Thursday, June 16, 2011
An Unexpected Adventure
Freddy and Frieda got along well
together. For years they had been chewing side by side. Day and
night they crunched through wood, which is what any well behaved
termite is expected to do.
They had begun with the barns and then
moved on to the stables. Now at last they were at the big house
itself. Both were understandably proud of their address. After all,
the Mount Vernon mansion was also the address of General Washington,
who had only recently returned from his successful mission as leader
of the continental armies.
The humans in the house were
unfailingly cheerful as they busily went about their many chores.
The General's return had begun a constant bustling among the family, the slaves and visitors who arrived all through the day, offering
congratulations and well wishes to the General. Tomorrow he planned
to ride to New York City and say farewell to his officers.
Freddy and Frieda were also busy. They had chewed their way up to the second floor and into the General's
bedroom. They had found their way to a delicious oak bureau and by
evening had reached its top. Where should they go next?
Happily they found a small maple object
laying on the bureau surface and spent the night cosily burrowing
into it. As morning came, they rested.
General Washington rose early, picked
up the object from the dresser and popped it into his mouth. It was,
of course, his wooden false teeth.
Thus it was that Frieda and Freddy
accompanied the General to Fraunce's Tavern, and thus it was that
these two unsung participants entered termite folklore. “Do you
think he'll ever get tired of talking?” Frieda had asked. Freddy,
bobbing and bouncing, hadn't answered. His mouth was full.
That night, back at the mansion, they
left the General's teeth, indeed they left the big house itself.
Their experience of the day had left them badly shaken.
They decided their next project would
be more modest and quiet. Maybe they could find an old cherry tree.