A park ranger met Sophie’s class as soon as they got off the bus. Sophie could tell she was a park ranger because of her Smokey Bear hat. That was even before she said, “Hello there! My name is Ranger Fawn.”
The ranger’s smile was very big. And she was very tall.
“Welcome to Popes Creek,” she said, “otherwise known as George Washington’s birthplace. Have any of you ever been here before?”
Mindy raised her hand. Of course. She liked to say she had done things (even when she had not).
“No. I have not,” Sophie honestly said. “My mom wanted to come one time. But my dad said it sounded too boring. And my little brother, Max, won’t sit in a stroller anymore. The last time we took him somewhere, he jumped on an old bed and we all got in trouble. So we stayed home and did the Slip ‘n Slide instead, because that is never boring, and you’re supposed to jump on it.”
Ranger Fawn looked down at Sophie. “Wow!” she said, smiling. “We have a chatterbox here, don’t we?”
Behind her, Toby laughed. Sophie could hear him loud and clear. And Archie. And Mindy. And Lily. And everyone else in their class, she bet.
Sophie wanted to say, “Excuse me. That is not funny. Look at my shirt. I am not a chatterbox. I’m Sophie the Honest!”
But Ranger Fawn was already turning around. “Okeydokey, let’s get started!” she said.
The ranger led the class down a path along a river. There were shady trees and wooden fences. Behind one fence were sheep. Behind another were some cows. There were also a bunch of little white buildings and a big house made of brick. But the ranger didn’t stop at any of those. Instead, she stopped in front of some lines of white rocks on the ground.
“This is the house where George Washington was born,” Ranger Fawn said.
“Huh?” Sophie said. She pointed to the big house made of brick. “Don’t you mean that house? And by the way, I’m not a chatterbox. I’m just honest,” she added.
“Sophie,” said Ms. Moffly. She was standing behind the class. “Let’s let Ranger Fawn finish talking before we start.”
Ranger Fawn smiled a big smile. “That’s okay,” she said. “I’m honestly glad you asked that. In fact, that big house was not George Washington’s. It was built later. And it’s not exactly what George’s house looked like. But it gives you an idea.”
Sophie frowned. “Why not just show the real house?” she asked.
“Because the real house burned down in 1779,” Ranger Fawn explained. She pointed to the white gravel lines on the ground. “All we have of George Washington’s first house is this outline that we made.”
The other Sophie in the class, Sophie A., spoke up. “Was George Washington okay?”
“Yes, indeed,” Ranger Fawn said. “In fact, he didn’t even live here when the house burned. By then, he was leading the army in the Revolutionary War. But that wasn’t his first job. Does anyone know what that was?”
Mindy was the first to raise her hand. Of course.
“President!” she said.
“Good guess. But no. That came even later. George Washington’s first job was surveying. Who knows what that is?” Ranger Fawn asked.
Mindy raised her hand again.
“Yes?” Ranger Fawn said.
Mindy opened her mouth. Then she closed it. “Er … I don’t know,” she said.
“Anyone else?” Ranger Fawn asked.
Sophie spoke up. “I have no idea! But I’m pretty sure my mom just got surveyed on the phone,” she said.
Ranger Fawn chuckled. “That’s a different kind of surveying. That’s when someone asks you questions. The surveying George Washington did was measuring land.”
Measuring land? The other kind of surveying sounded like a lot more fun to Sophie, even if her mom made faces during it.
“George Washington taught himself how to survey when he was just fifteen,” Ranger Fawn went on. “And one of the first pieces of land he measured was the one you’re standing on.”
Sophie yawned and leaned over to Kate. “My dad was right. This is boring,” she said.
“Excuse me? What did you say?” Ranger Fawn asked, smiling.
Sophie bit her lip. She wanted to say, “Nothing,” but she could not. Sophie sighed.
“Um … I said my dad was right. This is boring. Sorry,” she added quickly.
“Oh, Sophie,” Ms. Moffly said.
Sophie held her breath. She wondered if Ranger Fawn would get mad. But the ranger kept on smiling.
“You know, you’re right. There’s a lot more fun stuff to see here. Let’s move on!” she said.
Ranger Fawn walked ahead, and Sophie’s class followed.
Eve skipped up next to Sophie. “Thanks! I didn’t want to say anything. But that was getting boring,” she said.
“Yeah!” Mia agreed.
Sophie grinned at them. “Don’t mention it. Just call me Sophie the Honest!”
Ranger Fawn led them down a brick path to one of the small buildings. The doors were big, like barn doors. Sophie and her class went in.
Sophie looked around at all the shelves and benches. There were tools and sawdust everywhere. It was a big mess, if you asked her.
“This looks like my dad’s workshop,” Sophie said out loud.
The ranger laughed. “Well, it is a workshop!” she said. “This is where the blacksmiths and carpenters worked. You see, a farm like this was like a little town. Everything they needed, they had to make themselves.”
“Even their TVs?” Dean asked.
Dean liked TV a lot, Sophie knew. He was always talking about some show.
“Well, no,” Ranger Fawn said. “Because they didn’t have TVs back then.”
“Too bad!” Dean said.
What they did have were nails and hooks and boxes and buckets and baskets. Ranger Fawn picked them up and showed them to the class.
Then she showed them buildings used for making other stuff, too.
There was a yarn house. That was where wool from the sheep was turned into yarn. It was woven into cloth and made into shirts and pants and coats. Then there was the dairy. That was where milk from the cows was made into cheese and butter. There was even a house just for making apple cider. Sophie liked apple cider a lot. She wished she had a house for that.
“Did you know that George Washington’s father had a thousand apple trees?” Ranger Fawn asked the class.
Apple trees! That reminded Sophie of something. She waved her hand in the air, and Ranger Fawn pointed to her.
“No, I did not. But how many cherry trees did they have?” Sophie asked.
Ranger Fawn thought for a minute. “None that I know of,” she said.
None? Sophie frowned. That did not make sense.
“I mean, before George Washington cut one down,” she said.
“Oh, that!” The ranger chuckled. “You’re talking about the famous story, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am!” Sophie said.
“Well, I’m afraid that’s just a story. We’re pretty sure that it’s not true,” the ranger said.
Huh? Sophie thought.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Why would someone make up a lie to show that George Washington was honest?”
Ranger Fawn shrugged. “That’s a good question.”
Thank you, Sophie thought.
“Well, are there any true stories that show how honest he was?” she asked.
The ranger rubbed her chin. “Hmmm … not that I can think of,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that George wasn’t an honest man.”
Sophie shook her head, but she stood up straighter. She still could not believe that George Washington had never—ever—cut down a cherry tree. But she bet he would have if he could have. And he would have told his dad, of course.
“So, who wants to see the kitchen now?” Ranger Fawn asked.
Sophie raised her hand. “Not me!” she said. She was getting tired of little buildings. “I’d rather go out to the pasture and pet the sheep. Or can we eat lunch now? I’d really like to do that. I have egg salad. And it’s kind of hot. And I don’t want it to
go bad. One time I ate a tuna sandwich that was bad, and I got really sick. All over the place.”
A few kids giggled.
Ranger Fawn looked down at Sophie. “I see,” she said. “But all your lunches are in a cooler. So I think they’ll be okay. And I know you’ll like what we do next. Are there any questions before we move on?” she asked.
Dean raised his hand.
“Yes?” Ranger Fawn said.
“What’s your favorite TV show?” Dean asked.
The ranger smiled again. “I really meant are there history questions….”
She looked at the class. They all looked back at her and shook their heads.
“No? Then let’s go to the kitchen,” Ranger Fawn said. Her eyes twinkled as she turned to Dean. “And I really like dancing shows,” she added.