The Get-Well Pie
Sam and Pat lived with their mother in the outskirts of Rabbittown. In the winter, they enjoyed listening to Mother’s stories by the warm hearth. In the spring, the family frolicked in the garden patch, playing hopscotch with their friends.
Kris and Kai were their best friends, and together they spent the summer digging in the soil for their favorite snacks. When fall came, Sam and Pat loved to jump on and roll over the fallen leaves, as Kris flew from branch to branch of the oak up above, and Kai ran under the piles of leaves, creating crispy rustling sounds. Every now and then, they would be greeted back home by the sweet scent of a pumpkin pie Mother had baked.
But this fall things were different. For one, Mother had not been baking. Instead of her humming and singing those funny songs she liked, Sam and Pat heard her coughing. And some nights they overheard her crying. Neighbors and friends from church, who only visited on special occasions, were coming over and calling often. They spoke in hushed tones, and they looked sad. Something seemed wrong, yet nobody would tell Sam and Pat what was the matter.
One morning, Sam and Pat woke up to find Mother’s bed empty, and were told that they would be moving in with a Mr. and Ms. Foster. They were moved out of their home into the Fosters’ home that same day.
Mr. and Ms. Foster were nice enough, yet Sam and Pat felt uneasy in the Fosters’ home. They missed their own home, and they missed their mother most. Kris and Kai, who had noticed the commotion in their friends’ home, followed Sam and Pat all the way to the Fosters’ home to keep them company.
The first few nights at the Fosters’ home, Sam and Pat couldn’t sleep well, and had frightening nightmares. One night, they heard the Fosters talking in the living room. That is when they learned that their mother was quite sick, and that she was in the town hospital. Sam and Pat cried themselves to sleep that night.
The next morning, Sam told Pat: ‘I want to go see Mother.’
‘But how? We’re not allowed to leave this house, and we don’t know how to get to the hospital,’ said Pat.
‘Don’t despair. We can figure out a way of finding our mother,’ replied Sam.
When Pat said ‘We need help!’ Kris and Kai perked up.
The siblings and their friends did some thinking and some talking, and came up with a plan.
Since Kris could fly, the next time Ms. Foster went to visit mother, Kris followed her and learned the way to the hospital.
Soon the time came to put the plan into action. Ms. Foster was baking pumpkin pies to take to the county fair. Mr. Foster was reading in the living room, where Sam and Pat pretended to be watching TV, waiting for the right time to give Kai ‘the sign.’
At the right time, having heard ‘the sign,’ Kai came in through the crack under a door, and started scurrying around the house. The Fosters, startled by the smart mouse, started yelling and running around.
Sam and Pat grabbed one pumpkin pie, and took off running. They followed Kris, whose flight guided them all the way to the hospital.
Mother was so surprised and pleased to see Sam and Pat, that she felt better right away. Their hearts pounded with excitement and love. The plan had worked. The friends had helped. They would share pumpkin pie this fall after all!
