by Francis Jock

Created on: November 19, 2011

One day, just after the corn, potatoes and turnips were brought in and stored carefully away for the coming winter, Mrs. Dean said to her son, Henry, "We need to clean up the tools and put them away until spring. Go find Uncle Pete and see if he's got time to clean-up the garden tools for us."

Henry Dean knew that putting away the tools was an important job that had to be done every year after the fall harvest was in. Hoes couldn't be allowed to rust and become dull; shovels needed to be sharpened and oiled,  potato diggers had to be washed and dried. There were other gardening tools that needed caring for as well, some that needed honing on the sharpening stone, some that needed straightening, and others that needed new handles or a bit of tightening.

"I'll be back in a little while, just as soon as I find Uncle Pete," Henry replied. "He's probably hunting squirrels or coons up on hill where the maples trees are."

Henry grabbed his hunting hat, his father's Remington .22 Model 6, and whistled for Oak, the family's best rabbit hunting beagle, to join him.

"Com'on, Oak," said Henry, "Let's go hunting," at which Oak wagged, barked, and scooted off to lead the way, which is something beagles always do.

It was nearly sunset when Henry and Oak arrived at the maple tree covered hill, but Uncle Pete wasn't there. The trees were all aglow in their fall dress of red, yellow and orange, and the only sounds came from a few squirrels scurrying around, keeping a careful eye on the intruders.

Henry sat down on a stump and listened carefully to the voices in the wind for any sign of Uncle Pete. Oak busied himself with sniffing suspicious leaf piles, stumps and trails for anything that remotely smelled like rabbit, his favorite critter to chase until the cows come home in the morning.

Finally, after sitting for a very long time and listening carefully for any rustle of leaves revealing something approaching, Henry heard a soft whistle wisp into his right ear. It was Uncle Pete letting him know that he knew Henry was there and he was glad to see him. Looking around, Henry smiled broadly as Uncle Pete noiselessly stepped out from behind a thick-branched maple tree.

"What's up, Henry?" asked Uncle Pete speaking softly, not to scare off any critters that might be watching from a distance.

"Mom wants to know if you've got time to come home and help put up the garden tools for the winter."

"Hmm," Uncle Pete paused and thinking a bit about the invitation before replying. "Don't you think

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