{"id":1014,"date":"2019-02-10T13:27:24","date_gmt":"2019-02-10T18:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1014"},"modified":"2020-05-12T09:01:34","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T13:01:34","slug":"benjy-and-the-belsnickel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/benjy-and-the-belsnickel\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjy and the Belsnickel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

Benjy and the Belsnickel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Bonnie Swinehart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belsnickel is coming…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dressed in black from head to toe.
Porcupine quills in his hat. A whip in hand.
And bells that jingle with every step.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy, a lovable eleven-year-old in the 1930s, just can’t seem to help himself from pulling pranks and letting people down. His target is most often Miss Nettie, the schoolmarm at the one-room schoolhouse where he gets into more trouble than she’s willing to tolerate. Maybe he’s pulled one too many practical jokes…because everyone keeps telling him he’s going to get a visit from the Belsnickel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Benjy believes the Belsnickel is just an old Pennsylvanian folktale told to scare kids into better behavior, deep down he fears the grim legend is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Belsnickel comes knocking, Benjy quickly learns he is no fable.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Pennsylvania Dutch Town of Landisburg<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 1934<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is gonna be so good to<\/em> watch<\/em>. Benjy\nClemmons crept along the outside wall of the red brick schoolhouse and poked\nhis head around the back corner. He clamped his hand tightly over his mouth. A\nvolcano of laughter bubbled inside him at the sight of Miss Nettie, the\nschoolmarm, striding across the schoolyard. She sure looked funny with that\nsquiggly pink pig\u2019s tail dangling from the back of her long black sweater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy smiled. The\nschool year was just getting started, and already he\u2019d managed to pull a prank\non Miss Nettie. He had sneaked into her coat closet early that morning before\nthe start of school, when Miss Nettie wasn\u2019t watching. He\u2019d pinned a pig\u2019s tail\nright on the back of her sweater then dashed out of the closet. He hadn\u2019t\npulled a trick better than that one in all his eleven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minutes later Miss\nNettie emerged from the schoolhouse and started her daily walk around the\nschoolyard, greeting the children with a pleasant good morning. Giggles and\nchuckles filled the schoolyard\u2019s playground. A few fingers pointed Miss\nNettie\u2019s way. She tried to look over her shoulder, turning this way and that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the children\nwere playing Anti-One-Over, their favorite game involving two teams. One team\nmember would throw a ball over the woodshed where a student on the other team\nwould catch it. The one who caught the ball would then try to tag someone on\nthe first team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All too soon, Miss\nNettie climbed the porch steps and rang the bell, starting the school day for\nthe twenty-three students in grades one through six. Hearing the bell, the\nchildren scurried up the steps and into the classroom. Benjy joined the tail\nend of the group and thought about the summer that had just passed. I missed\nplaying with my friends but am glad I got to see them in church.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHi, Benjy!\u201d Frankie\nsaid. <\/em>\u201cGuess what I saw this summer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe went to visit\nAunt Louise for a whole week in the city and I saw a whole bunch of cars. I\neven got to see a fancy 1933 Packard Town Car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh boy,\u201d Benjy\nsaid. \u201cI wish I could have seen it. We don\u2019t see many cars around here, do we?\nI\u2019d be happy with just a bicycle. Pop said if I earn the money I can get my\nvery own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching the door,\nFrankie said, \u201cWe can talk some more at recess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee you then,\u201d\nBenjy said, following Frankie inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, at the front\nof the classroom, stood Miss Nettie\u2019s big desk. A large chalkboard lined the\nwall behind. In one corner hung the American flag that they saluted every\nmorning with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the Lord\u2019s Prayer and a\nshort Bible reading. Beside the flag stood an old black upright piano where\nMiss Nettie played music for them. In the middle of the room sat a woodstove,\nthe only source of heat in the cold months. When the days turned frigid, the\nboys took turns carrying wood from the woodshed so everyone could huddle around\nthe stove while Miss Nettie taught her lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The children rushed\ninto the cloakroom, hung their jackets on hooks, and lined their metal lunch\nboxes and pails on the shelf above. Of course, Miss Nettie had her own closet.\nNo one dared to open that door\u2014no one else<\/em>, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy watched Miss\nNettie remove her sweater and hang it in her closet. She took no notice of the\npig\u2019s tail. Once again, Benjy felt smug\u2014he hadn\u2019t been caught. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Nettie began\nthe day with the Pledge of Allegiance and the morning prayer session. She then\nbegan to assign the day\u2019s lessons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuiet please. Grade\none, practice the alphabet. Grades two through five, practice writing your\nspelling words. Grade six, begin math on page twenty-four.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cOh no. Arithmetic again,\u201d Benjy mumbled under\nhis breath. It\u2019s only day one, and I\u2019m already tired of multiplying and\ndividing.<\/em> Bored out of his mind, Benjy began daydreaming about pirate\nships. The potbellied woodstove in the middle of the room became an enemy\npirate vessel heading toward his ship, ready for an attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shiver\nme timbers! Those seafarin\u2019 scoundrels won\u2019t get me treasure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBenjamin!\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy jumped out of\nhis seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone turned and\nlooked at Benjy. Oh shucks, I got caught daydreaming again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy swallowed, but\nthe lump in his throat stayed. \u201cYes, Miss Nettie?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI asked if you\ncould give us the answer to number seven?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, Miss Nettie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She crossed her arms\nover her chest. \u201cYour constant daydreaming has got to stop. You are here to\nlearn. Come to the front of the class and take a seat on the stool in the\ncorner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy dragged his\nfeet, taking much more time than needed to reach the stool. Miss Nettie placed\nthe pointed paper hat marked with a capital D<\/em> on his head. The D<\/em>\nstood for dunce<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dunce hat! Just\nfor daydreaming?\u201d Benjy moaned. Miss Nettie must have also seen me in her\ncloset.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roars of laughter\nechoed in Benjy\u2019s ears. He remembered his own hoots and howls earlier that\nmorning. Suddenly his prank didn\u2019t seem quite so funny. His cheeks burned, and\nhe knew from experience that his fair, freckled skin was turning bright red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This dunce hat is\nfeeling hotter and hotter. <\/em>Benjy adjusted the hat on his head but refused to swipe at the\nbeads of sweat pouring out of his forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day dragged on\nfor Benjy as he watched the clock\u2019s hands move as slow as a turtle in mud.\nFinally Miss Nettie cast Benjy one last stern look just before she rang the\ndismissal bell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBenjy, you may\nremove the hat and place it on the stool. Take a seat at your desk, but remain\nafter school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hearing the bell,\nchildren spilled out the door like prisoners released to freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence filled the\nroom except for the clicking of Miss Nettie\u2019s shoes as she returned to her\ndesk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a glance his\nway, she said, \u201cCome here please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He squirmed out of\nhis seat and shuffled to her desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBenjamin, it is\nonly Monday, and I can\u2019t for the life of me figure out why you waste so much\ntime daydreaming and pulling pranks when you\u2019re here to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy shook his\nhead. \u201cDon\u2019t know, Miss Nettie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeday, young man,\nyour behavior is bound to catch up with you. With Christmas only a few months\naway, I\u2019d beware of a visit from the Belsnickel if I were you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An image flew\nthrough Benjy\u2019s mind of a creature all smothered in ashes leering at him. He\u2019d\nheard tales of the Belsnickel all his life. Wearing a funny hat with bells and\nquills, the Belsnickel terrorized children who misbehaved. Goosebumps ran up\nand down his arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the kids around\nhere knew about the Belsnickel and his Christmas visits. Benjy even heard that\nthe Belsnickel carried a small horse whip in one hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With thoughts of his\nprank fresh in his mind, shivers of fear ran up his spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Nettie handed Benjy a sealed note. \u201cHere, deliver this to\nyour parents. I\u2019ll be by later to discuss it with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy\u2019s hand quivered as he grabbed the note. \u201cMiss Nettie. May I\ngo?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She waved her hand toward the door. Benjy turned and ran. He\ngrabbed his jacket and lunch pail and made a mad dash toward the door, dodging\ndesks along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy stood outside\nin the schoolyard. Did she know it was me? <\/em>He kicked the dirt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

muttering, \u201cIt\u2019s\nhard to fool Miss Nettie. Boy, am I gonna get it. Ma and Pop sure ain\u2019t gonna\nlike this. Dear God, I know Ma and Pop are going to be plenty mad. I\u2019ve lost\ncount of the times Miss Nettie sent home a note, but please don\u2019t let me get a\nwhooping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy looked at the note and was tempted to open it. Instead, he\nstuffed it in his pocket and headed for the shortcut through Sherwood Forest.\nOf course, it wasn\u2019t really Sherwood Forest. But after he\u2019d read a story of\nRobin Hood he started pretending to be one of Robin\u2019s Merry Men, escaping that\nevil Sheriff of Nottingham, rather than plain ol\u2019 Benjy. As he walked, he\nthought about Miss Nettie\u2019s silly remark about the Belsnickel and ducked just\nin time to avoid a brush with a low maple branch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who does she think\nshe is trying to scare me with that Belsnickel stuff anyway?<\/em> Benjy picked up a\nstick and snapped it in two. Everyone knows that\u2019s old folklore stuff. He\nain\u2019t gonna get me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWie geht\u2019s?\u201d Old\nAlbert shouted in the Pennsylvania-Dutch dialect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood day to you\ntoo,\u201d Benjy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy had been so\ncaught up in his thoughts about the Belsnickel he didn\u2019t realize he was already\nat his favorite fishing hole, a small pond just off the path near his family\u2019s\nfarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow are you today,\nBenjy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAin\u2019t doing that\ngood,\u201d Benjy answered with a heavy heart. \u201cCatching anything?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure enough.\u201d Old\nAlbert, a whiskery man, sat along the pond\u2019s small bank holding up his stringer\nof five large-mouthed bass. \u201cGot me an extra pole over yonder. You\u2019re welcome\nto join me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy hesitated, his\nmind wandering…scheming. He tapped the note in his pocket. How would Miss\nNettie know if he stopped off for a little fishing? Besides, he\u2019d have to face\nMa and Pop soon enough. No doubt I won\u2019t be doing any more fishing for a\nwhile after Pop\u2019s done reading that note.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy dropped his\nlunch pail and grabbed the extra pole that lay nearby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI\u2019ll catch me a big one.\u201d Benjy plopped down\nbeside Old Albert and began jabbing a brown, wiggly worm onto the hook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plunk!<\/em> The line hit the\nwater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjy and Old Albert\nwaited a long time in silence. \u201cJust my luck, it looks like the fish quit\nbiting for the day. They\u2019re not even jumping. The water is so still,\u201d said\nBenjy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting a lot of\nlearning at that there school of yours?\u201d Old Albert asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting in trouble\nis more like it.\u201d Benjy pulled in his line, and his thoughts drifted to that\nsilly dunce hat. \u201cWhy do you suppose I have so much trouble behaving?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHard to say, but\nyou at least think about trying to do right. Deep down you\u2019re a good lad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou really think\nso, Old Albert? Because sometimes I really wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure I do.\u201d Old\nAlbert nudged Benjy and gave him a big smile. \u201cBut you better take care or\nyou\u2019ll be getting a visit from the Belsnickel come Christmastime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shudders raced down\nBenjy\u2019s spine again. Why\u2019d he have to say that? That makes two warnings\nabout the Belsnickel in one day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe best be getting\nhome now.\u201d Old Albert struggled to his feet. \u201cThis sitting makes my bones\nstiffen up. I\u2019m getting to be an old man, Benjy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t old. You\ngot a ton of fishing left in you. You\u2019re my best fishing pal.\u201d Benjy stood and\nhanded Old Albert the pole. \u201cSee you later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo long, Benjy. See\nyou next time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading for his\nfamily\u2019s farm, Benjy soon rounded the last bend. Putting one foot in front of\nthe other, he was drawn to the neighbor\u2019s rows and rows of apple trees. Big red\napples hung from the trees. He snatched one off a low limb and sank his teeth\ninto it as he walked up a small hill toward his house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the crest of the\nhill, Benjy gazed down at his white clapboard house and weather-beaten barn.\nPop got himself<\/em> a<\/em> mighty fine farm.<\/em> He cupped his hand over\nhis brows, shading his eyes against the sun\u2019s late afternoon glare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh no!\u201d Benjy\u2019s\nheart jumped out of his chest. He couldn\u2019t believe his eyes. Even at such a distance,\nhe recognized that short, plump, unmistakable figure. Miss Nettie! Just leaving\nhis house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looks like I\u2019m in a\nbig heap of trouble now.<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n