And the Yeah, Welcome back everyone to one thousand one classic short Stories and Tales. This is your host John Haggadorn.

A special story for the season by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman called Thankful. It's a children's story about two girls who have a

turkey wane contest. The story was published in Harper's young people

November 25th 1890. Hope you enjoy it. By the way, this tale is evidence

that Mrs. Freeman understands the children of New England as well as she knows their parents.

There is a doll in the story, but boys will not mind this

as there are also two turkey gobblers and a puter dish full of revolutionary bullets.

Submit Thompson sat on the stone wall.

Sarah Adams, an erect prim little figure ankle deep and dry grass stood beside it holding

Thankful. Thankful was about 10 inches long, made of the finest linen

with little rosy cheeks and a fine little rig of flax.

She wore a blue wolf-frock and a red cloak.

Sarah held her close.

She even drew a fold of her own blue homespun blanket around her to shield her from the November wind.

The sky was low in gray.

The wind blew from the northeast and had the breadth of snow in it.

Submit on the wall drew her quilted petticoats close down over her feet and huddled herself into a small space.

But her face gleamed keen and resolute out of the depths of a great red hood that belonged to her mother.

Her eyes were fixed upon a turkey gobleer, ruffling and bobbing around the back door of the Adams house.

The two gambrel roofed Thompson and Adams houses were built as close together as if the little village of Bridgewater were a city. Acres of land stretched behind them and at the other sides, but they stood close to the road and close to each other.

The narrow space between them was divided by a stone wall which was submits and Sarah's Tristing Place. They met their every day

and exchanged confidences. They loved each other like sisters. Neither of them had their

...