CHAPTER 10 — BEFORE THE MOUNTAINS

“Gosh, I’m beat!” Tammy exclaimed, throwing herself down on a thick carpet of cool, green grass. Tammy, Tommy, Red and Choosy Chicken had been walking for hours through hilly countryside, stopping only briefly for lunch at a small farmhouse.
“I’m worn out, too.” Tommy yawned and he stretched out nearby. Red flopped down between the two of them, resting his head on his front paws. “Is it my imagination, or are these hills getting steeper?” Tommy asked.
“Well, if you’re imagining it, then so am I,” said Tammy. “We’re headed straight for those mountains up ahead.”
Tommy stared at the jagged peaks which had been looming larger and larger all afternoon. Even in the bright sunlight the mountains looked dark and forbidding.

“Do we have to stay on this path?” Tommy asked plaintively, turning to Choosy Chicken, who nodded in reply. “Isn’t there a shorter way?” she added. “If we don’t get home pretty soon, Grandma’s really going to be worried.”
“I’m sorry,” said Choosy Chicken, “but this is the path you chose. Don’t forget, you’re still in the Land of Choice. Once you’ve made a choice here, you have to take the consequences.”
“But we’ve never climbed any mountains before,” Tammy protested. “We don’t know how.”
“You’ll learn,” said Choosy Chicken calmly.
“But we have no equipment,” said Tommy. “Don’t we need boots, ropes, and. . .?”
“You’ll have everything you need,” was Choosy Chicken’s unruffled reply. “Now, I think you’d better take a short rest, children. You’ll need all your strength for the effort ahead.”
The twins fell silent for many minutes, their thoughts churning in a troubled way. The sun began slipping behind the tallest peak. Tommy watched as a deep finger of shadow formed and widened and slowly crept down the face of the mountain. He shivered and jumped to his feet.
“Come on, Tammy, Red,” urged Tommy. “It’ll be dark before too long. We’d better get going.”
“Yeah, I guess we’d better,” agreed Tammy reluctantly, and she stood up and brushed bits of grass off her jeans. Red thrust his soft, furry body between the twins, whining and nuzzling each of them as if to reassure them with his contact.
Choosy Chicken gave a little cluck, “Don’t worry, children,” she said kindly. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“There aren’t any wild animals in the mountains, then?” Tommy asked.
Choosy Chicken laughed, a merry clicking noise that sounded like marbles rolling together. “Wild animals!” she exclaimed. “Gracious, no. You might meet a few strange creatures, but about the wildest animal you’ll find in these parts is Red.”
On hearing his name, the big dog raised his head and licked Tommy’s cheek with a slurpy, wet tongue.
“Cut that out!” Tommy scolded, as he pulled up his shirtsleeve to scrub his face. But he couldn’t hold back a laugh. The others laughed too, and they all relaxed.
“Do those mountains have a name?” asked Tammy after they had walked halfway up a rather steep foothill.
“Oh, yes, indeed,” said Choosy Chicken breathlessly, as she leaned against an outcropping of rock and fanned herself with her wing. “Those are the CREST mountains. And if you look at them very closely for a few moments, I think you’ll be able to tell why.”
Shading their eyes against the late afternoon sun, the twins stared at the peaks and crags that rose before them.
“Oh, look!” cried Tommy. “I see something! That forest on the first slope — it’s shaped like the letter C.”
“And there’s the letter R!” Tammy said excitedly. “That rock formation on the next peak — doesn’t that look sort of like an R? And I see an E on the next mountain, and the next one has an S, formed by that waterfall.”
Tommy nodded with each statement, then said, “Oh, and look at the crevices on that last mountain. They look a lot like a T and a W.”
Tammy turned to Choosy Chicken and suddenly Choosy’s odd tail — those five enormous feathers with the fancy letters written on them —began to pulsate with a changing rainbow of light.
“Oh!” Tammy’s eyes widened. “Those letters on your tail — they’re the same as the ones on the mountains!”
“Exactly,” said Choosy Chicken obviously pleased, then she preened her feathers.
“But what do they mean — those letters?” asked Tommy, scowling.
“Well, before you can go over each mountain, you’ll have to make certain kinds of choices,” explained the tall, colorful creature patiently.
“The first mountain is Mount Caring — that’s what the C stands for. Before leaving there, you must show you know how to make Caring choices.”
Tammy scratched her head and asked, “What are those — Caring choices?”
“Oh, you'll learn soon enough when we get there and begin our climb."
“How about the R?” asked Tommy, glancing up toward the second mountain, whose jutting rocks did indeed look like that letter. “What does it stand for?” he inquired.
“Ruling,” replied Choosy Chicken. “And the E stands for Enjoying, the S for Sorrowing, and the T and W for Thinking/Working,” she said as she pointed toward each of the mountains in turn.
“Are those all different kinds of choices?” Tammy wondered aloud.
“And are there really that many different kinds of choices?” asked Tommy, before Choosy Chicken could reply.
“Oh, yes, indeed,” she said, nodding solemnly. “And those five include almost every choice you ever make.” Then she added in a quiet voice that the twins had to strain to hear, “If you know how to make each of those choices really well, it can help you solve lots of problems, and get along well with others.”
“I don’t understand,” said Tommy, his forehead knotted in a deep scowl.
Choosy Chicken clucked sympathetically and patted Tommy on the shoulder with her wingtip.
“You will,” she said wisely, “you will,”
With that she turned first to one twin then the other, then she looked up at the CREST mountains and smiled. “Time for a long rest, children,” said Choosy Chicken. “Morning comes soon in the Land of Choice.”

Chapter 10 — THE BIG IDEA

For Chapter 10 the Big Idea is: We make five kinds of choices: Caring, Ruling, Enjoying, Sorrowing, and Thinking/working.

The TAKE HOME PAGE for Chapter 10 gives a brief explanation of each of the five CREST Choices. We will explore these choices further, but for now we suggest you take some time to read about them and think how you might use them to make your life better.

Caring choices are the things we say or do to be helpful when someone needs assistance. For example, we may say, “How are you feeling today?” OR we may help the person with a chore. Pretend someone you know has had a hard day — if you pat the person on the back you’ve made a caring choice.

Ruling choices are the things we say or do when we show leadership by making suggestions or giving directions to someone. Some ruling choices are welcome and some aren’t. Some examples of ruling choices: “Answer the phone.” “Quit fussing.” “Let’s order pizza.” “Here’s how to do that.”

Enjoying choices are things we say or do that show our good feelings. Examples include smiling, playing a game, telling a joke, or paying a compliment. If you tell a friend something you like about him or her you’ve made an enjoying choice.

Sorrowing choices are things we do or say when we have bad (negative) feelings. Some people talk with another person about the problems they have. Others get upset inside and feel miserable. Still others become angry and mean. The sorrowing choices you make are up to you — and they can make a great deal of difference.

Thinking/Working choices are the things we do or say all the time when we try to understand something, work on a puzzle, figure out a problem, ask or answer questions, or do the chores we have.

To order the print form of In the Land of Choice, and the second novel in the series, The Magic of Choice, use the ORDER LINK below.

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