The Flying Lesson

"Grandma?", Amanda Gray wandered into the kitchen with a thoughtful look on her face. "What is it, Dear?" "Do you know how to fly?"

Amanda's grandmother, who was a rather young looking grandmother, as grandmothers go, raised her eyebrows ever so slightly, and continued spooning chocolate chip cookie dough onto the cookie sheet.

"I've been wondering when you'd ask, Dear", she said with a smile. "Would you like me to teach you how?".

"Would you!!?!", Amanda squealed with delight.

"Well, of course Dear", smiled her grandmother. "When your Mommy was a little girl I taught her how to fly too, but I expect she's forgotten how by now".

"You taught Mommy how to fly?", Amanda marveled.

"Why yes, Dear". The last bit of dough dropped from Grandma's wooden spoon. "I learned how to fly myself when I was just about your age".

"Neat!", said Amanda, her eyes sparkling. She reached up to brush a smudge of flour from Grandma's cheek.

"When?", Amanda demanded.

"When what, Dear?", Grandma bent down to open the oven door and slide the cookie sheet onto the rack.

"Oh, Graaannnndma!", Amanda huffed impatiently. "When will you teach me how to fly?".

"Oh....that". Grandma set the oven timer and glanced at her watch.

Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Well, let's see", her grandma mused. "We've still got a bit of daylight left, and the cookies will be in the oven for oh...about twelve minutes or so...hmmmm. Oh well, how about a quick lesson right now?"

Bewildered, Amanda asked, "Now?"

"No time like the present", announced Grandma, untying her apron. "But first...where's Mr. Sam Cat?".

"Uhhh...he's curled up in the rocking chair on the front porch, taking a nap", replied Amanda, a tinge of confusion coloring her tone.

"Well run get him, Dear, tell him we're going flying. He'll never forgive us if we leave him home".

Amanda giggled and did as she was told. A moment later Amanda reappeared with a sleepy Sam Cat draped casually over her shoulder. Sam Cat had one eye open.

"Somebody had best have a good reason for waking me up", Sam grumbled as he was unceremoniously plunked down on a kitchen chair. He promptly slid off the chair, yawned and stretched out on the rug. "Wake up you lazy kitten", warned Grandma. "Or, we'll leave you home while we go flying". Sam's eyes popped open.

Amanda's Grandma opened the door leading to the flower-filled yard. Sam Cat trotted obediently out the door after Amanda and her grandma.

Grandma paused for a moment by a lush green bush covered with saucer-sized pink roses. Her yard was almost always ablaze with wonderfully fragrant flowers. "Amanda Dear", said Grandma, "I forgot to ask you where you wanted to go".

"Oh!", said Amanda. "Ummm, I don't know exactly". Sam Cat peered intently at a small green lizard who was cautiously making his way under a hedge laden with delicately scented lavender blossoms. "Sam!", scolded Grandma. "Don't you go wandering off now!".

 

The air was thick with the scent of chocolate chip cookies and Grandma hurried inside to pull them from the oven. Sam Cat glanced hopefully under the hedge, on the off chance that the lizard had waited around to play tag.

A short while later, Amanda sat at the kitchen table, happily working her way through a still-warm cookie and a cold glass of milk. Across from her sat Sam Cat with a napkin tied under his chin. He had a saucer of milk and his own cookie. Amanda's grandma stood at the sink, washing the cookie bowl.

"Amazing", thought Amanda to herself. "Totally amazing".

"Grandma?", she said.

"Yes, Dear?."

"You know a little while ago, when I asked you if you knew how to fly?" Amanda began hesitantly.

"Yes, Dear."

Amanda giggled. "I meant, did you know how to fly an airplane".

Amanda's grandma looked the tiniest bit startled.

And Sam Cat began to laugh.

U.S.S. Starship Treehouse - "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Amanda Gray asks her brother Timothy. "The world's first Starship Commander", he replies. The fact that Starships haven't quite been invented yet is only a minor setback. If you've just read The Flying Lesson, you know that Timothy, his sister Amanda, and their cat Sam, may have a wee bit of an edge on technology. Cool special effects and MIDI Music accompany these 7 short chapters, giving you a week's worth of Bedtime Stories. Great good fun! Story opens with young Timothy's active imagination in full play.

Suggested Age Group: For children ages 7 through about......oh...say, Chairman of the Board or thereabouts.
Reading time - 7 nights worth - Easy places to pause midway. But you probably won't want to.

About the author:

Cynthia Gurin lives in South Florida with her husband Bob. They are joined by a quartet of cats, two dogs, a remarkably wise duck, and a personable little fellow named A.G. Bear.
Cynthia has achieved recognition in both the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal for innovative marketing techniques. She considers the Personal Ad, through which she met her husband, to be her most rewarding literary endeavor. She holds a senior corporate position in the real world. Send Mail

For other stories by this author, see the Author/Illustrator Index Biplane Animation by Jim Self - jself@accn.org of Aviation Graphics - http://www.avsupport.com/aviationgraphics/