The Tractor

                                                THE TRACTOR
                                                        By
                                                  ND Schoening

         Hi, my name is Penelope and I live in the country with my parents, my older sister Brittney and my two brothers Derek and Peter.  We had lots of adventures when we were kids and I want to tell you about a time when my Dad tried to teach me how to drive his tractor . . .




         “Daddy! Daddy! Can I drive the tractor? Please?” I asked.  Dad and my sister and brothers were working in the gardens today.  We live in the country and we have 3 big gardens where we grow all our food.  My Dad always drives the tractor to get the ground ready to plant the seeds.  I always have to help my Mom in the house, I don’t mind, but I really want to drive the tractor!
         “Now Penelope, you know you are not big enough to drive the tractor, you could get hurt.”
         “Daddy please” I begged.  “I promise to be careful and I will do everything you tell me.”
         “Let me think about it.  Does your Mom need your help in the house?” Dad asked me.
         “Dad can’t Brittney help Mom in the house this one time?  I really want to drive the tractor.  Please Daddy?”
         “Well, it’s too late today; let me talk to your Mom about it. I will tell you in the morning.”
         “OK Daddy.”
         We all went into the house for dinner.  We eat the food we grow in the gardens.  Tonight we were having all vegetables; corn on the cob, green beans and Mom was frying okra when we came in. It all smells so good!  My Mom is a really good cook!
         “Mom, that smells so good, I am really hungry! Can Brittney help you in the house tomorrow so I can drive the tractor with Daddy?  Please??”
         “What is this all about?” Mom asked Dad.
         “I think Penelope is tired of being in the house all the time and would like to work in the gardens for awhile.”
         “What’s this about driving the tractor?”
         “She wants to learn to drive the tractor and she promises to listen to everything I tell her.” Dad said.
         “Do you think she is big enough to drive it?”
         “Well it is a small tractor and I think she will be fine.”
         “So can I drive the tractor or not?”
         “Penelope!”
         “I’m sorry, but I really want to drive the tractor!”
         “OK” Mom and Dad both said. “OK!”
         “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I tell them as I give them both hugs.
         “Now let’s eat dinner and relax a little before we clean up.” Mom said.
         “OK!”
         We ate dinner and talked about what needed to be done tomorrow. I help Mom clean up the kitchen and get everything ready for bed and the next day.  I am so excited I get to drive the tractor tomorrow! I can’t wait!
         When I went to bed it was hard to get to sleep I was thinking about that tractor.  It felt like I had just gone to sleep when Daddy started calling me to get up!
         “Penelope you better get up so we can get to work in the garden before it gets to hot!”
         “I’m up Daddy! What are we going to do first?”
         “We need to plow the rows so we can plant the tomato’s.”
         “Does that mean I can drive the tractor first thing?”
         “Well you need to listen to me and let me tell you how the tractor works.”
         “Ok Dad, but I’ve been watching you and I can do it by myself will you let me try?”
         Dad wasn’t very excited about letting me drive the tractor without him showing me how, but he decided to see what I could do without his help.
         We were at the front of the garden and Dad told me to drive in a straight line to the end of the garden. It’s a long garden and we have to keep the rows straight.
         I started the tractor and rolled to the beginning of the first row.  Then I gently lowered the blades to dig into the dirt.  I started to drive forward digging the furrow for the plants.  Dad was watching me and smiling so I guess I was doing ok.  I kept going straight it was fun but it was slow. I have to go slow to keep the rows straight. When I got to the end of the first row my Dad told me to stop and he turned the tractor around and headed down the next row, then he stopped to let me drive again.  I really was having fun, I was also glad to be spending time with my Daddy.  I kept the rows straight and I was doing pretty good.  Dad was behind me watching and smiling.
         As I got close to the end of the row I realized that I did not know how to stop it!
         “Daddy! I don’t know how to stop it!”
         “Push down the left petal!”
         He was trying to tell me and help me but I did not hear him.  I was not going real fast but I could not figure out how to stop it. At the end of the row was a fence that separated our yard from the garden.  It wasn’t a very strong fence but it was strong enough.  When I could not stop the tractor and Dad could not get to me soon enough, I DROVE THE TRACTOR RIGHT UP THE FENCE! When Dad finally got to me and pulled the key out of the tractor stopping it, the tractor was halfway up the fence and the fence was leaning over.  I was lucky that I did not turn that tractor over backwards.
         “Are you alright? Dad asked me smiling. He wasn’t mad at me.
         “I’m ok Dad. That was fun, can I drive it again?”
         Dad just smiled at me and said no more today.  He carefully backed the tractor off the fence and drove it into the yard.
         “I think we are through for today. Your rows are really straight. It will be easy to plant tomorrow. Would you like to help?”
         “You aren’t mad at me?
         “No I’m not mad, you aren’t hurt, the tractor and the fence are ok. Will you let me explain how the tractor works next time?
         “Yes Dad.  I thought I knew how to work it, but I never thought about having to stop it.”
         “Ok let’s go in and see what we have for dinner I’m hungry!”
         “Me too!”