Debbie and Forest Fire

♦ Literary Focus
Essay
An essay is a short nonaction work about
a particular subject. A narrative essay, like
"Debbie," tells a true story about real people.
You learn about them the same way you learn
about characters in fiction—through their
actions, words, and thoughts. In a descriptive
essay, such as "Forest Fire," the author describes
events and feelings by including images and
details that show how things look, sound, smell,
taste, or feel. An expository essay, like "How
to Be Polite Online," presents information,
explains a process, or discusses ideas.
♦ Reading Strategy
Set a Purpose for Reading
When reading nonfiction, you may become
bewildered by the amount of factual information
you encounter. A good way to focus your read
ing is to set a purpose before you read. Read
the first paragraph of an essay, and then stop to
set a purpose for reading the rest.
A KWL chart like the one below, set up for
"How to Be Polite Online," can help you focus
your purpose. A KWL chart can show what you
Know about the subject, what you Want to
know, and what you Learn from your reading.
K
'How to
send
e-mail
Guide for Reading ♦ 669

ahead. And there was something in the dusty
black of her coat, the half-wild scrawny look
of her, that gave me a clue. This was a special
event in her life, a rare and wonderful thing;
she was lapping up a comfort undreamed of
in her daily existence.
As I watched she turned, crept soundlessly
from the room and was gone.
That's always the way with Debbie," Mrs.
Ainsworth laughed. "She never stays more
than ten minutes or so, then she's off."
Mrs. Ainsworth was a plumpish. pleasantfaced
woman in her forties and the kind of
client veterinary surgeons dream of; well off.
generous, and the owner of three cosseted1
Basset hounds. And it only needed the habit
ually mournful expression of one of the dogs
to deepen a little and I was round there
posthaste.2 Today one of the Bassets had
raised its paw and scratched its ear a couple
of times and that was enough to send its mis
tress scurrying to the phone in great alarm.
So my visits to the Ainsworth home were
frequent but undemanding, and I had ample
opportunity to look out for the little cat that
had intrigued me. On one occasion 1spotted
her nibbling daintily from a saucer at the
kitchen door. As I watched she turned and al
most floated on light footsteps into the hall
then through the lounge door.
The three Bassets were already in resi
dence, draped snoring on the fireside rug. but
they seemed to be used to Debbie because
two of them sniffed her in a
bored manner
and the third merely cocked a sleepy eye at
her before flopping back on the rich pile.
Debbie sat among them in her usual pos
ture: upright, intent, gazing absorbcdly into
the glowing coals. This time I tried to make
friends with her. I approached her carefully
but she leaned away as I stretched out my
hand. However, by patient wheedling3 and
soft talk I managed to touch her and gently
stroked her cheek with one finger. There was
a moment when she responded by putting her
head on one side and rubbing back against
1. cosseted (kas' it ad) adj.: Pampered; indulged.
2. posthaste (post' hast') adv.: With great speed.
3. wheedling (hwed' lirj) k: Gentle, constant persuading.
my hand but soon she was ready to leave.
Once outside the house she darted quickly
along the road then through a gap in a hedge
and the last I saw was the little black figure
flitting over the rain-swept grass of a field.
"I wonder where she goes," I murmured
half to myself.
Mrs. Ainsworth appeared at my elbow.
That's something we've never been able to
find out."
It must have been nearly three months be
fore 1 heard from Mrs. Ainsworth, and in fact
1 had begun to wonder at the Bassets' long
symptomless run when she came on the
phone.
It was Christmas morning and she was
apologetic. "Mr. Herriot, I'm so sorry to bother
you today of all days. I should think you want
a rest at Christmas like anybody else." But
her natural politeness could not hide the dis
tress in her voice.
"Please don't worry about that." I said.
"Which one is it this time?"
"It's not one of the dogs. It's . . . Debbie."
"Debbie? She's at your house now?"
"Yes. . . but there's something wrong.
Please come quickly."
Driving through the marketplace I thought
again that Darrowby on Christmas Day was
like Dickens come to life; the empty square
with the snow thick on the cobbles and hangtog
from the eaves of the fretted' lines of
roofs: the shops closed and the colored lights
of the Christmas trees winking at the win
dows of the clustering houses, warmly invit
ing against the cold white bulk of the fells5
behind.
Mrs. Ainsworth's home was lavishly deco
rated with tinsel and holly, rows of drinks
stood on the sideboard and the rich aroma of
turkey and sage and onion stuffing wafted1'
from the kitchen. But her eyes were full of
pain as she led me through to the lounge.
Debbie was there all right, but this time
everything was different. She wasn't sitting
upright in her usual position: she was
4. fretted (fret' ad) adj.: Decoratively arranged.
5. fells n.: Rocky or barren hills.
6. wafted (war led) v.: Moved lightly through the air.
Debbie ♦ 671

♦ Reading Strategy
Did you satisfy your
purpose for read
ing? If so, set a new
purpose before you
finish the essay.
I smiled. "Well, it looks
as though you've got one
now."
And she certainly had.
That kitten grew rapidly
into a sleek handsome
eat with a
boisterous na
ture which earned him the name of Buster. In
every way he was the opposite to his timid lit
tle mother. Not for him the privations of the
Critical Viewing In what ways might an ener
getic kitten stir up the life of Basset hounds like
these? [Speculate]
secret outdoor life; he stalked the rich carpets
of the Ainsworth home like a king and the or
nate collar he always wore added something
more to his presence.
On my visits I watched his development
with delight but the occasion which stays in
my mind was the following Christmas Day, a
year from his arrival.
I was out on my rounds as usual. I can't re
member when I haven't had to work on Christ
mas Day because the animals have never got
♦ Build Vocabulary
privations (pri va shenz) n.: Deprivation or lack of
common comforts
round to recognizing it as a holiday: but with
the passage of the years the vague resent
ment I used to feel has been replaced by philo
sophical acceptance. After all, as I tramped
around the hillside barns in the frosty air I
was working up a better appetite for my
turkey than all the millions lying in bed or
slumped by the fire.
I was on my way home, bathed in a rosy
glow. I heard the cry as I was passing Mrs.
^^^^ Ainsworlh's house.
"Merry Christmas. Mr.
Herriol!" She was letting
a visitor out of the front
door and she waved at
me gaily. "Come in and
have a drink to warm
you up."
I didn't need warming
up but I pulled in to the
curb without hesitation.
In the house there was
all the festive cheer
of last year and the
same glorious whiff
of sage and onion
which set my gastric13
juices surging. But
there was not the
sorrow: there was Busier.
He was darting up to each of the dogs in
turn, ears pricked, eyes blazing with devil
ment, dabbing a paw at them then streaking
away.
Mrs. Ainsworth laughed. "You know, he
plagues the life out of them. Gives them no
peace."
She was right. To the Bassets. Buster's ar
rival was rather like the intrusion of an irrev
erent outsider into an exclusive Ix>ndon club.
For a long time they had led a life of measured
grace: regular sedate walks with their mis
tress, superb food in ample quantities and
long snoring sessions on the rugs and arm
chairs. Their days followed one upon another
in unruffled calm. And then came Buster.
He was dancing up to the youngest dog
13. gastric (gas' trik) adj.: Of the stomach.
Debbie ♦ 673

Anais Nin
A man rushed in to announce he had
seen smoke on Monrovia Peak.' As I
looked out of the window I saw the two
mountains facing the house on fire. The
entire rim burning wildly in the night.
The flames, driven by hot Santa Ana
winds2 from the desert, were as tall as
the tallest trees, the sky already tinted
coral, and the crackling noise of burning
trees, the ashes and the smoke were al
ready increasing. The fire raced along,
sometimes descending behind the mountain
where I could only see the glow, sometimes de
scending toward us. I thought of the foresters
in danger. I made coffee for the weary men
who came down occasionally with horses they
had led out, or with old people from the iso
lated cabins. They were covered with soot from
their battle with the flames.
At six o'clock the fire was on our left side
and rushing toward Mount Wilson. Evacuees
from the cabins began to arrive and had to be
given blankets and hot coffee. The streets were
blocked with fire engines readying to fight the
fire if it touched the houses. Policemen and
firemen and guards turned away the sight
seers. Some were relatives concerned over the
fate of the foresters, or the pack station family.
The policemen lighted flares, which gave the
scene a theatrical, tragic air. The red lights on
• Critical Viewing Why are forest fires such
dangerous occurrences? Refer to details in the
photograph in your response. [Deduce]
the police cars twinkled alarmingly. More fire
engines arrived. Ashes fell, and the roar of the
fire was now like thunder.
We were told to ready ourselves for evacua
tion. I packed the diaries. The saddest specta
cle, beside that of the men fighting the fire as
they would a war. were the animals, rabbits,
coyotes, mountain lions, deer, driven by the
fire to the edge of the mountain, taking a look
at the crowd of people and panicking, choos
ing rather to rush back into the fire.
The fire now was like a ring around Sierra
Madre,3 every mountain was burning. People
living at the foot of the mountain were packing
3. Sierra (se er' e) Madre (ma" dra): Mountain range.
1. Monrovia (man ro' ve e) Peak: Mountain in south
west California,
2. Santa (san' te) Ana (an' e) winds: Hot desert winds
from the east or northeast in southern California.
♦ Build Vocabulary
evacuees (e vak' yoo ez') n.: People who leave a
place, especially because of danger
Forest Fire ♦ 675

.
^ Critical Viewing What details in this photograph
show the fire as being immense" and "angry"?
[Interpret]
have human interest in these pictures!"
A week later, the danger was over.
Gray ashy days.
In Sierra Madre. following the fire, the Jan
uary rains brought floods. People are sandbag
ging their homes. At four a.m. the streets are
covered with mud. The bare, burnt, naked
mountains cannot hold the rains and slide
down bringing rocks and mud. One of the
rangers must now take photographs and
movies of the disaster. He asks ifI will help by
holding an umbrella over the cameras. I put
on my raincoat and he lends me hip boots
which look to me like seven-league boots.
We drive a little way up the road. At the
third curve it is impassable. A river is rushing
across the road. The ranger takes pictures
while I hold the umbrella over the camera. It
is terrifying to see the muddied waters and
rocks, the mountain disintegrating. When
we are ready to return, the road before us is
covered by large rocks but the ranger pushes
on as if the truck were a jeep and forces it
through. The edge of the road is being
carried away.
I am laughing and scared too. The ranger is
at ease in nature, and without fear. It is a wild
moment of danger. It is easy to love nature in
its peaceful and consoling moments, but one
must love it in its furies too, in its despairs
and wildness, especially when the damage is
caused by us.
Guide for Responding
♦ Literature and Your Life
Reader's Response What would you try
to save ifyou were caught in a fire?
Thematic Focus In what ways does life
go on during the fire? In what ways is life
disrupted?
W\ Check Your Comprehension
1. Describe the setting—the time and place—
of the forest fire.
2. What does Nin rescue from the fire?
3. What natural disaster occurred after the fire?
♦ Critical Thinking
Interpret
1. How are the fire and mudslides related?
[Connect]
2. What is the effect of Nin's use of figurative
language, such as "the dragon tongues of
flames"? [Interpret]
3. What conclusion does Nin draw from observ
ing these disasters? [Draw Conclusions]
Compare Literary Works
4. Compare and contrast the messages or
themes within "Debbie" and "Forest Fire."
[Compare and Contrast]
Forest Fire ♦ 677