RIDE away, ride away, Johnny shall ride,
And he shall have pussy-cat tied to one side,
And he shall have little dog tied to the other,
And Johnny shall ride to see his grandmother.
(traditional nursery rhyme)
*****
Mommy and Daddy were whispering away in their room. Little Johnny walked by and saw the door was just barely ajar. He stuck his little eye in the crack and saw Mommy and Daddy talking.
"Secrets are fun to know," Johnny thought. So little Johnny stuck his little ear to the crack and listened in on the grown-ups' whispers.
"Mama must be so lonely with Papa gone," Mommy sighed.
Little Johnny wondered where Grandpa had gone.
"I just don't know how to help her," Mommy said as Daddy wrapped her in a hug.
"I've got an idea!" little Johnny thought, "I'll visit Grandma and take her my pussy-cat. Georgie can keep her company 'til Grandpa comes back."
So Johnny ran to go grab the pussy-cat. He took Georgie out to the stable and tied him to his favorite horse's side. When Johnny got ready to head out he heard a loud barking. He looked down and saw his little dog Lenny was making the noise. Lenny did not like Georgie leaving and wanted to go with Georgie wherever he went. Because Johnny was afraid his parents would hear the barking and come to the stable, Johnny decided to tie Lenny to the other side of the horse. He then sat in the middle and started to ride. He rode away, away to grandmother's house.
Grandmother was surprised to see Johnny all alone. She wasn't prepared and still had on her robe. Johnny leaped down from atop the horse and ran to see sweet grandmother. He then took down Georgie to put in her arms and said "This is Georgie, he is a very smart cat and is here to keep you company till Grandpa comes back." Grandmother took the little cat into her arms and looked at little Johnny with love and sadness in her eyes.
Because Grandmother still looked sad Johnny turned back to the horse. "Here you can have Lenny too. He's rather slow but he's sweet and--" But as soon as Johnny untied Lenny the pup ran to see grandmother with leaps and bounds. He slammed right into her and they both fell to the ground.
Now grandmother has to walk with a cane, and Lenny was sent to keep grandpa company.
Author's Note. The original nursery rhyme only said that Johnny rode to see grandmother with a cat tied to one side of him and a dog to the other. I decided to expand on why Johnny was going to see his grandmother with his pets. I then based the pets' names and the remainder of the story on Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck. Though rather than accidentally killing someone like the book Lennie, my Lenny just injures Grandmother. However, their consequences are sadly the same. The title I just came up with on my own.
Bibliography. The original nursery rhyme is "Johnny shall Ride" from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897).
Eryn,
ReplyDeleteNice story. You did a good job of expanding the story out and adding more detail. I like how you still told how little Johnny rode the horse with the cat and dog tied up to the sides. In the beginning of your story I thought it was nice how little Johnny heard his grandma was all alone so he wanted to help. Then he helped out by bringing her company.
-Ashlie
Hi Eryn, I really liked your story! It was a little sad, but it made me smile that you thought of Johnny bringing his pets to keep his grandmother company. That is so sweet! Animals are the best kind of company when we are sad. My animals back home always keep me company when I am sad or I am sick. Overall, nice job!
ReplyDeleteGreat story Eryn! I thought it was sweet that little Johnny traveled to his grandmother's house to drop off his cat since he knew his grandmother was so lonely. This story reminded me of my grandmother actually! She always has a lot of pets at her house. It was funny that the story ended with his grandmother walking with a cane! Poor little thing!
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