Voices in the Woods
by
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He lay awake until he was struck with a sudden, vivid memory. There was a small brook that ran through the field. He remembered that when he went with his family to visit Mr. Silverman, the brook cut softly across his back yard, and they had even washed the fuzz from their peaches in its cool, running water before eating them. If he walked all the way to the end of his own family's property, he could hear the water running a couple of yards away. He knew well where the brook was, and if he got lost between the corn stalks, he could just direct his steps toward the sound of the trickling water, which he was sure must eventually make its way to poor, old, kind Mr. Silverman's yard.
He couldn't wait until morning, so he got up out of his bed, changed back into the same clothes he had been wearing all day, and snuck outside into the night air. He stopped off at the woodshed and took the lantern that was always hanging on a nail. Behind a loose plank in the floor was a crumbled up book of matches that his father had stashed. Frankie knew he could get in big trouble for this, especially since his father was always warning him about playing with matches. But he decided it would be okay just this once since he wasn't really planning to play with them.
As he walked past the doghouse, he tried not to make any noise, but when he was almost out of sight, the dog began to bark loudly. Frankie knew that the only way to keep the dog from waking up his parents was to let the dog off of his chain. He actually felt more courageous with the dog by his side and decided that it was a good idea for boys his age to go on adventures with their dogs.
So off they crept to the end of their pasture, and then stood silently for a moment and listened for the sound of the water running gently over the rocks. "Shhh...listen," whispered Frankie to the dog, who sat for a moment and then bounded straight ahead into the stalks of corn. Frankie followed closely behind, gripping tightly to the dog's tail with one hand and holding the lantern in the other. An instant later, Frankie was standing beneath a thick row of trees which grew on either side of the brook, and the dog had his face down in the water, lapping loudly and gulping as if he had not had anything to drink all day. Frankie remembered suddenly that he had neglected to fill the poor dog's bowl with fresh water that morning.
"I'm sorry, boy," he said, stroking the dog's head. The dog looked up at Frankie and then licked his face, and they began walking along the edge of the brook in the direction that Frankie thought he remembered the house to be.
They walked along in silence except for the occasional sound of a branch cracking beneath Frankie's careful footsteps, or the sound of the water flowing and trickling along with them. Once, an owl swooped down and displayed his enormous wings. For a moment, Frankie thought it was a flying dragon, but then he remembered that such creatures don't actually exist.
They continued traveling a short distance, when both the boy and the dog stopped in their tracks, thinking they heard a faint whispering sound. The dog pointed his ears forward, and Frankie, lowering his voice, said, "Shhh... what is it, boy?" The dog remained silent and then let out a low, grumbling growl. The strange sound floated louder into their ears, and as they took a few steps forward, they could hear voices humming to their left through the trees. Someone was singing out there in the woods.
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About the Book
Voices In The Woods won first prize in the 2002 Maryland Writer's Association/1stbooks.com book contest. It is the story of a boy who ventures into the woods with his dog in search of the small, old house he remembers visiting when he was very young. Instead, he stumbles upon a herd of beautiful silver and white horses. He and the dog befriend them, especially the largest stallion, and learn of the interesting connection between the horses and the old man who once lived in the very house that the boy is seeking. The three join together and continue on in their search, discovering some fascinating things and in the meantime forging a lasting friendship.
The story combines adventure, mystery, and a dash of humor. The setting is reminiscent of the surroundings of the author's own childhood and her endless wanderings through the woods. The story has a dreamlike quality that will stamp an indelible image on the child's memory, something that they will want to read again, and something that they will recall vividly for years to come.
The author is in the process of illustrating this story herself and will eventually have it available in paperback and hardback.
About the Author
One of eleven children, Christine Fino began her life as Christine Marie Coyne on a small farm in the once-rural town of Elkridge, Maryland. Her fascination with nature, the woods, and all of its shadowy creatures serves as the earliest inspiration for her writing. She graduated in 1995 from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Writing. In 1994, she had a story published in Catholic Family magazine. She is this year's winner of the Maryland Writer's Association book contest, with Voices in the Woods placing first in the Children's Book category. Christine and her husband, Jack, reside in Pasadena, Maryland, with their four children, ages 5 and under.