Book

Report
In
English
Submitted to:
Ms.Pascual

Submitted by:
Aira Germaine C. Batula
II-7
December 30, 2008
Flying Angels
Author: Robert Mandatta Ponzio and Jacqueline
Labate

Setting Place/Time:
From the morning dew, in august sun.

Characters:
Ben Becca
Sarah
Jessie Sam
Will
Mr. Colwell Bill Riley Ellen
Louise
Calaban Laura Mary Alice Professor
Arthur F. Newman

Summary:

Chapter One
In the potato patch beyond the barn, Ben and Becca
scooped earth away from the side of a small hill,
exposing the new potatoes beneath. The outer soil,
powdery and dry, felt warm from the August sun, but
underneath it was still damp from the morning dew.
As Ben digging he scraped his knuckles on a hidden
rock . He cried out, more in exasperation than pain,
and said “I hate digging potatoes! How come Ma
always makes us do it? What’s wrong with the
younger kids?” Becca looked at her twin brother in.
and said “I don’t know why you hate it so much,
Ben. I love to dig potatoes! I love the way the earth
feels sliding through my fingers. And when I find a
potato, it’s like digging up a treasure, a jewel of the
earth.” Now it was Ben’s turn to be surprised. “I
didn’t know you was such a poet!” Becca wasn’t sure
if Ben was poking fun at her, but before she decided
she heard a faint sound like music in the wind. She
asked if what’s that, but ben didn’t hear anything,
“Bells, I think it’s bells.” Becca turned towards the
farmhouse and looked down the dirt road that came
up from town a mile away. “Hey, look down the road,
Ben. What’s that coming?” Ben rose off his knees
and peered down the narrow road, now lined on both
sides with goldenrod shimmering in the sun. “Looks
like a horse and wagon,” he told Becca. “But I ain’t
never seen a wagon like that before! It’s got walls,
windows, and a roof. It looks like a house on
wheels.” And Becca saw it too. She nodded her head
and said, “Yeah, it sure is fancy. Look at all the
different colors it’s painted: red, gold, orange, and
blue. And look at the fancy woodwork all them
designs and curlicues. What do you think it is, Ben?
Becca asked. Ben stared for a moment at the
approaching wagon, then shrugged his shoulders.
And said “I don’t know.”Becca nodded her head. In a
community where everyone dressed for farm-work
seven days a week, fancy clothes were the
exception, even on Sundays when people wore their
best for church. But Ben wasn’t looking at her
anymore. He’d already started moving off, calling
behind him, But Ben was gone in a flash. Becca
hurriedly gathered the potatoes they’d unearthed for
supper and tossed them into a basket. She pushed
the loose earth back against the hill to cover the
remaining spuds, then picked up the basket with
both hands and hurried after her brother, the jingle
of bells beckoning from the gaily painted wagon.

Chapter Two
Just before Becca had heard the bells, the driver of
the ornate wagon had spotted them in the potato
patch. So while Becca and Ben had been watching
the Professor, the Professor had been watching them.
The Professor smiled broadly at them, removed his
hat with a flourish. Bowing slightly from his high
seat, he said in a voice both deep and theatrical,
“Good afternoon, dear family. My name is Professor
Arthur F. Newman, Esquire, late of Harvard College,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.” He looked directly at
the twins’ mother. “And whom might I have the
pleasure of addressing, if I may be so bold to ask,
madam?” A woman in her mid-thirties looked at the
Professor with suspicion for a moment. Her face was
worn with lines of worry, and the Professor could feel
her studying him, trying to discern what kind of man
she faced. Suddenly she decided something
unspoken and smiled at him. As she did her face
transformed into a younger self, filled with hope and
trust. Her voice was warm and welcoming, despite
her earlier misgivings: “We’re pleased to meet you,
Professor. Sarah ask her mama if professor is
speaking english and her mama said “Yes!” the
Professors answered, “I am speaking not only
English, but one of the world’s greatest languages. It
is richer in vocabulary, more flexible in grammar, and
more expressive than any language I know.” Ben was
impressed and asked, “How many languages do you
know, Professor?” He answered Books my boy! And
that’s what I make available to you today. ”He was
cut off in mid-sentence by a loud and piercing
scream from the rear of the wagon. Will ran to them,
clearly frightened. “Mama! Mama! There’s a
monster in back of the Professor’s wagon!” He
rushed into her skirts and threw his arms about her
waist, burying his face in the folds of her dress. The
Professor walked over to Will, placed a hand on his
shoulder trying to calm him. “It’s alright, Will. That’s
not a monster. He’s my companion.” Then the
Professor spoke directly to Ellen “He’s quite
harmless, I assure you.” “Who is he?” Ellen asked.
“He’s quite shy, Ellen. He’s actually very shy. His
name is Calaban and he’s been much mistreated in
his life.” said the professor. Ellen looked briefly at
Granny Jesse who nodded her head ever so
slightly. Ellen said to professor, “Why don’t you come
in, Professor, and you can tell us the whole story. It’s
nearly time for supper anyway, and it looks like
there’s a storm coming up. The sky is certainly
getting dark, isn’t it? Ben, show the Professor where
to stable his horse. The rest of you come inside and
help get supper on the table.” The professor thank
Ellen and said “I’d be delighted and honored to join
you.” Ellen asked Calaban, and all the face of the
children looked eagerly at the professor. Clearly, they
were curios about Will’s “monster.”

Chapter Three
As the rest of the family went inside to prepare the
evening meal, the Professor drove his wagon to the
barn where Ben helped him unhitch Pegasus.
Outdoors the wind was picking up, and heavy dark
clouds scudded across the sky, blotting out the last
of the day’s sun. While they walked back towards the
house from the barn, the professor saw through an
open window a woman lighting an oil lamp against
the growing darkness of the coming storm. Suddenly
he stopped, assumed a dramatic pose, and started to
recite Shakespeare: “‘But, soft! What light through
yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is
the sun!’” With a confused look on his face, Ben said,
“That’s not Juliet, Professor, that’s mama’s cousin
Laura Mary Alice. She’s the schoolteacher.” Above
them, Laura Mary Alice looked out her window and
sighed deeply, “‘Ay, me!’” The Professor turned to
Ben very excitedly. “Ben! She knows it: Romeo and
Juliet Act II, Scene II!” He resumed his dramatic pose
and, gazing at the woman above him, said, “‘She
speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art As
glorious to this night, being o’er my head As is a
winged messenger of heaven.’” Still pretending she
hadn’t heard him speak, Laura Mary Alice sighed
once more and said, “‘O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore
art thou Romeo?’” Laura Mary Alice ignored Ben and
looked down directly at the Professor. Ben, standing
silently with his mouth hanging open in wonder,
suddenly grabbed the Professor’s arm and tugged
him towards the door. “C’mon, Professor, it’s starting
to rain and supper’s near ready. You can see Laura
Mary Alice inside.” Smiling up at Laura Mary Alice,
the Professor bowed once and allowed himself to be
led by Ben up the back porch steps. No sooner were
they underneath the overhanging roof than a bolt of
lightning ripped the sky, thunder shook the heavens,
and a deafening wall of rain fell. Quickly, Laura Mary
Alice closed her window and, smiling to herself,
bowed modestly once, then once again, before
turning up the flickering flame of the lamp.

Chapter Four
Often it’s more than hair color or the shape of the
chin. It has to do with attitude or spirit, which is
reflected in speech patterns and facial expressions,
hand gestures and overall body movement. All of the
Colwell siblings looked alike. Their blonde hair and
blue eyes meant they could be picked out of a crowd
of children with ease. Of course Ben and Becca were
twins, so their resemblance was expected. But Will
and Sam looked even more alike than the twins,
though they had very different personalities. Where
Will was outgoing and sometimes aggressive, Sam
was quiet and unassuming. If there were mischief
going on at the Colwell farm, most likely Will started
it and charmed Sam into participating. In a moment
Ellen returned with the sheriff, Bill Riley, who was a
tall, barrel-chested man. Ellen introduced the two
men, and as they shook hands they eyed one
another warily. Ellen then invited the sheriff to join
them for supper and offered him her chair. Will and
Sam exchanged worried glances. Sam whispered to
him, “You gotta do something, Will!” Will jumped up
and said, “Don’t sit there, Bill! Here, take my chair,
it’s better!” And in exasperation Will pushed the
sheriff out of the way and flung himself into Ellen’s
chair. A loud noise rushed out of the seat where Will
sat, making him cringe with embarrassment. Ellen
glared at her son and said, “William Colwell, you may
excuse yourself from this room.” “‘Excuse me,” Will
said sheepishly. Sam tried to catch his eye, but Will
wouldn’t look at anyone. He walked from the room
with his head bowed in disgrace, a victim of his own
joke.

Chapter Five
At this Sheriff Bill and the boys stood up and
cheered, banging their boots on the floor and making
a great racket until Ellen shouted, “Enough!”
Instantly the room became still and silent.
“Professor,” Ellen said into the heavy silence, “you do
me and the women of this household a great
disservice by portraying us as weak and servile. We
are neither. We manage this farm, we work the
fields, we grow and harvest the food, and we cook,
we clean, we sew, we care for and teach our children,
all without the help of men. I will not allow you or Bill
to demean us or to influence my sons by your bad
example. And so I must ask you both to leave my
home at once.” “Wait, Bill,” the Professor said, rising
from his seat. “She’s right. ‘I see a woman may be
made a fool, If she had not a spirit to resist.’ Taming
of the Shrew, Act 3, Scene 2. My apologies and good
night.”

Chapter Six
Once inside the house, Ellen instructed the children
to have no further contact with the Professor. “And I
want you all in bed immediately.” From their
bedroom windows on the second floor the children
silently watched the Professor’s ornate wagon reach
the main road and head away from town as Sheriff
Bill rode back towards the village. Standing in the
doorway of the empty barn, Laura Mary Alice also
watched the two men depart. In the waning light she
stooped to pick up a delicately carved wooden angel,
its wings outspread like a prayer.

Chapter Seven
Both men were sitting on logs around a campfire.
Reaching out with a long stick, the Professor stirred
the growing bed of coals. The firewood shifted and
fell, sending a thick spray of sparks into the night.
For a moment the heavy wall of darkness
surrounding them drew back, then the darkness
descended once more. The night was cool, for it was
August in Vermont, a time of shifting seasons.
Crickets chirped loudly while a few brave fireflies
danced in the darkness, despite the crisp air. Since
they were camped on a flat piece of ground near a
shallow river, the men could hear the soft sound of
rushing water. The Professor looked up at the night
sky and silently studied the stars. There was no
moon, making the stars very visible. When his eyes
had adjusted, he spotted a shooting star. The two
men looked upward, their eyes remained riveted on
the sky. They were mesmerized by the intense glow
of the Milky Way. To the north they could see the Big
Dipper hanging low to the earth. Then, as if in
response to their gaze, stars started shooting one
after another. As Laura Mary Alice and the children
turned to leave, they stepped out of the circle of light
and saw that they were surrounded by a band of men
standing in the dark. A man’s deep voice boomed
into the night: “Don’t move, Professor, and there’ll
be no trouble.” “I know that voice,” Laura Mary Alice
said to the Professor. “It’s my brother.” Turning back
towards the dark, she demanded, “Bill, what is the
meaning of this?” “Laura Mary Alice, you stay out of
this. I’m here in my official capacity as Sheriff of
Orange County, State of Vermont, to place under
arrest Professor Arthur F. Newman.” Sheriff Bill’s
voice was deadly serious. “Arrest?” Laura Mary Alice
was shocked. “Bill Riley, what ever on earth for?” For
the robbery and attempted murder of Freddy Miller.”
Now she was even more shocked. “Somebody tried
to kill Freddy Miller?” The children drew close to her.
That’s right. Just this morning in his store. And the
Professor and Calaban there were the last ones to be
seen coming out of the store.” “That’s ridiculous, Bill,
and purely circumstantial,” Laura Mary Alice said,
shock giving way to anger. “You know that as well as
I. And besides, the Professor is the most gentle,
principled man I have ever met!” “You’re not getting
your way this time, Laura Mary Alice. There’s been a
string of robberies that follow the Professor’s trail —
only this time he went too far. And we’re here to see
that justice is done!” “But Bill . . . ,” Laura Mary Alice
pleaded. “It’s alright, Laura Mary Alice,” said the
Professor, reaching out a hand to calm her. “There’s
obviously some mistake here that soon will be
straightened out.” He turned to face the darkness
from where Bill’s voice came. “What would you have
me do, Sheriff?” And so the Sheriff placed the
Professor under arrest. As the Professor was being
handcuffed, he asked Laura Mary Alice to care for
Calaban. Without even thinking what Ellen might say,
she readily agreed.

Chapter Eight
Five long weeks later the afternoon turned hot, as
late September days sometimes do in Vermont. On
their way home from school the kids decided to stop
at “High Banks.” They wanted to cool off before
heading home to their chores.There’s a brook at High
Banks that cuts through the forest like a snake
through tall grass. It’s a quarter-mile from the
farmhouse, beyond the sugar house at the farthest
end of the sugarbush. The woods there are thick,
mostly high maples and beeches whose leafy crowns
create a canopy overhead. It’s quiet and still, serene
and safe from the world beyond. When they reached
High Banks, Sam and Will scrambled down one of the
banks to the brook below. They rolled up their pants
and waded in while Ben eased himself into the arch
of a maple whose trunk curved out over the water
some ten feet below. Finding a shady spot, Becca
crouched down, wrapped her arms about her knees,
and rocked slowly back and forth, a sad and troubled
look on her face.Then they heard Cal and Sarah
coming down the path. Since the night at the
campfire when the Professor had been arrested, Cal
had lived with them. Instead of being a
misunderstanding as the Professor had thought, the
case against him grew stronger as the weeks went
by. Summer passed, school began, and it was
County Fair week, but the Professor remained locked
up in jail. Each afternoon Cal and Sarah walked to
meet the kids on their way home from school. Today,
not seeing them on the road, Sarah had guessed
they’d gone to High Banks. When she and Cal found
them there, she shouted jubilantly, “I knew you’d be
here!” From the overhanging trunk, Ben sat up and
glared back at Becca. “I’m sick of this! You’re
always bringing Pa into everything. He doesn’t have
anything to do with the Professor.” Ben eased himself
out of the trunk, crossed the brook, and walked over
to the small campsite the kids had made at High
Banks. The rest of them gathered around, sitting on
logs or crouching somewhere in the circle about the
empty fire pit. The sun overhead broke through the
leafy canopy, sending shafts of dappled light. The
doves sang their mournful song from somewhere
near the sugar house. Finally, Ben said, “Yesterday
afternoon when Mama sent me and Becca down to
the store, we overheard some people saying how it
didn’t look like Freddy Miller was gonna make it, and
that if he died, the Professor ought to be lynched.”
The cheering started up again, and in the midst of it
Will remembered the song lyrics he’d heard Cal
repeating in the wagon all those long weeks ago.

Chapter Nine
Standing on the hotel roof, Ben looks down into the
village square. Satisfied with the size of the crowd
already gathered there, he beckons to a strange
figure of a man who appears winged and bird-
like. The bird-man hesitates for a moment. He
appears uncertain and confused, but slowly he
makes his way towards the boy standing at the roof’s
edge. Ben calls to him with a voice both reassuring
and tense with excitement. At the mention of the
Professor, the bird-man raises his head and peers
about him, less uncertain but still wary. Ben calls
again to the bird-man, that blows across the
Suddenly Cal’s eyes light up. Ben notices at once and
relief spreads across his own face. See how it runs
across the square to the new train station?” Their
eyes follow the slender black line of the telegraph
wire as it drops from the hotel roof. It stretches
diagonally across the square to the new depot along
the gleaming train tracks. Once more the excitement
and chatter of the crowd reaches up to them, causing
Ben to fidget with worry. Silently Cal stares ahead of
him, his eyes riveted to the wire. It’s as if he can see
a small piece of the future hanging just out of reach
along its slender black thread. An involuntary shiver
rises out of him, causing his wings to rustle. When
Ben hears the rustling wings, his own anxiety mounts
until he says, “Oh, I’m getting nervous. I just can’t
wait any longer! Let’s go, Cal, start flapping those
wings we put on you.” As Cal begins to raise his arms
up and down in a flying motion, Ben cups his hands
to his mouth like a megaphone and shouts to the
unsuspecting crowd below. “Hey, everybody! Look
up here! Look up here! He’s gonna fly! HE’S GONNA
FLY!” FROM AROUND THE corner of the jail Becca
comes running, out of breath and upset. She sees
the crowd staring up at the strange creature on the
hotel roof. “Oh Ben, why’d you start so soon? We’re
not ready yet! The deputy ain’t back from,” shouts
the deputy, “show’s over. It’s County Fair day, and
let’s have a good ol’ time.” AS THE CROWD
disperses, still buzzing with the exciting events they
just witnessed, the Sheriff turns to face the
Professor. “This town owes you an apology,
Professor, and a big one from the looks of things.”
“That’s great news, Sheriff.” Relief spreads across
the Professor’s face. “Thank you, again. And thank
you, dear family, for your stunning show of
courage.” He beams at them, then continues. “But I
would be remiss, children, if I didn’t point out that
your plan to help me escape was wrong and nearly
ended in disaster.” The children hang their heads in
shame. “Yet when you stood up to injustice, as you
just did with that mob, you did it openly and
righteously.” “That’s right, Will,” the Professor says.
He looks at each of them in turn, then continues.
“What’s more, everything you did shows me that you
care for me. And that moves me more than I can
say.” The Professor’s eyes brim with tears, and he
laughs a bit uncertainly, embarrassed by his blatant
display of deep feeling. “No, Laura Mary Alice,” says
Laura Mary Alice. “Come, Professor, let’s get Cal and
go to the Fair.” The kids cheer, Ellen smiles, and
Granny Jesse says, “‘All’s well that ends well.’”