The Legend of Willow Springs Farm
CHAPTER ONE
“GOING TO GRANDMA’S”
Bianca and Alyssa were sisters, and even though Bianca was nine years old and Alyssa was only five, they were always together, except when they went to school. Bianca was in the third grade at St. Catherine’s Catholic School and Alyssa went to kindergarden at Jefferson Elementary School. The two sisters shared everything except their clothes, and that was only because Bianca’s clothes were too big for Alyssa. They lived in San Marcos with their mother Susan and father Donald, and of course, their dog Rudy. Their father worked as an electrician and their mother was the manager of a restaurant.
One day in June when they came home from school their mother had a surprise for them. “Guess what girls?” she said, “I am going to let you go spend a week on Grandma’s farm this summer!” It had been two years since they had seen their Grandma and they were really excited about spending a whole week with her. Their Grandma lived on a farm in Missouri, and the girls had never been there. “Does Grandma have horses and cows and chickens?” Alyssa asked. “I’m sure she has some chickens, and probably some dogs and cats, but I doubt if there are any horses or cows on her farm now,” their mother replied.
Both girls had been raised in the city so they really had no idea what life on a farm would be like. “How are we going to get there?” Bianca asked. “Are you going to take us?” “No, both your father and I have to work, so I am going to let you fly to Missouri by yourself and Grandma will pick you up at the airport. “I’m afraid to fly on an airplane by myself,” said Alyssa. “Airplanes are very safe and besides, your sister will be with you. As long as you both stay together everything will be fine,” their mother said. She had already talked to the people at the airline ad she knew that they would look after them both until they were delivered safely to their Grandmother.
School would be out in another two weeks and for those two weeks the sisters could talk of nothing else except their trip to Grandma’s farm. That first night after their mother had told them about their trip, they lay in their beds talking quietly. “Bianca, are you afraid to go on the airplane too?” Alyssa whispered. “No, I don’t think so, not if you are with me anyway.” Bianca told her. “Do you remember what Grandma looks like?” asked Alyssa. “Wait,” said Bianca, as she quietly got out of bed and left the room. A few minutes later she returned carrying the photograph of their Grandmother that was always on a table in the living room.
Bianca turned on the nightlight and handed the photo to Alyssa, “Here is a picture of Grandma,” she told Alyssa. Alyssa looked at the picture for a long time before saying, “Gee, she looks almost the same as Mom, except she is a lot older and has white hair!” “Do you think we will look like that when we get old?” “I guess we probably will,” replied Bianca. Bianca turned off the light plunging their bedroom into darkness again. Before long both girls were sound asleep, dreaming of the adventures they would have on their Grandmother’s farm in Missouri.
A week before they were to leave on the plane, their mother took them shopping for new clothes for the trip. Shopping with their Mom was always fun because she not only bought them clothes, but almost always bought them a little toy and took them for ice cream in the mall. Alyssa saw a very pretty frilly dress that she wanted but her Mom explained that a dress like that wouldn’t be good to wear on the farm. She finally bought them each five pairs of jeans, five shirts, and some new shoes.
As always, when they had finished shopping for the clothes their mother took them to the Hello Kitty store in the mall. Bianca picked out a Hello Kitty diary so she could write about her stay on the farm in it. Alyssa wanted a plastic pencil box with Hello Kitty on it. After that, they went to the ice cream shop and each had an ice cream cone. They all got different flavors. Bianca got vanilla, Alyssa got strawberry, and their mother got a chocolate one for herself.
On their way home it suddenly occurred to Alyssa that their dog, Rudy, wasn’t going with them. “Mom, who is going to take care of Rudy while we are gone?” she asked. Alyssa was the one that usually gave him food and water so she was quite concerned about him. “Your dad and I will take good care of Rudy,” their mother assured her. “Be sure you give him plenty of food and water every day,” Alyssa told her. “Don’t worry honey, Rudy will be fine.” “I know you are going to miss him, but he will be here waiting for you when you get back home,” her mother added.
The following days were a flurry of activity for the girls. The school year was finishing and they both had tests to take in order to advance to the next grade. Both their mother and father helped them with their schoolwork so they both did well in school. When Bianca and Alyssa told their friends that they were going to spend a whole week on their Grandma’s farm in Missouri many of them didn’t believe it. Bianca’s friend Julie said she was lying, but that was only because she was jealous that they were going on the airplane by themselves. “You’re lying, Bianca,” she said, “nobody lets kids go on an airplane by themselves.” “Well, our mother is letting me and Alyssa go to Missouri all by ourselves!” Bianca insisted.
Finally the last day of school arrived! Both girls had passed to the next grade. Bianca even received an award for being the most improved student in the third grade. Their mother picked them up from school and on the way home she told them that they were going to leave for Grandma’s the following morning at 10:00. “Now, don’t forget to always stay together,” she told them. “The flight attendant on the plane will take good care of you, so if you need anything at all just ask her,” she added.
That evening at dinner their mother began to tell them about her childhood on the farm in Missouri. “Back then we did have cows and daddy used to get up early every morning to milk them.” “One of my chores was to go to the hen house and gather the eggs from the chickens,” she told them. “How neat,” exclaimed Alyssa, “my only chores are to feed the dog and take out the trash!” “Well,” said their mother, “I used to hate to have to gather the eggs because some of the chickens were mean and tried to peck me.” Bianca asked, “Mom, you’re not afraid of chickens are you?” “Not now, but I was when I was a little girl.”
Alyssa asked, “What else did you do on the farm in the old days?” Their mother smiled. “Well, I spent a lot of time looking for the Treasure of Willow Springs,” she replied. That immediately got the attention of both girls. “The treasure of what?” Bianca asked, wide-eyed. The mother explained, “You see the farm was always called Willow Springs Farm because there is a natural spring on the property, and there used to be lots of tall willow trees growing around the spring.” “But what about the treasure part?” asked Alyssa. “I’m coming to that,” their Mom replied.
Their mother began to tell them a story, “There is a legend that my great-great-great grandfather Solomon Hargrove buried a treasure on the farm and left a map to it someplace.” “Mom, what’s a legend?” Alyssa asked. “It’s a story so old that nobody knows if it is true or not,” their mother replied. “Why did he bury it,” Bianca asked. “Because during the Civil War there were lots of bushwhackers and bandits roaming around Missouri, and he didn’t want them to get his treasure,” she explained. “You see, Solomon was a Captain in the Missouri Militia and brought the treasure with him when he came home for a short visit during the war. His plan was to bury the treasure and then dig it up after the war,” their mother explained.
“So why didn’t he just dig it up when he came home?” asked Alyssa. “Because he was afraid the government would make his give the treasure back to them. The story is that he made a map leading to the treasure so his family could find it in case any thing happened to him.” “Why didn’t he just dig up the treasure later on?” asked Bianca. “Unfortunately Solomon was thrown from a horse and died before he had a chance to dig up the treasure,” their mother replied.
“Where did he get the treasure?” asked Bianca. “Well, the legend says that Solomon and eight other men from his regiment attacked one of the renegade Quantrill’s wagons carrying gold they had robbed from a bank. After a fierce battle they killed the guards and divided the gold among themselves.”
“Who was Quantrill?” asked Bianca. “Quantrill was a Confederate cavalryman that led a group of vicious killers and robbers during the Civil War,” she replied. “Do you think the legend is true, Mom?” Alyssa asked. Their mother laughed, “No, I don’t think it is true, it’s only an old legend that people passed down from one generation to another,” she replied. Then she added, “But who knows for sure, many of those old legends from the Civil War are based on fact!”
That night, after packing their suitcases, taking their showers, putting on their pajamas, and saying their prayers, the girls lay in bed thinking about the legend of the treasure. “Bianca, do you think there really is a treasure on Grandma’s farm?” Alyssa asked. “I don’t know, but maybe it’s true,” answered Bianca. “Maybe we can find it,” Alyssa whispered. “Well, we can look for it that’s for sure!” Bianca answered with enthusiasm. As the two sisters drifted off to sleep they both had visions of treasure dancing in their heads.
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