The American School of the Air

Tales from Far and Near: Blue Willow

Date: Nov 27 1941


<span style="text-decoration: underline">CAST</span>:<br />
JANEY LARKIN, about eleven years old<br />
JIM LARKIN, her father<br />
MRS. LARKIN, her mother<br />
LUPE ROMERO, Janey's Mexican friend, about ten years old<br />
BOUNCE REYBURN, employee of Nils Anderson<br />
NILS ANDERSON, owner of ranch<br />
MRS. ANDERSON, his wife (double for Mrs. Larkin)<br />
DOCTOR PEIRCE, gruff but kindly doctor<br />
ANNOUNCERANNOUNCER: This is Columbia's School of the Air of the Americas, bringing to the nations of the Western Hemisphere its Thursday series, "Tales from Far and Near." Today's story, "Blue Willow," written by Doris Gates, takes us to the cotton belt of the United States. It is the story of Janey Larkin.

MUSIC: Theme

ANNOUNCER: Janey Larkin paused on the top step of the board shack and looked down at her shadow. It was hot, so terribly hot that when Janey cupped her hands and blew into her sweaty palms, her warm breath seemed cooler than the air she was breathing. Across the road was another shack. Already Janey had learned that a Mexican family named Romero lived there. Suddenly Janey's sagging shoulders straightened a little, and a bright, expectant look widened her blue eyes. A little girl with a baby in her arms had just come out of the Romero house and was now starting across the road toward the Larkin shack.

SOUND: Fade in summer insect noises: up and down to back.

LUPE: (Off) Hullo.

JANEY: Hullo.

LUPE: (Coming nearer but not on) My name is Lupe Romero. This is Betty.

JANEY: I'm Janey Larkin. Why don't you sit down?

LUPE: (Coming on) It's sure hot, isn't it?

JANEY: Yes. Awful hot.

LUPE: I saw you when you got here this morning. How long are you going to stay?

JANEY: As long as we can.

LUPE: Did they say you could move into this shack?

JANEY: No. Dad said it didn't look as if anyone had stayed here for a long time; so we thought maybe it wouldn't matter if we did. How long have you lived over there?

LUPE: A little over a year.

JANEY: Have you been staying in that place for a whole year?

LUPE: Sure. Where did you come from?

JANEY: Do you mean in the beginning or just lately?

LUPE: I mean where did you stay last before you came here?

JANEY: We camped down by Porterville last night. Dad came up here to work in the cotton.

LUPE: Have you any brothers or sisters?

JANEY: No ... but I don't care ... much.

LUPE: I have a brother. And, of course, Betty. It is a good thing to have brothers and sisters. It is too bad you have none.

JANEY: I have a willow plate. A willow plate is better than brothers ...or sisters ...or anything.

LUPE: You mean a plate made of willows? I have not heard of that before.

JANEY: Come inside. I'll show it to you.

SOUND: Take murmur of insects down.

JANEY: Mom, this is Lupe Romero, and her sister, Betty.

MOM: There's quite a family of you Romeros, isn't there? How old is the baby?

LUPE: Six months. I'm the oldest. I'm ten.

MOM: Janey's all the child we've got, and she's a runty little thing, skinny as a June shad. It's moving about from pillar to post does it. 'Tisn't any way to raise a young one, but a family's got to live somehow.

JANEY: I brought Lupe in to show her the willow plate, Mom.

MOM: I been washing the clothes, Janey. You can hang these things over the fence pretty soon.

JANEY: Do you want me to hang out the clothes right now, or can I show Lupe the plate first?

MOM: Not now. I'll save the last tub of suds for scrubbing up, and I'll rinse after that. Then they'll be ready to hang out.

JANEY: All right, Mom. Lupe, you and Betty sit over there. We just got here this morning, and I've got to get the plate out of our suitcase.... Let's see ... yes, I remember. It's wrapped up in this folded thing.... I've got it... There!

LUPE: (Doubtful) It's ... it's pretty, Janey. But why does it have such funny-looking houses and people on it?

JANEY: They all mean something. You see, the plate has a story, about a rich man in China and his beautiful daughter.

LUPE: What sort of trees are these on the plate?

JANEY: Willows. That's why it's called a willow plate. There's a river under them. See?

LUPE: There's a river a mile away from here with willows. But they're not like the willows on this plate.

JANEY: Where is your river?

LUPE: Over there. You can see through the window.

JANEY: Yes ... (Dreamy) ... yes. And I can see the willows. From here they're exactly the same. They're even blue, like the plate. Maybe there's a little arched bridge near them, too.

LUPE: Yes, there's a bridge where the highway crosses the river; only it hasn't got any arch.

JANEY: Can't you ever make believe about things? I don't mean an old highway bridge. I mean a little bridge with a house by it, like the one in the plate.

MOM: (Off) You can hang these clothes out along the fence now, Janey.

JANEY: I've got to go, Lupe.

LUPE: Yes, I know. I'd help you, Janey; only if I put Betty down, she'll start to cry.

JANEY: That's all right.

LUPE: Come over to my house when you get through. (Going off mike) The plate is real pretty, and I hope you stay here a long time.

JANEY: (Calling) Thanks, Lupe, I hope we stay here, too.

MUSIC: Bridge into

SOUND: Old Model T chugging up to door. Kill.

JANEY: It's Dad, Mom.

DAD: (Off mike) Hi, young one!

JANEY: It's been a long time since you went away, Dad.

DAD: Yeah? ... Here, take these parcels in to your mother while I lift out the cushion on the back seat.... (Grunts.... Steps....)

DAD: (On cue) Hullo, Mom. Where do you want this car cushion for Janey's bed?

MOM: Doesn't matter now. When Janey goes to bed, we'll put it across one of the doors. It'll be cooler.

JANEY: What about the job, Dad? Will it last very long?

DAD: Can't say exactly. More than likely, though. We'll keep on irrigating for a while, and when picking starts, I can't see any reason why I shouldn't get in on that too. You never come to the end of work in a cotton patch, Janey.

SOUND: Car approaching to stop in background

JANEY: There's another car, Dad. And someone's getting out.

DAD: Yeah.... Coming here, too.

BOUNCE: (Coming on) Hullo, buddy.... When did you move in?

DAD: Something I can do for you?

BOUNCE: I'll say there is. You can just hand over five dollars a month rent for this shack. Rent starting from the day you moved in, whenever that was.

DAD: We got here this morning.

BOUNCE: Yeah.... Well, I guess we'll let it go at that. I was out here a couple of days ago, and there wasn't nobody here.

SOUND: Clink of coins

DAD: Here's your money, and I'll take a receipt.

BOUNCE: That ain't necessary, buddy. I'm Bounce Reyburn. Everybody knows me around here.

DAD: Just the same, I'll take a receipt from you, or you won't take any money from me.

BOUNCE: O.K.... Give me a scrap of paper, somebody, and I'll put my John Henry on it.

DAD: D'you own this place?

BOUNCE: No, but I've got a stake in it. I'm Anderson's foreman, and he owns all the land from here to the river. But what I say goes; so don't you be running to him and squawking. It won't get you nowhere.... (Going off) Well, be seeing you around.... So long.

MUSIC: Bridge

ANNOUNCER: Not long after the Larkins had moved into the little shack which was their home, Mr. Larkin proposed a day's fishing ... by the willows which grew along the river, which Janey said were like the willows on her plate. It was hot that afternoon...so, after fishing and while Mom and Dad were resting, Janey went exploring ... across the bridge and up to a little house which stood on the other side, (Fading) the little house which Janey had dreamed was the one on her blue willow plate.

BOUNCE: (Off) Hey ... what are you doing here?

JANEY: Hullo. Is this where you live?

BOUNCE: (Coming on) I said, what are you doing here?

JANEY: Nothing special. I'm just spying out the land.

BOUNCE: Oh, so you admit you're spying, eh?

JANEY: Yes.

BOUNCE: Well, it's a good thing I found you before you got to the henhouse. Now get off the place and stay off it, if you know what's good for you. We don't want people snooping around here.

JANEY: (Getting angry) D'you mean, you thought I'd steal? Don't you dare call me a thief.... Don't you dare.

SOUND: Sneak hoofs riding up to mike under

BOUNCE: Never mind the play acting. You heard me. Get!

JANEY: I won't. Not till you tell me you're sorry you called me a thief. I hate you.

SOUND: Hoofs stop.

ANDERSON: (Just off) What's going on here, Bounce?

BOUNCE: Some of this cotton trash hanging around looking for what they can pick up. I told her to get, and she just about had a fit.

JANEY: I'm not a thief. And I'll fight anybody that says I am. Even you!

ANDERSON: I don't blame you. Nobody wants to be called that. Where do you live?

JANEY: Over there.

ANDERSON: Did you come here all alone?

JANEY: No. Dad and Mom are asleep on the riverbank. We came to fish. I caught the first one.

ANDERSON: What's your name?

JANEY: Janey Larkin. What's yours?

ANDERSON: Nils Anderson.

JANEY: Why ... why, then you're the one ... (Breaking off)

ANDERSON: What were you going to say?

JANEY: (Dully) Only that you're the one who owns all this land around here.

ANDERSON: Bounce, I think we ought to square ourselves with Janey for hurting her feelings. Do you think, Janey, you would feel a little better about things if Bounce gave you a paper bag, escorted you to the henhouse, and let you choose a dozen eggs to take away with you?

JANEY: (Thinking) For me?... Yes... thank you, Mr. Anderson. I'll take the eggs; but, if you'll tell me where the henhouse is, I'd rather go for them alone.

BOUNCE: (Snickers) Don't get your hopes up, kid. It won't be a very big bag.

ANDERSON: Bounce, that's enough of that kind of talk. You know a lot more about cattle than you do about people. There's something in this child's ancestry you couldn't even begin to understand. Let her help herself. (Going off) Good-by, Janey.

SOUND: Hoofs trotting out

MUSIC: Bridge

ANNOUNCER: So Janey spied out the land and returned to Dad and Mom with a dozen fresh and cream-colored eggs. And the summer days sped by. A month passed, and Bounce Reyburn came to collect five dollars. Dad worked steadily in the fields, and things didn't go too badly, until December, when the sun suddenly vanished entirely ... and Mom caught a severe cold. Each day she grew steadily worse. And then came the morning when she didn't bother to get up, and Janey cooked breakfast for Dad, who had to work as usual because the Larkins needed the money. During the long, lonely morning, Lupe came to call. (Fading) She had heard that her friend Janey was in trouble....

SOUND: Knocking on door

JANEY: Come in.

SOUND: Door opens and closes.

LUPE: Hullo, Janey. What is the trouble?

JANEY: It's Mom. She's awful sick.

LUPE: You should call Dr. Peirce. He has an office in the town. He'd come if you sent for him.

MOM: It'd take money to pay him, and we haven't any to spare. I'll be all right if I just keep in close for a few days.

JANEY: (Sudden thought) I know ... I can get him. I know how I can do it. (Going off) Lupe, you stay here with Mom until I get back. I'm going for the doctor.

MUSIC: Bridge

DR. PEIRCE: (Gruff but kindly) Come in ... come in. Don't stand in my waiting room. I'm busy. Who's sick?

JANEY: Are you Dr. Peirce?

PEIRCE: Yes. Come on, tell me quickly. What's the matter?

JANEY: It's my mother. And she didn't want you to come and see her, because we haven't much money left and the cotton is nearly all gone, but I brought you the willow plate. (Deep breath)

PEIRCE: Never mind the plate just now. How long has she been sick?

JANEY: She's had a cold three days.

PEIRCE: Good heavens! Pneumonia probably by now. Well, come along. Let's get in my car. Standing around here isn't doing her any good.

JANEY: But the plate. Don't you want it?

PEIRCE: No. I do not. Come on. Hurry.

MUSIC: Bridge into

SOUND: Car driving up to stop. Steps, and door opens and shuts.

PEIRCE: I'm Dr. Peirce. You Mr. Larkin?

DAD: Yes. It began to rain, so we had to quit
work.

PEIRCE: Never mind that now. Your daughter came for me. Let me look at your wife.... H'm.... Here, put this in your mouth.

JANEY: I went for him, Dad. I thought perhaps he'd come if I took him the willow plate ... because I knew we hadn't any money. And he won't take the willow plate.

DAD: That's all right, Janey. You did right. And I guess we can make out to pay him.

PEIRCE: M'm.... Here, one of you.

JANEY: Do you want something, Dr. Peirce?

PEIRCE: Your mother's very sick. Very sick indeed. See these pills? One every two hours. Now before I go, I'll make her as comfortable as I can. And I'll come back again this evening. You understand?

JANEY: Yes, Dr. Peirce.

DAD: Doctor... Doctor, you don't, you don't think maybe... Well, I mean, Mom is not going...

PEIRCE: I don't know. I can't tell yet. But I'll save her if I can.

SOUND: Clink of coins

PEIRCE: (On cue) What's that you're getting out of that purse?

DAD: Why, I guess, Doctor, we can make out to pay what we owe.

PEIRCE: Keep it for medicine. (Going off) I'll be back tonight.

SOUND: Off. Door opens and closes.

MUSIC: Bridge

DAD: Well, Janey, your mother is better today.

JANEY: Oh, Dad!... Mom, you're going to get well, aren't you?

MOM: (Weak) Certainly I am.

JANEY: Oh, Mom! ... She will, Dad. I know she will.

DAD: Yes, Janey, I guess you're right. When Mom says something in that tone of voice, she usually means it. But she's awful weak. We'll have to look after her.

SOUND: Door opens and closes off.

JANEY. (Fearful) Dad ... Dad, it's Bounce ... Bounce Reyburn.

BOUNCE: She sick?

DAD: Yes.

BOUNCE: Heard she was. That's tough. Well, I guess you know why I'm here.

DAD: Yes.

BOUNCE: Well, let's have it.

DAD: Sorry, Reyburn. I can't pay you anything this month. We would have been out of here this week if my wife hadn't got sick. She can't start traveling again for some time. Cotton-picking is over, and I don't know whether I'll be able to find any other work. I've got to keep what little I have left for food. As far as this shack is concerned, it isn't worth the rent you're asking. And if we moved out, nobody'd live in it again this winter, and you know it.

BOUNCE: So that's the way you feel about it, hey? Listen, buddy, there's no use whining about your hard luck to me. It's either pay up or get out. See?

DAD: Well, get this and get it straight. I'm not paying up, and I'm not moving out. And what would you like to do about it?

PAUSE: Two beats

MOM: (Off mike, very tired and weak) Pay him and get rid of him. Don't fight, Dad. Fighting will only get us all into trouble. He could have you arrested, Jim. And then where would we be? You haven't got a chance.

DAD: I won't pay him. Right's right, and wrong's wrong.

JANEY: Dad... Dad, wait. (Going off mike) I've thought of something. (Pause. Coming back on) Here.... We'll pay the rent with this.

MOM: No.... No, Janey. Not with the plate.

BOUNCE: What do I want with an old dish?

JANEY: (Shaking) It's so pretty.... It ... it must be worth five dollars. Besides, it's the only thing we have left.

BOUNCE: What's that? The only thing you have left? ... You set quite a store by this, don't you?

JANEY: (Flat) Yes.

BOUNCE: O.K. It's a deal. Here's your receipt for the rent. (Going off) I brought it along this time, since you always ask.

SOUND: Door opens and closes. (Two beats dead air)

MOM: That was a brave thing you did, Janey. You shouldn't have had to do it.

JANEY: It was just an old plate, Mom.

MOM: I know what it meant to you. I've known all the time. You shouldn't have had to give it up.

MUSIC: Bridge

ANNOUNCER: It was not many weeks later when Dad came home one afternoon and announced quietly, "We'll be on our way tomorrow." Janey knew what that meant. Tomorrow she would be going away from Lupe, away from the little shack that had been home, away from the willow plate. On that last afternoon, with everything packed and ready to put into the car, Janey came to a sudden decision. She couldn't leave without one more look at the willow plate. Neither Mom nor Dad paid any attention to her when she put on her coat and slipped outdoors. So, in the winter cold, alone, she walked to the ranch house, the house where Mr. Anderson lived, the man to whom Bounce Reyburn said he turned over the rent.

SOUND: Fade in knocking on door. (Pause) Door opens.

MRS. ANDERSON: What do you want?

JANEY: I want to talk to Mr. Anderson, please.

MRS. ANDERSON: Won't you come in?

SOUND: Door closes.

MRS. ANDERSON: (Calling) Someone to see you, Nils.

ANDERSON: (Off) Hullo, won't you sit down and tell me what I can do for you?

JANEY: I guess you won't remember me. I'm Janey Larkin, and once I came here to this place, and Bounce and I quarreled, and you came along and said I could have a dozen eggs.

ANDERSON: Of course! This is the little girl I was telling you about, Mother. Janey, this is Mrs. Anderson.

JANEY: Pleased to meet you.

MRS. ANDERSON: You and Bounce haven't had any more difficulty have you, Janey?

JANEY: No. I've come to tell the willow plate good-by. We're going away tomorrow, and I just couldn't bear to go without seeing it once more.

ANDERSON: (Vague) The willow plate? What willow plate?

JANEY: Oh, my willow plate. Didn't I tell you about it that day I was here? And Bounce took it a while ago for the rent.

ANDERSON: Bounce! What's Bounce got to do with all this?

JANEY: Why, Bounce is the one who collects your rent for you. We didn't have the money last time, so we gave him the willow plate instead.

ANDERSON: What? Bounce collecting my rent for that shack? Why didn't you come to me before, Janey?

JANEY: There was no reason to come, Mr. Anderson. I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't wanted to see the willow plate once more.

ANDERSON: Well, you see, Janey, I didn't know anything about the rent. Whatever money Bounce got from you, he kept. I have never seen the willow plate.... (Pause. Then, grimly) But I intend to see it very soon.

MRS. ANDERSON: Nils, I think you had better go and talk to Mr. Larkin.

ANDERSON: I'm going to. Janey, I think the plate will have to wait a little while. I want to talk to your father before I talk to Bounce. (Pause, then) Janey, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if you stayed right here tomorrow.

JANEY: (Overjoyed) Honest?

ANDERSON: (Chuckling) You're a funny little thing.... Come on, let's find my car.

MUSIC: Bridge into

DAD: (Fading in) It's been a long time since we've had a home of our own, Mr. Anderson, a long time. And what I've told you is the whole story. And the truth. (In full) Of course, when we got here this summer, I guess we shouldn't have moved into this shack the way we did; but you forget about such fine points when you live as we do.

ANDERSON: (Impatient) Of course you should have done it. You're not the first family to occupy this shack. It has no value except to people like you, and anyone has been welcome to use it who wanted to. As far as that goes, I knew somebody was in it this fall because I saw you around here when I came over this way, and I had no objections to your staying. Of course I'd no idea of what Bounce was up to. He's probably been grafting on everyone who moved in here.

DAD: Yeah... well, that's about all my story.

ANDERSON: H'm.... Larkin, I've been thinking. My mind was pretty much made up when I started over here with Janey. Now I know, especially after what you tell me about having run a farm till the depression came. I'm letting Bounce go tomorrow. I'll need a man in his place. The job is yours if you want it. Seventy-five dollars a month, a house, and all the eggs and milk you can use.

DAD: You mean ... for me? You're offering that to me?

ANDERSON: If you'll take it. If you want it.

DAD: Why ... why, Mr. Anderson ... (Close to breaking down) ... Why, we were going to leave tomorrow ... why....

ANDERSON: Take it easy there, Larkin. You deserve a break, and I'm glad I can give it to you. I'll expect you to move in tomorrow. (Going off) Good-by, Janey. You talk to me some more about that willow plate when you move in.

SOUND: Door opens and closes.

MOM: Dad... I've got something to say to you now he's gone. What he said was the truth. You do deserve a break. I'm glad it's come.

DAD: Come here, Janey. Mom, I guess we have this little girl to thank for it.

MOM: (After short pause) We should give thanks to that Power which is greater than Janey, greater than all of us. But Janey, child, we do thank you too.... I guess you know how we feel.

MUSIC: Bridge

ANDERSON: Like it, Janey? Will it suit you?

JANEY: Oh, Mr. Anderson ... is this to be our house? Really and truly ours?

ANDERSON: Really and truly yours, Janey. And look, through this door.

SOUND: Door opens.

JANEY: It's a fireplace. A fireplace just for us.

DAD: See what's above it, Janey.

JANEY: Oh ... my willow plate.... Lupe ... Lupe, come here.

ANDERSON: Who's Lupe?

JANEY: She lives across from the shack. I told Dad she had to come to see our new house. She's my friend.

ANDERSON: Then, of course, she had to come.

LUPE: (Coming on) Janey, it's a beautiful house. I have been looking....

JANEY: (Cutting in) Look, Lupe. On the mantelpiece. See? My willow plate.

MOM: Janey, I hope you'll never have to be without that plate again.

JANEY: Mr. Anderson, how long ... I mean ... well ...

ANDERSON: What is it, Janey?

JANEY: How long can we stay? Here? In this new house?

ANDERSON: I have a very special answer for you to that question. Just as long as you want to, Janey. As long as you want to.

JANEY: (Fierce) Lupe, ask me how long we can stay.

LUPE: He just told you.

JANEY: That doesn't make any difference. Ask me. I want you to.

LUPE: Well ... all right. How long are you going to stay?

JANEY: (Thoughtful and thinking what it means) As long as we want to, Lupe. As long as we want to.

MUSIC: Finale

ANNOUNCER: You have been listening to "Tales from Far and Near," a program brought to you each week at this time by Columbia's School of the Air of the Americas in co-operation with the National Education Association and the Association for Arts in Childhood. Today's story, "Blue Willow," written by Doris Gates, was adapted for radio by A. Murray Dyer and produced under the direction of Nila Mack. Niles Welch speaking. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.

MUSIC: --fade theme 20 seconds--

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