Josh's Christmas Fable (1962)

“Lawd save us,” Old Josh shouted, “here comes a bad wish, and everyone fell onto their backs and stomachs and everyone fell onto their knees, I swear they did, even onto one another, as the storm went through and picked them up, tossed them about, like cotton candy, they done rolled down hills, rolled up hills, tumbled like frogs off a lily pad into the water, picked them up like tornados do and done threw them every which place, that there wind did that, I swear it did… and all cus someone had a bad wish,” Old Josh told Langdon and Cassandra on Christmas Day, in 1962.
“Come on now Josh, tell us more, I hope its as good as the story you told us last year, around Christmas time, when I came up to visit cousin Langdon, with my ma and pa,” said eight year old Cassandra.
“You done got a year older, so I is got to git a year smarter to tells you a better story than last year I see,” said old Josh, “I bet you done come all that way from New Orleans jes’ to hear this story, right?”
“Well, no, not really, but I thought about it a lot, and the closer I got to Fayetteville, and after ma and pa gassed up the car there, I got thinking more about it, so I am ready!” commented Cassandra.

Betty and Jason Hightower, Cassandra’s parents were in the plantation house with Caroline and Cole Abernathy sitting around a table talking, having some Christmas cheer, a glass of wine, and some turkey, left over from the afternoon, looking at their large Christmas tree in the living room, with all it bulbs and tinsel on it, presents all about the living room in disorder, and the hearth was blazing warm; as usual, Langdon and Cassandra were getting their Christmas gift from the old negro plantation hand, Josh. For he, Langdon, it had become traditional, for Cassandra, it was her second encounter with Josh’s lively tales.

Old Josh, was sitting on a bench against a pole, near the hayloft, in the barn, and Cassandra along with Langdon, sat shoulder to shoulder, cross-legged, both with two sets of pants on, it was cold, and they sat on the floor, under some hay, to make it a bit more comfortable as Josh would tell his story and they usually last a while.
“Fine,” said Josh, as he saw both the kids eager to hear the story, ready to experience his extraordinary adventures, as they often ended up being, “as I wes about to say, the old timer, Otis, he in my story, not sure how he git there but he did, anyhow, Otis told this here little girl and boy, down in Ozark, Alabama, where Abby Wallace kin is from, back in 1873, he say—and he done told my papa and my papa done told me, standing as close to me as I is to you—and I is goin’ to tell youall, he say, ‘here this prayer book, don’t you go on and read that there page called eleven, yous can read all the other pages, but not that there eleven (Old Josh had a prayer book by, laying down, next to his thigh on the wooden bench he was now sitting on, he picks it up to demonstrate, says:)—and this here book, in this here hand, is the very same prayer book, Old Otis had, dont ask me hows I git it, cus I got it, and that is mi business. Anyhow, he tells this little girl and boy, yous cant read page eleven cus it magic, and the magic made the storm I done jes’ told you about. Now I knows you is thinking, how does this all work. Well, Otis he tell the girl and that there boy, the little boy, whatever you think, and say, and wish for when you open that there page I mentioned up, well, that is what happens, it comes to go by. Oh I reckon it kinda hard to believe, but it as true as Langdon’s dog, and hes a looking at me now.”
“Oh, I don’t believe I ever heard such a yarn like that Langdon, I think Josh has blown his top this time,” said Cassandra in disbelief.
“Well,” said Josh, “how you think the storm come, it was that little boy and girl, they done thought about a storm, and it came, after they done turned the page to page eleven.”
Then Cassandra picked up the prayer book that was sitting by old Josh’s thigh on the wooden bench. Turned it to page eleven, and sat down by Langdon again, she was all of eight years old, and a good reader. She looked at the page, then looked at Josh, at the page then at Josh, then at Langdon, then at the dog Tobacco, and back at Josh, her head and eyes were spinning around like a top, she was getting tired, “Fine,” said Langdon, are you going to wish?”
It was midnight, and both the kids were tired, but they couldn’t miss the story, and now, like before, there was a hands on part of the story, as usual, and now it was under test of truth. Both kids got drowsy, as did Tobacco, all of a sudden.
“I’m so tired, maybe we can get the rest of the story tomorrow Langdon,” said Cassandra, adding, “I wish I was in bed,” and all of a sudden, she disappeared, instantly disappeared.
“What happened to her Josh?” asked Langdon.
“She done wished to be in bed, so I expect she is in her bed.” Commented Josh.
Langdon started to read a passage on page eleven, and he wished in the process, while in the process of reading that is, he wished he could find Cassandra, and vanished the second he finished his wish, and there they both stood, both Langdon and Cassandra, in her bedroom in the plantation house.
Then all of a sudden they were back in the barn, “I done wished you both back in the barn,” said Josh with a smile.
“By gosh, what just took place, what happened Langdon? I mean it was so fast I don’t know if it really happened,” said Cassandra.
“I think we took a little trip,” said Langdon.
Then Josh turned the page. They remembered last year that the story he told, Old Josh told, it was about toboggans, and they both somehow ended up in Minnesota, now it was a trip back and forth from the house to the barn, airmail, kind of like.
“I want two tickets to the cinema for tomorrow,” said Cassandra, adding, “is that ok Josh to wish for?”
Josh had the prayer book closed, “Lordy, Lordy, that there prayer book has one powerful page, youall know that now, I fear youall goin’ to get so tired you fall to sleep with the page open, and you dream up a storm, and you knows what happens then, its best you hightail into the house and go on to sleep, and next year youall will get a new tale to tell.”
“Oh shucks, Josh,” said Langdon, “I was getting just warmed up for more wishes.”
“Well, I wish you’d all go to sleep back in that there house, of yours, and next year we come up with a new tale, that one there is all warn out now. And don’t go on asking me what is what, and what is not, cus you knows what is and you knows what is not, you see, it all belongs to you, if you wants it to be, it be, if-in you dont, it aint.”

And that was old Josh’s Christmas story, and advise for 1962.

In the morning, Betty woke up Cassandra, and Caroline woke up Langdon, and they asked how they both slept. And they both said fine, and they, Betty and Caroline, both asked why Josh’s story was so short last night, as if it was only ten or fifteen minutes, before they both had come back into the house so tired they went straight to bed. Well, they, Cassandra and Langdon didn’t have the answer, they thought the whole thing, that is, the story, that was being told to them in the barn, and experience of instantly being transported into Cassandra’s room, and back into the barn again, had taken an hour or so; so they were dumfounded. But Langdon simply said, and Cassandra heard him say it standing in her doorway arch with her mother also: “We don’t rightly know, and Josh would not tell us the secret about the story, as he never does, and we always think we are part of it, so we must of had a good sleep, and a good dream, and I think Josh gave us the story somehow to dream it out. I always get confused with Josh’s stories.”

Written 7-1-2008