Quiet Please - The Time of the Big Snow

0:00The American Broadcasting Company presents Quiet Please, which is written and directed by Willis Cooper and which features Ernest Chantal. Quiet Please for the day is called The Time of the Big Snow. We were so small the head it was such a big snow wasn't it dear? My, wasn't it? I remember it it was the day after New Year's. It started on New Year's night. I remember we hadn't had much snow that year. We only a little Thanksgiving day. But no the day before Thanksgiving. When you were a mile standard in the exercises and I was particular and everything borrowed was brought along with the Indian. I'll never forget that. He was the fatdest Indian I ever got.

1:02I can still hear him. Now what a woman can see by the fiery eyes of the captain angry as he and his heart but the heart of the brave what a woman is not afraid of the sight. And then you handed him a bag full of bullets and he dropped them in the air. And his Indian headdress fell off. And Mrs. Mavari was so mad and then we went out and it was snowing. But I was a little bit of a snow. Not like the big one. Not a bit like the big one. I remember mama was just lighting the lamps and I looked out the window and I saw the first flakes coming down and I said oh mama the old woman's picking her geese. My grandma always used to say just that. Everybody did when it started to snow. And I remember how I wanted to go out with my new sled that I got for Christmas. And my dad wouldn't let me. There wasn't snow enough. I know it.

2:03But I was so disappointed. And I sat with a window and looked out and bowed and bowed to my dad's thank me. I had to carry in the cold. That was one time I didn't mind it because it was snowing. And it got dark so quickly. We sat by the stove after supper and mama read us what your snow bound to take. I remember you told me. The next day of the day after the New Year. And we finally got on. She was so high. Almost at the top of the fence. Mama said not to go far because it was snowing so hard. Remember? They didn't want me to go out at all. I said I'd get lost. But I said I was going to be with you. With Ted. And Ted's a big boy. He knows I think I've lost. We lived on South Fifth Street, and didn't we? The houses were kind of far apart. Kind of back from the street.

3:03There were big trees on each side of the street that almost met in the middle and kept the snow getting too deep out in the street. I dragged you along on your sled. He was my new 22 rifle I got for Christmas. There was hardly anybody on the street. Everything was so quiet. So quiet. We were in sleep, I was remembering. It was so good to have you. The male man had his gutter. There it wasn't a pretty cake. How that little frosty here. It's like queen. How queens will make the snow fly without making any noise at all. Or even the sound of the sleigh, though. We got out of his road with a different bass down past his catterol that bundled up. That was cold, too, wasn't it? We were bundled up, too. I had on my red tassel cap, I remember. You had on that little squirrel skin muffin' red mittens over. We were seven years old. So happy.

4:05There was a long time ago. And my how the snow is coming down. You can almost see it getting deeper and deeper. We could hardly tell where we were. Was that Mars' house there on the right? It was at Wolfmire's. I had this fun, wasn't it, Keith? Just the two of us alone together. And a great big white world. And then I began to get a little worried. The wind was starting to blow pretty hard. I couldn't see a thing. I turned around and called, and I said, Katie, we better turn around and go back. I said we better turn around and go back. I can't see what I'm going. Daddy, dad. No, I'm not scared. We might get lost and we'll know what. I don't want to get no spanking. Uh, you might even want to thank me. Yes, you will.

5:06She said to stay right now home. Well, where are you home? Yeah, but I don't know where. Well, thanks Mars' house. And Wolfmire's. Then there's a ballman. Then there's a ballanders and little jamsins. And Judge Currence. I don't know where I am. Are we lost? No. We ain't lost yet. But I want to know where we are. Let's go to the sidewalk and look and see. Small, awful people over there. Well, if you can't go to the sidewalk, I'll get off to the sidewalk. You can help me pull it. All right, I... Good. Nice. Is this fast? Come close. Come on, I'm helping with a split. There's a shot off. Where are you going? The sidewalk's over here. There's Mars, it's this one.

6:07There's Mars, it's got the final. Besides, you told your mother you wouldn't get lost if you was with me. Well, well, don't you get me lost. Come on, now I like this one. I'm so proud of my being a student. Mars, I don't fear a chance. I'm riding here. Come on, Mars. This is my thing. Mars, isn't it, Kay? Sure. You look up in the polar bears. Well, I'm not afraid of any little polar bears. I shoot them anyway. They feel so... What about seals? They bite. I shoot the seals too and get you a little skin cold. I don't see the sidewalks ready. See, it's right here. Where? Yeah, I'm in it.

7:08Mars is weak slow. I had bad luck. Deepest in the world. Yeah. Oh, say there's a sidewalk. No, it ain't. I told you it was that way. Come on, I know I'm going. I'm cold. You say, you're flat. You're flat, Teddy. Well, stop calling me Teddy. My name's Teddy. Oh, did you fall down? It's so big. Where are we, Teddy? Teddy? You scared? No. Come on, the sidewalks right here. No, it isn't. It's the other way. All right, let's see. There's a ride over there. See if there's no one right up in there. Then we could see.

8:10Oh, I just commented on Perry didn't need to see. I'm going. He's older and not so. You see that sidewalk? I can't see anything. I haven't been awful tired. Put your arms around me. I don't think I can walk another step. Do you want to stop and rest? No. Well, let me get to the sidewalk. All right. Hang on a minute. This way. No, you're going on. This way. And then the wind came up stronger. The snow was a solid white wall before us. Of course, it's truly worth a very small. But nevertheless, it was a deep snow and going deeper by the second. I don't know how long we wandered. But my legs were getting awfully tired. I was staggering a little. I hadn't seen the big, dragging this backward as we struggle along.

9:12And I admit that I had the intrepid explorer. And I was very close to tears. Only the thought of Kate's reaction to my tears, definitely from busting out ballin'. And then I smacked full force and there's nothing solid and I saw a million stars. Wow! What's the name? I buzzed in my head. Wow! I bumped into a dream. A dream? What a dream here. Oh. Anyway, the down the sidewalk. Now we'll see what we all have. Maybe if we knock on somebody's door, somebody else takes us home. I know. I'll get some ornic or something to meet people in the house. Yes, but where's the house? It's right up here. It needs to be right up here. Maybe we can have it. Yeah, let's go. Hey! Hey, my dear, I'm sorry.

10:12How do you know that? Let me guess some how. Well, whoever it is. Hey! No, listen. Did you hear something? I thought maybe I heard a door open. Hey! Hey! Hey! I never heard something welcome sound in all my life. Did you take? I should say now. I know that I thought a nice, great, big, red hot stove and me sitting just as close to it as I could without bursting in the flames. And steam rising up from our wet clothes. And the good smell of coffee and fresh, baked, red, coming from the kitchen. Yeah, and I thought about coffee, too. Even though my mother never let me taste it. And I thought, fine, maybe they'll have some oyster stew. Only a kind of early of a day for people to have oyster stew. That's great tonight. But maybe a cup of cocoa.

11:14There'll probably be Albert Morris or Willie Chancin there. Eat a bowl under to help drink the cocoa. Eat the oyster stew with the amany. Alright, tell you I just crashed my way through the snow throw the sound of that voice, you heard calling? Then suddenly Katie, you know, I see the hot. I see the house, Katie. Katie. Katie. I see it. Katie. Katie, whose house is it? I can't tell. Oh, here's a step. Oh, hello. Hello. There isn't anybody getting through. They were inside, so I think they're going to stay out here in the snow and they don't have too tall. Come on, come on. Come on, I can't stand you all there, do I? There wasn't any nice space. I can't stand you all there. I can't stand you all there, do I? I can't stand you all there, do I?

12:14There wasn't any nice space. There wasn't any nice big red hawk stone. There wasn't any oyster stew either. A coffee. A cocoa. There wasn't anything. The house was empty. Katie and I walked into the big bear empty room. It was almost as cold in there as there was outside. Only of course, it wasn't snowing. But now we can hear the sound of the snow on the windows. It's soft, but a padding sound. The sound you wouldn't hear ordinarily. It was loud in the beating of our hearts. And we just stood there. Katie was still sniffing. And I admit I didn't feel much like Commodore Perry. Because the house was empty, do you see? It wasn't an empty house.

13:14But anywhere on South Fifth Street. Marius, Walt Myers, Reverend Bowman, Lowlanders, Willie Janssen, and Judge Currens. But no empty house. Where are we? And I couldn't think where we are at all. I knew we weren't on South Fifth Street, but I didn't know where. It's the orders always wander in circles. And I looked around. It wasn't a thing in the room. Not a chair or a table. Not anything. But the room seemed somehow to look as if somebody lived there anyway. And I said, Katie, I don't know where we are. Maybe we better get out of here. I'm cold. Well, I always just stay a minute and try to get warm. But we better not stay in our room. I'm cold. Well, let's sit down in the corner and try to get warm. These things are in any wind. I have no one to go.

14:15I haven't slept at all. But yeah, when it's the last day, we have to go home. Maybe I'll also come looking for a yeah. Anyway, how could we find our way home again? I could find it. I found this house, didn't I? You hit yourself on a crane. And I found it, Role. Katie, put your arms around me. Why? I'm cold. But put your arms around me. I'm cold, too. Let's put our arms around each other. Well, why? I'm cold, wait. So, Role, what are you making? I'll stop at your house when we go back. Maybe your mother will give me some. I should wish we had some now. Stop thinking about it. I should wish I could. I want to go home. I'm shut up.

15:15No, I won't shut up. I want to go home. Katie, listen. You can't go home on a snowy snow. Well, it's not snowy. I don't know. When the old woman finishes picking on Jesus' phone. Oh, stop. There's somebody coming looking for us. You see, Role, Katie, you see, I'm afraid it's such a bad hand. I'm afraid it's cold. Who is it? I'll see what it is. Hello. Oh, I saw her hurt somebody calling. For the two children? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Well, you're all right now. So, stop scrolling. I'm not scrolling. I'm just cold. Huh. Well, sit down. You're cold. Are you so mad? Excuse me, ma'am. We got lost and we don't know where we are. You're in my house. Yes, ma'am.

16:15But we don't know what I mean. Is this South District? No, it isn't. Well, I really. Ha, ha. You'd be surprised, children. I want to go home. Well, you can't go home right now, Katie. So, you and Teddy might as well come along and help me with my work. Well, don't you want to? Well, what kind of work, ma'am? Why aren't picking the feathers off my geese? Well, sir, you know what? There's another room. And there were... Well, it seemed like a million white geese backed up out there. And she put us to work without another word. Did you ever pick the geese or pluck them or whatever you call them in your part of the country? Theese are also as big as yourself. The geese that didn't especially want to be plucked. I guess not. But we did. Katie and me. Didn't we, Kate? No, you certainly did.

17:16And it was so cold. But she was a nice old woman. Wasn't she, Katie? Don't call me Teddy, my name's Ted. It got dark and there wasn't much light. And we just sat there on the floor picking the geese. And the old woman talked to us so nice. Why, how nice she was. You see, if you keep working like that, you won't feel the cold so much, Katie. I do feel it, though. Well, if you stayed home like your mother wanted you to, you wouldn't have to be doing all this work. And you wouldn't be so cold. But I wanted to go out and play. I would, whether I wouldn't let anything happen to her. But you did. You got lost. Well, I wasn't afraid with Teddy. Ted, you like Teddy, don't you, Katie? Yes, now. You like her, Ted? Well, you two are going to get married when you grow up. Well, well, I was going to be a fireman.

18:17In firemen are usually home much, I guess. I don't think you want to be a fireman, Teddy. I know I wouldn't want to be one. Why? Too warm. You like cold? You bet. I don't. Hey, aren't you going to marry me when you grow up? I haven't decided. Well, you are, Teddy. I can promise you that, Katie. I know. Unless. Unless what? Unless you freeze to death. Oh. Well, I'll try not to let you freeze to death. Oh, green, red. The blind piece holds now. Well, you keep that on working. That's more geese to be picked. This is going to be known for years as the time of a big snow. I need all the help I can get. You always pick your geese on its nose? Of course. That's why it's snow. You're going to have a lot of geese. Hundreds. Thousands all over the world.

19:17Keeps me pretty busy. You don't have any geese in the aquacide that works hard. Oh, I have them there, Teddy, but they're way up high. Up on top of the mountains. There's always snow up there. Do you have lots of helpers? No. You're the first I ever had. My head is enough for a lot of feathers. You know. We need them, Katie. I tell you, though, I think we might as well get rid of this bunch. Open the window and the wind will blow them out. Can I open the window? Sure. Oh, wow. No, no, not that one. This one. The wind's from the north. Oh, this one. When the wind came reaching right in and the white feathers flew off the open window with it, Katie and I gathered up great unloads of the feathers and tossed them off the window and left the laps of the wind whirling higher here. They seemed to multiply. The air was full of white furries again in a dusthouse sign.

20:18They left some more in the old room and left the bus. That's a surprise gracious. We did that just in time, didn't we? It had pretty near stop. You know what? I bet we're the first people that ever helped us. You know, I lean there. You certainly are children, and you're doing a very good job of it. I don't know, but I'll have to call on you again to help me. Not till we get water, though. Well, I've handled it pretty well all by myself all these years, so... You've been doing it a long time now. Ever so long. Two years? Longer than that. Ten years? Twenty? Like, I've been doing it ever since. Well, just ever since. Have you got a name? Oh, yes. Would you tell us? Well, when I lived on that mountain in Greece, they used to call me the meter. I was pretty important then. Then the Indians, they called me Macommus.

21:21Macommus? Well, you're in highalapas, yeah. But of course. Where's first I get all these geese? Highalapas are fine, hunter. Why? Do you have any more names? Oh, yes. Up in the Northland, they call me Freya. And the Japanese people call me Amaratsun. Well, I've got more names than you can shake and stick that. And all I do is pluck these, or close that window, Teddy, will you? My... Oh, sure. Don't you ever get calls? This is... This is the... I'd rather be called Macommus. No, I never get calls. Yeah, I do. Well, you should have stayed home. You think I'll get a spanking when I get home? No, I don't think so, Katie. I think I could promise you you won't. Well, then, I'm glad we just get lost in some of this place. Oh, why if I don't get a looking? Yes, it's getting dark, isn't it?

22:22Yes, and I'm a scrapside and get some more geese. Have to keep working children, you know. Yes, but I'd like to go home, please. Oh, plenty of time for that, Teddy. We've got work to do. My mom always gives me a nickel if I work hard. Do you earn many nickels, Teddy? Well, not very many really. I haven't got any nickels. Yes, ma'am. And you must have guessed, you know. No, ma'am. But I'll give you something, Teddy, for all the work you did. And you two, Katie. Class. You're a pig. I'll be right back. Hmm, I am kind of scared, Teddy. I am too, Katie. What do we do? I don't know. I'm tired, too. Should I put my arms around you, Katie? Yes, please. I'm getting so sleepy, I'm so cold, Teddy. Don't go to sleep, you'll freeze. I can't help it.

23:22I have to go and sleep, Teddy. No, don't sleep, Katie. Well, you tired, I? I'm so sleepy. You two, Teddy? I'm not very sleepy. Why, you poor kids. You worked so hard. You just go to sleep. No, we're free. And no, you won't. I'll cover you up with feathers. They're so cold. And they'll be nice and warm, soft, downy warm feathers. Here. Put your head on Teddy's arm, Katie. Oh, yeah, that's it. Now, these nice, fat geese with lots and lots of nice, soft feathers. Lots and lots of nice, white feathers.

24:28Go to sleep, Teddy. And Katie. You said maybe it gives us something for all the work. Why, why, of course. I gave my little grandson gifts. Here, Teddy. Here, Katie. Now, go to sleep. Thank you. Thank you, Nicole. Kiss me, goodnight, Teddy. Wow. Why, you know.

25:30And the very last thing I remember was the feathers. How they were all star shaped and the crystal was not of all like the feathers I'd ever seen. It was almost midnight when they found this. Katie's father in mine and the blacksmith was to write an archordon of you and his brother Harry. And there wasn't any house there at all. There wasn't anything. We were buried under a huge snowbiz and it was vacant lot. It's not a hundred feet from our backyard. There wasn't any old woman either. Just two kids. And the sheep and the snow in each other's arms. You know, frozen to death after all. When they took us home, and we had our oyster stew and our cocoa, and we sat for the big stone. And then we slept.

26:30We slept. And slept. And neither one of us ever built this way out parents again. Did we kid? Hardly ever done it. But we never did tell anybody before because they wouldn't believe this. They'd have said it was a dream. But how could we both dream the same dream? And we did get married just as she said we would. And we still have got that little red clay crease pipe just like high wattage. And the little bowl and arrow, she gave it. And besides, wait a minute. Dates were the Bureau forecast for January 2, 1949. 5.30 p.m. Temperature, 30.60 degrees. Humanity, 62 percent.

27:31Marometer 29.8. Tonight, considerable snow somewhere tomorrow snow. Tuesday, more snow. All right, Teddy and Teddy, come on. We've got days to pick. The title of today is Quiet Please Story. It's the time of the big snow that was written and directed by Willis Cooper, the man who spoke to you of Ernest Tramp. And Kate was Abbey Lewis. Teddy was Sarah Puzzle. Kate, he was played by Cecil Roy. And the old woman was Vicky Boah.

28:31As you as you, Music Required Please is played by Albert Brumman. Now for a word about next week, I'll write a director with a scoop. Thank you for listening to Quiet Please. Next week I have a story for you that I call a biography of a character. And so until next week of the same time, I am quiet the yours, Ernest Chappell. Now a listening reminder. Tonight, Drew Person analyzes the news and predicts future events for the year 1940. Tonight, Drew Person analyzes the news and predicts future events for the year 1949. So be sure to hear Drew Person's exciting predictions tonight. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.