Book One - The Value of a Good Reputation
Goodly Woods is a Christian western series packed full of adventure, drama, comedy, and sprinkled generously with good morals and virtue.
Each book has many colorful pictures and is designed to entertain the whole family. We hope you’ll enjoy our adventures in Goodly Woods!
This series is a work of fiction. Except for the occasional references to historical people and places, all of the names, characters, places, and incidents found within are solely the product of the author’s imagination and are not intended to represent any people, living or dead. Therefore, any resemblance to actual locations and events is purely coincidental.
Copyright Cheri Hill 2012
This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase a copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.
Other Books in this Series
1. The Value of a Good Reputation - Twin boys with very different personalities learn why they have to be more than just a pretty face!
2. Sudden Fear - When a wild cougar disturbs the peace in Goodly Woods, everyone must learn to conquer their fear.
3. Easy Riches - When Darkly meets up with an old prospector, he quickly learns the value of true riches!
4. Robber’s Canyon - An outlaw arrives in Goodly Woods! Can Sheriff Juss Tiss and Deputy Holdit stop him before all is lost?
5. The Valley of Prevarication - Patience finds out that deception has a very high cost!
6. Frettin’ Today, Tomorrow & Yesterday - Goodly has gotten a summer job! What new adventures will come his way?
7. Stormy Woods - Thunder and lightning aren’t the only things wreaking havoc in Goodly Woods!
8. Just Little Things - Placing the value on the losses and gains.
9. Building Offenses - They said he did it, and he said he didn't do it. Is there a remedy?
10. The Lord’s Army - The Cavalry comes through Goodly Woods leaving its impression.
11. Lost in Goodly Woods - While searching for treasure, Patience, Darkly and their two elderly companions find themselves lost!
12. Just Mote'n Around - Fault-finders often discover that they have a huge beam lying around.
More stories are coming soon!
Dedication
First of all, I must give thanks to the Lord my God, for, without His help, I can do nothing.
Secondly, I want to thank my husband and family, whose love, support and encouragement have been priceless.
Many thanks go to my father, Don White, who from the very beginning, wholeheartedly embraced my idea for these stories. We spent many hours together laughing, talking, and creating the characters and places in Goodly Woods.
I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Betty Pittman for her invaluable assistance. With her help and instruction, I have learned so much, and I will always remember the kindness and love she has shown to me.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Other Books In This Series
Dedication
Welcome to Goodly Woods!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Did You Know?
Credits
Contact Me
Chapter One
The winter snows have finally melted, and the new warmth has encouraged fragrant fruit blossoms to announce that spring has arrived! It is a very cheerful time in Goodly Woods.
Main Street is bustling with women folk anxious to get out and shop! The word had spread that a new shipment of fabric has arrived, and since children never stop growing, and clothes don’t last forever, there was always a need for new dresses, pants, and shirts.
While the ladies are busy shopping, most of the men are out plowing the fields, getting the ground ready to plant their first crops.
It was here, in Goodly Woods, that the Thinking family lived. Honest Thinking was the town’s Farrier. Some folks just called him a Blacksmith.
The townspeople loved Honest Thinking because he was a decent and kind man who dealt honestly with them. His father and his grandfather before him had also been farriers, and as a wise son, he worked hard to learn the trade, thus benefiting greatly from their wisdom and experience. Honest enjoyed working with people, horses, and livestock and could make just about anything out of iron.
You might be interested to know that Goodly Woods got its name from Honest’s grandfather who was the first man to bring his family and settle here. Honest had always loved and respected his grandfather, so much so, that he named one of his twins after him.
Honest loved his wife, Forever Thinking, very much! He was sure that he had married the best girl in the whole country! She was always busy taking care of their home, garden and family. Forever had a good head on her shoulders and managed her household well when her husband was working in town. Each day after work, he looked forward to her home-cooked meals and being home with Forever and their three children.
Honest wondered if his horse, Bess, liked being home too, because she never failed to take to a gallop in the last half mile!
Their twin sons, Goodly and Darkly Thinking are 12 years old, and as you may have guessed, their names describe them perfectly. Their sister Patience is a year younger than they, and, of course, she is a very patient and loving sister. Patience is is always ready to wait on Goodly and Darkly, no matter where, for what or when.
Over at the schoolhouse, the large bell had just rung, and all of the children were heading home. Some parents waited nearby in wagons to pick up their children while other boys and girls walked through the wooded paths toward home talking and laughing together.
When the three Thinking children arrived home, they quickly finished their afternoon chores. Darkly and Patience had homework to do, but Goodly didn’t. So Goodly asked his mom if he could go visit his friend, Fulla Courage, who lived just down the road.
The Thinking family and the Courage family were not only neighbors, but had been great friends for years.
Forever didn’t mind at all except for one condition, and that was, “as long as you are home in time for dinner.”
“Thanks, Mom!” shouted Goodly, as he grabbed his slingshot and starting running down the lane. “I’ll be sure to be home in time, don’t worry!”
Chapter Two
Goodly ran down the road until his legs tired out. As he slowed to a walk, he began picking up small round stones to shoot with his slingshot. He looked around for a good target. In the woods, here and there, the townsfolk had picked out and cut down trees to build their homes, leaving plenty of old tree stumps that he could use for a target. Goodly could always tell when he hit a stump because he would hear the satisfying THUMP!
Goodly liked to practice because he never knew if he might come upon a growling bear or a rabid raccoon, and his slingshot might offer some protection. Of course, he hoped he’d never run into a ferocious bear, but he always kept a keen eye out while in the woods.
Little did Goodly know, the old Widow Gotta Gossip was also walking in the woods. Earlier that day, she had overheard two ladies whispering that there were very sweet wild strawberries in the large meadow south of town. She determined to find them and pick her fill.
Although W
idow Gotta Gossip had lost her husband ten years earlier, and her mourning was long past, she continued to wear a black dress. Wearing black comforted her as a reminder to the town’s people of her loss, and then, in gaining their pity, she also received financial help and labor from some of the local church folks.
As she reached the meadow, Widow Gotta Gossip caught a glimpse of a young boy coming her way. She peered through the trees and almost lost her breath!
“It’s…it’s...it’s that little monster Darkly Thinking!” she cried. “And what is that in his hand? Oh, no! It’s a SLINGSHOT!!”
She gulped and was barely able to silence her scream. The old widow had several previous encounters with that dastardly Darkly boy. He was always causing trouble, purposely trying to get people riled up.
Why just last week, she saw Darkly sticking bubble gum on the bottom of Mayor Hightails new shoes! Thanks to her, he didn’t get away with it! Then a couple days later, she had come out on her porch only to find that someone tied the shoelaces on her fancy shoes together! It had to be Darkly! Because of her arthritic fingers, it took her hours to untie all those knots!
With revenge in her heart, the Widow Gotta Gossip made sure she told all of her friends and neighbors just what she thought of the Thinking family.
Sadly, the truth of the matter was that she was extremely jealous of them. They were upstanding in the community, and in her opinion, it just wasn't fair that they got more attention than she did! Just because Goodly Woods was named after their family, and just because they are honest, decent people who help their neighbors. Humft! They are so goody goody!
She almost broke into laughter thinking, “Goody, goody, two shoes! That fits them to a tee!”
Of course, she knew she was much smarter, and the townsfolk should have a higher opinion of her than they held for them. She determined to do everything she could to expose this family and bring them to ruin!
Widow Gotta Gossip took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Now what should she do? Here she was in plain sight, and that boy had a weapon!
“Oh dear!” she thought to herself. “He probably followed me here, and if that rotten Darkly sees me, he will surely shoot me with that thing!” So the old widow dropped to her knees in the tall grass and hunched over in a tight ball just hoping that the boy would pass without seeing her.
Widow Gotta Gossip’s thoughts were so focused on Darkly that she had forgotten that he had a twin brother.
Chapter Three
Whistling and walking through the woods, Goodly jumped onto and over fallen trees. He was having a great time! He decided to hurry along, looking forward to getting to Fulla Courage’s house. They always had so much fun together. Goodly hoped that Fulla would be done with his chores by the time he got there, so they could do something fun together.
The Thinking family and the Courage Family had been friends for as long as he could remember. His Pa and Fulla’s Pa had grown up together, and they felt as close to them as if they were his real family.
Just then, Goodly saw a burnt, blackened tree stump a ways off in the distance. He took careful aim, pulled back on the strap and let go. Incredibly, he heard nothing but silence.
“That was odd,” he thought to himself. “I didn’t hear any thump. I must have missed.” So Goodly took aim and let go with another shot. Again, he didn’t hear any sound.
Goodly tried three times, and when he still didn’t hear a thump, he finally gave up. “That must be an ol’ rotten stump, and full of bugs,” he said to himself.
Since the stump was quite a ways off and not in the direction he was going, he decided to forget about it and went on his way.
Oh my! You can imagine what a thumping the old Widow Gotta Gossip took! Even though she got pelted twice on her back and once on her arm, she didn’t even think of moving for fear of Darkly.
After five minutes had passed with no rocks flying, she finally dared to look up. Glancing around, she didn’t see that terrible boy anywhere, so she quickly rose and scurried home.
Chapter Four
A few minutes later, Goodly arrived at Fulla Courage’s house, and noticed that Fulla was outside finishing his daily chores. He also saw Lobo, their family dog, faithfully standing at Fulla's side.
Lobo was a large German Shepherd that had a very gentle disposition and was a great companion and he usually accompanied the boys when they took walks through the woods. It was easy to see that Lobo enjoyed romping with the boys because his tail constantly wagged.
“Hi, Goodly!” Fulla said. “I am so glad you could come today! Mom just finished making the best plum pudding, and I know she’ll let us have some. Come on in!”
Fulla patted Lobo on the head, and then he and Goodly walked in the house.
Mrs. Valorie Courage was a very kind woman, and she always enjoyed seeing Goodly. It was comforting to know that her son had a friend who was such a good influence.
“Why Goodly, you’re just in time! Would you like some pudding?” asked Mrs. Courage.
“I sure would,” said Goodly. “Just a small bowl, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to ruin my dinner.”
Chapter Five
In the meantime, Widow Gotta Gossip had finally dragged herself into her house. Out of breath, she fell onto the sofa with a gasp. “Oh! How did I ever make it home in one piece? I was nearly killed!”
The more she thought about it, the worse the story got. Stirred up like a late summer storm, the widow decided she must immediately get in her buggy and head over to the Thinking place to give Mrs. Thinking a piece of her mind!
Widow Gotta went straight outside, hitched up her ol’ nag Nellie and headed down the lane to the Thinking house.
Mrs. Forever Thinking was busy cooking dinner when she heard the buggy outside. She went out on the porch to see who it was.
“Mrs. Thinking!” the old Widow shouted out sternly. Then adding a bit of drama, she slumped in her seat, put her hand to her forehead, and did her best to look very weak and panting.
Forever Thinking didn’t know what to think, so she told Darkly and Patience to wait inside while she quickly ran out to the buggy.
The Widow Gotta Gossip said, “I am here to complain about your son!” she squeaked. “That dastardly Darkly! He attempted to murder me! He shot me with his slingshot! Why, I barely made it home in one piece! You have got to do something with that cruel boy!”
Mrs. Thinking was in shock! Darkly had been home all afternoon. Whatever could the old woman be talking about? Then she wondered if the widow’s mind was failing and becoming confused. Forever knew that the Widow Gotta was getting up in years.
“I am so sorry about what happened to you, Widow Gotta, but I have to tell you that Darkly was home all afternoon working on his homework. You must be mistaken,” said Mrs. Thinking.
Widow Gotta Gossip’s voice was beginning to get higher and higher in pitch as she continued to rattle off her accusations.
“Don’t you even try defending that son of yours,” the widow scolded. “You people are the scourge of the town! Always trying to look so nice, but I know better! I haven’t let one deed go forgotten! And as the old saying goes, ‘the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree’! Your whole family is a danger to society, and I feel it is my job to let the townsfolk know all about it! Once they hear about this, they will thank me for saving the town from the likes of you and yours!”
As Mrs. Forever Thinking listened, she desperately tried to figure out what was going on. Suddenly it dawned on her that this afternoon Goodly had picked up his slingshot and taken the path through the woods to visit his friend Fulla Courage. “Oh no!” she thought to herself. “Surely he wouldn’t do something like this…would he?”
Quickly, Mrs. Forever Thinking apologized to the Widow Gotta and promised to get to the bottom of what was going on.
As the old widow drove her buggy away down the lane, Mrs. Thinking stood for a moment on the porch and pondered all that she had hea
rd. She turned to go inside and discovered Darkly and Patience peering out of the front window.
Darkly laughed and said, “Ma, I guess Goodly is getting to be a pretty good shot!” He laughed and laughed.
Mrs. Thinking sent Darkly back to his homework and asked Patience to check on the stew. Then she went straight to her bedroom and shut the door. Mrs. Thinking knew that before she panicked and let her thinking get away with her, she needed to pray and ask God for help.
Once she had finished praying, she opened her bedroom door and saw Patience waiting for her.
“Don’t worry mother,” Patience said. “Let’s just wait until Goodly gets home. I know he will have a good explanation for what happened.”
“Oh Patience, you're always such a comfort to me. Yes, we will wait patiently, and when your brother gets home, we will hear the truth of the matter,” she replied.
Although they both felt troubled, they went back to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner. Mrs. Thinking had a feeling that this was going to be a long day.
Chapter Six
After enjoying Mrs. Courage’s good pudding, Goodly and Fulla only had time for a couple games of marbles before Goodly realized that he had better start for home. He said goodbye and that he hoped they could get together again soon and started on his way.
Back home, Patience waited in the kitchen while her Ma went into the dining room to set the table. Then she heard the back door open and shut. Anxiously, she ran to see if it was Goodly.
Her Pa was standing just inside the door, hanging up his jacket. To Patience, her father was very tall, handsome and she always looked forward to seeing him.
She waited very patiently while he took off his boots, and after he had washed his hands and face, he gave her a big hug and said, “Hello my dear Patience! So tell me, what kind of day have you had?”
“Oh Pa!” she said, “An awful thing happened! Widow Gotta Gossip came over today and told Ma that Darkly had attacked her with a slingshot! But Darkly was home all afternoon, Pa! It was Goodly who was in the woods this afternoon, and he did have his slingshot with him!”