Many Years Ago...

     Hi again! So yesterday when I was going through some draft posts, I found this story I had written for a contest a year or so ago, and thought I'd share!
     I added some pictures I found on Unsplash to go with it.

  “Grandma, Grandma, tell us a story!” nine year old Becky pleaded. “Yes, yes!” her little sister, Rachel, agreed.

     “Okay, but just one, because it’s getting late,” the Grandma told them with a smile. “Come, let’s go out to the living room with your great aunt Katharine and sit by the fire,” she beckoned. Once they were all comfortably seated, Grandma began.

     “Many years ago, a little girl named Lizzie lived in a cabin with her father, mother, and baby sister, Katie. They lived in a clearing in the forest, along with two other families. Since they were so far from any other people, the three families grew very close. 

     One morning early in March, Lizzie went outside, and was surprised to see that the beautiful yellow daffodil next to their doorstep had bloomed. “Spring has come!” the young girl exclaimed. Quickly she ran inside. “Mother, the daffodil has bloomed; winter is over! May I pick it?”

  “That’s wonderful, Lizzie! Please don’t pick the daffodil, though. How about you put on your cloak, and see if you can find some wildflowers.”

     “Must I wear my cloak, Mother? Spring has come!”

     Mother chuckled. “Yes dear, you must wear your cloak. It’s still chilly outside, though I think this cold weather is almost over.”

     Lizzie slipped on her cloak, grabbed a basket, and ran out the door. She headed to the edge of the clearing, where she remembered seeing wildflowers in previous years. Suddenly she heard something behind her and stopped. Nervously she turned around. “Oh Max, it’s just you!” she cried out relieved as she rubbed the faithful dog’s head.

    She walked along the edge for a while, but was unsuccessful in her search for flowers. Finally, she saw something purple popping out from behind a tree in the woods. She hesitated. “What if there are bears in the forest?” she wondered. She decided she would just run, get the purple flowers, and come right back. She quickly jumped over a fallen tree, moved her way past some prickly briars, and came to the beautiful violets. “These are perfect!” she cried, gathering a handful. She was about to turn back, when Max began to run further into the woods. “Max! Come back!” she called out, but he wasn’t listening. She ran after him. He kept running and running, finally stopping at a tree, and barking loudly. “You ran all this way because of a squirrel?” Lizzie said, and sat down on a stump. 

     Finding some more flowers, she got up and began to gather more. After a few minutes, she told Max, “We should probably head back home.” She looked around. She didn’t recognize anything. She began to grow nervous. “Which way should we go? Every direction looks the same.” She sat back down.

     Suddenly a chilly breeze blew by, causing her to hug her cloak tight around herself to keep warm. Snow began to fall, lightly at first, then harder. “I have to get home,” Lizzie said aloud, this time in a more urgent tone. She looked around again. “I think we may have come from that way,” she said at last, and they began to head in that direction.

     The snow continued to come down, and a layer of white was quickly covering the ground. The wind blew harder, and a large branch flew by. “Come Max!” Lizzie cried out, and began to run. The snow was blinding her, but still she ran on. Suddenly the ground was gone, and she fell into a ditch. A few  minutes passed before she came to her senses. She cried out in pain, her leg hurt badly, and her head throbbed.. She looked up and saw Max up on the path where she had been before she fell. “Oh, I can’t do it. I can’t go any further.”  she said. Looking up to the sky, she prayed. “Please dear God, please help me!” With that, she slipped into a deep sleep, but before she did, she saw Max run off.

     “Lizzie! Lizzie!” called a man as he walked through the forest. “Yell back if you hear me! Elizabeth!” He paused, hearing a rustle in the brush nearby. “Lizzie?” Out jumped a mangy, cold, and tired dog. “Max!” the man exclaimed. Max grabbed his shirt with his teeth and was pulling him further into the woods. “Are you trying to show me something?” the man asked. Hopeful, he followed. The dog led him on for a while. After twenty minutes or so, the man thought, “Perhaps you’re just having fun with me. I have to go back.”  Max quickened his pace, pulling him along. Suddenly, Max jerked him back, just in time to stop him from falling. The dog barked loudly, looking down into the ditch. Hesitatingly, the man  looked down. “Lizzie!” he cried, seeing the little girl. “Lizzie, stay there!” Quickly he tried to find a way down. Lizzie blinked a few times, and opened her eyes. “Father?” she whispered. He made his way down, and carefully scooped the little girl into his arms. 

     “Where’s Mother?” she asked. 

     “At home, with baby Katie,” he told her, as he walked back towards the clearing. “We were all so worried. Finally, Max led me to you.” Lizzie looked up. “Thank You Lord,” she prayed, “for sending Max, and saving me.”

     “Was she okay?” Rachel asked. “You said her leg was hurting.”

  “Oh yes, her leg had gotten twisted, but that healed in a few days.” Grandma answered. “Everyone was so happy when we returned.  All three families gathered in my home, and we drank hot cocoa and sang songs.”

     “Your house?” Becky asked. “You’re Lizzie?”

     “Yes,” Grandma said with a laugh. “I’m Lizzie. Katie, would you bring out some cookies?” she asked Aunt Katharine. 

     “Of course,” she answered, and they all snacked on delicious chocolate chip cookies before falling fast asleep.

What did you think?