A Thanksgiving Story

Nearly four hundred years ago many people in England were unhappy because
their king would not let them worship their God as they liked. The king said
they must use the same prayers that he did, and if they would not do this,
they were thrown into prison, or driven away from their homes.
*

“Let us go away from this country.” *said the unhappy Englishmen so they
left their homes, and went far off to a country called Holland. It was about
this time that they began to call themselves *“Pilgrims.” *Pilgrims are
people who always traveling to find something they love, or find a land
where they can be happier; and these English men and women journeyed, from
place to place, even toward heaven, their dearest country. In Holland, the
Pilgrims were quite and happy for a while, but they were very poor; and when
the children began to grow up, they were not like English children, but
talked Dutch, like the children of Holland, and some grew naughty and did
not want to go to church anymore. *“This will never do,” *said the Pilgrim
fathers and mothers; so after much talking, thinking and writing they made
up their minds to go to America. They hired two ships, called the Mayflower
and Speedwell, to take them across the sea; but the Speedwell was not a
strong ship, and the captain had to return home again before she had gone
very far. The Mayflower took some of Speedwell’s passengers and then started
alone across the great ocean. There were one hundred people on board mothers
and fathers, brothers and sisters and little children. The ship was very
crowed; it was cold and uncomfortable; the sea was rough, and pitched the
Mayflower about. They were two months sailing over the water. The children
cried many times on the journey, wished they had come on the tiresome ship
that rocked so hard, and would not let them keep still a minute.

At last the Mayflower came in sight of land; but they were very disappointed
for it was a cold November, and there was nothing to be seen but rocks and
sand and hard bare ground. Some of the Pilgrim fathers, with brave Captain
Myles Standish went on shore to see if they could find any houses or white
people. But they saw some wild Indians, who ran away from them, but found
some Indian huts and some corn buried in holes in the ground. They went to
and fro from the ship three times, till by and by they found a spot now
called Plymouth Rock, and the first house was began on Christmas Day.

Many were very sick and they suffered much that first winter, the weather
was cold, the snow fell fast and thick, the wind was icy, and the Pilgrim
fathers had no one to help them cut down the trees and build their church
and houses. The Pilgrim mothers helped all they could, but were tired from
the long journey, and cold, hunger too. No one had the right kind of food to
eat, nor even enough of it. Before spring came half of the people died and
had gone at last to *“heaven, their dearest country.” *By and by the sun
shone more brightly, the snow melted, the leaves began to grow, and sweet
spring came again. Some friendly Indians visited the Pilgrims during the
winter, and Captain Myles Standish, with several of his men, returned their
visit. One of the kind Indians was called Squanto, who came to stay with the
Pilgrims, and showed them how to plant corn, peas, wheat and barley.

When the summer came the days were long and bright, it made the plants grow.
Soon autumn came the fathers gathered the barley, wheat and corn that they
had planted. It had grown so well that they had quite enough for the long
winter that was coming. *“Let us thank God for it all, let us have a great
Thanksgiving party” *they said. *“It is He who has made the sun to shine and
the rain to fall and the corn to grow.” *So they thanked God in their homes
and in their little church. The fathers and mothers and the children thanked
God. They invited the friendly Indians and all rejoiced together. It was the
first Thanksgiving Party, and a grand one it was! The men went out shooting
one whole day, and brought back so many wild ducks and geese and great wild
turkeys that there was enough meat for almost a week. Pilgrim mothers made
the corn and wheat into bread and cakes.
In 1941 Congress decreed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving
Day, a National Holiday United States commemorating the harvest reaped by
the Plymouth Colony in 1621.
Today, it is observed by the church services, family reunions, and reunions
and the customary turkey dinner is a reminder of wild turkeys served at the
Pilgrims thanksgiving feast.
**
*Richard Lian*
*Milwaukee*
*Wisconsin State*
*U.S.A *