What's cooking tonight
By Lynne C.
"Mistah Cartlight. Hop Sing had enough of all this foolishment. I
go
to use oven,to make supper and what do I find inside?"
"I have no idea, Hop Sing. What did you find inside the oven?"
Ben had just returned from a tiring day out with the cattle, and was
looking forward to a relaxing evening with his boys, but it wasn't
looking likely. Little Joe was yelling at the top of his voice,
because Adam had shouted at him for taking one of his shirts, without
permission. The five year old wanted to dress like his big brother
and when no one was looking he'd taken Adam's shirt out to the barn
and put it on. By the time Adam had found out about it, Joe had worn
it to play in the yard, and it was now covered in mud and other
unmentionables, from dragging on the ground.
Hoss was no where to be seen and his chores hadn't been done and now
Hop Sing was upset about something.
"I find baby skunk in oven, that's what I find," yelled Hop Sing,
and
then he lapsed into his native tongue.
"A baby skunk?" repeated Ben. "How on earth did a skunk
find its way
into the oven?"
"You ask middle son," said Hop Sing. "Hoss ask for box.
I give him
one, then I go to storeroom for food for supper. Come back, skunk in
box, in oven."
"Surely Hoss wasn't trying to cook the animal, was he?" said
Ben,
scratching his head. "He loves all creatures, he wouldn't want to
hurt one. I know he loves his food, but that's going too far."
"Not cook, he left oven door open," said Hop Sing. "He put
skunk
there to keep warm, as he say it sick. Now I can't find boy, and I
can't cook supper, with skunk in oven."
Ben sighed.
"I will come and remove the skunk, then you can cook the supper,"
said Ben. "Then I will find Hoss and tell him not to put things in
the oven, again, unless you say he can."
Hop Sing rolled his eyes, in exasperation.
"Why would Hop Sing ever say it fine to put animal in oven? You tell
boy to keep out of Hop Sing's kitchen, or Hop Sing no longer cook for
boy."
"All right, I will," said Ben, and he went into the kitchen,
to
remove the offending creature.
However, the skunk was obviously feeling better and had climbed out
of the box and was now walking around the kitchen. Ben tried to catch
it, but was having no success, and as he grabbed for it, the animal
sprayed its noxious liquid straight at him. He blindly grabbed at the
first thing that came to hand and wiped his face on it.
It turned out to be Adam's shirt, which he had removed from Joe and
left in the kitchen for Hop Sing to wash.
Ben then threw the shirt over the skunk and managed to pick it up and
take it outside. He took it well away from the house and let it go
and then returned to the yard to try and get rid of the horrible
smell from his hands and face.
As he was doing so, Hoss arrived to find his family in an uproar.
Adam had found his shirt out in the yard, again, and it was now
smelling even worse than it had when he'd taken it off Joe. Hop Sing
was still muttering about 'foolish boys and ovens', Joe was still
complaining that Adam had hurt his arm when he'd pulled the shirt off
him and Ben's face and hands were red raw from all the scrubbing that
he'd undergone to remove the odour of skunk.
Hoss decided that now was not the time for the family to see him and
he turned round and headed back the way he came. He had been to catch
some fish for supper, so he cooked a couple for himself, out by the
lake. He had the distinct feeling that there wasn't going to be
anything cooking in Hop Sing's kitchen that night.
The End