I was so excited that I started to jump up and down.
“Please say yes. Please, please, please!” I said.
“Would it be possible to arrange for a school visit next Tuesday?” I heard Mommy ask. She listened for a moment, then said, “Yes, I see. You are already booked. May I leave my name and number in case there is a cancellation?”
I was not jumping up and down anymore. Mommy was right. I was disappointed. But I was still glad we had tried.
“I am sorry,” said Mommy when she hung up the phone. “But I think you should work on your report now. I am sure you will find a way to make it interesting even without a special visitor.”
I went upstairs and took out my notebook. I knew a lot of interesting facts about Thanksgiving. I decided to start writing about the first Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth.
I looked at what I had written. I checked my spelling. There were no mistakes. (I am a very good speller.) Then I continued the story.
I read my report. It might not be as exciting as a poppet doll. But it was still pretty good.
The Best Secret
At school the next day I did not say one word to Pamela Harding. I could tell she expected me to. But I did not do it. By the end of the day I would not even look in her direction.
When I got home after school, I waved good-bye to Nancy. We could not play because we were going to work on our reports and presentations.
The phone was ringing when I walked through our front door. Mommy answered it.
“Yes, this is Lisa Engle,” she said. “Oh, really? That is wonderful news. My daughter just walked in. She will be thrilled.”
“Can a Pilgrim come to visit?” I cried.
Mommy nodded.
“Ask them for Remember, Mommy!” I said.
Mommy nodded again. She was listening and writing things down.
“I did not realize it costs that much. But you say you can visit several classrooms in one day? That will be wonderful for the whole school,” said Mommy.
She was smiling.
“Do not forget to ask about Remember,” I whispered.
Mommy asked if Remember and her mother could come.
She listened for a bit, then said, “Oh, I see. Well, thank you for the information.”
“What happened? What did they say?” I asked when she hung up.
“The people at Plimoth Plantation said that children are not allowed to make school visits. The visits are made only by adult Pilgrims,” replied Mommy.
Boo. I wanted Remember to come. But a visit from a grown-up Pilgrim would still be exciting.
“The visit will cost over two hundred dollars,” said Mommy. “I will need to call the head of our parents’ association right away. I am sure they can help pay for an event that is so special.”
“I would like the visit to be a surprise to my class. Is that okay, Mommy?” I asked.
“You will have to ask Ms. Colman. It will be up to her to decide,” replied Mommy.
We decided to call Ms. Colman at home. Mommy did not think my teacher would mind.
Guess what! Ms. Colman thought the visit was a wonderful idea. And she thought the surprise would be a lot of fun for my class.
I was so excited. This was going to be one of my best surprises ever!
Pamela’s Presentation
When I arrived at school on Friday, Pamela was bragging to her friends about her presentation. I could tell she was talking louder than usual so that I would hear.
“This is going to be great. I have so many good things to show,” she said.
“The meanie-mo strikes again,” I whispered to Hannie and Nancy.
“We will see on Monday how great her presentation is,” Hannie whispered back.
I was bursting to tell Pamela about my surprise. I wanted to tell my friends too. But for once my lips were sealed. I did not want to ruin my best secret ever.
Ms. Colman asked us to take our seats then.
On the way to her desk, Pamela said, “Hi, Karen. Is your presentation ready yet?”
“Almost. I will have everything I need on Tuesday,” I replied. I gave her my best secret-surprise smile. I would have to write a new report. But I did not care. I was going to have a Pilgrim in my presentation!
I kept my secret all day on Friday. I did not even give in and tell my friends.
Over the weekend, I worked on my speech. I practiced reciting it to Goosie. I could tell he was impressed.
At school on Monday afternoon, the presentations began. Pamela’s was the very first one. She read a speech she had written in her notebook. (I had already memorized mine.)
“My presentation is about my two trips to Plimoth Plantation,” said Pamela. “This historical village is in the state of Massachusetts. People who are called role players talk and act just like Pilgrims in the sixteen hundreds.”
Pamela told us a lot of interesting facts about the village. Then she showed us her souvenirs. Every single one of them.
“And that is the story of Plimoth Plantation,” she said.
“Thank you, Pamela. That was a very good presentation,” said Ms. Colman.
My classmates clapped. I clapped too. Only not very loudly. Pamela might think she had told the whole story of Plimoth Plantation. But I had more to tell and plenty more to show. I had a real, live, walking, talking souvenir.
Welcome to Stoneybrook
On Tuesday morning we heard Hannie’s presentation, then Nancy’s.
Hannie had written a story in rhyme about the Pilgrims coming to America on the Mayflower. She had made a diorama of a ship that moved across the ocean.
Nancy dressed up as Squanto the Indian and told about the first Thanksgiving feast. She brought Indian corn for everyone to taste.
My friends’ presentations were excellent. I was gigundoly proud of them. I liked my other classmates’ presentations too.
But as the morning passed, I could not think of anything but my visitor. At lunchtime I could hardly even eat. All I could do was stare at the clock on the lunchroom wall. I was supposed to be at the principal’s office at one o’clock to meet my Pilgrim visitor.
I wished Remember could be the visitor today. But I knew that was not possible. I wondered who my Pilgrim would be.
“Karen, are you all right? You hardly ate anything,” said Hannie.
I looked down at my sandwich. Only two bites were gone.
“I am okay,” I replied. “But I think I will stay inside at recess today.”
I was not lying to my friends. It was true that I was staying inside. I just did not tell them why.
I waited until five minutes to one. Then I went to see Ms. Titus, the principal. When I reached her office, I could hardly believe my eyes. She was talking to my visitors — Remember and her mother! Yippee!
“Your younger visitor is not here officially, Karen,” Ms. Titus said to me. “She received special permission to travel here today.”
I wanted to jump up and down and shout, “Yes!” But I was in the principal’s office. So I tried my hardest to act grown-up.
“I am so happy to see you!” I said.
“We are happy to see thee again, Karen,” said Remember. “And we are pleased to visit thy school.”
Remember and her mother were dressed in their Pilgrim clothes and speaking the way the Pilgrims did. It seemed as though they had stepped out of the pages of a history book and arrived special delivery at Stoneybrook Academy.
“Are you ready to escort your visitors to your classroom?” asked Ms. Titus. “I understand that you have not said anything to the other students. Your visitors will be quite a surprise.”
“They sure will be!” I said.
I linked arms with Remember and her mother and walked them through the halls to my classroom. My Thanksgiving presentation was about to begin.
Karen’s Important Job
I opened the door to my classroom and led Remember and her mother inside.
I smiled at Ms. Colman and w
aved to Hannie and Nancy. I saw Pamela’s eyes open wide and her mouth drop open. Ms. Two-Time Visitor With All the Souvenirs was definitely surprised. There was no way her cloth poppet doll could seem as special as my real live Pilgrims.
The kids in my class were all whispering to each other. I heard a few of them say, “Wow!” and “Cool!” I just loved standing at the front of the room with my guests.
“All right, class, please settle down so we can welcome our visitors,” said Ms. Colman. “Karen, will you introduce us?”
“These are my Pilgrim friends from Plimoth Plantation. They are here from the year sixteen twenty-seven to talk about their lives. They will tell you their story,” I said.
Everyone clapped for my guests. Then Remember stepped forward.
“My name is Remember Allerton. I sailed onboard a ship called Mayflower from England to America in the year sixteen twenty. My family wanted to live where we could be free to pray the way God showed us.”
Remember stepped back and her mother stepped forward.
“My name is Fear Allerton. I am Remember’s mother. I am grateful that my family and I were strong enough to reach America. Our life in New England was a struggle at first. But with the help of our Indian neighbors, we learned to survive. We give thanks every day for our health and our freedom.”
Remember came forward again. She stood by her mother and together they talked some more about everyday life in 1627. They showed the class wooden spoons, some candles, and a few other things they had brought with them.
When they finished, Remember’s mother smiled and said, “We are happy to be visiting you today. We would be pleased to answer your questions.”
A few hands went up right away.
“Karen, I will leave it to you to call on your classmates. This is your presentation,” Ms. Colman said.
She sat down at her desk and let me take over. This was one of my most important jobs ever!
How Fare Thee?
I called on Hannie first.
“My presentation was about the Mayflower,” she said. “Could you please tell me what the trip was really like?”
“It was a very difficult journey,” replied Remember. “We were crowded together in the ship. And there were many storms. One storm damaged our ship so badly, we almost had to turn back. But we decided to continue.”
“We set sail in September when it was warm,” said Remember’s mother. “We did not reach New England until November, when it was cold. But the trip was worth every hardship.”
“Thank you,” said Hannie.
I called on Ricky next.
“When you landed, where did you live?” he asked.
“Parties of men explored the coast until they found a place with freshwater and good soil for planting. We built our houses there. While our men were building, we had to continue living crowded together in the Mayflower,” replied Remember’s mother.
Nancy wanted to know where the children go to school.
“There are no schools in New Plymouth,” replied Remember. “We children learn to read and write from our parents. Some of the men learned about hunting and growing Indian corn from Squanto. And our parents teach us to behave properly.”
Bobby wanted to know what kinds of games the children like to play. I told him that they play Fox and Geese.
Then Terri asked about the clothes the Pilgrims wear.
“Our clothes are of good English wool and Dutch linen,” said Remember’s mother.
“We have brought some clothing for two of you to try on,” said Remember.
This was so cool. In no time I was putting on petticoats, an apron, and a coif. Ricky was picked to wear the boy’s clothes. He put on knee-length pants, called breeches, and a jacket.
We all tried talking the way the Pilgrims did.
“How farest thou?” Nancy asked me.
“Quite well, good friend,” I replied.
“Wilst thou be coming to the Thanksgiving feast?” I asked Hannie.
“If it so pleases thee,” Hannie replied.
“It pleaseth me very well,” I said.
I turned to Remember and said, “Wilst thou come and be our guest of honor?”
“I thank thee,” Remember replied.
After a little while I asked Ms. Colman to help me get everyone’s attention. It was time for me to make my presentation.
I Am a Pilgrim Girl
As soon as the class was quiet, I began.
“I loved going to Plimoth Plantation,” I said. “It was like walking through the pages of a history book. Thanks to Remember, I learned what it might have felt like to be a Pilgrim child. I thought you would like to know too, so I wrote this story.”
I stopped to straighten my coif and smooth my petticoats. I cleared my throat. Then I continued.
“I am a Pilgrim girl,” I said. “I came to America because in England we were not free to pray the way we wanted. I left my house, my toys, and my friends behind. I missed them so much. The trip across the ocean was very hard. I tried not to cry or complain, but a few times I could not help it. Finally we reached America. It was a cold and strange place. But an Indian named Squanto taught us many things that helped us survive. We built our houses. We grew our food. We stayed and grew strong.
“I am a Pilgrim girl and that is my story. I hope when you celebrate Thanksgiving you will think of me and my family and how hard we worked to be free.”
The next thing I knew, everyone in the room was clapping and cheering for me. My presentation was a big hit.
It was time for Remember and her mother to leave. Ricky and I returned our Pilgrim clothes.
“Thank you for coming,” Ms. Colman said to our guests. “You have made this a very special day for us. Karen, would you like to walk your guests back to Ms. Titus’s office?”
“Sure,” I replied.
I led them through the halls very slowly. I did not want to say good-bye too soon.
When I reached Ms. Titus’s office, there was another surprise. Mommy was there waiting for us.
“Hi, how did it go?” she asked.
“It was the best presentation ever!” I replied.
“I thought it might be nice for all of us to go out for ice cream after school. Could you be our guests?” Mommy asked Remember’s mother.
“We have one more class to visit. After that we would be delighted,” Remember’s mother replied.
“Thank thee, Mommy!” I said.
My presentation was done, but the fun was not over yet.
Brianna Murphy
There were two more presentations in my class. They were both very good. Then it was time to go home.
When I got outside, I saw Mommy. But I did not see Remember and her mother. I was worried. Maybe they could not stay for ice cream after all. Maybe they had left without even saying good-bye.
“Hi, Karen!” said a girl dressed in a yellow jacket, blue jeans, and sneakers.
She looked like …
“Remember!” I cried.
“I am only called Remember when I am role-playing. My real name is Brianna Murphy. And this is my real mother,” she said. “The special permission for me to come here today was from her!”
Brianna was not talking like a Pilgrim anymore. She was talking like a regular kid. Like me.
And her mother looked like a regular mother. She was wearing tan pants, brown loafers, and a red barn jacket. The suitcase behind her must have held the Pilgrim clothes.
“Hello, Karen,” said Brianna’s mother, smiling.
“This is so cool. You two are a real-life mother-daughter role-playing team,” I said. “I wish my mom and I could be one too.”
“Today we will be a real-life mother-daughter hospitality team,” said Mommy. “Come, we will take our guests to the Rosebud Cafe.”
“You will like it there,” I said to Brianna. “They have sixty-one flavors of ice cream.”
We piled into our car and drove to the ice cream parlor. Brianna and I did not stop t
alking for a single minute.
At the Rosebud Cafe, we ordered ice cream sundaes with everything on them. We each got three scoops of ice cream with syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, nuts, and a cherry on top.
Brianna told me that she is in seventh grade. She lives with her mother, her father, three goldfish, two cats, and a dog.
It took me a long time to tell her about all the people and pets I live with!
She told me about her street and house in Massachusetts. They sounded a lot like my little-house street and house here in Stoneybrook. She even has two best friends.
We were laughing and talking so much, I forgot she had ever been a Pilgrim girl named Remember.
“Would you talk like a Pilgrim for me again?” I asked.
“All right,” Brianna replied.
She closed her eyes for a minute. When she opened them again, she was Remember.
“I am most grateful for this Thanksgiving feast,” she said. “And I am truly happy to have met you, Karen Brewer.”
I smiled. I was truly happy too.
Making Peace
It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. No special visitors were coming to school. But I could hardly wait to get to my classroom. I knew everyone would be talking about my presentation.
I was right. The kids asked me more questions about Plimoth Plantation. I felt like the official class Pilgrim.
The only one who did not seem so excited was Pamela. While the other kids crowded around me, she stayed at her desk with Jannie and Leslie. I saw her looking my way a few times.
She did not say one word to me at recess either. But I could see her sneaking peeks. My friends and I were playing games of Fox and Geese and talking like Pilgrim children.
“I can only play one more round,” I said. “I promised Mother I would milk the goat before dinnertime.”
“I must go grind corn. Mother and I are making hasty pudding,” said Hannie.
“You two are lucky. It is my job to clean the pig’s pen today,” said Nancy.