Once upon a time there were three little girls named Jessica, Marilyn, and Joanie who lived alone in the middle of the deep dark woods. Well, the woods weren't really all that deep and dark, in fact their house was less than a mile from Interstate 90, and was filled with soft light, filtered through green trees. And they didn't really live alone, they lived with their pet swan, Bert.
Jessica, Marilyn, Joanie, and Bert loved their home in the woods, because it was built on a narrow ridgeline, high above two rushing streams. So the sound of running water filled the house day and night. In the winter, they could watch the sunlight sparkle off the icicles lining the stream. And in the summer, they would all go down to one of the streams to swim in the clear, cool water.
They loved to play hide and seek (which Bert was particularly good at), by lying down behind a big stump, then jumping out when whoever was “it” finally came by. They lived on French fries and ice cream and each other’s love. And although they didn’t know it, their lives were perfect.
But after many years of living in the woods, Jessica, Marilyn, and Joanie grew older and yearned for news of the outside world. The only news they had came when, every once in a while, someone would walk by on the narrow path that ran up the ridge between the two streams. But this happened so infrequently, that they had very little knowledge of current events.
They didn't know who was president, and they didn't know where the Dow Jones was, they didn’t know what the newest kind of ice cream was, and they didn't know whether long skirts or short skirts were "in". The girls began to worry that they were missing out and that life was passing them by. Jessica, Marilyn, and Joanie longed to visit the outside world, but they knew that they could not take their pet swan, Bert with them. For Bert had lived his entire life in the woods, and had no idea how to dress, or how to make polite conversation, or how to behave on a city street.
Finally, the girls decided that they would leave Bert alone in the woods, while they went out to see what was going on in the world. Not wanting to see him cry, the three girls wrote Bert a note, and silently slipped out of the woods late one night. The note said: Dearest Bert, We have gone to the city to find out whether long or short skirts are "in", and what the newest kind of ice cream is. We will return as soon as we can. Make sure you hide your- self, so that no strangers find you. Stay near the privet trees, just a little ways off the main trail, next to that large stump.
We hope that all of your visitors are as nice as your first one, Scouting4Ever. When we come back, we will bring some French fries.
Love and kisses, Jessica, Marilyn, and Joanie