A new Thanksgiving tradition
Peace at last … Grover thought as he settled onto the couch with the Daily Gazette. After many interviews and speeches, he was glad that his social life had quieted down. His fame, of course, was short termed, and a good thing, truthfully. He was still well known, but the buzz about him had faded away.
Grover scanned the news. His fame had been the most excitement the town had ever experienced and now the news was hardly ever good. Sighing, Grover placed the newspaper down. Without it blocking his sight, he could see a truck parked near his driveway.
What in the world is a truck doing here? Grover looked closer. It wasn’t the mailman, that was for sure. Why, it’s a moving truck!
Indeed it was; moving pets were unloading boxes and walking about. The new family must have arrived!
His old neighbor had sold the house and gone away to the South. Grover had seen the new family once before, and he knew they were not from this town.
I wonder where they moved from? I should welcome them. I know, I’ll bake them cookies! He hurried to the kitchen and began making a favorite cookie recipe. “I hope they’ll like it!”
A couple of hours later, after the cookies were cooled, Grover began heading out. After all the camera time, he was still a little nervous confronting strangers. He hesitated in front of the door, before knocking.
A few seconds later, the door opened. A young sparrow stood in the doorway.
“Hello! Who are you?” the sparrow chirped excitedly.
“Hi! I’m Grover, your next-door neighbor. I brought some cookies to welcome you!”
“Oh! Er … Mom! Come here, somebody brought us food!” cried the sparrow.
Grover heard hurrying footsteps and soon another sparrow appeared.
“He’s our neighbor, Mom! Look, he brought sweets!”
“Oh, thank you so much! They look wonderful. I’m Abella. What’s your name?” said the mother sparrow.
“I’m Grover. I hope you like this town, the folks are very friendly and down to earth.”
Suddenly a voice called from the back of the house. “Sorry, I’ve got to return to unpacking. Thank you again!” cried Abella.
Grover smiled and waved. He wrapped his scarf around tighter and walked back to his home. “I can’t wait to get to know this family more.”
It was a couple of days until Thanksgiving. Dinner was to be at his house this year, and Grover had already planned it all. He wrote down the last of the ingredients he needed to buy, and left for the W-Mart.
“All right, where are the spices?” Grover mumbled to himself as he searched the aisles.
“Grover! Hello!” cried a familiar voice.
Grover turned around to see Abella with her family. The little sparrow, Rickie, played with a box.
“How are you guys? I’m just finishing my Thanksgiving shopping,” said Grover happily.
“We’re looking for this type of herb. We can’t seem to find it!” Abella pointed at the name.
“Oh, follow me! I know where it is.” Grover said as he made his way to the shelves of herbs.
Grover scanned the shelf. “Ah, here it is.” He said, as he grabbed a bundle and handed it to Rickie. “It’s very fresh! It has a strong taste.”
“I know, Mommy is making my favorite dish tonight — Maizaloop!” cried Rickie.
Grover had never heard of the dish before. “Well, it’s sure to be delicious if it uses this herb!”
“What is Thanksgiving?” asked Adina, Rickie’s sister.
Grover looked at her with puzzlement. Then he realized they wouldn’t have celebrated Thanksgiving in their country.
Oh my, how do I explain? There’s so much to it!
“It’s a holiday, where families give thanks and celebrate with a feast after the harvest,” Grover explained. Wait a second, what better way to explain Thanksgiving, than experiencing it?
“I have an idea! If you are not busy this Thursday, maybe you guys would like to come over and join my family for Thanksgiving?”
“Well, we don’t have anything planned for Thursday. I think we’d love to come, if it is not too much work for you,” replied Abella.
“Not at all! I’d better be going to prepare for Thanksgiving. Have a great day!” exclaimed Grover.
Once home, Grover updated his relatives and friends that he invited his neighbors. Nobody minded; Uncle Gary said he and Aunt Mary would come over earlier and help out. His cousins would also help by making decorations and setting up the house.
Thanksgiving Eve arrived. Grover was alone in his house. He had just prepared the cobbler for the next day. He wondered if inviting Abella’s family was a good idea. There was nothing wrong with them, they were wonderful people. However, he was a bit nervous at how they would react to Thanksgiving.
Never mind, even if they didn’t get it, he was sure they would enjoy the food at the very least.
Grover knew that with himself and his aunt and uncle cooking, the food would not be a problem. Sighing, Grover decided to sleep early and get some rest before tomorrow.
The next morning, Grover rose bright and early. He began preparing the food around noon when Mary and Gary arrived. They busily worked around the kitchen all afternoon, baking pies, preparing the cranberry cobbler, and making other dishes.
At 4, his other relatives started to arrive. His cousins began setting out their decorations they carefully made.
When the sparrows came over, the house was all set up.
“I brought one of my dishes. It’s called Jazzi Jeweloni,” said Abella, holding a dish of noodles, laden with gemlike vegetables.
“Wow, it looks good! Thank you and come on in!” exclaimed Grover. He placed the dish in the kitchen, as he led them to the living room.
“Mmmm, it smells good!” said Rickie.
“Look at these pretty decorations!” Adina said admiringly.
“My cousins made those. They’re very good, aren’t they?” replied Grover.
“Yes they are. So, can you explain Thanksgiving to us?” said Eduardo, the father.
“I’d love to. Hmm, where do I start?” Grover pondered. “I guess I’ll tell how it originated first.”
“Well, way back then, when pets first arrived here, they were not prepared for the new weather and land. They had a hard time settling in and trying to harvest food. So the natives decided to help them and showed them the proper way to farm. After a successful harvest, the natives and settlers decided to celebrate with one giant feast. They gathered their bountiful crops and …”
“Grover!” cried a voice coming from the kitchen. “I need help with the cranberry cobbler!”
“Just a sec!” answered Grover. “Hold on a moment; you guys make yourself at home, okay?”
Grover got up and hurried to the kitchen. After scrambling to finish the cobbler and shoving it into the fridge, Grover returned to the living room.
Grover started to explain Thanksgiving again. The Sparrows looked at him with interest as he continued.
“Where was I? Oh yes; well the settlers and natives celebrated with a giant feast. The settlers brought their dishes and the natives made their special food. They gave thanks for this new land and the help they received from the natives. Also for such a successful harvest …”
Just then Uncle Gary came into the room. “The cousins need help. I have to finish my dish; can you go check up on them?”
“Oh. All right.” Grover replied hesitantly. “I’m sorry guys, I’ll be back.”
One of the families had gotten lost on the way to Grover’s home. He helped them find the way over the phone, and after half an hour or so, they finally got back on the right road. When Grover returned, he found the Sparrows chatting pleasantly with his relatives.
Phew, at least they’re not bored.
“I’m back! That took longer than I thought. The Gobblers were really lost.” joked Grover.
“Sammie just told us about your previous Thanksgivings!” said Rickie excitedly.
“Really? That’s great!” said Grover, as he gave Sam a look of thanks. “Now I’ve told you how the holiday originated, but that’s not all to Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday about thanks for family, friends and …”
“Dinner is ready!” cried Uncle Gary.
“Oh dear, I must help set up. Excuse me.” Grover got up and quickly made his way to the kitchen. The table was full with dishes and the good smells made everyone hungry. He brought extra chairs for the Sparrows. Soon all the guests sat around the table, looking at the food eagerly.
“First, we must give thanks. Grover, will you please do the honors?” asked Aunt Mary.
“Well, okay. Today, we are gathered here to give thanks — to our family, for always being there to support us; for our friends, helping us at any time; for the food that is on the table, and of course, for our new friends, the Sparrows.”
Everyone bowed their heads in thanks. After one quiet moment, the pets began to dig in. A hustle of voices burst up as relatives began updating each other and chatting about all sorts of things.
“This casserole is really delicious.” said one.
“I agree; but my favorite will always be the potatoes!” said another.
Grover tried the Jazz Jeweloni. “MMMmm, this is really good!” he said, as he turned to Adella.
“Thank you, it’s an old family recipe!” replied the mother. “This cranberry cobbler is simply divine! I’ve never had it before, but I love it!”
Grover thanked her, and then hesitated.
The food is all good, but do they know the real meaning behind Thanksgiving? It feels a bit wrong for them to not know what it’s really about.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t explain Thanksgiving very well. It’s … it’s not just about good food.”
The Sparrows looked up. Grover became uncomfortable.
“Of course not!” said Adella. “It’s about family being there for each other.”
“And friends helping out without any cost.” chimed Adina.
“Giving thanks for having them being at your side!” cried Rickie happily.
“That’s what Thanksgiving about, isn’t it?” asked Eduardo.
Grover looked surprised. “Yes, that’s just what it’s about! But I didn’t even tell you!”
“You didn’t need to. We saw how you helped your family prepare the dishes, and how you took your time to give the Gobblers directions. All your friends and family pulled together, and made this feast happen.” said Adina.
“These are all things that don’t need to be explained. These are things everyone can understand.” Eduardo added. “And we thank you, for showing us this and letting us be a part of this wonderful day.”
Grover smiled, relieved that they understood it. “Well, let’s eat then!”
Rickie, in his excitement, flung his mashed potatoes onto the ceiling. The pets turned around to see the glob stuck on the ceiling. Rickie shrunk in embarrassment, as Adina stared at him.
Suddenly, Grover laughed. “That’s not a usual family tradition, but from now on, it is! Let’s give three cheers for the privilege to welcome the Sparrows into our family! May our new friends become old friends, and join us on new adventures through the years!”
A cheer erupted from the pets as their glasses of red cranberry cider clinked, signifying another wonderful Thanksgiving. The best place to be, surrounded by friends and family.
Dora Wang is a freshman at Presque Isle High School. She is the 14-year-old daughter of Lihua Zhao and Chunzeng Wang.
