Drift Off To Maida's Little House (Chapter 13 & 14)

Tonight, we embark on another enchanting journey as we continue with a few more chapters from the 2nd book of the beloved Maida Series called "Maida's Little House". We will go on a magical journey with Maida and all of her friends, while they spend a happy summer together in a sweet little house in the country that has everything a child could wish for.

So lie back and relax as we continue our journey once more into Maida's little world! Wishing you the sweetest of dreams...

Your friend,
Joanne

Transcript

Welcome back,

Drift Off listeners,

To another cozy evening on the podcast where I whisk you away to the land of dreams with sleepy tales.

I'm your host Joanne,

And tonight we continue our journey with Meda as I read a few more chapters from Meda's Little House,

The second book from the beloved Meda series.

We will embark on a magical journey with Meda and all of her friends,

Where they spend a happy summer together in a sweet little house in the country that has everything a child could wish for.

This book highlights themes of friendship,

Independence,

And the joy of simple pleasures in a young girl's journey towards health and happiness.

Now,

Go ahead and close your eyes.

Take a slow,

Deep,

Comfortable breath.

Hold it for a moment,

And exhale slowly.

Feel the tension melting away from your body as you prepare to drift off into a world of wonder and imagination.

And so,

My friend,

Lay back,

Relax,

And let the soothing narration lull you into a peaceful sleep.

Chapter Thirteen DISCOVERY Do you know I think it would be fine if we went off some day this week on a picnic,

Laura said unexpectedly one morning?

I just love to go on picnics,

And we haven't had one yet.

Oh,

Laura,

Meda agreed ecstatically.

What a wonderful idea!

I love picnics too.

I adore picnic food,

And I never yet have had all the hard-boiled eggs I want.

How did you come to think of it?

I thought of it last night just before I fell asleep,

Laura's voice sparkled with pride.

It was all I could do to keep from going in your rooms and waking you and Rosie up to tell you about it.

I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep,

And so I made a perfectly beautiful plan.

I thought we might put up lunches,

Then get into our bathing suits,

Paddle across the magic mirror to the other side,

And spend the day there.

We have never really explored the other side.

I'm sure it's perfectly lovely there,

And we'll have a wonderful time.

Let's do it tomorrow,

Rosie took up with Laura's plan immediately.

We can get up early,

Cook the eggs,

And make the sandwiches.

There'll be enough cake left over.

And don't let's… Oh,

Listen,

Everybody,

Remember not to forget the salt.

People always forget the salt on picnics.

It's ice cream day tomorrow,

Harold said sadly.

We'll miss it if we're not home to freeze it.

No,

If you boys will get up early and make it,

We can take it along in the freezer with us,

Rosie suggested daringly.

Sure,

Arthur was highly enthusiastic.

I don't care how early I have to get up to make ice cream.

I'd rather do that than go without it.

All other conversation was banished for the day.

They kept thinking of the things they would like to take with them,

And stopped only short of the bicycles.

I should think,

Maeda said once,

That we're going to Africa for six months at least.

Remember one thing though,

Don't forget the salt.

They were so afraid that they wouldn't wake in time,

That they wound their alarm clocks to the very last notch.

They did wake in time,

However.

In fact,

They had to put the alarm clocks under the bedclothes and pile pillows on top of them to keep them from waking the rest of the household.

With much whispering and much half-suppressed giggles,

The girls managed to get into bathing suits,

Went downstairs,

And began their work in the kitchen.

Although the exact number of eggs and sandwiches had been decided on the day before,

They held many low-toned conversations on the subject.

Remember,

Laura said,

You can always eat twice as much at a picnic as anywhere else.

I don't know why it is,

She concluded thoughtfully.

But even things you don't like taste good.

Be sure not to forget the salt.

By the time Florabelle appeared to get their breakfasts,

They were nearly famished,

But nevertheless they ate hurriedly.

So great was their longing to get off.

Arthur shouldered the ice cream freezer.

Between them,

The girls carried the luncheon.

The little children had to be led to the side of the house,

So as not to witness their elaborate burden-laden departure.

As it was acute,

Little Betsy apparently guessed that something was going on which did not include her.

As the big six disappeared down the trail,

They could hear Granny Flynn soothing her whimperings.

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was not yet high enough in the heavens for it to be hot.

Indeed,

Dew still lay over everything,

But there was a languor in the atmosphere,

Which warned them that it would be hot enough later.

The pond was indeed a magic mirror.

It was like glass,

Not a ripple roughed its surface,

And everything on the shore was so perfectly reflected that it looked painted on the water.

The children wasted no time on the view.

They pulled the four canoes out of the boathouse and began loading them.

Arthur paddled alone in one with the ice cream freezer and the lunch.

Harold paddled alone in the second with the rugs and the hammock.

The others went,

Too,

To a canoe.

The little fleet kept close.

Isn't it a beautiful place?

Rosie asked joyously,

Trailing her hand in the water.

It's like fairyland today.

How I wish I could see some fairies or goblins or something strange.

I'd be content to see some white peacocks,

Dickie said soberly.

Oh,

Dickie,

Maeda exclaimed,

I've never taken you to see the white peacocks as I promised.

I'll do that as soon as I can.

I'd rather see some deer,

Harold remarked.

Well,

All I ask,

Laura was very empathetic,

Is not to see two people,

Silva and Timma Burrell.

I don't think we'll run into them,

Maeda declared thoughtfully.

It's a long time since any of us have seen them.

Over two weeks,

I should say.

Perhaps they've gone away.

No,

Arthur called from his canoe.

I saw them in the village yesterday.

The landing was affected with no difficulty,

Although here,

Of course,

There was no pier.

They followed the trail through the woods for a long way,

Trying to find a place to camp.

One spot attracted some,

A second attracted others,

But for a long time,

No place attracted them all.

There are too many stones here,

Rosie would say.

It won't be comfortable to sit down.

And it's too sunny here,

Maeda commented.

It'll melt the ice cream and the butter and everything.

That place slants,

Laura made the third objection.

We want a nice flat spot.

I think I hear water,

Dickie cried suddenly.

Water?

Maeda repeated.

Water?

How can you hear it?

There's no water here.

I never saw any brook around here.

I can't hear any water.

Neither could anybody else,

Yet Dickie persisted that he heard the sound of running water.

You wait here,

He exclaimed suddenly.

Let me see if I can find it.

He disappeared through the trees.

He came running back in a few minutes,

Obviously excited.

I haven't found it yet,

He explained,

But I certainly hear it plainer and plainer the farther I go.

The others swarmed into the bushes.

Dickie led the way.

I hear water,

Rosie announced electrically.

Hark!

They all stopped and listened.

One by one they got the soft tinkle.

Encouraged,

They kept on,

Rounding bushes and leaping rocks.

The noise grew louder and louder.

A rough trail suddenly appeared.

They raced over it as fast as their burdens would permit.

The sound was now a lovely musical splash.

They came out on an open space,

Surrounded by pines and thickly carpeted with pine needles.

At one side,

A great rock thrust out of the earth.

Close beside it ran a tiny brook,

And just beyond the lee of the rock,

The brook fell into a waterfall not more than a foot high.

The children went wild with delight.

Do you mean to tell me,

Maeda Westerbrook,

That you never knew this was here,

Rosie demanded?

I never did,

Maeda declared solemnly.

I've never seen it.

I've never heard anybody mention it.

Isn't it,

Darling?

What shall we call it?

We must give it a name.

Nobody had any names ready,

And everybody was too excited to think.

In fact,

At once they began wading up and down the little brook.

They explored the neighborhood.

Not far off,

They came upon a curious patch of country.

A cleared circle,

Surrounded by pine trees and carpeted with pines,

Was filled with irregular lines of great rocks that lost themselves in the bushes on either side.

I believe this is a moraine,

Maeda exclaimed suddenly.

I've seen moraines in Europe.

What's a moraine?

The others asked.

Maeda explained how once the earth had been covered with great ice caps called glaciers,

And how in melting these glaciers had often left,

Streaking the earth's surface,

Great files and lines of rock.

We'll ask father to come here some day,

She ended.

He'll know all about it.

Millie Potter too.

He knows everything.

After a while,

They came back to the waterfall.

They swept aside the pine needles,

Spread the tablecloth on the ground,

Took food from the baskets,

Set it about in an inviting pile.

The ice cream had not melted an atom in the freezer.

The sandwiches done up in wet napkins were quite fresh.

The eggs looked as inviting as hard-boiled eggs are bound to look.

Everything was alright except that,

And this produced first consternation,

Then laughter.

There was no salt.

We all reminded everybody else to remember the salt,

Maeda said in disgust,

And so nobody put it in the basket.

Everybody but Rosie was busy,

And Rosie,

As though bewitched,

Was wandering about,

Gazing up this vista and down that one,

Examining clumps of bushes.

Come,

Rosie.

Lunch is most ready,

Maeda called to her.

And as Rosie didn't answer,

What are you doing?

I'm looking for.

.

.

Rosie's voice was muffled.

I thought I saw something.

Oh,

Come,

See what I found.

Now her voice was sharp and high with excitement.

The children rushed hell-mell in the direction of the voice.

Rosie had gone farther than they thought.

Indeed,

She had disappeared entirely.

She had to keep calling to guide them.

When they came to her at last,

She was standing with her back against a tree,

The look on her arms.

A doll,

Maeda exclaimed.

Who could have dropped it?

Nobody ever comes here but us.

It was a cheap little doll of rag,

Perfectly clean and dry.

How did you come to find it,

Laura inquired.

Well,

It's the strangest thing,

Rosie answered in a queer,

Quiet voice.

I was just poking around here,

Not thinking of anything particularly.

And then I thought I saw something moving,

A white figure.

I started towards it and then.

.

.

And then it seemed to me that something was thrown through the air.

Now when I try to remember,

I can't be sure I really did see something thrown through the air,

And yet I sort of feel that I did.

Anyway,

I ran to see what it was.

When I got there,

This doll was lying in the path.

How curious,

Maeda commented.

You must have imagined the figure,

Rosie.

See,

There's nobody here.

A little odd.

The children stared through the trees,

This way and that,

But they stood stock still.

Yeah,

I must have imagined it,

Rosie admitted.

Still,

When I try to make myself believe I didn't see anything,

Something inside of me tells me I did.

Let's look about,

Arthur suggested.

They scattered exploring,

Diving into bush clumps and peering behind rocks.

Fifteen minutes went by.

Well,

We found nothing.

Arthur ended the search as he had begun it.

Let's go back and eat lunch.

Oh,

Let's,

Begged Harold.

I never was so hungry in all my life.

Nor I came from the others.

Maeda alone remained thoughtful.

She led the file,

However,

Back to the waterfall.

And it was she who suddenly stopped and called.

Look,

Look what's happened.

She stopped as though her breath had given out.

In the midst of the clearing,

The paper tablecloth still lay on the ground,

A great shining rectangle of white scattered about,

Crumpled,

Soiled,

Or torn with paper napkins.

Everything else,

Even the ice cream from the freezer,

Had disappeared.

Why,

Who took it,

Arthur demanded in a dazed voice.

Who could have taken it,

He went on in a puzzled one.

Is any one of you playing a joke,

He asked suddenly of the others.

Everybody protested his innocence.

We haven't been gone more than 15 minutes,

Arthur went on.

Let's look about.

It doesn't seem to me anybody could have carried all that stuff far,

And we not get a glimpse of it.

It might be tramps.

One thing is certain,

Maeda protested.

Tramps didn't do it.

There are never any tramps in Sachewet.

The children started their search.

They talked the matter over.

But instinctively their voices lowered.

They kept glancing over their shoulders.

They found nothing.

It's like magic,

Maeda commented in a still voice.

You were saying,

Rosie,

That you wished you could see some fairies or goblins.

It looks to me as though the goblins have stolen our lunch.

Arthur alone did not leave the clearing.

He stood in the center,

Pivoting about,

Watching every vista and gnawing his under lip.

His face was more perplexed than any of them had ever seen it.

Well,

If we don't find our lunch pretty soon,

He said after a while,

We've got to go back home to get something to eat.

Perhaps somebody's playing a joke on us,

Rosie suggested.

And if we wait for a while,

They'll bring the lunch back.

There seemed nothing else to do.

So,

Rather sobered by this mysterious event,

The children seated themselves in a group by the brook.

I can't wait very much longer,

Laura admitted dolefully.

I'm nearly starved.

I was so excited about the picnic that I hardly ate any breakfast.

Just a few minutes more,

Arthur begged.

Meda,

Please tell us a story.

Once upon a time,

Meda began obligingly.

Six boys and girls were cast away on a great forest with nothing to eat.

It was a forest filled with gob.

Hark,

She interrupted herself.

What's that?

From somewhere,

Not the forest about them,

Nor the sky above it,

It seemed actually to issue from the earth under them,

Came a strange moaning cry.

The children jumped to their feet.

The boys started apart.

The girls clung together.

The cry grew louder and louder.

It was joined by a second voice even more strange.

And then a third entered the chorus.

It was too much.

The little group,

White-faced and trembling,

Broke and made for the trail.

The girls started first.

The boys stood still.

But as the uncanny sound grew louder and louder,

Soared higher and higher,

They became panic-stricken too.

They ran.

Arthur,

Ending the file,

Walked at first.

But finally,

Even his walk grew into a run.

The others leaped forward.

They bounded over the trail,

Gaining in terror as they went.

In some way,

They got into the canoes,

But half a dozen times their trembling and fumbling nearly spilled them out.

It was not until they were well into the middle of the magic mirror that their composure came back.

What do you suppose it was?

Meda asked,

White-faced.

It couldn't have been a ghost,

Could it?

Dropped from Laura's shaking lips.

No,

Arthur dismissed this theory with complete contempt.

I should think it was a crazy person,

Harold declared.

Is there a lunatic asylum around here,

Meda?

No,

Meda replied.

Is there any crazy person about here?

Meda shook her head.

I think it was a tramp who first stole our lunch,

Arthur gasped shrewdly,

And then decided to frighten us away.

I think the wood is haunted,

Rosie shivered.

Nonsense,

Meda exclaimed.

Well,

I wish I hadn't run away,

Arthur burst down impatiently.

I wish I'd stayed.

So do I,

Arthur,

Meda agreed vigorously.

That's the first time I ever ran away from anything in my life.

Let's go back,

Arthur suggested.

Laura burst into tears.

Oh,

Please don't,

She begged.

I'm frightened to death.

We won't go,

Laura,

Meda reassured her.

Don't worry.

She continued after an interval of thought.

And don't let's tell Granny Flynn and Mrs.

Door about that screaming.

Let's say that our lunch was stolen while we were away.

If I tell them all of it,

They won't let us go on another picnic.

Well,

Believe me,

I don't want to go on another picnic,

Laura said,

Her eyes streaming still.

However,

By the time they had reached the jetty and had tethered the canoes,

They were more composed.

When they reached the little house,

Even Laura had begun to smile,

To admit that the tramp theory was probably the correct one.

Granny Flynn and Mrs.

Door looked very much concerned when they heard the story.

They asked many questions.

Finally,

They decided with Arthur that tramps were the answer to the strange happening.

Meda persisted,

Though,

That tramps were never permitted in Sachewet.

The next morning,

Arthur strolled down to the lake alone.

In a little while,

He came running back white with rage.

What do you suppose has happened,

He called while still running up the trail?

We didn't lock the canoes in the boathouse last night,

And somebody has made a great hole in all four of them.

The big six rushed down to the magic mirror.

It was only too true.

Four of the canoes were ruined.

The children stood staring at them horrified.

I don't think tramps would do this,

Arthur said slowly.

They'd steal them,

But there'd be no sense in destroying them.

No,

Meda said slowly.

This looks as though we had an enemy who is determined to make us as unhappy as possible.

Sweet dreams,

My friend.

Sleep well.

Reviews

I hope the mystery of the food disappearing & the canoes damaged is solved for the children. Thank you for this great story.

I love this story! Didn’t hear much of it though.
Thank you for the lovely reading, Joanne. You have such a calm, soothing tone. 💜💜

Oooh it was a little scary for a while! Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Thank you ❤️😘