BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR SISTER DAY

By Anne Robertson

G: Well, Abner, do you know what special day comes this week?

A: My birthday?

G: No. But it is a holiday.

A: Oh, boy! Christmas?

G: No.

A: Hog Thumping Day?

G: What on earth is Hog Thumping Day, Abner?

A: Oh, it's just another name for Throw Mud on Your Sister Day.

G: Abner, that's awful! Actually, this week is Be Thankful For Your Sister Day.

A: Oh. That sounds boring. Why haven't I ever heard of it before?

G: Well, Abner, most people just call it Thanksgiving.

A: Thanksgiving! You mean the Thanksgiving when we get to eat turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie til we burst?

G: That's the one, Abner.

A: Gee, Gladys. You really had me going there for a minute with all that stuff about Be Thankful For Your Sister Day.

G: But that's what it is, Abner. Why do you think they call it Thanksgiving? Don't you know

the story?

A: Of course I do, Gladys. It all started back in the days of the Roman Empire when Julius Caesar set sail to discover America.

G: Abner!

A: Yes, Gladys?

G: That's all wrong!

A: It is?

G: Of course it is. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. That's a long time after the Romans.

A: Well, then the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by Christopher Columbus in 1492 because

he was thankful that his ship didn't sink.

G: No, Abner.

A: His ship DID sink?

G: Abner, Columbus didn't have anything to do with Thanksgiving!

A: Then why did you bring him up?

G: Never mind, Abner. Don't you remember the Pilgrims? They came all the way from

England on a boat called the Mayflower. They were the ones to celebrate the first Thanksgiving, Abner. Do you remember why?

A: Because they were thankful that Julius Caesar didn't discover America?

G: No, Abner. The Pilgrims had a hard life. They lived in Massachusetts where it gets very

cold in the winter and it snows. Back in those days they didn't have warm houses like we do, and a lot of Pilgrims died from the cold.

A: Doesn't sound like anything to be thankful about.

G: Abner, so many people died from the cold, that the ones that made it through the winter were thankful to be alive. They were also thankful for some friends they had made. Do you

remember who they made friends with?

A: Big Bird and Mickey Mouse?

G: No, Abner. The Pilgrims made friends with the Native Americans, and the they taught the

Pilgrims how to grow corn and showed them how to survive in America. They were thankful for the help, so they invited their new friends to a big dinner they called Thanksgiving. Now do you know why it's called Thanksgiving?

A: Because they were giving thanks to the Native Americans?

G: Partly, Abner, but also because they were giving thanks to God for their lives. The Pilgrims were very religious people. They knew that God had helped them, and they knew they should say thank you.

A: So did they give God some turkey?

G: No, Abner. God didn't want turkey.

A: Stuffing?

G: No. God didn't want food at all. God just wanted his people to say thank you for what He had given them. It's the same way today.

A: You mean we have to invite Native Americans to dinner?

G: Abner, I mean we celebrate Thanksgiving today as a time when we say thank you to God for the things he has given us.

A: Like roller skates?

G: That's right. And like a house to live in and mothers and fathers and SISTERS.

A: Hold on, there. Are you saying that God gave me Margaret?

G: That's right, Abner.

A: On purpose?

G: Uh, huh. Your sister is very special to God, Abner. I hope you're treating her well.

A: Uh oh. You're not joking?

G: No, Abner. (Abner starts to leave) Where are you going?

A: I have to go to Margaret's room.

G: Why is that, Abner?

A: I can't tell you. But it has something to do with a bucket of green slime and a lot of spiders.

G: You'd better clean it up fast, Abner. You only have a few days to show God that you're thankful for the sister He gave you. I know I'm thankful for her.

A: Why is that, Gladys?

G: Because, if it weren't for her, you'd play all those mean tricks on me. Now, goodbye, Abner. And don't forget to say grace before you eat on Thanksgiving and say thank you

for everything God has given you.

A: Even Margaret?

G: Especially Margaret. Goodbye, Abner.

A: Goodbye!