RebeccaWelcome back kiddos! It is time to get back into our read for this week, and see where Ellen’s adventure is going to take us next!
Ellen is at Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s house, and for the time being she is safe. Otto found her in the woods, and brought her back to his mother, so that they can figure out the best course of action. When she arrives, she has never seen a house like this one. It is rather old fashioned, and all of the cooking is done on a huge cast iron stove. As they settle in and get the dinner on the table, Ellen does her best to help out. She notices though that there are a lot of fine things in the house, contrary to what Otto says about them being poor. She wonders what is going on.
When they settle down for the night, Ellen is asked to tell her story. She does so, leaving out the part about the crown. She is not sure if she should say anything about it or not. But when she finishes her story, Mrs. Fitzpatrick knows that something is missing, some part of her story has been forgotten or removed. Ellen decides to trust her with the secret of the crown. Finally bedtime rolls around, but she is awoken by a sound outside her window, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick is there with a shotgun to run off whoever was trying to get into her window. They pass the rest of the night in the living room. Mrs. Fitzpatrick wakes her up early the next morning, as there are some things they need to discuss before she and Otto leave, and a few warnings are given as well.
As they set off on their grand adventure, Otto and Ellen feel almost as if they are on a short adventure. To be sure, they are on an adventure, but this one is not just play. As they pass the time and miles through the woods, they wonder if they are being followed. Richard, the Crow, does a fair job of keeping a lookout for them, and when he sounds an alarm, they hide along the trail. After a short while, a man appears, walking rapidly, searching in all directions, looking for the children. As they head back and take a different route, they come across two log cabins in the woods. They are taken in by the kind woodcutter, who tells them his sad story, but also offers them protection for the night so that they can sleep. After having run a stranger off, the woodcutter and his faithful dog will guard the road for four days, giving Otto and Ellen time to make their escape and put some space between them. However, just when they think they are clear, a huge problem arises….
This week we are reading Chapters 9-16
Questions:
- Was Ellen wise to not tell Mrs. Fitzpatrick about the crown in the beginning?
- What do you think about the trouble that Otto has been causing?
- Are they on the right path to get to Ellen’s aunts house?
