The Old Wooden House

Once upon a time there was an old wooden house standing on the other side of the pasture in Cottonfield. The girls and boys have heard fascinating stories about the house. Some were intriguing and some were frightening. The adventurous Cottonfield kids were curious. They were anxious to visit the old wooden house.

It was a long weekend and the Cottonfield kids convinced their parents to camp out at the vacant wooden house which belongs to old man Mr. Jackson. They packed their sleeping bags, pajamas, food and camping gears and by noon they were at the old wooden house settling in for the long weekend.

After unpacking, the boys and girls looked around the field and then sat outside on the porch.

"This house fascinates me," said Famie.

Ron shook the rails on the porch. "It's quite sturdy for an old house."

"Don't shake too hard," said Otto. "You'll pull this old house down."

Famie grinned. "With you renegades around here, this house will definately be flat on the ground before the long weekend is over."

"This house gives me the creeps," said Rafena.

Brian spoke in a mysterious tone, checking out the cracks in the walls. "There's really something mysterious about this house."

"Yeah, there is," said Otto. "My friend said there's a ghost that lives here."

Ron immediately jumped of his chair and started to run.

"Ghost! Here comes the ghost," Ron shouted. "Run every body, run for your life. Here comes the ghost."

Everybody panicked. They jumped off their chair and ran towards the pasture, away from the house.

"OOOOOOooooo!"

Here comes the ghost," Ron shouted.

Laura, their parrot started to squawk which made it even more terrifying. "Brawk! Brawk!"

"Where's the ghost?" Otto panicked.

Ron started to laugh. "Don't be silly! There's no such thing as a ghost."

"I though I heard a ghost," Otto said, gasping.

"That was me," Ron admitted.

"I thought I saw a ghost," Otto panicked.

"Don't be silly, that was your imagination," said Ron.

The others were not impressed with Ron's joke, especially not after hearing ghost stories about the old wooden house.

Frightened, Otto said, "My friend told me there's a ghost in the cornfield."

Famie looked around, her legs shaking. "What cornfield?"

Rafena pointed. "What's that over there?"

Everybody looked.

"Looks like the cornfield Otto was just talking about!" Famie exclaimed.

The girls and boys raced over to the cornfield.

Famie picked a corn.

"Friends you're not suppose to pick the corn," said Otto.

Famie's hands on her waist. "And why not?"

"It brings bad luck--there's a ghost around here," said Otto.

"Says who?"

"Says my friend."

"You're joking, right," said Famie.

"No, I'm not joking," Otto replied. "It will bring bad luck."

Famie looked around. She cringed. "I sure hope nobody's looking."

"You mean like the ghost in the cornfield?" Otto asked.

"There's no such thing as ghosts," said Ron. "Don't let Brian put ideas in your head."

Brian picked a corn and threw it at Ron. "You're the one that's trying to scare everybody."

"You're not suppose to pick the corn," Otto warned. "My friend said strange things will happen."

Ron caught the corn and threw it back at Brian.

Famie looked at Otto. "I dare the corn to bring bad luck. And if there's a ghost in the corn field, I'll be waiting for him," she laughed. "It's an old wives tale."

Otto got into the action. He couldn't refuse a game of football. Ron, Brian and Otto passed the corn around as though they were playing football.

"Cut it out!" Famie shouted.

"Cut it out! Let's pick some corn," said Rafena. "Hmmmm, could you imagine eating one of these golden corn, boiled, and with tons of butter on it."

"Hmmmmm," Famie moaned. "I sure could imagine that."

The boys and girls picked ten golden corns and took it back to the old wooden house.

Their mother, Naz, was not happy to learn that the children picked the golden corn without getting the owner's permission.

"I think we should return the corn to Mr. Jackson. He owns the property," said Naz.

"Ahhh, mom," Rafena whined. "He gave us permission to camp out here. Do we have to return the corn?"

Neisha shook her head. "We should be grateful that Mr. Jackson agreed to let us camp out here. I believe he makes a living selling those corns."

The girls and boys convinced their mother to let them keep the freshly picked golden corns.

"We'll keep them under one condition," their mother said. "We will pay Mr. Jackon for the corn."

The girls and boys agreed that they should pay for the corn.

Rafena helped their mother boiled the freshly picked corn.

"That corn sure smells good," Famie said, sitting outside on the porch with Ron, Brian, Otto and Laura. The fumes coming from the golden corn with butter on it made it's way through the cracks of the walls, doors and windows.

Rafena called from the kitchen. "The corn is ready!"

The boys, girls and their parrot, Laura, sat around and ate corns, bananas, cherries and berries and the list goes on, not to mention all the junk food. After diner the children changed into their pajamas. They stayed up late eating popcorn, playing cards and telling ghost stories.

"I sure hope the ghost doesn't come around here tonight," Otto said. "It's bad luck picking the corn. And it's even worst eating it."

Famie grinned. "I'm going to sleep right now and I will have a goodnight sleep only because I picked the corn and it was so delicious."

It was getting late, past midnight, and the Cottonfield kids were beginning to feel tired. Their bodies ached from running outside all day in the hot sun. Soon after the lights were out and so were the children.