by Paula Love

Created on: November 17, 2009

"Dad! Dad!" The turkey poult squawked, "Will you tell us a story before bedtime?"

"Don't I always tell you a story before bedtime, Tommy?" Father Turkey replied.

"Yeah, but we're getting too old for Mother Goose stories," Tommy said.

"Besides, we're turkeys," Timmy chimed in. "We don't want to hear goose stories, we want to hear turkey stories!"

"Tell us something SCARY!" Teddy said, wide-eyed. "Tell us a THANKSGIVING story!"

"Are you sure? I don't think you're old enough to hear a Thanksgiving story right before bed." Father teased.

"PLEASE!" the brothers pleaded in unison.

"Okay," Father relented, "but only after you brush your beaks and peck Mother goodnight."

As soon as the boys were cozy in their nests, Father began.

"Once upon a time, gigantic creatures known as humans ruled the earth. There were many different kinds of humans, of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they were everywhere!

"Your thirty-sixth-great-grandfather, Tobias, lived at the same time as the humans. Back in those days turkeys lived in the wild or on spacious communes where there were plenty of trees in which to roost."

"Our ancestors slept in trees?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"Yes Tommy. They didn't have houses back then. They didn't have pants either, if you can imagine!"

"No pants?" The boys blushed and cackled. Father smiled and waited for their snickers to subside before continuing.

"Tobias began to notice a disturbing pattern. Every year just after the fall harvest, some of his friends would go missing and never return. One year Tobias got it in his mind that he was going to get to the bottom of things. He stayed up all night watching the flock and listening for anything out of the ordinary.

"He was just about to give up and doze off when he heard something in the distance." The boys had grown quiet and were listening intently. Father lowered his voice and the boys leaned closer. "Old Tobias went off to investigate while the rest of the turkeys slept, unaware of what was about to transpire.

"Tobias, like most turkeys, had a keen sense of hearing. He let his ears lead the way. The sun was up now, and he was beginning to think he had imagined the noise. Just as Tobias was about to return to the flock, he came to a clearing and found himself next to a giant human dwelling. He knew nothing good could come from being amongst these beasts, but he had to uncover the mystery."

The three brothers waited with trembling beaks for Father to carry on.

"Tobias crept silently towards the dwelling

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