick”, said Holly with disgust. “It’s filthy and there are spiders. This is creepy.” Her parents laughed. “I felt the same way the first time I saw it, but your mother insists it will be beautiful when it is all cleaned up.” Holly made a face again to show her disapproval. “There are probably rats and snakes living in here with these spiders.” The floor creaked when her father stepped on a loose floorboard. Holly shivered and made another face. “There are probably ghosts in here too.” Her mother rolled her eyes and shook her head. Her father just laughed from deep in his belly again.

They went through the doorway to the left first. “This will be the living room.”, her mother said. There was a huge fireplace on one wall with a carved wooden mantle above it. On the same wall there was a door that led out to the wrap around porch. The living room was enormous and had five windows and along the back wall another door. “Come on Holly. I think this will be your favorite room.”, her mother said. Her father opened the door and they all stepped inside. All Holly could say was, “WOW!”

“This is the library.”, her mother said with a smile. “I couldn’t believe the people who used to live here left all these books!” There were two windows on the back wall on either side of a stone fireplace. Every inch of the walls from floor to ceiling were covered by built in shelves. What amazed Holly most was that practically all the shelves were already full of books! Her mother guessed right. From the minute she walked through the door she loved the library. Holly’s eyes wandered from shelf to

shelf. There seemed to be all different sorts of books here. She could hardly wait to help her mother clean this room so she could look through all the books. The room smelled funny, it smelled of dampness, it was musty and dirty, and reminded her of the smell that always seemed to fill her great grandmothers house when they went there to visit.

Holly followed her parents out of the library, through the living room and back to the entry hall. One of the doorways to the right of the entry hall led to a large room her mother said could be used as a bedroom or a den. There was a bathroom between that room and the dining room with a door that opened into either room. Beyond the dining room was a large country kitchen big enough to hold all their appliances and a table and chairs. Just off the kitchen was another fairly big room her mother said had once been a pantry. She listened to her parents chattering about what a nice laundry room it would make while she peeked through windows and opened drawers and doors in the kitchen. Holly screamed when a mouse skittered across the floor after she scared him from his hiding place under one of the kitchen cabinets. “Told you so.”, she muttered under her breath.

As they climbed the curving staircase her mother explained that a doorway at the top led to a large linen closet with pull down stairs leading to the attic. “You never know what kind of treasures we might find when we clean out the attic.”. her mother said with a smile. At the top of the stairs was a short hallway, to the right was a huge bedroom with it’s own bathroom and another small room her mother explained was probably once a nursery. “I’m going to use it for a sewing room and storage.”, her mother announced. Everything in the house was old, the bathrooms looked like they were put in ‘when they outlawed outhouses’ in Holly’s opinion. The bathroom sinks did not have cabinets under them they had

pedestals , the pipes that carried the water in and out were visible beneath the sinks. Some of the rooms had been covered in wallpaper that was yellowed and peeling with age. The rest of them had never been covered with anything at all other than paint.

To the left the hallway held three more bedrooms and a bathroom. “Can I choose the bedroom I want now?”, Holly asked. “Sure”, her father answered, “And pick out one we can decorate for your brother when he visits. The other one will be a junk room I suppose.”, her father said with a chuckle. Holly’s mother shook her head. “No it won’t. I’m planning to use my grandparents old bedroom suite in there and make a real guest room in case we have company.”, her mother said. “There is plenty of space in the attic to store junk.”

As soon as she saw the bedroom at the end of the hallway, Holly knew it was the one she wanted. There were three windows on the wall that faced the porch and two windows that faced the back of the house. Between the two windows were three doors. The first door led to a private balcony just like the one she’d seen in the master bedroom. The door on the right led to a spacious closet and the door in the center led to a short stairway. Holly bounced up the stairs two at a time. When she reached the top she let out a squeal of delight and yelled for her parents to come and look. The room at the top of the stairs was almost round and filled with windows. From this room she could see for miles. She could see the barn and the fields and even mountains in the distance.

The room was no more than five feet long in either direction and the ceiling so low her father could not stand up straight. Holly twirled around in a circle like a ballerina. “I could use this for a playroom.“, Holly said. Her mother laughed. “I guess you have picked out your room.”, her mother said with a grin. Holly nodded . Her father turned and went down the staircase

leaving them alone. “It’s the greatest room I’ve ever seen!”, Holly said. “When will we start working on the house so that we can move?”

“Well, Daddy has to work tomorrow, but there’s no reason that you and I can’t come out here and start working. Why don’t you run down to the truck and get a pen and paper and we will make a list of the supplies we will need.” Holly ran down the steps and left her mother in the tiny room dreaming dreams and making plans. The floor like the other floors in the house was hardwood and would need a good cleaning and a nice round rug. The windows needed scrubbing but would not need curtains, unless you were a bird you would need a ladder to look in them from outside. When Holly returned her mother asked what color she would like her room painted. “Yellow”, Holly answered without taking time to think. “Can we paint the playroom yellow too?” Her mother nodded in agreement and wrote down measuring tape on her paper. “We’ll need to measure all these windows so we can pick up some curtains.”

Taking a peek into the bathrooms her mother decided they would need lots of cleaning supplies. She quickly noted all this on the paper. If they were going to spend the day out here working they would also need toilet tissue which she added to her growing list. “We definitely need a couple of brooms, a dust pan, a mop and bucket too. Don’t forget to write those on the list Mom.”, Holly said. Under her breath she mumbled, “We could probably use a cleaning crew and an exterminator too.”

Back downstairs in the kitchen her mother added paint and shelf lining paper to her growing list of supplies. Holly’s Dad was busy checking out the old wood burning stove in the kitchen. “It shouldn’t be hard to take this out and cover the hole for the chimney flue.”, her father said. Her mother turned around

and moved in front of the stove. “Don’t you even think of it! This is an antique! I think it’s wonderful! I’m going to ask your Dad to come by and check it out. I want to clean it up and use it. We can use it for back up heat in the winter and if the power goes out we could even cook on it.”, her mother said sternly.

“You aren’t serious! I thought this old thing would be in your way.” He shook his head. “I’ll never understand women. I liked the stove but I figured you would say it had to go.” Holly’s mother smiled warmly. “I love this old house. I wish we could furnish it entirely with antiques. That old pot belly stove reminds me of one my grandparents used to have. It adds some charm to the kitchen. I wouldn’t dream of taking it out.”

On the way home that night they stopped in town so that her mother could pick up the cleaning supplies on her list. They also stopped at the grocery store for ice, drinks, bread and sandwich meats for the following day. At home, Holly helped her mother pack her car with the cooler and cleaning supplies before they went to bed. Her mother woke her up before daylight the next morning. Her mother had already showered and dressed. “Wake up sleepyhead. I’ll cook us some breakfast while you take a shower. We have a busy day ahead.”

They ate quickly and loaded a few more items in her mother’s car before they set off for the farm. When they arrived they went out to visit the horses and rabbits. “We’d better feed them now before we get too busy.”, her mother said. When the animals were taken care of they carried all the cleaning supplies in and sat them down in the entry hall. “We’d better start with the bathrooms in case we need to use one.”, her mother said with a wink. “Come on we’ll do the downstairs bathroom together.” Holly and her mother scrubbed every inch of the downstairs bathroom till it gleamed. Holly set a roll of

tissue in the bathroom and made a note for her mother to buy a tissue holder and towel rack for the downstairs bathroom.

Upstairs her mother suggested that Holly work on the bathroom in the hall while she cleaned the one in her room. When they finally finished scrubbing the upstairs bathrooms Holly brought two rolls of tissue upstairs and set it in the bathrooms. “What did you do with that list you started Holly?”, her mother asked. “You need to add two shower curtains and two more tissue holders and towel racks to the list. Let’s take a break and get a soda.” They went back down the stairs and out to the car to get a soda. Then they curled up on the porch swing to take a break. “Don’t we need three shower curtains on the list Mom?”, Holly asked.

“Nope.”, her mother said. “Didn’t you notice that the bathroom downstairs doesn’t have a shower? It still has an antique claw foot tub.” Holly shook her head. “I can’t believe we spent all that time in there scrubbing and I didn’t even notice that Mom.” They sipped their sodas as they swang back and forth on the old wooden swing. “What should we do next Holly? Daddy’s going to stop in town and pick up some burgers for supper on his way here when he gets off work. We have all day and we have already finished three rooms. Why don’t we do a little exploring before we get back to work?” Holly’s eyes glittered with excitement. “I thought maybe you and I could explore the attic and see if there’s still anything stored up there that we might want to use. What do you say? Are you up to an adventure? The first time we came out here you said the house looked spooky. The only place that looks creepy to me in the whole house is the attic and I’d rather not explore it alone.”

“Sure Mom. The people who used to live here left all those books, I wonder if they left anything good up in the attic?” Her

mother’s cell phone jingled from her purse in the entry hall. Holly ran inside to get it. “It’s Meem and Peep, they are coming out to look at the house and they want to know if we need anything.” Her mother reached for the phone. “Hi Mom. Yeah we could use two more gallons of bleach and some more paper towels. It’s pretty dirty but it’s cleaning up nicely. Holly and I used three gallons of bleach and all the bathroom cleaner already.” Her mother was silent for a few minutes and then added, “Nope. We have sodas and stuff to make sandwiches. I can’t think of anything else we need. Ok, thanks Mom we’ll see you shortly. If you don’t see us when you get here just yell. Holly and I are going to explore in the attic.”

“If we are going exploring we’d better hurry.” They finished their sodas and started up the stairs. Her mother pulled down the folding ladder from the linen closet in the hallway. Holly handed her a flashlight and clicked on her own as they started to climb the stairway. At the top her mother found a chain which she clicked on . The attic was filled with cobwebs and dust. Dusty white sheets covered several things she assumed might be pieces of furniture. “Holly go back down and call Peep back and tell him we could use some light bulbs too.” Holly backed down the ladder to make the call for her mother.

Her mother sneezed three times as she entered the dusty old attic. In one corner she found a small bookcase and two boxes of children’s books. One of the boxes seemed to be filled with an assortment of Little Golden Books. She smiled, her daughter would be thrilled. She had been collecting an assortment of Little Golden books for Holly since she was small. Her collection had just doubled. She was poking through the box and reading titles when Holly came into the attic. “Look Holly! A whole box of Little Golden books! And wait till you see these! I haven’t seen any books like these since I was in school.

These are Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, I used to read these when I was a kid! Holly helped her mother sort through the books. “Look Mom! Aren’t these classics? Moby Dick, Oliver Twist and Tom Sawyer.” Her mother nodded. “Maybe you can use this old bookcase too. The glass in one of the doors is cracked but we can always get a new glass.”, her mother said.

In one corner stood an old dressmaker’s dummy. “I doubt I’d ever use that”, her mother said, “but it would make a nice decoration for my sewing room.” Holly pulled the sheet off one of the furnishings and said, “Wow! Is that a spinning wheel Mom? Would that make a cool decoration for your sewing room?” Her mother’s eyes lit up. “It sure would Honey! Isn’t that beautiful? It’s a genuine antique.” Holly pulled back two more dust covered sheets causing her mother to sneeze. Her mother shined her flashlight over two very old tapestry covered rocking chairs. “Wow!”, said her mother. “How would those look in the corners of the library?” Holly plopped down in one of the oversized rockers. “Hey this is comfortable Mom!” Holly and her mother jumped when someone shouted, “We’re here!”, from downstairs. They both laughed at how easily they had been startled and her mother went to the stairway and called down, “Come on up and see what we’ve found! We’re in the attic.”

In a few minutes her grandparents were in the attic with them. Holly showed them the spinning wheel, the bookcase and all the books they had discovered. “Why would anyone have left all these beautiful antiques up here?”, her grandmother said shaking her head. Holly’s mother smiled broadly. “I have no clue, but isn’t it wonderful?” The four of them continued to explore the attic. “It doesn’t look like you

are going to have to buy very much to furnish the place.”, her grandfather said. “It looks like you have more than enough up here to furnish the extra rooms. Mom and I can help you clean up and restore a lot of these pieces so you can use them.”

“Come on”, Holly said, “Let’s give them a tour of the house.” At the bottom of the attic stairs Holly insisted that her grandparents come and look around her room first. “We’re going to paint it yellow.”, Holly said proudly. “Come on Peep! I’ve got to show you the playroom!” Holly flung open the doorway that led to the short staircase and bounded up the stairs two at a time. They all followed Holly up the stairs. “Look at all these windows! You can see for miles!” Her grandparents smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’m sure we can make your bedroom and this play room very nice for you Holly.”, her grandmother commented. “Come on Peep, you’ve got to see the balcony!”, Holly shouted as she bounded down the stairs.

“She wants to paint this room yellow too. I thought we’d scrub the windows and leave them bare so she can enjoy the view and get all the morning sun. Maybe we can find a nice round braided rug to go in the center of the room.” Her mother-in-law smiled and nodded in agreement. The two women went back down the stairs just in time to hear Peep telling Holly, “Some of those railings on your balcony are loose. I don’t want you playing out there until I can help your Daddy fix them. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Her grandmother peeked through the door at the balcony. “Looks like you will be needing one of Peep’s bird feeders and a small table and chair for your balcony.” Holly nodded happily. “That would be great Meem.”, she said.

Holly hurried down the hall and showed her grandparents the room she had picked out for her brother and the guest

room. Her voice filled with pride when she said, “Here’s the bathroom. I cleaned this one all by myself this morning.” Her mother led the way to the master bedroom and bath. When they entered the tiny room beside the bathroom her mother said, “We think this one used to be the nursery but I am planning to turn it into a sewing room. Holly thought that old spinning wheel in the attic would make a great decoration for it. I think so too. I also thought I might use that old dressmaker’s dummy I found up there for a decoration. I was hoping Peep could build some shelves to store supplies and materials on.” Her father-in-law laughed. “Sounds like I am going to be busy out here for a while. ”

“Come on I can’t wait for you to see the rest of the house!”, said Holly. Everyone followed Holly’s mother down the stairs. “Just wait till you see the library! It is so cool!”, Holly said enthusiastically. The grown ups followed Holly through the living room into the library. “Oh my goodness! It’s full of books!” Holly’s grandmother seemed impressed. Like Holly and her mother, her grandmother loved books. “I can’t believe anyone would just move away and leave all these books.” Holly and her grandmother pulled a few books from the shelf and looked at them. “I thought I would use that old sofa you told me I could have right here in front of the fireplace Mom. Holly and I found two old tapestry covered rockers in the attic we thought would look great in the corners. I thought I might use that mahogany coffee table in front of the sofa. One of the end tables is broken and I don’t think there’s much we can do to fix it but we could use the other one beside one of the chairs. Maybe I can find an old floor lamp at the flea market to use beside the other one.”, Holly’s mother said.

“Oh that sounds like a great idea dear. Maybe you could

use that antique lamp that belonged to your great grandmother on the end table. I think it would be just perfect.” Holly’s mother smiled shyly at her father in law. “I was hoping I could get you to build us one of those wheeled ladders to use in the library.” Holly’s grandfather chuckled. “Let me add that to my list.”, he said. Holly’s grandmother was still looking through the books when she turned to her daughter-in-law and said, “It will take all day one day for us to take all these books down to clean the shelves and dust the books. I would love to help with that just so I can see what is here.”

Walking back through the entry hall Holly pointed into the empty room on the right. “Mom says we could use that for a den.” Holly led the way through the dining room into the kitchen. “Look Peep, Mom says we’re going to keep that old pot belly stove right where it is. She says we can use it for back up heat or even to cook on if the electricity ever goes out.” Her grandfather checked out the old stove. “Sounds like a good idea to me but I think it’s going to need a lot of cleaning and maybe a little work.” “I’m going to put a table and chairs in that corner. I always loved an eat in kitchen. I doubt we’ll use the dining room unless we have company. This,”, she said pointing into the little room to the side, “used to be the pantry but we thought it would make a nice laundry room.”

“Oh”, said Holly, “We forgot to show you the downstairs bathroom and the tub with feet.” They all followed Holly to the bathroom. “I can’t believe that old tub cleaned up so well.”, said Holly’s grandmother. “I guess you’ll replace it eventually.” Holly’s mother shook her head. “We have two more modern showers upstairs already. We probably won’t use this one much but I think it adds some charm to the house. I think we’ll decorate it simply. I was thinking I might sew some lace on the edges of a set of towels and hang them over a wooden towel

bar. I have an old wash basin and pitcher that belonged to my grandmother. I am hoping I can find a stand to put them on and use them in the bathroom for decoration.”

“The house has a lot of potential Dear.”, said Holly’s grandmother. “It will be beautiful when it’s all cleaned up and you get it decorated. It’s a huge house. I’m afraid you won’t have a lot of spare time. Just cleaning this house and taking care of your family is going to be a job.” “When you add the responsibility of taking care of the animals to the housework it’s going to be quite a task.”

Holly’s mother nodded in agreement. “I know.”, she said. “I’m going to be busy everyday. It will be wonderful to have fresh eggs everyday though. And it will be wonderful for Holly and I to be able to ride the horses together. We’ve already explained to Holly that she will have to help with the animals every morning before she goes to school.” Holly’s mother opened the back door and stepped outside onto the porch. “Just imagine a few cords of wood stacked next to that old out building to help keep the house cozy in the winter. And over there a nice big garden filled with peppers, onions, potatoes, carrots, green beans and corn. I will have plenty of room to stack canned food on the laundry room shelves. Maybe we can get a big freezer and store it in the laundry room as well.”

“We’ll be like regular farmers.”, said Holly. “Pap told Daddy he would give him a beef every year at slaughter time just to help him out with his animals. Daddy says we’re going to have our own hogs and chickens too. I bet we won’t have to go to the grocery store much once we start getting food out of our garden. Daddy says our freezer will be full of deer meat and beef and pork from the hogs.”

“Well Dear what can we help you two do this afternoon? Where should we start?” Holly’s stomach rumbled. “Could we start with a sandwich and a drink? Just talking about all this work is making me hungry,”, said Holly. “Good idea.”, said Peep, “My stomach is feeling a little empty too.” The four of them had a picnic lunch on the porch. When they finished eating Holly and her grandfather decided to explore the attic a while longer and see if they could find any more treasures. Holly’s mother and grandmother started working on the kitchen. By the time Holly’s father arrived that evening they had cleaned all three bathrooms, the kitchen, the dining room and the laundry room.

On Sunday morning Holly and her parents got up early and went back to the farm. This time they only took a cooler of drinks with them. Holly’s grandparents promised to meet them at the farm early Sunday morning. Holly’s grandmother brought a basket of bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and a huge thermos of coffee. Since the kitchen was already clean, her grandmother also brought along a coffee maker and some coffee. The five of them had breakfast on the porch. When they were finished her father and grandfather walked through the house with a pen and paper making notes about paint and tools they needed to pick up.

Holly’s grandfather brought his tools from the truck so they could start working on the balcony railings. Holly, her mother and grandmother used wadded up news papers and vinegar to clean all the windows inside the house. When they finished the windows her mother and grandmother made notes about all the windows and their sizes. Holly’s mother tucked the note in her purse before they decided to take a break. “Dad and I are going into town to get paint and brushes. Do you want to come with us Holly?” Holly shook her head. Usually she loved to go riding with her father, but today she was too excited about

the new house. “No Daddy. I’m going to help Mom and Meem here. Are you and Peep going to bring us back some lunch?”

“What would you like?”, her father questioned. Holly shrugged. “I don’t care Daddy. Just bring us something good so we don’t have to leave till supper time.” Her father smiled. He was glad that she liked the house. They had worried that she would be unhappy about moving. Now it seemed Holly was more excited about the move than they were. Holly waved goodbye as her father and grandfather drove away. “Where do we start next Mom?”, Holly asked.

“Well let me see”, said Holly’s mother, “if we finish the entry hall, the den and the living room Daddy and Peep can start painting downstairs. We can’t do much to the library till we get a ladder. Then we need to scrub the stairs and the railing and see if they are going to have to have a coat of varnish. After lunch while Daddy and Peep are painting we can start upstairs. We need to clean out that linen closet so we will have somewhere to store our bathroom tissue and cleaning supplies upstairs. After that we can start on your room if you’d like.” Holly grinned. She could hardly wait to start on her room so it could be painted and she could start working on it.

By the time her father and grandfather got back with lunch they had finished the entire downstairs except for the library. The steps and railing were clean and her mother had made a note to get some more furniture polish to shine the banisters and railings with. Her mother and her grandmother cleaned out the linen closet and lined the shelves with paper while Holly visited the horses. They all sat down on the edge of the front porch and ate the subs Daddy brought back from town. When lunch was over the girls went upstairs to start on Holly’s room while Daddy and Peep started painting downstairs. “Mom, how long will it take us to get everything done so we

can move in?”, Holly asked.

“Oh not too long Holly. Meem and Peep are going to come out and help me all next week while you are in school. We have to finish painting and then we have to call an electrician to wire the laundry room and the phone company to install some phone jacks. Daddy and I have to go out and buy a new refrigerator and stove for the kitchen. As soon as all that is done we will be ready to start moving our things. I’d say we will start moving in a week or less.”

The three of them started working in Holly’s room when the linen closet was cleaned out. Holly took a broom upstairs to the play room and cleaned down the cobwebs and swept the floor. Her Grandmother scrubbed the play room floor while her mother swept out the closet and cleaned up all the cobwebs and dust inside it. Then her mother used the broom to get down all the cobwebs and sweep the bedroom floor. Her grandmother swept off her balcony and cleaned up the stairwell while she and her mother scrubbed the bedroom floor. “All right”, said her grandmother, “Your room is all ready to paint.”

By the time the men had finished painting they had done a great deal of cleaning and spent a good amount of time going through things in the attic. It was nearing supper time and they were all tired and covered in filth. “Come on kid’s”, her grandmother said, “let’s call it a day. Why don’t you follow us back to our house. We can get cleaned up there. I left a roast in the crock pot. We can have some dinner and decide what we are going to accomplish tomorrow.”

After dinner Holly and her parents headed home. Early Monday morning Holly’s mother dropped her off at school on the way to the farm. When she arrived she fed the horses and

tended to Holly’s rabbits. She carried a small step ladder into the house. Today her father-in-law had promised to build a ladder for the library. She pulled stacks of flattened boxes out of the trunk of her car and grabbed a roll of tape. In the library she started taking books off the shelves and dusting them off. In one box she placed all the non fiction books. On one box she wrote REFERENCE in bold letters and began to pile dictionaries, an atlas, and history books. On another box she wrote Encyclopedias in bold letters and began to dust them off and place them in the box. She scooted the heavy boxes across the floor and into the living room.

She was busy dusting books and sorting through them when her husband’s parents arrived to give her a hand. Her mother-in-law gave her a quick hug and busily started to fill her own boxes. “I stopped by the store this morning and picked up some things for Holly’s room. I found a border with ballerina’s dancing across it. They are all dressed in various pastel colored outfits. I thought it would look nice with that yellow paint Holly picked out for her room. Dad’s up there painting already. He’s painting the top half of the walls white and the bottom half yellow. The border can go in the center of the wall. I also picked up some white wooden shelves to go over the top of each window.”

“Dad said he would pick up an antiquing kit for that bedroom suite we found in the attic. He wanted to finish it this week while she’s in school and surprise her with it.” She hugged her mother-in-law again. “You two are the greatest.”, she said with a smile. The two women worked together until all the books were off the shelves, cleaned and boxed. When they finished they cleaned away all the cobwebs and dust from the walls and shelves so they could sweep and scrub the floor. Before they were finished Peep came downstairs and told them it was time to take a break. “I’ve got coffee in the

thermos.”, he said with a smile. “Let’s take a look at Holly’s room and then get a cup of coffee.” Holly’s room looked bright and clean with the fresh coat of paint. “You two will have to put up that border.”, he said. “I’ll hang up those shelves after we have some coffee.”

“While you hang the shelves, we’ll go uncover that bedroom suite and start carrying the drawers down the stairs. I can’t believe we were able to keep it hidden from Holly.” When they finished their coffee the two women climbed the attic stairs. The bed frame had tall posts on each corner. It was so heavy that it took both women to carry it over to the stairs. The dresser and tall chest were also very heavy. They scooted them across the attic floor near the stairs. Then they moved the nightstand and the bookcase that she planned to use. “Let’s measure that glass so Peep can order a new one for that door that’s cracked.” While Holly’s grandmother measured the glass, her mother scooted the other tall chest and hutch she had found over to the door. “These will look great with that bed room suite once they are refinished.”, she said as she dusted off her hands.

It took all three of them to carry the furniture down the attic stairs. They pushed it all into Holly’s room. “We don’t plan to bring Holly back out here before Friday. I hope we can get her room all finished by then.” Back in the library the two women finished their cleaning and scrubbing so the library could be painted and the books could be returned to the shelves. When the library was cleaned and painted they moved the cartons of books back into the library and stacked them on the floor. “I wouldn’t put those back on the shelves till the paint has aged a few days.”, he said to the women. “What else can we do here today before you have to get back home and get Holly off the bus?”

“I brought some shower curtains and towel racks with me. We can hang those today. I also have some curtain rods and some curtains that can be hung. If you can hang the rods in the kitchen, Mom and I can hang the new kitchen curtains. Wait till you see what I found! In the meantime Mom and I can hang the shower curtains and the towel racks.” It was about two thirty in the afternoon when they decided they had done all they could possibly do. “I’ll pick up that antiquing kit for Holly’s bedroom suite this evening. Mom and I will meet you back here in the morning.” She hugged them goodbye and waved to them as they drove away.

By Friday the house was almost ready to move into. Holly’s room was finished. She had even managed to find a large area rug and some scatter rugs that matched the pastel colors they had used to decorate the room. On Thursday the furniture company delivered a new mattress and box springs for Holly’s bed. Before she left on Thursday afternoon the room was completely ready for Holly to see. The furniture had all been refinished a brilliant antique white. Even the bookcase with it’s new glass was finished and standing under a window beside a bright white rocking chair and a tall floor lamp. The jewel box from the attic was perched on the gleaming white dresser. Peep had even built her a new entertainment center to hold her television, stereo and video games and finished it antique white to match the rest of the furniture in her room. The bed was made, the curtains were hung and all the treasured new books had found a home in the bookcase. All Holly had to do was pack up her things and start moving them into her new room. The tall chest her grandfather had refinished stood in a corner with the hutch perched atop it ready to hold books, or dolls or whatever she chose to keep on it’s shelves.

The playroom was finished too. Inside it stood the mended cradle Holly had found in the attic. In the corners of the room bright white plastic chains hung ready to hold all her stuffed animals. Another row of neat white shelves stood ready next to the ceiling to hold her other treasures. A handmade toy box with a bench seat stood under two of the windows in the playroom ready to hold her favorite toys. Shelves built from ceiling to floor between the windows were painted a bright white and stood waiting for her to fill them with dolls and treasures.

School was out now and Holly’s mother planned to take a few loads of things out to the farm. Holly slept until seven o’clock on Friday morning. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she climbed out of the bed and mumbled, “Good morning.”, as she passed her mother in the hallway. The doorbell rang, her grandparents had arrived to help her mother move a few loads of their things to the farm. When Holly came out of the bathroom, her mother and grandmother were in her room putting boxes together. Her mother had already packed the toys from her closet and her grandfather was busily loading them on the back of his truck. “Why don’t you have a bowl of cereal while we start packing up your clothes Holly? When you finish I’ll help you pack up the rest of things in your room.”, her grandmother said.

Holly’s mother followed her to the kitchen and busied herself packing dishes into the boxes on the floor. Her grandfather started carrying boxes to his truck from her parent’s room. Thursday afternoon, Holly had helped her mother pack almost everything in the bathroom, their extra blankets and bed linens and about half of their towels and wash cloths. Long after she and her father had gone to bed on Thursday night, her mother was still busy packing up things in their living room

and dining room. As she stumbled to bathroom early that morning she had seen her father and mother carrying boxes out to his truck. She and her mother would be driving her father’s truck today so they could move boxes to the new house.

Holly was still excited about the move but she hadn’t realized it would be so much work. When she finished her breakfast, she and her grandmother finished packing up the things in her room. When all the boxes were loaded on the trucks her grandparents followed she and her mother to the farm. When they arrived at the farm, Holly had expected to start moving in the boxes. Instead, her mother told her that they had a surprise for her. “We’d like you to start working on your room as soon as we get all the boxes moved into the house. But first we thought you might like to see how your room turned out.” Holly could hardly wait to see her room. The grownups couldn‘t keep up with her as she bounded quickly up the stairs and sprinted down the hallway to her room. They couldn‘t help but laugh when they heard her delighted shouts as she opened her bedroom door. “Oh I love it! It’s the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen!”, she shouted happily. “Well”, said her grandfather, “I guess we had better start unloading those boxes so Miss Holly can start working on her room.”

The four of them carried all the boxes from the trucks into the new house. Her mother had labeled all the boxes carefully so that they would easily be able to unpack them. “Come on Holly.”, her grandmother said, “I’ll help you start unpacking your boxes.” Her mother and grandfather carried the boxes marked TOYS up the stairs to the playroom. “I could start hanging the stuffed animals up on the chains for her.”, said her grandfather. “Okay.”, answered her mother. “I guess I will start unpacking boxes in the kitchen.”

Her grandmother helped her hang her clothes and neatly fold them in drawers as they unpacked them. Her grandfather hung the animals from the plastic chains. Then he carefully hooked up her stereo, television and DVD player for her. By lunchtime Holly and her grandparents had finished unpacking all Holly’s things. Her grandparents had neatly hung all her posters and pictures on her walls. Her bedroom and playroom were completely finished. Her mother had finished unpacking all their pots, pans and dishes. She was standing on her step stool hanging a picture of a rooster over the old pot bellied stove when the three of them came downstairs.

“Okay”, said her grandfather, “time for some lunch. We can stop on the way back to the old house and eat before we pick up another load.” The four of them piled into their trucks and headed for town. In town, her mother followed her grandfather into the parking lot of a small diner. The four of them went inside and ordered. While they waited for their food to arrive the grown ups discussed what they needed to pick up on this load. “If we get your bedroom furniture moved in this evening, you’ll be able to spend the night in the new house. It looks like we can have you completely moved in and settled by the middle of next week.”

The four of them enjoyed a well deserved break as they ate their lunches. Back at the old house her mother and grandmother stripped the beds and washing the sheets and comforters before they packed them. They were busy taking down the bunk beds that had been in Holly’s room when her father came home from work. Holly, her mother and grandmother helped the men finish packing up her father’s truck. “If your Mom will drop me by my house”, her grandmother said, “I’ll fix us all some dinner and bring it out to the house.”

Back at the farm there wasn’t much for Holly to do. Her father and grandfather were busy moving furniture into the house while her mother decided where she wanted to put everything. Holly decided to go up to the attic and poke through some of the boxes that they hadn’t had time to go through yet. There didn’t seem to be much left in the attic that was worth saving. Holly’s attention was drawn to the cartons of books that her mother had moved close to the stairs. Holly decided she could help her mother by cleaning up the old books and moving them downstairs. The boxes were too heavy for her to move so she decided to carry a few at a time down the stairs so they could be cleaned up and sorted. Carefully she stacked as many as she could carry and carried them down the stairs.

In the library she dusted and cleaned four stacks of books. When they were clean, she opened them one by one and decided which stack to place them on. Her mother’s idea to sort the books into fiction and non fiction categories before shelving them was a good one. It would make choosing books from the library much simpler when they wanted to find one to read. Though it was a good idea, it was going to make putting them away a much harder task. Holly didn’t mind the extra work. She loved books. Holly went back up the stairs and took the last five books from the carton she had been busy moving. One of the books looked very old to Holly. The book was hand bound in soft leather. There was no title on the cover. In the library she carefully cleaned and sorted the old books. She looked at the leather bound book carefully. The pages inside were handwritten. It appeared to be someone’s journal. Less than half of the books pages contained any writing and the first twenty pages were written in a language that she could not read.

Holly was curious about the book. She took it with her to her room and carefully turned the pages. She wished that she could read the strange words that were written on the first pages. “I wonder what language this is?”, Holly pondered aloud. Plugging her laptop into the phone jack beside her bed, she decided to look up the strange writing and see if she could find out what language it was. Holly went to the closet and took a pen from her backpack. Carefully she opened the book to the first blank page and began to write.

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June 8th, 2007

My parents and I are moving into an old house. The people who used to live here left a lot of old books behind. My mother and I found several cartons of old books in the attic of the house. This book, which appears to be someone’s journal was in one of the cartons. I looked on the internet and found out that the first few pages written in this book are in French. I’m curious about the people who used to live here. I think I will try to find a French dictionary and try to read what they have written.

When my parent’s first brought me here and told me we were moving I didn’t really want to. Then they showed me the horses and the bunnies and I decided it might not be so bad after all. When we looked around inside the house they let me pick out my own room. It is the most awesome room I have ever seen! My room has it’s own balcony and a stairway that leads to a smaller room I am using for a playroom. I can hardly wait for my friends and my cousins to see it! My mother and my grandparents surprised me by painting and decorating the rooms for me. Today my grandparents helped me unpack all my things and get moved into it.

Everyone else is busy moving furniture and unpacking. I was

bored so I decided to explore in the attic again. I found this old book in one the cartons in the attic. I couldn’t read the writing in the front of the book because it was in French. The book is almost like a mystery from the past. Moving here is becoming an adventure.

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Holly laid the pen down and began typing on her laptop. She soon found a language translator and began to type in the words from the front of the book. The first page only had a few words: Faites attention ce que vous souhaitez. Holly typed the sentence into the language translator and clicked translate. The words read simply: Be careful what you wish for. The next page was almost as short as the first. She quickly typed in the words on the second page: Les mots que vous ecrivez en ce livre affecteront votre vie et les vies de ceux vous ecrivez environ. Pensez soigneusement avant que vous ecrivez.

With the words copied into the translator Holly clicked translate. Within seconds this appeared on her screen: The words you write in this book will affect your life and the lives of those you write about. Think carefully before you write. Holly read and reread the translation. “What an odd thing to say.”, Holly said to herself. Holly was startled as she heard her mother call to her from the hallway. “Coming Mom.”, she yelled back. She shut down her computer, closed the old leather book and slid it under her pillow.

“Grandma just got here with dinner Holly. Let’s go downstairs and take a break. After we have dinner I’m going to need your help again.” The steam was still rising from Meem’s homemade pepper steak and rice. “Yum”, said Holly, “my

favorite!” The family gathered around the kitchen table to eat their dinner. Holly was the first one finished. She was ready to help her mother so she could get back to her room and translate more of the mysterious journal. Holly and her mother did the dishes while the rest of the family sat around the kitchen table sipping hot coffee.

When the kitchen was cleaned her father and grandfather started laying the new kitchen tile. She and her grandmother moved to the library to start shelving the many boxes of books. Her mother went upstairs and busied herself making up beds. Her grandparents had decided to spend the night so they could get an early start on the house the following morning. Her mother made the bed in the guest room before making her own bed. While Holly and her grandmother were shelving books, Holly’s mother unpacked the boxes marked clothes in the room she would share with Holly’s father. It was late when they finished and Holly’s dad suggested they all get a good nights sleep. When the grownups were all in bed and Holly could hear soft snores drifting down the hall, she turned on her bedside lamp. Sitting up on her bed, she turned her laptop back on and pulled the leather book from beneath her pillow. When she translated the pages, she learned that the journal belonged to a young French woman.

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Virginia is not at all like Louisiana. I miss my Mama and my Papa. My husband is not as kind as he was when I met him in Louisiana. He still buys me pretty dresses but he forbids me make potions or talk of anything magical. I do not like it here. I wrote to Mama and told her how I felt. She and Papa traveled all the way from Louisiana to see me and Mama brought me this enchanted book. Mama says if I ever want to come home to her and Papa all I have to do is write down my wish and it will come true. The day after Mama and Papa left for home I

thought about how much I missed them and I almost sent myself home.

John is a good man but he does not understand the ways of the Cajun people. I thought he was being unkind when he forbid me to make potions until he explained it to me. He says the people here would not understand that I use magic only for good. They would call me evil and he fears for my safety should they ever learn I practice magic. I will save Mama’s book in case I ever need to use it, but my place is here with my husband now.

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Holly wondered if the words written on the pages were true. Could the book really be enchanted? If that were true it could be dangerous to write her own wishes in the book. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to think about a safe wish and write it down just to see what happened. She would have to give it a lot of thought. She could barely sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes she thought about what she had read. Before daylight, Holly woke up again and turned on her bedside lamp. She was happy in the new house. She had always loved animals and wanted pets of her own. Now here she was living on a farm with animals of her own. “I wish I had a dog too.”, Holly said aloud.

Then she smiled and wondered if a wish like that would come true if she wrote it in her book. Holly sat on her bed and turned on her laptop. She looked at page after page filled with different dogs. When she came to a picture of a collie puppy she decided it would make the perfect farm dog. Carefully Holly wrote in the enchanted book:

I wish that everyone in the house would wake up this morning to the sound of a collie puppy barking on the back

porch. I wish that Mom and Dad would say I could keep it if we can’t find it’s owner. Of course no one will claim the puppy because I wished it here. I will name her Lassie just like the one in the movies. Holly smiled and closed the book. Just as the sun rose and light spilled through her bedroom curtains Holly heard the sharp barking of a dog outside the house. She looked out her windows but couldn’t see anything outside. As the dog continued to bark she heard her family moving around down the hall.

Holly put on her slippers and robe and followed the grownups downstairs. The barking was coming from their back porch. (Just like she wrote.) Her father opened the back door and scooped up the puppy. “Where’d you come from?’, her father asked. Holly smiled. It worked. The book was enchanted. She wished for the puppy and here it was. Holly’s parents agreed that if no one claimed the puppy she could keep it just as she had written.

“We’ve got a busy day ahead. We’d better get dressed so we can get started.”, her father said. When she was dressed Holly rode into town with her father to pick up some biscuits and orange juice for breakfast. “I guess we should pick up some food for that puppy too.” When they got back to the farm Holly ran inside to get two bowls. She placed a bowl of water and puppy food on the floor. The puppy gulped down the food while Holly and her family had biscuits and juice. Then it tagged after Holly as she went out to feed the rabbits and the horses.

Holly really wanted to get back to her room and translate more of the journal. She found it hard to keep her mind on the work her mother asked her to help with. Her mind wandered to the journal and things she might wish for as she worked alongside her family that day. When the delivery truck arrived

with their new refrigerator and stove, Holly was able to slip away to her room long enough to translate two more pages of the journal.

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I took some old blankets and clothes up to the attic this morning to store them. When I opened the trunk to put the blankets inside, this old journal caught my eye. I haven’t thought of it in years. I got a letter from Mama two days ago. She said Papa is very ill. I’ve spent the biggest part of the last two days crying. I still miss Mama and Papa so much and I haven’t seen them in years. Sometimes I’m afraid I will never see them again.

I’ve been careful not to ever write my wishes in this journal until now. Jessie, my oldest son, has gone with my husband to get supplies in Woodstock. They will be gone for several days. Caroline, my oldest daughter will be fourteen on Saturday. I’m going to ask her to watch the baby today while I clean the attic. I don’t know if it will work but I intend to make a wish today and write it in the journal. I’ve thought about my wish all morning.

Caroline is with Roy Elizabeth in the nursery now and there won’t be anyone to bother me. For so long I have wished to return to Louisiana to see Mama and Papa. I wish that Mama’s magic book would send me to Louisiana to see Mama and Papa today and bring me back home in time to cook supper.

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The ink on the pages was blurred and Holly couldn’t make out the last words that disappeared into a spot of faded blue ink. She carefully turned the yellowed page and began to work on translating the next page. Her mother’s light knocking at her door startled her. Holly shoved the leather book

beneath her pillow and closed the lid on her laptop. “Do you need me Mom?”, Holly said as she opened her bedroom door. “I sure do. Meem and I are going to finish shelving those books in the library this afternoon and then I need to go to the grocery store. I thought you could help us with the books and then you can go to the store with me.”

“Sure Mom.”, Holly answered. “I’ll be right down.” Holly shut her computer down and made sure the journal was well hidden beneath her pillow. She cheerfully helped them shelve the books. When they finished her grandfather announced, “Mom and I are going to call it a day. We’re not as young as we used to be and all this work is catching up with us. Besides, you said you needed to go grocery shopping. We’ll see you all tomorrow. Mom and I will bring the shampooer and attachments out with us and see if we can help you clean up those chairs tomorrow.”

“Bye Mom. Bye Dad. We love you both.”, her father said as he gave them both a hug. “Thanks for all your help. We should be completely settled in within a week thanks to you.” From the front porch the family waved goodbye as her grandparents pulled down the driveway. “If you two will give me a chance to shower and change I’ll go shopping with you.”, her father said. “We won’t worry about cooking or cleaning tonight. We’ll just grab a burger while we are in town. I’m tired and I know you are too. I think we should get the groceries and pick up a couple of movies and spend the evening relaxing. We deserve a break.”

Holly followed her father upstairs. She changed her clothes and decided to go out and check on Lassie, Sugar, Star and the bunnies before they went into town. That evening when Holly and her mother had put all the groceries away, Holly helped her mother make some dip. They poured three tall

glasses of iced tea and carried a tray of chips and dip to the den. Holly and her mother curled up next to her father and they spent a quiet evening relaxing together. Holly helped her mother wash their dishes before they went to bed. She kissed her parents goodnight and climbed into her bed. Holly was too tired to even think of looking at the journal that night. Her head barely hit the pillow before she was asleep.

Holly’s alarm clock woke her before daylight. She climbed out of bed, dressed and tiptoed down the stairs. She opened the backdoor and picked up the puppy’s bowls. She intended to surprise her parents this morning. Holly fed the puppy and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. The sun was just beginning to rise when Holly started out to the barn with Lassie close on her heels. “I have to feed the other animals now Lassie.”, she said. Holly carefully opened the rabbit hutch and filled the bowls with water and feed. Then she went inside the barn and gave the horses fresh food and water.

Lassie followed her through the house to the kitchen where she sat quietly watching as Holly made two plates of scrambled eggs and toast for her parents. Holly put the plates on the serving tray her mother had used the night before. Then she filled two glasses with orange juice and carried the tray up the stairs. She sat the tray on the floor outside her parent’s door and knocked softly. Her mother answered sleepily from the other side. Holly opened their door and carried the tray inside. “Wow”, said her mother, “I didn’t know this house had room service.” Holly laughed. Her parents sat up in bed and kissed her good morning. Holly handed them their plates and glasses. “I think this house is awesome.”, Holly said. “I think you are both pretty awesome too.” Holly kissed them on their cheeks and softly closed their bedroom door on her way out.

Holly’s father found her sitting on the porch swing playing with the puppy. “Don’t get too attached to that puppy yet.”, her father said. “I still have to call the newspaper Monday morning and put a notice in the Lost and Found column about her.” Her father ruffled her hair with his fingers then rubbed the puppy’s head. “Come on Pumpkin. Your Mom is unpacking pictures and decorations. While she decides where to hang them we have time to give the horses a good brushing.”

Lassie followed Holly and her father to the barn where they had a nice conversation while her father taught her how to curry or brush the horses. “As soon as we get the house settled, I’ll take you and Mom to a tack shop so we can buy your saddles.” Holly grinned happily at her father. “I can’t wait until we can ride them Daddy.”, she said. “Living here is going to be wonderful!”

“Living here is going to be a lot of work young lady. I hope you still think it’s wonderful after I get the chicken coop and hog pen built and stocked. I talked to Pap yesterday. He wants to bring some equipment out here so I can dig a couple of ponds on the farm. I think I will build one that we can see from the house. Pap and I thought we might stock that one with fish.” Holly smiled again. “It would be nice to have a place to fish right here on the farm.”, she said. The sounds of wheels crunching over the gravel drive interrupted their conversation. “Mom and Dad are here.”, he said. Holly followed her father out of the barn to greet her grandparents.

Her dad and grandpa started bringing down the furniture her mother wanted to use from the attic while her mother and grandmother worked together to unpack and hang the pictures and decorations. Holly decided to work on her brother’s room. Her mother had already arranged the furniture

and hung his curtains. She opened his door and saw that the sword she found in the attic lay on his bed. Stacks of boxes sat in the middle of the floor. Holly decided to open the boxes marked Clothes first. She neatly folded and put away the things she could not hang. Taking his video games out of the box she neatly arranged them on his entertainment center. She carefully picked up the sword and moved it out of her way so she could make up her brother’s bunk beds. Climbing to the top she put on the sheets and spread out one of the dark blue comforters. Carefully she smoothed the wrinkles from the bottom bunk and threw the pillows on his bed. A tear slid down her cheek as she worked. “I miss you big brother.”, she said with a sob. Holly’s brother had made the decision three years before that he wanted to live with his own dad. She didn’t get to see him nearly as often as she would like and she and her mother both missed him. Holly neatly stacked his board games on the shelf in his closet. She put his baseball and football on the wooden shelf in the corner before unrolling the large braided rug in front of his bed. Then she broke down all the empty boxes and carried them outside to the pile of trash to be hauled away.

While the grownups were busy working in the house, Holly found time to slip away to her room. Holly pulled the old leather bound book from beneath her pillow and slid the laptop onto her knees. Slowly she typed the words on the next pages so she could read them.

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It was good to see Mama and Papa again. I’m glad I decided to use a wish. Papa looks very ill. If I had waited any longer it might have been too late. Fate can be changed, but even Mama’s strong magic cannot keep God from taking Papa home if it is his time to go. I saw my baby sister while I was there. She is no longer a baby. She has grown into a beautiful

woman and has children of her own. Perhaps I will wish myself there again soon if I can find an opportunity.

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The next entry in the journal was dated a month later. It read:

I was selfish to wish for the book to take me home and now I must suffer. The book did return me home in time to cook supper that day just as I had written but it was too late. Roy Elizabeth was fussy while I was gone so Caroline decided to feed her. When I returned from my visit with Mama and Papa I went downstairs to check on the children and cook their supper. I found Caroline sitting on the kitchen floor sobbing while she cradled the baby in her arms. It seems that the baby choked on her food and Caroline was unable to dislodge the food. Roy Elizabeth choked to death that afternoon and I know it was my fault. We buried her in my husband’s family plot by the river on Sunday when he returned. Caroline sits in her room with the baby’s toys sobbing all day. She blames herself for the baby’s death. I can not tell them about the enchanted book so I must sit back and watch her grieving herself to death.

I wonder if I wished I had stayed here that afternoon if I could change the course of fate? Perhaps the people here that believe magic is evil are right. I dare not make another wish for fear something bad will happen. I should destroy the book but I can’t. Someday when I am gone perhaps my daughter will discover it and realize that she was not to blame for her sister’s death.

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The handwriting on the next pages were different from the others and were all written in English.

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This morning I came to the attic to find Mama’s old wedding

gown. George Wyatt has asked me to marry him and I said yes. Papa and Mama gave their blessing. We are to be married in three weeks. While I was digging through the trunks searching for Mama’s dress I found this old journal. I have spent the better part of the morning trying to remember the French Lessons Mama taught me when I was a girl.

Poor Mama, all these years she has been afraid to tell me about the enchanted journal. Perhaps no one else would understand Mama’s magic. It is a good thing that she kept it to herself. Mama was wrong though, I did not blame myself, I blamed her for leaving me alone with the baby. I did grieve for the loss of my sister and I will always miss her. Now that I have read Mama’s journal I do not blame her anymore. I pity her. I wanted to hug her and tell her I had found the enchanted journal. I wanted to tell her that it wasn’t her fault that the baby died that day. But I dare not speak of the journal or Mama’s magic. Perhaps she has forgotten it anyway. Or perhaps she just remembered what she herself had written all those years ago about God taking you home when it is your time to go. I’d rather like to think of it that way. Maybe heaven needed a new angel more than we needed Roy Elizabeth here on earth. I can’t imagine how sad I would be if George would take me far away from Mama and Papa. It must have been very hard on Mama.

George’s Papa is sick and his Mama has been dead nearly three years now. . He and his family only live a few miles east of here. I’m very fond of his little sister Amy, she is about the same age Roy Elizabeth would be now if she had lived. I wish George’s Papa would ask us to live with them and take over his plantation for him. I wish that George and I would live long happy lives there and raise a large happy family. I wish my brother Jessie would marry Laura James from the valley and

stay with Mama and Papa. And finally I wish that Mama and Papa would live long healthy lives with their children and grandchildren here to comfort them in their old age.

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I found Mama’s wedding gown in one of the attic trunks. Mama and I washed and mended it. Papa says I will be a beautiful bride, even prettier than Mama was. George and I will be married tomorrow. His father asked George to take over his plantation. I believe this book really is enchanted. I’m going to pack it with my things and take it with me when I go.

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George and I have been married nearly two years now. Little Amy is growing into a beautiful young woman and she has become my closest friend. George is making his father’s plantation prosper. Things are going well for all of us. Mama and Papa are healthy and happy. Laura and Mama seem to get along well. Mama is very excited because Laura and Jessie will have their first child in the fall. I wish George and I would have a child soon. In fact, I wish we would have twins! I wish we would have strong healthy twins, a boy and a girl. I would name them Roy and Elizabeth. I wish that I would have the twins in the Spring and they would grow healthy and strong and live long happy lives right here in Virginia.

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Holly closed her eyes and thought about the former owners of the journal. Caroline’s mother had said it might not be wise to make selfish wishes. Caroline had been careful to make her wishes plain and not allow any room for misfortune. Holly closed the journal and slipped it under her pillow. She wondered if she could use the journal to make the same kinds of happy wishes. She closed her eyes again, this move had made her entire family happy already and if she was careful what she wished for, she could use the enchanted journal to make all their lives

one big happy adventure after another.