2007 09 Really Truly vs Make Believe

Grandma was a great story teller. At bedtime, she’d sit on the side of the bed and tell us fantastic stories. Some of them were from her vast array of experiences and some of them were total fiction. It was a time where her total focus was on us and we children loved the attention.
The choice of story was up to us. We could choose “really truly” or “make believe” as the subject matter. I don’t remember any of the specifics of the stories, but often they were punctuated with references to my name and a point in the future which made them seem real even if we chose “make believe”. In addition, they often had a moral or life lesson from which we could learn how better to prepare ourselves for adult life. Here is an attempt to tell a story as she might have told it. I imagine the telling as if I were only about seven or eight, but she might have told it as if I were sixteen which made me feel really old and important.

Make believe

Frank, would you like me to tell you a story?

Oh, yes, grandma! Please do!

Would you like a really truly story or make believe?

Um…I’d like a make believe story tonight!

All right. That’s what we’ll do. I’ll tell you a make believe story.

This is a story about an adventuresome boy named Frank.

One day, when Frank was about sixteen years old, he decided to take a very long hike into the wilderness above _________. Now Frank was a smart young lad and he knew that out in the wilderness were lots of dangers about which he had to be very careful. One of those was the great big brown bear that lived in the deep dark forest. Now Frank was such a bright confident lad that he knew how to be prepared. So he planned how he was going to get a bright early start. This night before his trip he put some peanut butter and jelly on a piece of bread, spread it around with a butter knife and he put another piece of bread on top to make a nice delicious sandwich. Then to be sure it would be nice and fresh, he wrapped it in a piece of waxed paper and carefully put it in a paper bag. He also knew that it would be important to have something to drink, so he filled a canteen with pure fresh water from the well. And he knew that a healthy part of any meal was some fresh fruit, so he also put a nice juicy orange into the paper bag. To top it off, he put a nice piece of chocolate in the bag for a special snack.
The next thing Frank did was to go into his closet and get a map and a compass. He knew that being in the wilderness meant that he could get lost, so he carefully looked at the map and figured where he was going to hike. Now Frank knew that he couldn’t hike alone, so he asked his friend Charlie if he would like to go along. Charlie’s parents agreed, so they met that night at Frank’s place to plan the details. Charlie brought along his sleeping bag.
Now the mountainous country which Frank and Charlie wanted to visit was very rugged. They planned to hike eight miles, so they packed away cups so they could drink out of the pure streams which came down from the mountain snow melt. They put their lunch into a knapsack and their canteen on the hook by the door. They then were ready to get into their sleeping bags in the tent just outside the cabin. Frank set the alarm for five the next morning and listened to the tick-tick ticking of the alarm clock as he went comfortably to sleep.
It was exciting to think of the adventure they were about to have, so Frank dreamed all night long. He dreamed of the fresh air in the mountains blowing the leaves of the aspen trees. He dreamed of the rushing sound of the streams. He dreamed of the crunch of his feet on the trail. Before you know it, the alarm went RING, RING. And Frank jumped out of bed, ready for his special trek. He shook Charlie awake then went into the kitchen to make a breakfast of delicious hot porridge and milk.
Now Charlie was a strapping good chap. He was ready to jump up when Frank waked him. He enjoyed the good breakfast and was prepared to start the adventure as soon as he was finished with his meal. So off they went.
First, they walked on the road, since that was their plan. Then the road got narrower and turned into a dirt road. Finally, it turned into a wonderful rocky path leading through the forest up to the top of the mountain. The air was deliciously clear and the sun was shining in all its summer glory. As they climbed up the trail, they saw spectacular view of the mountains and lakes. When Frank and Charlie got thirsty, they drank from their canteens. When the canteens were empty, they filled them from the springs which came right out of the rocks in the side of the mountain. It was a glorious day.
But then all of a sudden as they were walking through a wonderful alpine meadow, Frank saw a BIG hungry brown bear. The bear was looking at them and wondering…”Do these lads have anything I can eat?” He stood up on his hind legs and sniffed the air. It was almost as if he could smell that wonderful peanut butter and jelly sandwich which Frank had so carefully wrapped in the waxed paper. Frank and Charlie weren’t sure what to do, since they had never met a bear before. They had only heard the story of the three bears…the papa bear, the mama bear and the little baby bear. This bear looked like the papa bear.
Someone had told them that when you see a bear, you make him think you’re very big. So Frank and Charlie waved their arms in big circles to make the bear think that they were very big. But the bear just sniffed some more and started toward the boys. Charlie started to run, but when the bear started to follow him, Frank quickly took off his knapsack and tossed his orange at the bear. Then he tossed the peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of the bear. And for good measure, he also threw the chocolate bar on the other side away from Charlie. The bear was startled and stopped to sniff at the delicious things Frank threw at him. At that point, Frank started to walk away calmly. When the bear saw the food, he stopped and thought, “My, this is a nice lunch. I think I’ll stop and eat a fine meal while those boys go hungry.” So he stopped chasing Charlie. And even though Frank and Charlie had nothing to eat that afternoon, the bear had a nice meal. The good thing was that the bear did not bother either of those fine boys and they made it back to the cabin hungry but safe.
And that’s the story of the clever boy Frank and his friend Charlie.

Did you like that story, Frank?

Oh, yes, Grandma.

Do you think that Frank did the right thing?

I think he did, Grandma. Thank you for the nice story.

I’m glad you liked it. Good night now.

Good night, Grandma. I love you.

I love you too.

©Frank Bliss 2007 All rights reserved
September, 2007