So Dear to My Heart Page #5

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come back tomorrow,Jerry?

Papa said sometimes it took

bee hunters-- grown men even--

two or three years

to find a bee tree.

Hey, there goes another one!

Wasn't nothin'

but an old dragonfly.

Come on. Guess we

might as well go home.

Look!

There's a redbird.

Redbird, redbird...

where, where?

He said, ''Here, here.''

Oh, them crazy old redbirds

don't know nothin' about bees.

There's a martin!

They eat bees.

Come on!

Listen.

- There it is!

- Where?

In that old redwood tree!

I found it! I found it!

Jerry Kincaid followed a bee

till he come to a cottonwood tree

Sawed that tree off to the ground

Two tons of honey is what he found

Get outta the way, we ain't braggin'

So much honey the wagon's saggin'

Hope them axles don't break down

before we get this load to town

This load of honey

means money for the fair

Jerry Kincaid is a millionaire

Grundy's payin'ten cents a pound

Get along, hoss, we're goin'to town

Get out your cash, Old Pete Grundy

Here we come on a lucky Monday

We got sweet stuff, yellow as gold

Aged in a bee tree 1 2 years old

- Look what we got, Mr Grundy!

- All that honey outta one tree?

- Well, I'll be darned.

- Weigh it up, Pete.

Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen...

twenty, twenty-one,

twenty-two.

Thank you, Mr Grundy.

I always knew that young 'un

was a smart one; always said so.

- My lands, look at the cash money.

- How does it feel to be rich,Jeremiah?

What are you gonna do

with all that money?

I'm takin' my prize lamb

to the county fair.

The only prize he'd win

would be the booby prize.

I'm takin' my lamb

to the fair, not you.

Think you're smart, don't ya?

You durn fool!

Hold still there!

Don't worry, folks.

I'll send this tub to the city.

Tildy!

Tildy!

- Is that you, Granny?

- That's Granny, all right.

Whoa.

- Have you seen Tildy?

- What's wrong?

I been trampin' them woods for an hour

and callin' till I'm hoarse as a rain crow.

Do you know how much money

I got here?

Oh, my land, not now. I'm tryin'

to tell you that Tildy is lost.

- What happened?

- But, Granny, look how much--

Hush,Jeremiah. She brought a wagonload

of clover up there to feed that fool lamb...

- and when she opened the gate,

it bolted.

- She let Danny get away?

The critter hightailed it

for the deep woods...

and the poor child run after it

trying to catch it.

What business she have openin'

that gate? What'd you let her do it for?

-Jeremiah!

- Which way did Danny go?

Down by Indian Creek. But they ain't

there now. I've searched every inch of it.

Come back here,Jeremiah!

Oh, drat that boy.

All he cares about

is that fool lamb.

Uncle Hiram!

Thank heaven!

Oh, goodness gracious, child.

You had me that worried.

Oh, Granny, I looked everywhere

and called and called.

Oh, my, you're soakin' wet.

I fell down in the creek too.

Well, let's get her home right away

and into some dry things

before she gets a chill.

- What about Jeremiah?

-Jeremiah can take care of himself.

Jeremiah!

Jeremiah!

Granny!

Granny!

Oh, Granny! Now I can find him

with the lantern--

Land sakes, boy,

you're just soaked to the bone,

and you're shakin' and shiverin'.

- Come along!

- I gotta find him! I just got to!

- I heard the dogs!

- Now, listen to me!

You can't find him at night

and in this storm. Now, come along now.

- But, Granny--

- Now!

You hardly touched

your supper.

I thought maybe

you'd get hungry later.

Maybe. Said your prayers?

Oh, I know.

It's a vexin' thing.

It's a cruel thing,

havin' your lamb run away.

Maybe Danny found

a holler log and crawled into it...

where the dogs

couldn't find him.

Maybe he's snuggled up

under the roots of a big old tree.

However it is,

it's beyond our power to help.

All you can do is

just hope for the best...

but be prepared

for whatever happens.

He ain't dead.

He ain't dead!

I didn't say he was. I'm only

tryin' to tell you to remember...

that the Lord giveth

and the Lord taketh away.

Well, he can't have him.

He can't take Danny.

You're not tellin' the Lord

what he can do or can't do.

The Lord'll do the tellin'.

Oh, this is all my fault.

I've seen it comin'.

I've seen it comin' all along.

You've turned your heart away

from the things I've taught you...

ever since you were

a little baby.

No,Jeremiah,

you can't do this.

It's one thing,

blamin' poor little Tildy

for letting your lamb get away...

when all she was tryin' to do

was to help you feed him.

And it's one thing,

blamin' me.

But it's another thing when

you start blamin' your maker.

Started out by lovin' the lamb,

and that's why I let you keep him.

True love ain't a harmful thing.

True love's a good thing.

It's good for the spirit.

But you don't love

that lamb any more.

What you love is blue ribbons

and cash awards.

That's all you're thinkin' about--

things that are vain, things of this world--

until you forgot all about

the things of the spirit.

And when you can't have your own way,

you start burdenin' the Lord.

You ain't thinkin' of that lamb.

You're just thinkin' about yourself.

You know what's right,Jeremiah...

but you'll have to find it in your own

heart to do what's right.

Danny!

Danny!

No luck.

It's like lookin' for

a needle in a haystack.

Ain't laid eyes on the boy,

much less the lamb.

Well, there's one thing you can

be sure of. The boy ain't lost.

There's more ways of bein' lost

than in the woods.

Ah, but he's just

a young 'un, Granny.

Maybe he is gettin' a little big

for his britches, but--

Granny! Granny!

He found him! He found him!

Uncle Hiram!

Look! He found him!

Must've been a guardian angel

somewhere in them woods last night.

Happened one was more needed

right here in this house last night.

Well, they don't look much the worse

for the wear, either one of'em.

That's good.

Figurin' on takin' 'em

to the county fair?

I reckon it won't make

much difference.

All we have to do is get the foxtails

out of his wool...

and he'll be

just as good as ever.

He was way over

on the far side of the swamp...

all snuggled up in a holler log,

Granny, just a-waitin' for me.

You hungry, boy?

How about some oatmeal mash?

Well, come on.

Mama's got my new dress almost finished,

and a ribbon and a hat to match.

I'll stop by in the morning

and pick up the tickets.

I've already got a crate for the lamb.

That is, if you say so.

I mean, if it's

all right with you.

I reckon.

- What's the matter, Tildy?

- We're not going to the fair.

What's that?

H-He said he wasn't

going to the fair.

Why not?

H-He wouldn't tell me.

He just said, ''God.''

He's got plenty

of foxtails on him.

Yes'm, but he ain't got

a scratch on him.

Tildy was cryin'.

She can go to the fair,

and you and Uncle Hiram.

You don't figure to go?

- Changed my mind.

- You did?

Promised God if he let me find him,

I wouldn't take him to the fair.

And he did!

Well-- Well now...

if this ain't a fine how-de-do.

It happened that--

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