The First Thanksgiving Story
Poem Style!
A long, long time ago the Pilgrims made an ocean trip
From England to America in just one little ship.
That ship was called the "Mayflower," and it was snug and warm
And kept the Pilgrims safe and sound through every wind and storm.
But after lots and lots of weeks of sailing on the sea,
The sight of land made all of them as happy as could be.
The land they saw was Plymouth Rock on Massachusetts Bay,
And they decided then and there that's where they all would stay.
Of course, there was a lot of work to get all settled in,
But each and every Pilgrim was quite eager to begin.
And they were lucky, for it wasn't long until they met
A very friendly Indian whose name was Samoset.
Now Samoset and all his Indian friends were kind and good
And tried to help the Pilgrims out in every way they could.
That spring they even helped in clearing land and planting seed.
So the Pilgrims would be sure of having food to fill their needs.
All summer long the Pilgrims kept as busy as could be
Tending to their growing crops so very carefully.
And then when it was finally time for harvesting that fall,
They found to their delight that they had lots and lots for all.
Of course, they were excited that they'd had such great success,
And they planned a celebration just to show their thankfulness.
They thought they'd fix a dinner that would really be delicious
Where there'd be huge amounts of everybody's favorite dishes.
But they didn't really feel as though the food was all their own,
For they knew without the Indians it never would of grown.
And so they asked their special friends if they would join the fun,
And Samoset and all the others said they'd gladly come.
For days ahead the Pilgrims started getting things all set
To make sure there was nothing they could possibly forget.
Then when the big day came, they set the tables up just so,
Then spread out all the food, and it was really quite a show.
At long last it was time to eat, and they all said a prayer
To offer thanks for that God had given them to share.
The party ended much too soon--
each went his separate way,
But they took away warm memories
of that first Thanksgiving Day.
