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Storyteller's Cabin |
"Ma'am, what are you doing out here at night by yourself?" Joshua stammered, still in shock.
"I'm all right," she replied in a sassy voice. "Besides, no harm will come to me."
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"But ma'am, it's late" said Joshua. "You never know what's out here this time of night. There's wild animals about. Let me take you home. You do live around these parts, don't you?"
"Yes," said the young girl. "Just up the road - the Simmons property. It's not that far, but I guess you can give me a ride."
Joshua held up the lantern so she could get in the wagon, then snapped the reins and got the mule moving down the road again. Joshua looked over at the young girl sitting beside him. She looked kind of pale, but she was still beautiful, with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail with a pretty bow. What a nice girl this would be to marry, he thought to himself.
"Ma'am, my name is Joshua. What's your name?"
"My name is Rose," she replied.
Joshua smiled to himself, so proud that a pretty girl like Rose was riding with him. But after what seemed to Joshua to be just a few short minutes, Rose suddenly blurted out, "This is where I live. Pull over here."
Joshua pulled the wagon over to the side of the road. He held up the lantern and saw a big gate covered with wild roses. By now, the night was so dark that he couldn't see the girl's home beyond it.
Rose hopped off and hurriedly walked toward the gate. "Wait a minute," hollered Joshua. "I can open the gate and drive you right up to your door."
"That's okay," she said. "No harm will come to me."
"But I'd be happy to do it, ma'am," Joshua replied, none too anxious to watch this beautiful young girl walk away.
"I gotta go," she said, "my folks are callin' for me. Besides, I don't think they'd like for me to be seen with a stranger, especially at night."
"All right, then," said Joshua. He reluctantly snapped the mule's reins and slowly went back down the road, leaving Rose standing at the gate. As he turned the corner toward Obediah's house, he looked back at the gate for one last glimpse of Rose. The young girl had vanished into the darkness.
