The Dinner That Ran Away

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It looks as if it was going to be a
green Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, mister Sweet, the grocer said, as
he helped Bruce to load his express cart with the
things for the dinner that he had just bought for
his grandmother. The cart was pretty full to begin with,
for a fat turkey sat up near the seat. There
were some potatoes and a big winter squash back of him,

(00:20):
and the bag of turnips. Now there were the sugar,
the cranberries, raisins, and citron to go in. But mister
Sweet was a wonder at packing. He put all the
packages in so they would not spill, and then he
smiled at Bruce and at Hiram, who had come down
town to help with a Thanksgiving marketing. Can you two
fellows get home all right without a spill, do you think?

(00:41):
He asked? You know, it is up hill all the
way and steep at that. Oh yes, thank you, mister Sweet.
Bruce said, we'll manage. Ah, said Hiram in a loud voice,
to show that he would do his part. Hiram was
Bruce's tame goat, and he could pull a loaded express
cart up almost any steep. The cord fastened to his harness.

(01:03):
Off they started, and soon they left the shops behind
and started up Hilldale Avenue toward grandmother's house. Tap tap,
went Hiram's little hoofs on the sidewalk, and Bruce ran
along beside, kicking the dry leaves that danced along beside him.
Thanksgiving tomorrow and roasted turkey, mashed turnips, cranberry sauce, and

(01:24):
citrones and raisins in the fruitcake. No wonder, Hiram's feet
twinkled along so gaily and Bruce drove him with a hop,
skip and a jump. All those good things to eat
were right there in the cart. Up up the avenue
they climbed, and soon now they would be stopping with
a flourish at grandmother's kitchen door. Just before they reached
the house, though, they came to Claire's house, and from

(01:47):
her kitchen there drifted the sweetest kind of a smell
boiling butterscotch. And Claire always wanted to share the candy
that she made with Bruce. Perhaps she had telephoned to
him while he was doing the marketing. Anyway, he decided
to stop and see Claire for a few moments. He
tied Hiram to the hedge and went in. Yes, that

(02:08):
was just what had happened. Claire telephoned over to ask
Bruce to come and share the butterscotch, and she was
so glad that it was not too late. They poured
it out into pans, cut it into little squares, and
then waited awhile for it to cool enough so that
they might eat some. I must go now, Claire, Bruce said.
At last, you see Hiram and I have the whole

(02:29):
Thanksgiving dinner out here in the road. But when they
went out, Hiram and the dinner were gone. I tied
him ever so carefully, Bruce said, almost ready to cry,
for there was not a sight of the cart or
the goat anywhere. We must look for it, then, Claire said,
And they went all the way to the bottom of
the hill and as far as mister Sweet's grocery store,

(02:51):
but not even a hair of Hiram or a single
raisin was to be found. Oh, it's too bad, and
it's all my fault, Bruce, Claire said, for I was
making candy and you smelled it. I'm going home with
you and tell your grandmother all about it. But it
was long after the time when Bruce had been expected home.
When they did arrive, they had spent almost an hour

(03:11):
looking for the Thanksgiving dinner that had run away. There
was Missus Flynn, who came sometimes to help grandmother when
she had a good deal of cooking to do in
the kitchen. But she was not cooking, oh no, she
was telling such a wonderful story that grandfather was listening,
and no one noticed Bruce and Claire as they came
into the kitchen and listened too. Not believe in fairies,

(03:33):
Missus Flynn was saying, her irish eyes blue, and her
wrinkled cheeks rosy with excitement. The fairies this very day,
just a bit of a while ago, brought me and
Patsy and Ellen and little Bridget such a Thanksgiving dinner
as we have not laid eyes on in years, a
fat turkey, and potatoes and squash and turnips, and all

(03:54):
the makings of sauce and a pudding. Here were the
children looking out of the window at the dinners going by,
and all at once a little express cart, all alone
of itself, rolled up to our gate out round Patsy,
just in time to fetch it in. Such a dinner
as we've never had in our lives before. You don't
say so, Grandfather said, fine, Missus Flynn, but odd, I'm

(04:17):
so glad. Grandmother said, we were going to send some
dinner down to you, but it wouldn't have been all
of that. Bruce and Claire, their eyes popping out of
their heads, went out into the back yard. They didn't
know what to say, but just then Hiram wandered in
through the gate. His mouth was red from berries he
had been eating, Some green leaves hung from his whiskers,

(04:38):
and a bit of torn rope was around his neck.
Hiram always did come home in the end, and he
never was able to hide anything that he had done.
Hiram has been eating from our hedge, Bruce, Claire exclaimed,
and he gnawed the rope that held the cart. Bruce
went on, and then the Thanksgiving dinner ran away down
the hill to Missus Flynn's house. There at the beginning

(04:59):
of the avenue, Claire giggled, come on in and tell grandmother.
Bruce said, she will just be glad, but we won't
tell Missus Flynn. Claire added, we'll let her believe in
the fairies. And Grandmother felt just the same way about it.
Patsy needed a cart, and Grandfather said that Bruce could
have a new one and they would have a chicken
pie for dinner. How about Hiram, Bruce asked, it looks

(05:21):
as if it was going to be a green Thanksgiving Day.
Grandfather said, you don't ever need to worry about a
goat and out in the yard. Hiram answered, Bah, and
of the Dinner that Ran Away by Caroline Sherwin Bailey