Night and Day ~ Part 2

Back at Plumfield, all of the children were waking up on this beautiful spring day. They busily ran about the house, getting ready for an excursion that Franz, their teacher, was taking them on, down to the creek to study the wildlife that lived there.

Nan was quite excited about the trip, and was gathering up all of her empty bug jars to take along.

"You're not going to bring more filthy bugs back here, are you?" Bess said from her side of the room as she put on a pair of old boots that Nan had lent her.

"Of course I am," Nan replied, "I bet there are lots of neat bugs and flies down by the creek. I might even catch a frog, or a snake!"

Bess's eyes widened in disgust, "Well, you had better keep them on your side of the room. I wouldn't want to have to dump them all out the window again."

Nan smiled sarcastically at Bess, remembering the incident that had occurred a few weeks ago.

"Don't worry. I'll keep the lids on real tight," she picked up her bag full of jars and a butterfly net that was standing in the corner of the room.

"Do those boots fit okay?" Nan asked, pausing in the doorway.

"They are a bit big," Bess replied as she tightened the laces, "but thanks for letting me borrow them."

"No problem. I wouldn't any of your nice shoes to get all muddy," Nan smiled as her friend joined her and they both walked downstairs to join the rest of the group.

"G'mornin', Nan," Nat called as he saw her coming down the stairs. "Do you need help carrying all those jars?" he added, motioning to the rattling bag she was carrying.

"No, I'll be fine, thank you. If I can carry a big ol' sack of grain, I can carry this too," Nan smiled, remembering when she first came to Plumfield and tried to help with the chores, "but you can carry this net."

Nat laughed at Nan's comment, taking the net. The group them headed outside to the barn, where Franz and Nick were loading up the wagon.

"G'mornin', Jo," Nick called, waving his hat in the air as he wiped some sweat from his brow.

"Good morning to you too, Nick," Jo replied, smiling as the children ran into the schoolroom to get their biology books.

"Sure is a nice day ta be outside," Nick said as he put the hat back on his head.

"Yes, it is. Franz had a great idea, planning this excursion," she lifted Rob up into the wagon.

"Well, it's like I've said, ya learn better by doin' things than by readin' 'bout 'em in books," Nick replied as he helped Jo and all of the children into the wagon. Jo was about to reply to Nick's comment when Franz, who was standing next to her, stood up and turned to face the back of the wagon, where his students were sitting.

"Okay, everyone," Franz called from the front of the wagon as he silently counted heads to make sure that nobody was missing. "I want all of you to pair off, just so no one gets lost. I will give you your assignments when we get to the creek. Then when we get back, each pair can write a report together about what they have learned."

Everyone sighed at the mention of a report, and then paired off - Nan with Bess, Nat with Dan, Emil with Tommy, Daisy with her brother Demi, Stuffy with Meyer, and Ned with Toby. Rob looked up at Jo and said, "Mommy, are you going to pair off with Nick?"

Jo smiled at her son and said, "Actually, I wanted to pair off with you, but I'm sure Nick won't mind joining us." She looked up at Nick and smiled at him as he took the reins in his hands and snapped them. The horses then trotted towards the gate, heading towards the creek.

After a few minutes, Nick turned the wagon off of the road and stopped it near a clearing at the edge of the forest. Franz then stood up again to get the attention of his students, who were busily talking in the back of the wagon.

"Excuse me," Franz began, at which point all of the children stopped talking and turned to face him, "Jo, Nick and myself are going to stay here while you go down to the creek to begin your projects. To begin, I would like for each pair to find an interesting leaf from a plant near the creek, and bring it back here. I will call you in a half an hour, at which point you are to return, and we will discuss what each group has found."

"Sounds easy enough," Bess commented to Nan.

"Yeah, almost too easy," Nan replied, "when are we going to get to look for more exciting things, like bugs and frogs?"

"In a while, Nan," Franz said, smiling at Nan's eagerness.

Everyone got out of the wagon and ran down to the creek while Jo called after them to be careful. By the time she had given her warning, though, they were out of range, eagerly looking about the banks of the creek for their specimens.

Franz helped Jo and Nick unload the wagon, which took about ten minutes, and then turned to Jo, "If you don't mind, Aunt Jo, I'd like to go for a walk." He then glanced at his pocket watch, the one that Fritz had given to him before he died, and continued, "I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"Okay," Jo replied in a motherly tone, "but don't wander too far."

Meanwhile, Isabelle and Melinda were happily riding down the road.

"Thanks for waking me up and suggesting this ride," Isabelle said, "It really is a beautiful day, and to think I almost spent the entire morning in bed!"

Melinda laughed, then pulled Sage off to the side of the road. "Look, here's a good spot to have our picnic! And the creek is just down the hill there so we can tie our horses up there to get a drink."

Isabelle stopped Belle, and dismounted, then both ladies took their horses down to the creek. While Melinda was tying Sage to an oak at the water's edge, she heard voices from downstream. After Isabelle had tied Belle to another branch on the same tree, she turned around to hear the same voices.

"That sounds like the Plumfield children," Melinda commented as they walked back up the hill.

Isabelle's eye's brightened at the thought of Franz being near by, and started to quicken her pace. Once at the top of the hill, she nearly dropped the picnic basket she was carrying when she saw none other than Franz Bhaer himself, standing by the side of the road, and smiling at her. Part Three