Well hello again, I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaack…yeah, I nose, we been gone for awhile. Lot’s to do, lot’s to do. Well let me meow you dis, it been a busy summer. Lot’s uf weddinks, an more coming, an forf uf July, an Halloween…now let me meow you bout Halloween. Now I don’t nose iffun I meowed you dis, but my cousin Caleb an his wifeykit Jordi, bought an old run down farm across the road fwum Clover Blossom Farm. Anywho, we been busy helpin dem fix it up. An to meow fanks to da village for all the help, they had dis big pawrty in da barn on Halloween. Well, my daddy Vester, he outdid hisownself this year. Half da barn was fur da party an da offur pawrt was fur a haunted house…but, daddy Vester got kinda carried away. We had ghosties an goblins an fings wat go bump in da night all offur da place. A furry scary time was had by all. I effun clobbered one ghostie wit a umbrella, meeheehee, an I was followed all offur by anuffur one, but dat twurned out to be my hubbykit , Timmy…an we had games, I jusht luff bobbing fur bobs, dat’s wat we call mousies, an dansing an of course lots uf foodies…I fink dis was da bestest Halloween party since a couple years ago when we had one at Camp Paw Prints an daddy Vester effun had a witch flying round at dat one! An da headless horsiekit came riding thwoo chasin effery! Wow, dose was da dood ol’ days fur shure. But we had a scary dood time dis year, too.
So, is effery ready for Turkey Day? The Village is all in a hustle an bustle getting ready fur our Thanksgiving. Effery fur thinking hard bout what they have to be grateful fur. And we all do have plenty. It hard to be a fur with no forever home an we try to think of them extra speshull this time of year. Course we try to think of them all year, but the hollydays especially. While you out doing your own shopping fur that big feast you gonna have, why not gwab a bag uf kibbul or some canned foodies, or toys for dose homeless furs at the local shelter…I hear der lots of humans what could use a helping paw , too. Anywho, it’s sumfing to keep in mind.
Meowing bout Thanksgiving, I came across some stuff my aunty franci wrote some years ago an I fawt i would share it with you…
franci goes to da libwary. She bin heerin kits meowin bout sumfin cawled Thanksgiffin Day an dish souns ferry interwestin to her. But she dont nose nuffin bout it an beein a smwart kit finks da library da bes pwace to find awt. so in she goes to infestigate..she finds a book an sits down to wead…In 1620, some wealthy Englishkits hired da Mayflower and da Speedwell to make a twip to stwart a colony in Norfern Virginia. Da Speedwell turned out to be a leaky old ship, and washant abul to make the famus voyage wit daMayflower.
Christopher Joneskit wash da captain of da Mayflower when it took da Pilgrimkits to New England in 1620. Dey came to da tip of a pwace kawled Cape Cod (Massachusetts) on November 11, 1620.
Mayflower was a very common ship name, and other ships called da Mayflower made twips to New England; but none of dem were da same ship dat bwought da Pilgrimkits to America.
Da Mayflower stayed in America dat winter, and it suffered da fects uf da first winter just wike da Pilgrimkits did, wit awmost half dying. Da Mayflower set sail for home on April 5, 1621, awifing back May sixth. Da ship made a few more twading wuns, to Spain, Ireland, and lastly to France. Howefur, Captain Christopher Joneskit died shortly thereafter, and was buwied in England.
Da xact size uf da Mayflower is unnown. No picshures, paintings, or detailed descwipshunn uf da Mayflower xist today. Howefur it ish estimated da size uf da Mayflower was bout 113 feet long from the back rail to the front. A duplicate of da Mayflower, called da Mayflower II, ish in Plymouth, Mass. Today it ish a tourist attwaction, and afailabul fur touring.
Da voyage fwom Plymouth, England to Plymouth Harbor ish bout 2,750 miles, and took da Mayflower 66 days. Da Mayflower left England wit 102 passengers, including twee pwegnant ladykits, and a crew of unknown number. One kitlin was born at sea. Aftur da Mayflower had awwived and was anchored in Provincetown Harbor off da tip of Cape Cod, Susanna Whitekit gafe burth to a sonkit. Da Mayflower den sailed acwoss the bay to Plymouth Harbor. Der, Mary Allertonkit gave burth to a stillborn sonkit. One passenger died while the Mayflower was at sea–a young mankit named William Butten, a serfant-appwentice to Dr. Samuel Fullerkit. Da death occurred just thwee days before land was sighted. One Mayflower crew member also died at sea, but his name is not known. Da menkits of the Mayflower wrote “The Mayflower Compact”, a set of laws fur da new colony. Dis was da first time dat immigwants to da new country had set down rule of da majority. It is still used today. Da pwace dey stayed was called da Plymouth Colony.
Da Mayflower’s Voyage :
DEPARTURE: Da Mayflower left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620
ARRIVAL: Da Mayflower crew sighted land off Cape Cod on November 9, 1620, and furst landfall was made November 11, 1620.
DISTANCE AND TIME: Da voyage fwom Plymouth, England to Plymouth Harbor is about 2,750 miles, and took da Mayflower 66 days.
NUMBER OF PASSENGERS: Da Mayflower left England wit 102 passengers, including thwee pregnant womenkits, and a crew of unknown number. While da Mayflower was at sea, Elizabeth Hopkinskit gave burf to a son which she named Oceanuskit. After da Mayflower had awived and was anchored in Provincetown Harbor off da tip of Cape Cod, Susanna White gave birth to a sonlit, which she named Peregrinekit (which means “one who has made a journey”
. Da Mayflower den sailed across the bay and anchored in Plymouth Harbor. There, Mary Allerton gave birth to a stillborn sonkit. One passenger died while the Mayflower was at sea–a youth named William Butten, a serfant-appwentice to Dr. Samuel Fullerkit. Da death occurred just three days before land was sighted. One Mayflower crew member also died at sea, but his name is not known.
Mayflower Myth
MYTH: Da furst Thanksgiving was in 1621 and da pilgrimkits celebrated it efery year thereafter.
FACT: Da furst feast wasn’t repeated, so it wasn’t da beginning of a tradition. In fact, da colonists didn’t even call da day Thanksgiving. To dem, a thanksgiving was a religious holiday in which dey would go to church and thank God fur a specific efent, such as da winning of a battle. On such a religious day, da types uf wecweational actifities dat da pilgrimkits and Wampanoag Indians pawrticipated in during da 1621 harvest feast–dancing, singing secular songs, playing games–wouldn’t have been allowed. Da feast was a secular celebration, so it nefur would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims minds.
MYTH: Da owiginal Thanksgiving feast took place on da fourth Thursday of November.
FACT: Da original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unwike our modern holiday, it was three days long. Da efent was based on English harvest festivals, which traditionally occurred around the 29th of September. President Franklin D. Rooseveltkit set da date fur Thanksgiving to da fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (appwoved by Congress in 1941). Abraham Lincolnkit had pweviously designated it as da last Thursday in November, which may have correlated it with da November 21, 1621, anchoring of da Mayflower at Cape Cod.
MYTH:
da pilgrimkits wore only black and white clothing.
dey had buckles on der hats, garments, and shoes.
FACT: Buckles did not come into fashion until later in da seventeenth century and black and white were commonly worn only on Sunday and formal occasions. Womenkits typically dwessed in red, earthy green, brown, blue, violet, and gray, while menkits wore clothing in white, beige, black, earthy green, and brown.
MYTH: The pilgrims brought furniture wit dem on da Mayflower.
FACT: Da onwy furniture dat da pilgrimkits brought on da Mayflower was chests and boxes. Dey constwucted wooden furniture once dey settled in Plymouth.
MYTH: Da Mayflower was headed fur Virginia, but due to a navigational mistake it ended up in Cape Cod Massachusetts.
FACT: Da Pilgrims were in fact planning to settle in Virginia, but not da modern-day state uf Virginia. Dey were part of da Virginia Company, which had da rights to most of da eastern seaboard of da U.S. Da pilgrimkits had intended to go to da Hudson River region in New York State, which would have been considered “Northern Virginia,” but dey landed in Cape Cod instead. Treacherous seas prevented dem from venturing further south…Wow, Franci finks to hur ownself…dat musta bin sum adbenture!
Aunty Franci was a pwetty smart ladykit!
And der a couple other smart girlkits in the family , too…my gurls Peggy an Polly. Sometimes I think they are too smart fur efferyfurs good….
Now yu wanna meow bout scary times, my daughterkits, Peggy an Polly, a couple chips off da ol’ fambly block fur shure, put me much in mind uf aunty Franci, an a bit uf me too. Anyway, you neffur nose wat those two little dickens are gonna get up to. Like da time dey motorized Queen Kasha’s wheelie chair at a weddink and had her hotrodding down the aisle. But I digress, it seems da girls built a weather machine. And it had a hiccup or two. We had a terribul storm in da village, almost blew it right off da map, not that you gonna find the village on any human map, but ya gets what I meowing, right? Da sky turned bwack as night and da winds roared an swirled, effun Tare Meowzers can’t roar like the wind that day, and dat kit can tiroar. We was all huddled in our cellars wondering iffun we was gonna end up in da Land of Oz! But it finally blew itsownself out and most uf da village was still standing. Efferykit gathered at the village square an we got efferyfing cleaned up an repaired. But we didn’t find out until later that it was all da pawwork uf Peggy and Polly, not until we caught dem trying to start a snowstorm in August. Don’t nose wat I’ m gonna do wit dose girls.
The Adventures of Willow and The Tatertot Gang 