Lulu’s Storytelling Podcast I.C. Lulu

Written version! ^^

Chapter 4 - A letter and Awaiting a Friend

It was a late summer morning, and I was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book. Bandit was under my chair, and sunlight filtered through the windows. The room looked peaceful and homey. Mother and father were out gardening. My sister was in her room. Everything was quiet. Then there was a ring and a knock on the door.

I opened it, and I saw this month's letters on the doorstep. We live pretty far out in the countryside, so we don’t get much mail often.

Today was a small pile. There were work letters, newspapers, and magazines. As I dug around, I found a letter addressed to me.

"Hey there!

I’m coming over to visit soon.

I don’t know when this letter will arrive, but I figured I should tell you ahead of time.

My mum and dad are off on a trip, so I’ll be staying with you for a week or two ^v^.

My arrival should be sometime around June 24th.

See you then!

Sincerely,

Raven"

This brightened my day, and it was already pretty bright. Raven is my step-cousin. She is from the city, so we don’t get together very often. She's around the same age as me, but a few months older.

I decided to go and inform my family about the news. They were a bit surprised, but they had got a telegram a month ago from my uncle, so I suspect they already knew.

I went to my room, and opened up my notebook.

Date - June 21st

Time - 12:07 pm

Entry 67

Ray’s coming on the 24th. Clean room, get out extra mattress.

There was a window on the west side of my room. I could see the swimming hole from here. The sun streams in, and warms up the dark room. A cat would've found it the perfect spot to sunbathe. My wardrobe had drawers sticking out, which were stuffed with clothes. There was a messily stacked pile of books next to my bed, and a little desk, filled with books, sketchbooks, and my notebook. The flowers on my windowsill were dry, and burnt up from being in the sun too long.

I spent most of the afternoon in my room. I cleaned up my clothes, organized my desk, and replaced my flowers with living ones. Finally, I got rid of the dust that was building up on my shelves, floor, and books.

Perhaps it was the lighting, but the finished result looked like it sprang out from a fantasy book.

The following days seemed to go by very slowly. I took Bella for a quick ride, only to get scolded by mom. I learned how to make our signature pasta dish, but ended up forgetting to let the dough sit. However, as I am reflecting on this now, it seems as though the days actually went by fairly quickly. Perhaps time always goes by fast, but if nothing mildly interesting happens, it seems slower. I decided to write this thought down in my notebook.

Date - June 23rd (Almost there!)

Time - 4:56 pm

Entry 68

Time goes by slowly when you are waiting for something. So if you have nothing to wait for or look forward to, would that mean time is going fast?

Today I am sharing 4 original poems. Most of them were made a year or two ago, so I apologize if the quality is not as good. I hope you enjoy! Next week on Sunday I will post chapter 4, which is titled "A Letter and Awaiting a Friend". 

Happy Independence Day! (4th of July)

Here's the written version! Next week I will post a short poem, for Chapter 4 isn't quite done yet. Thanks, and Happy Independence Day! (July 4th)

Chapter 3 - Daily Duties

After a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes with blueberries and blueberry jam, (yes I know a lot of blueberries, the blueberry bush was ripe, so we picked some) me and my sister went out back to pick some fruits and greens for lunch.

We started with the apple trees out in the field, because they were the farthest back, and we could move towards the house, instead of having to double back, because that means more walking through our humongous field. Our daily routine for my sister and I goes something like this: Eat breakfast (made by mom), harvest and gather the food that's in season from the garden for lunch or dinner, and feed the animals. We also help with clearing the weeds, watering the plants, and cleaning the house, though we do those mostly weekly.

It was late morning, but the air outside was still cool and clean. The red apples looked crisp and fresh, with droplets over it, making it look refreshing. Perhaps the sudden rain pour wasn’t a curse, but a blessing.

Me and my sister snacked on apples as we walked back to the house, only to be caught by dad. He was asking for some help planting the seeds and farm labor in general, so my sister stopped to help. I picked up tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, green beans, oranges, and the apples we picked earlier. I dropped them off in the kitchen. It was getting close to noon, and becoming hotter.

I still had to give the animals their brunch, so I headed off to the barn.

I did the smelliest parts first, and gave the pigs and chickens their food. While the chickens were out of their nest, I looked around for eggs. I found 5 in total, which was pretty nice. One for each family member, including Bandit.

Then I gave the sheep and horses their food, which consisted mostly of hay. Almost done! I thought as I stopped by the pond. The ducks ate seeds, bread, and fish. The fish ate seeds and fish food we got from town. The mama duck recently had ducklings. I stayed for a bit to pet the little balls of fluff. They were chirping and quaking all over the place! Mama duck decided to go for a little swim and headed off into the water. There was a little trail of ducklings following.

I love animals, but some days a truck comes, and dad brings out one or two animals from the barn and gives them to the man driving the truck. He comes back a week or two later and brings us meat, which my dad puts in the ice house. I know it's necessary for us to get our food, but it does make me a bit sad sometimes.

Luckily, it doesn’t happen very often, and my dad jokes it's because we have to “fatten them up” first. I’ve decided not to explain it to my sister, and my mom agrees.

We had salad, with a side of fruit, and some fresh-squeezed orange juice for lunch. Mom made good use of the crops I brought her.

After lunch, I went out back with Dad to groom the horses and to shave the sheep. Grooming the horses was easy, and I got to see Bella and  Pepper again. We have a total of 3 horses. Bella and Pepper are adults, and Patty is a foul. When we were finished, their manes felt as though we were running our hands through a river of silk.

Next were the sheep. It was time to take off their winter coats. Their wool is usually pretty puffy, but not nearly as soft and silky as the horses. Once you shave the wool off, you must wash it, then stretch and pull it with some special tools until it becomes puffy again. You continue doing this cycle until the wool is clean and able to be made into clothing.

Once we finished, we left the wool out to dry and headed home. Evening was approaching, and I was looking forward to dinner with my whole family, which we have not had in almost 3 months.

Again, here is the written version. I decided to release it a bit early! Enjoy!

Chapter 2 - Sleeping Out

There was still some light out when we started up on the trail to the hill. Bandit followed behind me, wagging his tail. I knew there weren't many clouds in the sky, but, from my experience, it was a bit windy. This means that the wind could push some clouds my way, and I didn’t want to get wet, or to lose my privileges outside.

I set up my sleeping bag under the great peach tree, brought out my oil lantern and my book. I was reading A Dog’s Tale. Through the warm light of the lantern, I could see my mom, accompanied by my sister, coming up to the hill. Drat, I thought. I was really hoping for some alone time, (considering how crowded our house was) and didn’t want to have my sister chattering about all night.

But, as they got closer, I saw that they weren’t carrying a sleeping bag. Instead, there was a plate and a glass of water. My mom handed me a small plate of bone-shaped cookies (and the water), and my sister gave Bandit a dog treat. We had a mini bedtime snack picnic, and then it was time for bed. My mom led my sister back home, and I blew out the light. I looked up. A million little stars winked back at me. As I closed my eyes, it almost felt like I was back at home, sleeping in my bed.

The great sky was my roof, with lights fixed upon it. The wind whispered, like my mom saying goodnight, and my sister getting in her last remarks. Bandit was still there, sleeping near my feet like he always had. The only thing that was different were these little glowing balls of light, hovering around the tree and hill, becoming my own little night lights. Fireflies. I looked once more at the star-covered sky, and fell asleep.

I awoke suddenly, to the sounds of barking and pebbles being thrown into a lake. I jumped up hurriedly, realizing that it was not pebbles, but big, fat, juicy drops of rain.

And coming down fast. Bandit is really terrified of water and was practically jumping all over me. I moved us closer to the tree, and hung a thick blanket overhead from the branches, to keep us dry. It took a while to calm down Bandit, (who was very traumatized), but he eventually, fell asleep. The thick leaves and branches, (as well as the blanket) kept us dry, and we slept soundly till morning.

When I opened my eyes, sunlight was streaming through the gaps between leaves. The grass around me was glistening with dew, and everything was bright and airy. It seemed like fairies had decorated this place with glittering jewels. I packed up and headed home. When I entered the front door, my dad was there to greet me. “Hey there kiddo!” I was still frozen because my dad had left for a business trip. “Wai-What? When did you get back here?” “Last night” Dad replied. “It was close to midnight, and it started raining. Your mom told me that you were camping out.” He looked over me carefully, then said with an amusing smile, “How come you’re not soaked to the bone?” As I recounted my stories from last night, my mom and sister came in, and we sat down for breakfast.

Here I will put the written version of the chapter. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1 - Summer Evenings:

“Come here, Bandit!” I called as I followed him up the hill. I stood panting, as I searched for my little black dog who was out and about in the fields. I leaned on my shady peach tree and sighed. From the hill, I could see our neat little farm, with our sheep in the meadows and cows in the field (sorry that was a little too poetic).

Further back was a garden, and a big one at that. There were fruit trees and bushes, as well as a big vegetable garden. A cool wind swept past my face. I called for Bandit one last time, and he came bounding back, with his tongue out, and looking thoroughly pleased with himself. (I found out later that he had caught a butterfly.)

Bandit is a small black dog-we don’t know his breed. My dad found him abandoned at the side of a road during a business trip, and brought him home. He was still a puppy back then, but now he’s almost 3 years old! But even though it's been over 2 years, he still has that energetic flair to him that reminds me of a puppy.

We sat down in the shade, snacking on peaches and watching the sun slowly sink into the mountains below. The sky was a mixed palate of pink, orange, yellow, and blue. It was beautiful. I will never get tired of living in the countryside. A distant shout broke the silence. My mother was calling us home for dinner.

As I walked down the grassy hill, the wind made the grass sway between my feet. I felt a chill down my body. But it wasn’t one of those bad, scary chills. This one was refreshing, almost washing over my body, with a nice deliciousness, and ending the day. Summer was wonderful. It was the perfect night for sleeping under the starry sky. There wasn’t a single cloud up there.

Once we washed up and sat down to eat, Mom asked “So how was it?” I took a moment to reflect on our walk and replied “Perfect. He ran up the big hill- you know the one with the peach tree? And chased butterflies and bumblebees. He actually caught one, can you believe it?” “It sounds very nice,” Mom remarked.

My little sister had been listening to our conversation and piped up,

“Mommy, since it's such a nice day, can I go outside and camp there? Pleaseee?”

Shoot, I thought. I loved my sister, but I really wanted some alone time out there. If mom said yes, that would mean I had to watch her...

“Honey, I think you’re a bit too young to camp out. You just took a bath this morning! Do you wanna get dirty again?”.

Yes! I thought! Now’s my chance! I waited for Mom to send her upstairs, and while we were doing the dishes, using my most persuasive voice, I asked “Mom, may Bandit and I go out and sleep? I promise we won’t go too far. Oh, and I checked. There isn't a cloud in the sky! It won’t rain! And even if it does, we’ll be under the big peach tree. Please?”

Mom hesitated. Uh oh, is that a no?

“Very well,” she said, smiling. “You’ve finished your chores. You may go get ready. Just make sure to not go past the tree!”

“Ok! Thanks, mom!” I called as I ran to get ready for my night out!

Hello Everyone! This is a notice that next week on Sunday (US time) I will start posting my chapter recordings of one of my books, called “Summer on the Farm”.

This book is still in progress, so I apologize if I don't post it on time. During the day, I have classes, and in the afternoon, I have coursework, meaning I won't have much time to work on the chapters. 

Thank you for understanding!