Lara Bergen: Sophie the Chatterbox

“This looks like my dad’s workshop,” Sophie said out loud.

The ranger laughed. “Well, it is a workshop!” she said. “This is where the blacksmiths and carpenters worked. You see, a farm like this was like a little town. Everything they needed, they had to make themselves.”

“Even their TVs?” Dean asked.

Dean liked TV a lot, Sophie knew. He was always talking about some show.

“Well, no,” Ranger Fawn said. “Because they didn’t have TVs back then.”

“Too bad!” Dean said.

What they did have were nails and hooks and boxes and buckets and baskets. Ranger Fawn picked them up and showed them to the class.

Then she showed them buildings used for making other stuff, too.

There was a yarn house. That was where wool from the sheep was turned into yarn. It was woven into cloth and made into shirts and pants and coats. Then there was the dairy. That was where milk from the cows was made into cheese and butter. There was even a house just for making apple cider. Sophie liked apple cider a lot. She wished she had a house for that.

“Did you know that George Washington’s father had a thousand apple trees?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Apple trees! That reminded Sophie of something. She waved her hand in the air, and Ranger Fawn pointed to her.

“No, I did not. But how many cherry trees did they have?” Sophie asked.

Ranger Fawn thought for a minute. “None that I know of,” she said.

None? Sophie frowned. That did not make sense.

“I mean, before George Washington cut one down,” she said.

“Oh, that!” The ranger chuckled. “You’re talking about the famous story, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am!” Sophie said.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s just a story. We’re pretty sure that it’s not true,” the ranger said.

Huh? Sophie thought.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “Why would someone make up a lie to show that George Washington was honest?”

Ranger Fawn shrugged. “That’s a good question.”

Thank you, Sophie thought.

“Well, are there any true stories that show how honest he was?” she asked.

The ranger rubbed her chin. “Hmmm … not that I can think of,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that George wasn’t an honest man.”

Sophie shook her head, but she stood up straighter. She still could not believe that George Washington had never — ever — cut down a cherry tree. But she bet he would have if he could have. And he would have told his dad, of course.

“So, who wants to see the kitchen now?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Sophie raised her hand. “Not me!” she said. She was getting tired of little buildings. “I’d rather go out to the pasture and pet the sheep. Or can we eat lunch now? I’d really like to do that. I have egg salad. And it’s kind of hot. And I don’t want it to

go bad. One time I ate a tuna sandwich that was bad, and I got really sick. All over the place.”

A few kids giggled.

Ranger Fawn looked down at Sophie. “I see,” she said. “But all your lunches are in a cooler. So I think they’ll be okay. And I know you’ll like what we do next. Are there any questions before we move on?” she asked.

Dean raised his hand.

“Yes?” Ranger Fawn said.

“What’s your favorite TV show?” Dean asked.

The ranger smiled again. “I really meant are there history questions….”

She looked at the class. They all looked back at her and shook their heads.

“No? Then let’s go to the kitchen,” Ranger Fawn said. Her eyes twinkled as she turned to Dean. “And I really like dancing shows,” she added.

Ranger Fawn led Sophie’s class down another brick path. They came to another little white house and walked in. It reminded Sophie of something….

But what?

Then it hit her. The Seven Dwarfs’ cottage!

Inside was a big table. On it were jugs and wooden bowls. Along one wall was a big fireplace. An orange fire glowed inside.

“Look!” Sophie told Kate. She pointed to a stick broom. “It’s just like the one that Snow White used.”

“This is George Washington’s kitchen,” Ranger Fawn told the class. “As you can see, it is in a separate building. Do you know why the kitchen was so far from the main house?”

Sophie bit her lip. Usually, she would have said something like “Because they forgot the kitchen when they built the house?” or “So when George Washington’s dad made egg salad, it didn’t stink up the house?”

But Sophie had to be honest. So when Ranger Fawn pointed at her, she shook her head. “No, I don’t know at all!” she said.

The ranger smiled and pointed to Kate next.

“So when George’s babysitter made stuffed cabbage, it didn’t stink up the house?” Kate said.

Ranger Fawn laughed. “I don’t think George’s babysitter made stuffed cabbage. But yes. To keep smells out of the house. That was one reason,” she said.

Sophie could not believe it. “I almost said that!” she almost said.

“But there is another reason, too. Can anyone guess?” Ranger Fawn went on.

Sophie raised her hand. Yes. Sure! She could guess.

But Ranger Fawn did not point at her again. She pointed at Mindy instead.

“I know! I know!” Mindy said. “It was so the fire didn’t make the house too hot in the summer. Or burn it down.”

“Right-o,” Ranger Fawn said.

Mindy took a little bow. “I learned that the last time I was here,” she said.

Sophie rolled her eyes. She wondered if Mindy was trying to make her sick.

“What else do you see that’s different from the kitchen in your house?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.

Twenty hands shot up at once. And twenty answers came out in a hurry.

There was no dishwasher. Or fridge. Or stove. Or sink.

There was no microwave for making popcorn. There was no blender for making milk shakes.

All the water came in buckets, from a well outside.

All the cooking was done in the fireplace, in big black pots and pans.

It seemed like a lot of trouble to Sophie.

“Did George Washington’s family eat out a lot?” she asked.

Ranger Fawn grinned and shook her head. “Nope,” she said. “They made all of their meals right here — including George Washington’s favorite breakfast: hoecakes with butter and honey. Hey! Who would like to make George Washington’s favorite breakfast right now, right here?”

“Me!” the whole class cheered. And that included Sophie, even though she did not know what a hoecake was. She did know that she liked butter and honey!

“Great!” Ranger Fawn said. “Let’s split into two groups. One group will make the hoecakes, and the other group will make the butter.”

She moved over to a tall wooden bucket. It had a lid with a hole in the middle and a long pole sticking out of the top.

“Who has used a butter churn before?” Ranger Fawn asked.

Mindy’s hand shot up. Of course. So did Lily’s. They waved their hands like they were experts. But Sophie was not so sure about that.

Still, it was hard for Sophie to be honest right then. What if the ranger only picked the experts to churn the butter? Sophie really wanted to try it! It was not easy to keep her hand down.

“Okeydokey,” Ranger Fawn said. She pointed to Mindy and Lily. “Since you two have done this before, you can make hoecakes. I want to let kids who have not churned butter have a chance.”