Sophie the Chatterbox (2 page)

A
park ranger met Sophie’s class as soon as they got off the bus. Sophie could tell she was a park ranger because of her Smokey Bear hat. That was even before she said, “Hello there! My name is Ranger Fawn.”

The ranger’s smile was very big. And she was very tall.

“Welcome to Popes Creek,” she said, “otherwise known as George Washington’s birthplace. Have any of you ever been here before?”

Mindy raised her hand. Of course. She liked to say she had done things (even when she had not).

Most kids shook their heads.

“No. I have not,” Sophie honestly said. “My mom wanted to come one time. But my dad said it sounded too boring. And my little brother, Max, won’t sit in a stroller anymore. The last time we took him somewhere, he jumped on an old bed and we all got in trouble. So we stayed home and did the Slip ‘n Slide instead, because that is never boring, and you’re
supposed
to jump on it.”

Ranger Fawn looked down at Sophie. “Wow!” she said, smiling. “We have a chatterbox here, don’t we?”

Behind her, Toby laughed. Sophie could hear him loud and clear. And Archie. And Mindy. And Lily. And everyone else in their class, she bet.

Sophie wanted to say, “Excuse me. That is not funny. Look at my shirt. I am not a
chatterbox.
I’m Sophie the Honest!”

But Ranger Fawn was already turning around. “Okeydokey, let’s get started!” she said.

The ranger led the class down a path along a river. There were shady trees and wooden fences.
Behind one fence were sheep. Behind another were some cows. There were also a bunch of little white buildings and a big house made of brick. But the ranger didn’t stop at any of those. Instead, she stopped in front of some lines of white rocks on the ground.

“This is the house where George Washington was born,” Ranger Fawn said.

“Huh?” Sophie said. She pointed to the big house made of brick. “Don’t you mean
that
house? And by the way, I’m not a chatterbox. I’m just honest,” she added.

“Sophie,” said Ms. Moffly. She was standing behind the class. “Let’s let Ranger Fawn finish talking before we start.”

Ranger Fawn smiled a big smile. “That’s okay,” she said. “I’m
honestly
glad you asked that. In fact, that big house was not George Washington’s. It was built later. And it’s not exactly what George’s house looked like. But it gives you an idea.”

Sophie frowned. “Why not just show the real house?” she asked.

“Because the real house burned down in 1779,” Ranger Fawn explained. She pointed to the white gravel lines on the ground. “All we have of George Washington’s first house is this outline that we made.”

The other Sophie in the class, Sophie A., spoke up. “Was George Washington okay?”

“Yes, indeed,” Ranger Fawn said. “In fact, he didn’t even live here when the house burned. By then, he was leading the army in the Revolutionary War. But that wasn’t his first job. Does anyone know what that was?”

Mindy was the first to raise her hand. Of course.

“President!” she said.

“Good guess. But no. That came even later. George Washington’s first job was
surveying.
Who knows what that is?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Mindy raised her hand again.

“Yes?” Ranger Fawn said.

Mindy opened her mouth. Then she closed it. “Er … I don’t know,” she said.

“Anyone else?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Sophie spoke up. “I have no idea! But I’m pretty sure my mom just got surveyed on the phone,” she said.

Ranger Fawn chuckled. “That’s a different kind of surveying. That’s when someone asks you questions. The surveying George Washington did was measuring land.”

Measuring land? The other kind of surveying sounded like a lot more fun to Sophie, even if her mom made faces during it.

“George Washington taught himself how to survey when he was just fifteen,” Ranger Fawn went on. “And one of the first pieces of land he measured was the one you’re standing on.”

Sophie yawned and leaned over to Kate. “My dad was right. This is boring,” she said.

“Excuse me? What did you say?” Ranger Fawn asked, smiling.

Sophie bit her lip. She wanted to say, “Nothing,” but she could not. Sophie sighed.

“Um … I said my dad was right. This is boring. Sorry,” she added quickly.

“Oh, Sophie,” Ms. Moffly said.

Sophie held her breath. She wondered if Ranger Fawn would get mad. But the ranger kept on smiling.

“You know, you’re right. There’s a lot more fun stuff to see here. Let’s move on!” she said.

Ranger Fawn walked ahead, and Sophie’s class followed.

Eve skipped up next to Sophie. “Thanks! I didn’t want to say anything. But that
was
getting boring,” she said.

“Yeah!” Mia agreed.

Sophie grinned at them. “Don’t mention it. Just call me Sophie the Honest!”

Ranger Fawn led them down a brick path to one of the small buildings. The doors were big, like barn doors. Sophie and her class went in.

Sophie looked around at all the shelves and benches. There were tools and sawdust everywhere. It was a big mess, if you asked her.

“This looks like my dad’s workshop,” Sophie said out loud.

The ranger laughed. “Well, it
is
a workshop!” she said. “This is where the blacksmiths and carpenters worked. You see, a farm like this was like a little town. Everything they needed, they had to make themselves.”

“Even their TVs?” Dean asked.

Dean liked TV a lot, Sophie knew. He was always talking about some show.

“Well, no,” Ranger Fawn said. “Because they didn’t have TVs back then.”

“Too bad!” Dean said.

What they
did
have were nails and hooks and boxes and buckets and baskets. Ranger Fawn picked them up and showed them to the class.

Then she showed them buildings used for making other stuff, too.

There was a yarn house. That was where wool from the sheep was turned into yarn. It was woven into cloth and made into shirts and pants and coats. Then there was the dairy. That was where milk from the cows was made into cheese and butter. There was even a house just for making
apple cider. Sophie liked apple cider a lot. She wished she had a house for that.

“Did you know that George Washington’s father had a thousand apple trees?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Apple trees! That reminded Sophie of something. She waved her hand in the air, and Ranger Fawn pointed to her.

“No, I did not. But how many
cherry
trees did they have?” Sophie asked.

Ranger Fawn thought for a minute. “None that I know of,” she said.

None? Sophie frowned. That did not make sense.

“I mean, before George Washington cut one down,” she said.

“Oh, that!” The ranger chuckled. “You’re talking about the famous story, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am!” Sophie said.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s just a story. We’re pretty sure that it’s not true,” the ranger said.

Huh?
Sophie thought.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “Why would someone make up a lie to show that George Washington was honest?”

Ranger Fawn shrugged. “That’s a good question.”

Thank you,
Sophie thought.

“Well, are there any
true
stories that show how honest he was?” she asked.

The ranger rubbed her chin. “Hmmm … not that I can think of,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that George wasn’t an honest man.”

Sophie shook her head, but she stood up straighter. She still could not believe that George Washington had never—ever—cut down a cherry tree. But she bet he would have if he could have. And he would have told his dad, of course.

“So, who wants to see the kitchen now?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Sophie raised her hand. “Not me!” she said. She was getting tired of little buildings. “I’d rather go out to the pasture and pet the sheep. Or can we eat lunch now? I’d really like to do that. I have egg salad. And it’s kind of hot. And I don’t want it to

go bad. One time I ate a tuna sandwich that was bad, and I got really sick. All over the place.”

A few kids giggled.

Ranger Fawn looked down at Sophie. “I see,” she said. “But all your lunches are in a cooler. So I think they’ll be okay. And I know you’ll like what we do next. Are there any questions before we move on?” she asked.

Dean raised his hand.

“Yes?” Ranger Fawn said.

“What’s your favorite TV show?” Dean asked.

The ranger smiled again. “I really meant are there
history
questions….”

She looked at the class. They all looked back at her and shook their heads.

“No? Then let’s go to the kitchen,” Ranger Fawn said. Her eyes twinkled as she turned to Dean. “And I really like dancing shows,” she added.

R
anger Fawn led Sophie’s class down another brick path. They came to another little white house and walked in. It reminded Sophie of something….

But what?

Then it hit her. The Seven Dwarfs’ cottage!

Inside was a big table. On it were jugs and wooden bowls. Along one wall was a big fireplace. An orange fire glowed inside.

“Look!” Sophie told Kate. She pointed to a stick broom. “It’s just like the one that Snow White used.”

“This is George Washington’s kitchen,” Ranger Fawn told the class. “As you can see, it is in a separate building. Do you know why the kitchen was so far from the main house?”

Sophie bit her lip. Usually, she would have said something like “Because they forgot the kitchen when they built the house?” or “So when George Washington’s dad made egg salad, it didn’t stink up the house?”

But Sophie had to be honest. So when Ranger Fawn pointed at her, she shook her head. “No, I don’t know at all!” she said.

The ranger smiled and pointed to Kate next.

“So when George’s babysitter made stuffed cabbage, it didn’t stink up the house?” Kate said.

Ranger Fawn laughed. “I don’t think George’s babysitter made stuffed cabbage. But yes. To keep smells out of the house. That was one reason,” she said.

Sophie could not believe it. “I almost said that!” she almost said.

“But there is another reason, too. Can anyone guess?” Ranger Fawn went on.

Sophie raised her hand. Yes. Sure! She could guess.

But Ranger Fawn did not point at her again. She pointed at Mindy instead.

“I know! I know!” Mindy said. “It was so the fire didn’t make the house too hot in the summer. Or burn it down.”

“Right-o,” Ranger Fawn said.

Mindy took a little bow. “I learned that the last time I was here,” she said.

Sophie rolled her eyes. She wondered if Mindy was
trying
to make her sick.

“What else do you see that’s different from the kitchen in your house?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Twenty hands shot up at once. And twenty answers came out in a hurry.

There was no dishwasher. Or fridge. Or stove. Or sink.

There was no microwave for making popcorn. There was no blender for making milk shakes.

All the water came in buckets, from a well outside.

All the cooking was done in the fireplace, in big black pots and pans.

It seemed like a lot of trouble to Sophie.

“Did George Washington’s family eat out a lot?” she asked.

Ranger Fawn grinned and shook her head. “Nope,” she said. “They made all of their meals right here — including George Washington’s favorite breakfast: hoecakes with butter and honey. Hey! Who would like to make George Washington’s favorite breakfast right now, right here?”

“Me!” the whole class cheered. And that included Sophie, even though she did not know what a hoecake was. She
did
know that she liked butter and honey!

“Great!” Ranger Fawn said. “Let’s split into two
groups. One group will make the hoecakes, and the other group will make the butter.”

She moved over to a tall wooden bucket. It had a lid with a hole in the middle and a long pole sticking out of the top.

“Who has used a butter churn before?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Mindy’s hand shot up. Of course. So did Lily’s. They waved their hands like they were experts. But Sophie was not so sure about that.

Still, it was hard for Sophie to be honest right then. What if the ranger only picked the experts to churn the butter? Sophie really wanted to try it! It was not easy to keep her hand down.

“Okeydokey,” Ranger Fawn said. She pointed to Mindy and Lily. “Since you two have done this before, you can make hoecakes. I want to let kids who have not churned butter have a chance.”

Mindy’s face got pinchy mad. Lily’s face did, too. But Sophie was too busy pumping her fist to look at them.

Being honest was awesome!

Ranger Fawn picked Sophie for butter churning. Then — yay! — she picked Kate, too.

Then she picked a bunch of their other friends.

Then she picked Toby and Archie.

Too bad.

Their group gathered around the butter churn. Ranger Fawn poured a big jug of cream into it.

She showed them how to move the stick up and down. That was easy.

Then she told them to have fun and take turns. That was hard.

Grace’s mom was in charge of their group. She tried to make it work, but she had never been in charge of Toby and Archie before.

Toby and Archie were very bad at taking turns.

“Me first!” Archie yelled.

“No, me first!” Toby hollered.

They both grabbed the butter churn handle — and they did not let go.

“Boys, boys, boys,” Grace’s mom said gently.

“Everyone will have a turn. Let your friend go first,” she told Toby. “Then you can go.”

Sophie shared a look with Kate. Grace’s mom did not know Archie and Toby at all!

Toby looked at her and shrugged. He let Archie grab the handle. Then Archie started churning the butter as fast as he could.

“Okay, next,” Grace’s mom told him.

But Archie did not stop. So Toby grabbed his arms to pull him away. The butter churn rocked….

“Boys!” Grace’s mom yelled. She did not sound gentle anymore. “That’s it! You’re done!”

A few other kids went. Then at last it was Sophie’s turn. She couldn’t wait! She gripped the handle tightly. And she churned and churned and churned….

Then she stopped.

Boy, were her arms tired! Churning butter was much harder than it looked.

“What’s the matter, Sophie? Tired already?” Toby jeered.

Sophie glared at him. She wanted to say no, but she could not lie. She was Sophie the Honest, after all.

“Yes,” she muttered. Then she started to stick out her tongue.

But before she could, Ranger Fawn was there.

“The hoecakes are done,” she said. “How’s the butter coming?”

Sophie wiped her forehead. “I think it’s ready,” she said.

She stood back and let Ranger Fawn lift the lid. The ranger dipped a scoop into the churn, and Sophie grinned. She could not wait to see the homemade butter!

But what came out did not look like butter. It looked like melted ice cream.

“Aw …” Sophie sighed.

So did Kate, and Grace, and some others.

Then Mindy looked over.

“She should have let the experts do it,” Mindy said, rolling her eyes.

Not everybody heard Mindy. But Sophie sure
did. She put her hands on her hips. “Mind your own beeswax, Mindy!” she said.

Then she spun around fast. She’d churn that butter and show Mindy! The only thing was … she forgot that the butter churn was right there behind her.

If only the lid had been on it. Then maybe all the white stuff would not have spilled out when Sophie knocked it over. But it did spill out. Everywhere. Even on Ranger Fawn’s black boots and Grace’s mom’s silvery shoes.

Oops.

Sophie had a rule. She did not cry at school. But Sophie was not at school. She was in George Washington’s kitchen.

She could feel her throat get tight. Her eyes got hot and leaky.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Ranger Fawn’s.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry. Accidents happen,” Ranger Fawn told her.

That’s the truth!
Sophie thought.

She sniffed and felt a little better.

While Grace’s mom shook out her shoes, Ranger Fawn got a mop and a bucket. She dried the floor and her boots. Then she poured more cream into a jar.

Everyone took a turn shaking it. By the time they were done, the cream had changed. A lot.

“Is that butter?” Sophie asked.

“Yes, sirree!” said Ranger Fawn.

She set the hoecakes on the table. The other group had made them with cornmeal, water, and salt. They looked a little bit like pancakes. But they did not taste like them at all.

Thank goodness for butter and honey!
Sophie thought.

“So, what do you think of the hoecakes?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Sophie spoke up. “To be honest, they taste like they came from the workshop.”

“Oh, Sophie …” Ms. Moffly shook her head.

But Ranger Fawn grinned and nodded. “The truth is, I don’t like them much, either. How
about we go out to the barn now?” she said. “We can see some animals. Then you guys can have lunch.”

“Yay!” the class cheered.

As they walked outside, Kate took Sophie’s arm.

“The barn—that reminds me! I have to tell you something
big,
Sophie!” Kate whispered.

Something big?

Sophie looked at her. “What?” she asked at once.

Kate started to speak. Then she looked around and closed her mouth.

“I better tell you in
private
— so no one else hears. After school,” she said.