My Adventurous Tales

By Eugene Harvey

During my career in education, I taught English, English grammar, poetry, British literature, and, of course, spelling. After retirement, and when visiting grandchildren, I was challenged to put my English skills into practice, verbally.

They would ask me to tell tales for their entertainment, which I did; but to make them special, I would limit the storytelling to Saturday evenings only. They looked forward to the stories and kept track of the time to reminded me of the day. To make it more authentic, and so they didn't think I was just making up tales, I would take any book from the bookshelf and riffle through the pages as I told adventurous stories that pleased and entertained them.

The character's names stemmed from my patriotism. During my military service, I was quite proud of the red, white, and blue. Hence the characters were named Redford (Red), Wyatt (white), and Ballou (blue). And there are other references to these three colors throughout the books.

The four books presented here are a portion of the tales I related to my grandchildren then and put them on paper. Therefore, there are more books yet to be written.

If you enjoy fun, adventure, learning, and mystery, there will be more books forthcoming. That gives you, the reader, something for which to watch.

Also, be alert for the coming animated adventures of the three Ladds and their comic books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645447924

Book preview

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My Adventurous Tales

Eugene Harvey

Copyright © 2021 Eugene Harvey

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-64544-791-7 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64544-792-4 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

Introduction

You are about to enter an adventure in reading.

Inside these four easy-to-read books, you will follow the adventures, and misadventures, of three Ladd brothers, age nine for Redford (call me Red), age seven for Wyatt, and age five for Ballou. I believe, at this point, I should tell you that the three Ladds live with their mother, Priscilla Ladd, who they have always called Mama.

These stories take place in a small town where the Pahs Rivers join. There is the Grand Pahs River and the Little Pahs River which flows into it. The town itself is located on the Grand Pahs River and is known as Grandpahsville, and it is only one of the towns mentioned in the books.

Primarily, there are two other main characters who are neighbors of the Ladd family. Their nearby neighbors are the George family. The father is known as Big George, and the son is known as Little George, and he is the three Ladds’s best friend. There are other characters such as the candymaker, the baker, Father Brown, the Christmas-tree-farm owner, the ferry driver, the ice-cream-store owner, and others that add to the development of the tales.

As you follow the accounts of the three Ladds, you will, perhaps, learn something you had not previously known.

Now sit back and enjoy yourselves.

These books were made possible because of the effort of my lovely wife and best friend, Charlotte, who offered many suggestions and patiently proofread them for me.

Book 1

The Springtime Fair and the Shaky Bridge

It was a dark and stormy night. The lightning flashed, the thunder rolled, and the windowpanes rattled. Except for the noise of the thunder, the storm did not really disturb the three. They were snug in their beds, knowing that their brick house would not be bothered by the storm. It was built so that even the blowing wind of a hurricane would not harm it, and the three Ladds understood that. There was no noise in the bedroom itself, except the snuffling and an occasional quiet snort coming from Wyatt’s bed. He was the only one of the three that sometimes snored. The other two slept quietly and peacefully on their down filled mattresses. Ballou opened his eyes and saw the storm outside.

Calling to his brothers, Ballou said, Boy, it looks like our day is spoiled! It has been raining all night, and it is still raining.

Red sat up, rubbed his eyes, and watched the streams of raindrops roll down the windowpanes. Ballou just rolled over in his bed and gave a soft snort.

Red then said, It looks like a day for indoor games, even though we had planned to go to the fair this afternoon.

Fair? Fair? Did I hear someone say fair? I’ll be ready to go right after breakfast! remarked Wyatt as he quickly sat up in his bed and smiled until he looked out of the bedroom window. A frown quickly replaced his smile, and he grumbled, Who said it could rain without asking me! That is just not right!

Ballou just sat up in bed, shaking his head, and commented, You don’t run the whole world, so don’t feel badly if all things don’t go your way. Besides, I said it was okay for it to rain because Mama’s vegetable garden and her flowers need watering.

Oh sure, grumped Wyatt.

Mama called the three Ladds, telling them that as soon as they made their beds and had gotten dressed, breakfast would be ready. Then the three Ladds quickly made their beds, dressed, and they slowly went down the stairs because this day did not begin as they had planned.

They had visions of fun and games that they would all enjoy, and they were looking forward to having treats to eat.

However, when they reached the kitchen and saw steaming bowls of grits, with shredded cheese sprinkled on top and a pat of butter dribbling through the cheese, they forgot all about the rainy day. They always enjoyed Mama’s cooking, and today she not only made a scrumptious breakfast but she also added a plate of hot buttered biscuits sitting next to a jar of orange marmalade. That was enough to keep them happy and smiling for a while.

After breakfast, and after the table had been cleared and the breakfast dishes were washed and put away, Mama asked the three Ladds to go to the closet and choose board games to play while it was raining. Upon opening the closet door, Ballou took out the checkerboard and checkers, Wyatt chose dominoes, and Red selected the chess game. They set up the games on the kitchen table, and Red challenged Mama to a game of chess. Wyatt and Ballou began playing dominoes, and Ballou began winning immediately. Wyatt smiled slightly as he drew tile after tile, whether he needed one or not, before he made another play.

Ballou grinned as he won game after game, and when he tired of winning, he stated, I’m the world’s best domino player because I beat Wyatt every game!

Wyatt then set up the checkerboard, and Ballou chose the black checkers. They looked over at Mama and Red, who were thinking hard about their next move on the chessboard. It looked as though Red and Mama were very evenly matched because they kept moving chess pieces around without winning or losing any of them.

Then Wyatt asked Ballou, Are you ready to lose at checkers?

Ballou stuck out his chest and replied, The world’s best domino player is going to show you that I am also the world’s best checkers player too!

After placing their red and black checkers on the board, they began playing.

Black checkers make the first move! said Ballou as he slid his black checker into an empty square. Wyatt moved his red checker closer to Ballou’s black checker when Ballou shouted, We’re done and I win!

Wyatt had a puzzled look as he asked Ballou, What do you mean, we’re done and you win? We just began playing, and it is my turn!

Not anymore, look out the window! said Ballou, grinning.

Everyone looked where Ballou was pointing, and they could see streaks of sunshine breaking through the clouds. It had stopped raining while they were busy playing games, and the sun was beginning to dry the ground.

Mama commented, It looks as if you boys are really going to the fair today after all. The ground should be dry enough after lunch so that you will not have to wear boots to keep your feet dry. Now let us put away the games so I can put lunch on the table.

With games put in the closet and with washed hands, the three Ladds sat at the table, awaiting the delicious lunch they knew was coming.

And come it did! Mama placed three plates containing pineapple rings filled with cottage cheese and topped with a bright-red cherry on top in front of the three Ladds and another plate at her place. She also poured four glasses of chocolate milk for all to enjoy.

There was not much said during lunch, but as soon as soon as lunch was finished, the three Ladds began to make plans for attending the fair. Mama told them that she could give each of them a dollar to spend at the fair.

But, Mama, the ferry going to the island where the fair is, in the Little Pahs River, costs twenty-five cents! complained Wyatt. I do not mean to grumble, but you must understand something from the way we see it, and I am certain that my brothers agree. Red and Ballou were waiting for Wyatt to complete his statement. Coming back from the island costs another twenty-five cents. That would leave us only fifty cents each to spend at the fair!

You will have to do with what I can give you, declared Mama.

The three Ladds frowned at that news, and Ballou was ready to cry.

Just then Red announced, Wait, there is another way to get to the island in Little Pahs River! There is the old rope bridge that hardly anyone uses because taking the ferry is easier.

Wyatt remarked, That is not the only reason people take the ferry. The old rope bridge has rope handrails, and you walk on wooden slats, and you can see the river between the slats. That is kind of scary, especially if the wind blows and the bridge swings back and forth a little.

But, asserted Red, we can save money that we can spend at the fair. Don’t you think it is worth trying?

Wyatt thought about it, and Ballou had a puzzled look. He was too young to have remembered the bridge, so it sounded like a good idea to him. Finally, Wyatt nodded and Red smiled. The next step was to get Mama’s permission, and after explaining that there was no way to fall off the bridge, she agreed. They were all set now.

Each had a dollar to spend, and they began thinking about how they would spend it. Walking to the rope bridge was not too difficult, but the path was overgrown with weeds because it was hardly ever used. It had been a long time since Red and Wyatt had been down this path, and they were happy to see the old rope bridge just ahead of them. Ballou had a little trouble getting through the tall weeds on the trail, so he was going slowly.

Hey, wait for me! declared Ballou. "Can’t you see that I am