STOP, Notice, and Note: Words of the Wiser
Excerpts from Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan
Background: Riding
Freedom is about a young girl named Charlotte who lives during the
mid-1800s. Her parents are dead and she lives in an orphanage. She loves
horses, but the overseer of the orphanage where she lives forbids her to work
with them simply because she’s a girl. Life there is hard, and at some point
she realizes she cannot stay there, so she decides to run away from the
orphanage. This scene is when Charlotte tells a trusted older and wiser adult
at the orphanage that she must escape. The friend’s name is Vern, and his job
at the orphanage is to take care of the horses. One of the horses is named
Justice.
“Thanks,
Vern. I wish I could stay with you and work with the horses, but…I’d be in the
kitchen and I’d be missin’ Justice and frettin’ ‘cause I wouldn’t get to see Charity’s
foal…or help you name it.”
“I
know. I know, Miss Charlotte,” said Vern. “You gotta do what your heart tells
you.”
“I
won’t ever forget you,” said Charlotte.
“I
guess I’m not likely to forget you, Miss Charlotte.”
Consider the following questions with your group. Write down the answers you agree upon.
-What "words of the wiser" do you see in this excerpt?
-How do you think this advice will change the Charlotte?
-What does this advice indicate about what may happen later in the story?
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Background:
Charlotte leaves the orphanage and her good friends Vern and Hayward. She
eventually finds a nice older man who lets her live in his barn and begins to
teach her to drive a six-horse stagecoach. Learning to drive the coach is hard
work.
“Here
were six strong horses waiting for her commands, her tugs on the reins, to tell
them which way to go. She yelled, “Haw” and “Gee” to get them to bear left and
right, like she did when she was riding one horse or driving two.
She
wished Hayward could see her. And Vern. Vern would have never let her get out
of that wagon until she figured out the turns. Just like when he taught her to
ride, he kept putting her back on Freedom [her horse] after each fall, saying,
“Every time you fall, you learn somethin’ new ‘bout your horse. You learn what
not to do next time.”
-What "words of the wiser" do you see in this excerpt?
-How do you think this advice will change Charlotte?
-What other "Stop, notice, and note" do you see in this excerpt?
Background:
Charlotte is now a good stagecoach driver, but on this day someone from her
past wants to ride on her stagecoach and that upsets her. Ebeneezer, the man
who taught her to drive a six-horse stagecoach, sees that she’s upset.
“What
are you blabberin’ about? The mail’s gotta go through, same as them
passengers.”
Ebeneezer
put his hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “Now listen, don’t you pay them
passengers no mind. You are what you are. And what you are, is a fine horseman.
And the best coachman I ever saw. You remember that. under the circumstances,
there ain’t nothing left for you to do but your job. So get to it.”
Charlotte
looked square at Ebeneezer.
Ebeneezer
looked square at Charlotte and said, “You’re the coachman. You’re in charge, so
load ‘em up.”
Consider the following questions with your group. Write down the answers you agree upon.
-What "words of the wiser" do you see in this excerpt?
-How do you think this advice will change Charlotte?
-What does this advice indicate about the lesson the author wants you to learn in this story?
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