"Our home at Walton's Mountain was far off the beaten track, but we were connected with the rest of the world by a picturesque backcountry road." "Muddy or frozen in winter, hot and dusty in the summer, rutted always, the road brought us many adventures." "Sometimes a herd of deer would leap in front of the headlights, or the pine forest dappled with newly blossomed dogwood or redbud would refresh the eye and lift the spirit." "And I remember one occasion when I met a stranger on the road, a casual incident which led to fireworks in the family such as we had never seen before." "Hey." "Can I give you a lift?" " Sure." "Thanks very much." " Hop in." "Feels good to rest my feet." " Where you from?" " Richmond." " That's a fair walk." " Not bad, really." "If you're not in a hurry, it beats driving." " You have a chance to look at things." " That's true." " You live up here?" " Yeah." "A couple of miles up the road." "I always wanted to live in the hills." "My grandfather, he's a mountain man." "Guess it kind of rubbed off on me." "Well, my grandpa says it gets in your blood." " I'm Chad Marshall." " John Walton." " Pretty country, John." " Yeah." "How'd your folks find their way up here?" "Well, my great-grandfather settled the mountain in the 1700s." " You on vacation?" " No, no." "School project." " I'm a Forestry Major over at VPI." " Really?" "I'm doing a paper on lumbering." " You go to school?" " Yeah, I'm a second year at Boatwright." " What in?" " Journalism." "Say, you know something?" "If you're doing a paper on forestry, you really ought to talk to my daddy, 'cause he runs a lumber mill up at the house, he and my grandpa." "Sure, I mean, forestry and lumbering has been their whole life." "So far, all I know is out of books." "I could use some down to earth background." "Well, they'd love to talk to you." "I'll take you up there." "Great." "Livie, you'd better go up to the attic and see if you can find some more mason jars." "We're not gonna have enough." " They wouldn't be up there, Grandma." " Well, sure, they..." "I put a whole box up there last summer, didn't I?" "Under the eaves." "Go up and look in the corners." " Go ahead, Livie, please." " All right, I'll find them." "What's keeping that girl?" "Livie." "Livie, did you find them?" "Livie, will you get down here with those jars?" "We're having a real run on mason jars this summer." "Both jars and lids." "Mostly lids, though." "Now, there's something I don't understand." "You'd think they'd be the same, you know, one jar and one lid?" "They have a way of getting lost." "Well, I've never done any canning, so I don't know." "Why, Joleen Guthrie." "When did you get into town?" "We just came up yesterday." "Mama hadn't seen the baby." " She's so cute." "May I?" " Sure." "Thought I'd never get her away from Mama." "She just set herself down and commenced rocking like she was never gonna stop." "She is so beautiful." "Here's your change, Olivia." "Olivia, your change." "Yes, you're such a little..." "Oh!" "Hello." "Hello, baby." "Hey, girls." "These are my two sisters." "Chad, this is Erin and Mary Ellen Walton." "This is Chad Marshall." "He's from Richmond." "Hi." "Why don't you all jump in the front?" "I'll get in the rumble seat." " We can't sit three in the front." " Oh, sure we can." "Come on, get in." "We'll be all jammed in." "Well, why don't you and I jump in the back, then?" "Well, I guess there's no other way." "Come on, Erin." "Get in." "Hold that, please." "Thank you." "All set?" "I'll go see if there's any mail." "I'll be right out." "Okay." "You walked all the way from Richmond?" "It's not so bad." "You just keep putting one foot in front of the other." "Well, you could've taken a bus or something." "If I'd taken a bus, I wouldn't have met your brother." "I wouldn't have met you." "You wanna know something?" "You're fresh." "Do you want me to say it's the mountain air that has my head spinning?" "That's even more fresh." "I don't see why." "If you like somebody, why shouldn't you just come right out and say it?" "Well, you just don't come right out and say it the minute you meet somebody." "Well, why not?" "It's just plain honest." "Didn't you ever meet somebody you liked right off?" " I suppose." " Well, didn't you tell him?" " No." " Why not?" "Because I'm more sophisticated than that." "I'm sorry, Grandma." "Livie, what are you doing?" "I was just gonna put potatoes on the..." "Livie, the potatoes are already on." "I'm sorry, Grandma." "Livie, what's got into you?" " Oh, nothing." " You've been woolgathering all afternoon." "Just little absent-minded." "I'll get over it." "You know when you meet someone that you've never even seen before, and you just feel like you've known each other all your life." "No." "Well, Chad and I just started talking." "And it was so natural." "Like we weren't even strangers." "And he looked right at me when he talked." "Did you notice his eyes?" "Doesn't he have the most beautiful eyes you ever saw?" "I guess he does." "And, you know, he said right out that he liked me." "And he's so interested in the outdoors." "You know what?" "He's never even been here before and yet he seems to belong to the mountains." "Wait till Mama finds out you were powdering your face." "If you tattle, I'm gonna get you, Elizabeth." "Besides, I'm old enough to use powder on my face and rouge if I want to." "You're gonna eat supper in your church dress?" "Why don't you just keep your nose out of other people's affairs?" "Well, Mama says you and Erin should come down and do some helping." "You're gonna look awful funny slopping the pigs in your church dress." "Now, the first house he built when he cleared the land is way up there on the mountain." "If you go up there, you can still see the old chimney and some of the trees from the original orchard." "John-Boy, give me a hand here, will you?" " Sure, I'll be right back." " Sure." "Sure." " Yes, sir?" " Get me that toolbox in the barn." "Okay, I'll see if I can find it." " I like your farm." " Do you like eggs?" " Sure." " Have one." " What about you?" "You like eggs?" "Well." " Yeah." " Come on." " No." "Got it." "Get ready." "Come on, higher, higher." "I got it." "Butterfingers." " Erin." " Somebody hit you with an egg?" "Yeah, your crazy sister hit me with the egg." "Don't be shy around here, young man." "At suppertime everybody plunges right in." " Pa, would you do the honors, please?" " Who, me?" "Father of heaven, omnipotent." "We thank thee for the bounty that you've helped us bestow upon this table and also for the exceedingly pleasant weather that we've been having lately, which has brought our crops in rather nicely." "Also for the presence, this evening, of a young man who loves trees and the trailing arbutus, we ask you to bestow your bounty upon him, also." "In all humility, in thy name, Amen." " Amen." " Amen." "I wonder why they never say, "A women."" "Pass the meat." "Chad, I hear you're up here to get a firsthand look at the timber business." "I'm doing a paper on forestry in Virginia." "You've come to the right place." "The Waltons been timbering up here for over 200 years." " Chad?" " Yes, Elizabeth." " Are you married?" " No." "Why, you looking for a husband, Elizabeth?" "No, he's just very good looking." " Thank you, Elizabeth." " Where you heading from here?" "No place in particular." "My father works on a paper in Richmond." "He thought this area would give me what I need for my paper." "You got a place to stay, Chad?" "No, I have my tents and my blankets." "I plan on roughing it." "You ever done that before?" "Not this far up, no." "Well, it can be a lot tougher in these woods than you imagine." "I want to experience it, though." "Camp out in my tent." "Maybe you ought to camp nearby, just in case there's bad weather." "Well, that's very kind of you, Mr. Walton." "I'll pick a spot nearby." "Thank you." "We got ourselves a full moon." "How'd you like to take a walk?" "You partial to full moons?" "It went to all that trouble, I figure it ought to be admired." "You got yourself a walker and an admirer." "Livie, you were kind of quiet at supper." "You got something on your mind?" "I was thinking about the children." "They're growing up so fast." "They sure are." "John-Boy away at college so much, Jason at the Conservatory," "Mary Ellen graduating this summer." "Even the little ones are no longer little." "Honey, you trying to tell me something?" "How would you feel about having another baby?" " Are you pregnant?" " No, but I wish I were." "Honey, we've got seven children, two up in college." "And when they grow up, we got a house to build up in the mountain." "I know, but I can't help thinking." "There's nothing in this world so rewarding as sitting in that rocking chair late at night, holding a warm little body next to yours." "Yeah." "I remember I used to come down in the middle of the night and see you sitting in the rocker, asleep with Elizabeth." "You saying yes?" "Liv, you gotta think about this, all that trouble you had last year." "I'm all better now." "I feel like a different woman." "Well, I never could give you a flat out and out no." "But how about this?" "How about we see Doc Mclvers before we make up our mind?" "That's fair enough." "And now there's nobody looking." "How about a kiss?" "I love you." " Mama?" "What are you doing?" " Just going through the trunk." "I heard the noise." "I couldn't imagine what was going on." "Just sorting through some of Elizabeth's things." " At 3:00 in the morning?" " John-Boy, go back to bed." " Yes, ma'am." "Mama, you're not..." " No, go back to bed." "Livie, are you trying to give us a tune or are you humming for your own amusement?" "I didn't even realize I was singing, Grandpa." "I don't understand you, Livie." "Yesterday, you were drooping around here with your head off in the clouds somewhere." "Now you're just as chipper as a gold finch." "Something I should know?" "We'll let you in on it, Ma, as soon as the right time comes." "Well, what about right now?" "Esther, your beauty is matched only by your curiosity." "Well, we generally don't have secrets in this family." "Grandma, John and I are going into town this morning." "Anything you want?" "Yeah, you can bring back some truth and honesty about what's going on around here." " Morning, everybody." " Morning, Chad." "Morning, Chad." "If it's all right with you, Mr. Walton," "I'd like to help out in the mill today." " I could use the firsthand experience." " We could use the help, Son." "Especially when it's free." "We have to go into town today." "Pa here can show you the ropes." "Now, didn't you forget something?" "Mary Ellen's camping out in the bathroom and she won't let anybody in." " She's powdering her face." " How do you know?" "Well, when I knocked on the door, nobody answered, so I figured she was dead and I looked in the keyhole." "Mirror, mirror, on the wall." " I wasn't admiring myself." " I know what you were doing." "You were wondering if Chad thinks you're pretty." "That's right, I was." " Well, just remember, I saw him first." " You did not." "We both saw him at the same time, but it doesn't matter anyway." "It does, too, matter." "I saw you at supper last night making eyes at him." "I was not." "You were, too." "You were putting on all sorts of airs." "I wasn't putting on airs." "I just smiled." "What's wrong with that?" "Well, remember, you're just a child." "What could you possibly know about love?" "How you feel, Liv?" "I'm as excited as if we were having our first baby." "I'll tell you what." "After we see Doc Mclvers, why don't I take you out to lunch in some fancy restaurant?" "What are we gonna use for money?" "You think you're married to a poor man?" "I got $2 burning a hole in my pocket." " What's the matter?" " It's raining." "Are you crazy?" "There isn't a cloud in the sky." "Well, clouds or no clouds, I'm sitting here getting rained on." " Your hair is sure wet." " Yeah." "What was that?" "Well, it stopped now." "Mary Ellen, you bring that back." "Erin?" "Erin." " Erin." " Help." " Erin, are you all right?" " Yes." " You okay?" "You sure?" " Yes." " Okay." "Good." " What were you doing up there?" "Look at you." "You're an absolute mess." " You didn't break anything?" " Yes." "You all right?" "Chad." "You're crazy." "Stay right there, girl." "Everything all right?" " What's the matter, Doc?" " Well, nothing, John." " Olivia is as healthy as she can be." " If I'm so healthy, why can't I have a baby?" "Well, I'm saying you shouldn't." "It could be very dangerous." "You'd be risking your life and that of the baby." "Isn't there something that I could do to build up my strength?" "Olivia, you've borne seven children, and that misfortune last year with an eighth." "We all have limits to our capabilities." "Your body has reached its limit." "I know how much you want another child, Livie." "I'm sorry." "Thank you, Doc." "We asked for your advice, and you gave it to us." "Thank you." "John." "Much going on here." "Mary Ellen and Erin are in love with the same young man." "Both girls are behaving irrationally, which I suppose goes with being in love at such a tender age." "And I hope this can be resolved without either of them being hurt." "I'm also concerned about Mama and suspect that she may be having another baby, even though she denies it." "Grandpa, I didn't mean to walk off the job." "I just wanted to get some stuff down in the journal." "I thought I'd have a little refreshment while I was doing it." "Never mind." "That boy Chad's a fine worker, if the girls would just let him alone." "Well, don't include me, Grandpa." "Erin's the one who's acting like a crazy person." "Both of you girls have been behaving as if you had a touch of the sun." "Well, I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened out there." "And he made it perfectly clear from the minute we met that he was interested in me." "And the next thing you know," "Erin's out on the top of the mill pouring water down on him." "I could've done a little with that cool water myself." "You still didn't have to take the ladder away, did you?" "Well, she had it coming, the little creep." "The green-eyed monster comes to Walton's Mountain at last." "What green-eyed monster?" "Jealousy." "Why should I be jealous of a 15-year-old child?" "Then what are you so mad about?" "I'm mad because you're making such a crazy fool out of yourself." "Hey, now, wait a minute." "That's Erin's affair." "If she wants to make a fool out of herself, that's her own business." "Mary Ellen, you act like you own Chad, like he's your own personal property." " I do no such thing." " You did, too." "Now, wait a minute, girls." "This is a stupid argument." " Stay out of this, John-Boy." " All right." "Mary Ellen, 'cause he likes me you're just jealous." "Stop that." "Mama, what's wrong?" "I've had a big disappointment." "I'm gonna go upstairs and cry for a little while and then I'll be fine." "Well..." " Now will you tell me what happened?" " What happened, Daddy?" "We just left Dr. Mclvers's office." "She wanted to have another baby." "The doctor said she shouldn't." "Oh, poor Mama." "Well, what does she want another baby for when she's got all of us?" "You know your Mama." "I thought I'd open up with some history of the Blue Ridge country." " You ought to talk to Grandpa about that." " What's that, John-Boy?" "He says he needs some history of the Blue Ridge." "Yeah, history." "Mostly gossip." "I got plenty of that." "I can tell you who did what to who for what and when, way back to Adam." " Who?" "Adam and Eve?" " No." "Adam Walker, first man to settle these here parts, along with my grandfather." "Mary Ellen, it's your turn to dry the pans tonight." "I dried them last night." "It's Erin's turn." "Grandma, could you please tell Mary Ellen that I dried the pots and glasses last night?" "She owes me pots and glasses." "Tell Erin that I dried the glasses, the bowls and the frying pan from lunch, and bowls and frying pan equals pots." "Now, look, you girls." "I don't care if you're speaking to one another or not, but those pans better be dried before we're finished." "Now wipe." "There's a family downstairs that needs you very much." "I know." "All I seem to think about is myself." "Now, if you were perfect, you'd walk on water and leave me behind." "Mama." "Daddy." "Doc Mclvers is here." "He wants to see you both." "I had a thought after you left the office." "And it may be something you're not interested in at all, then again you might." "Elizabeth." "What would you think of taking in a baby for a while?" "Giving it a foster home." "It's a case of giving a child some family love until the adoption is completed." "Do you have a baby?" "Little girl, eight months old." "Paperwork takes time, and the young couple adopting her can't take her until it's all finished." "Well, John, you know how I feel." "What do you think?" "Well, Liv, it would be taking a baby into the family we couldn't keep and have to give her back." "We'd just all have to understand that." "Honey, you and all the children would fall in love with her." "And when we had to give her back there'd be the devil to pay." "You'd have to think it over, Liv." "Well, right now I'd rather think about the child." "It needs a home and a mother." "Now, we'll take it and we'll just all have to understand that we're not to get too attached to it." "That's all." "You don't believe me." "Liv, I know you." "The case is being handled over at the county by a social worker," "Blanche Pigeon." "You can get in touch with her if you decide you really want to do this." " Can I talk to you, John-Boy?" " Sure, come on in." "It's about Mary Ellen." "Oh, it is, is it?" "I think you two have been acting pretty childish." "Well, I've said I was sorry, but she won't make up." "Says she's never gonna speak to me again as long as she lives, and I think she means it." " Well, what should I do?" " I don't know." "It's all because Chad and I smiled at each other at supper last night." "And because you threw an egg at him and you've been pouring water on his head." "I must say, I don't know why a girl as pretty as you has gotta do things like that to get attention." "Gotta give you credit, though, it seems to be working." "Well, just because Mary Ellen rode in your rumble seat with Chad and he was nice to her, well, she thinks she owns him." "She'd listen to you, John-Boy." "Oh, no." "She's not gonna listen to me, 'cause I'm not gonna say anything to her." "Everything is fair in love, but I'll tell you one thing, if either one of you girls goes over the deep end about this fella, you're gonna be sorry." "Because he's gonna be here a couple of more days and then he's gonna go away and you're probably not gonna see him again." "Well, I can like him while he's here, can't I?" "Sure, you can like him while he's here, but the more you like him while he's here, the sorrier you're gonna be when he's gone." "No." "When it's time for him to leave, I'll just say goodbye, and that'll be the end of it." "Okay." "Our most useful trees around here are these southern yellow pines." "There's three of them." "They're very fast growing and useful for our purposes." "I saw a lot of dead ones up on the mountain." "Beautiful grain woods, but there were so many dead ones." " Was it a chestnut blight?" " That's right." "Yeah." "Now, that wasn't pine that was a chestnut tree." "It's a noble tree, and it's sad what's happened to it everywhere around here." "Killed off just about all of them around here." "And down here you can see we had a beetle infestation on these pines." "And by the concentric circles, it looks like it's long about 1931." "That was the year that Hoover said to Raymond Clapper," ""What this country needs is one big laugh."" "Yes, but over in our other mill we use mostly the hardwoods, like..." "Say, hickory and oak and yellow poplar." "That's tulipwood, isn't it, John-Boy?" "John-Boy." "Isn't that tulipwood?" "Yeah, I'm sorry." "My mind is wandering." "It's just about time for Mama and Daddy to get back." "The new baby hasn't even arrived yet, and already we're losing all powers of concentration around here." "My parents are gonna be foster parents for a little while." "They went into town today to get the baby." " Your mother wants another child?" " I know it's hard to imagine." "New baby." "In all other subjects she seems to be pretty levelheaded." "Will you silly children quit playing around and do some work?" "Why?" "Because we gotta get things ready for the baby." "You boys, come on, give me a hand here." "Okay, Grandma." "I think we had all the washing we needed around here without adding more." "It's heavy." "I'm not finished with you." "Come back here and help." "But that's women's work, Grandma." "Work is work." "Now, come on." "Sure is a skinny looking towel." "That's a diaper." "I know, I was only joking." "Your mama said to freshen these up for whatever it is they're bringing home." "Well, they're here already." "Hey, everybody." "Hey, I see her!" "She's really cute!" "Her name is Jennifer and she's eight months old." "Did I ever look like that?" "You were worse." "When you were that age you could scare snakes." " Let me hold her, Mama." " Careful how you hold her." "Hello, Jenny." "She's so cute." "She's even got her eyes open, too." " Jim-Bob, she's not a puppy." " Can I hold her?" " Sure, honey." " I think it's time for your speech, Liv." "Remember, she's not ours." "We're only keeping her for the county until her adoption goes through." "What your mother's trying to say is, don't get too used to her because she's not staying." "Isn't she just beautiful?" "Say "hi" to Elizabeth." "Easy, easy." "It's raining cats and dogs out here." "You can hardly see the house from the barn." "Judas Priest." "Mama, you better hurry up." "She's getting awful tired and hungry." "The milk will be ready in just a minute, Elizabeth." "Heavens to Betsy." "This place looks like a bed sheet factory got hit by a tornado." "Didn't have much choice, Grandpa." "Come here." "You expect us to go outside and say," ""Sorry, Lord, you can't let it rain right now." ""We've got our wash on the line."" "Give me that." "Ladies, doesn't anybody know that it's suppertime?" "Yeah, when are we gonna eat?" "Be ready in a few minutes, Jason." "But Jennifer's gone and messed everything up." "Don't you yell at Jennifer." "Here you go, Grandma." "Poor little thing, doesn't know what's happening to her." "Thinks the house is full of crazy people." "Come on." "Grandpa, I'm hungry." "Well, we boys might as well get used to the idea." "If you don't wear diapers around here, you don't eat." "You still shooting, huh?" "Don't you love all the nice smells after a rain?" "All I can smell is that perfume you have on." "What did you do, pour the bottle over your head?" "I hate you." " I think I'll throw you in the pond." " No, Chad, don't." " Oh, yes." "Oh, yes." " No." "Put me down." " No." " No, no." " I thought you were gonna throw me in." " I wouldn't throw you in." "A child like you might sink right down to the bottom." " Don't call me "child."" " Why not?" "That's what you are." "I'm 15." "When my grandma was young, girls got married at 15." "Well, I'm not gonna marry you, so you can just forget it." "I wouldn't marry you for all the tea in China." "I'd rather marry a pig." "Well, good." "If I see a dirty old pig, why, I'll send him right around." "You're awful." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to throw you in." "Come here." "Why do you like trees?" "Trees?" " My grandfather liked trees." " Mine, too." "Yes." "We're sorry you have to rush off." "Well, I appreciate you folks' hospitality." "If you're ever down Richmond way, I hope you'll stop in and see us." " We'll do that, Chad." " You be careful on the road." "Thank you, young man." "You'll find it a lot easier going home." " It's downhill all the way." " Thank you." " Bye." " Bye-bye." "Goodbye, Mary Ellen." "And I'm sure whatever hospital you get in you'll be the prettiest nurse on the staff." " Where you going?" " I'm moving on." "Yeah." "Daddy, there's something in here from the county." "What is it?" "It's from the welfare department." "I thought you were staying with us a couple more days." "No, I changed my mind last night." "I never thought I'd fall for a 15-year-old girl." "Erin's a very special person." "Yeah." "You say goodbye to her?" "I'd like to." "What do you think?" "Well, I think you should." "Just keep in mind whatever you say to her she's gonna remember for a long time." "If I can only find her." " Isn't she around here?" " I haven't seen her at all." "I'll tell you where she might be." "The girls' secret place is down by Drucilla's Pond." " Well, I'll look there, then." " Okay." " It's nice knowing you." " Thanks again." " Bye." " Bye." "Daddy," " is that the letter?" " Yeah." "The adoption is all wrapped up." "They'll be out to get her." "It's not gonna be easy on Mama." "No." " I wish I could stay longer." " Then why don't you?" "Because of what I found out about myself, because of last night." "I found out that I loved you, Erin." "Is that so terrible?" "No, it was wonderful, but it just happened a couple of years too soon." " You still think of me as a child." " No, I don't." "We just met at the wrong time." "Maybe if we're lucky, there'll be another summer and it will be the right time." "Goodbye." "Don't you get too attached to her, Grandma." "What are you doing?" "He's gone." "I know." "I really loved him." "I think you did." "It's like my whole life is ruined." "Chad's gone and you hate me." "I don't hate you, Erin." "Are we sisters again?" "I think we're stuck with each other." "Erin." "I'm telling you, it is a scorcher out there today." " Take your break, Pa." "We'll cool off." " I am fully inclined to do so." "I'll tell you, that sun has been simmering my brains." "Regular Turkish bath." "Esther, there's some kind of goo in this here cup." "Zeb, that's Jennifer's oatmeal." "It's cooling." "What are you doing with that?" "I'm making an honest effort to get myself a drink of water." "Ever since this place has turned into a day nursery, there's nothing but baby bottles to drink out of." "Ever since that baby came into this house, you've turned cranky." "What's the matter, Grandpa?" "They all ganging up on you?" "Oh, Esther, calling me cranky." "You've got her looking real pretty." "You be careful of her soft spot." "Ma, I know how to hold a baby." "A man never learns how to hold a baby." "You know, Pa's right." "You are the cranky one." "Hello, you." "Hello." "You know, she's gonna be real pretty when she grows up." "It beats me how a few pounds of noise and appetite can upset a whole household, turn a bunch of sensible people into babbling idiots." "Zeb, you've got the softest heart in the whole family." "May have been so at one time, but in my advancing years I have got no time for infants." "Daddy, could you come out to the mill for a minute?" "Sure, Son." "Pa, she's all yours." " What?" " There." "Grandpa, she looks even smaller when you hold her." " Look out for her soft spot." " You and your confounded soft spot." "You ought to know that I know how to handle babies." "Well, you don't hold it like a sack of cornmeal." "I'm holding her in a perfectly natural and comfortable position." "If she didn't like it, she'd tell me so." "Wouldn't you?" "Beautiful, blue eyes." "Look at her, she's gonna smile at me." "Trouble with you ladies is you don't know how to talk to a baby, with your and all that." "You have to talk to her as though she's a highly intelligent natural human being." "Isn't that right?" "Look at her." "She knows that I am talking sensible to her, don't you, Jenny?" "Now look at the way she uses her hands." "You know, I think this is a highly intelligent child, Livie." "Grandpa, we're gonna need a new belt for the saw." "Well, I'll get around to it directly." "Are you gonna talk to me, Jenny, or not?" "Come on." "Here, come on, look at your old grandpa." "Grandpa, you're just as bad as Mama and Grandma, talking to that baby like it was gonna answer you." "Well, here, Mr. Know-it-all." "I should inform you that a baby of this age can understand adult conversation." " It's by the tone of the voice." " Really?" "She's not a bad looking little thing." "She's much prettier than the Bedloe baby, that's for sure." "Hey." "Kind of reminds me of Elizabeth when she was little, except Elizabeth had red hair." " Jennifer." " Jennifer." "She hardly looks like the same baby." "She's filled out so." "No wonder, the way you and Liv and the girls keep feeding her all the time." "Come here, Jennifer." "Come on, sweetheart." "That's a girl." "That's not fair, Mama." "You always get to hold her." "Can't understand it, a dumb baby." "All it does is holler and wet and everybody thinks it's so wonderful." "Well, it is wonderful if you think about it, Jim-Bob." "That little baby there is gonna become a full-sized girl." "You call that wonderful?" " John-Boy, get that, will you, please?" " Sure." "I'm Blanche Pigeon from Jefferson County Welfare." "Are Mr. and Mrs. Walton here?" " Yes, of course." "Come in." " Thank you." "Mama, don't let them take Jennifer away." "Everybody, this is Blanche Pigeon." "Hello, I'm John Walton." "This is my wife." "This is the whole family." "And there's little Jennifer." "Looks like you've taken real good care of her, Mrs. Walton." "We've tried." "Mama, don't let her take Jennifer." "You did receive my letter." "Yes." "We expected you sooner or later." "We just hoped it would be later." "Well, it's always like that." "It's difficult to give them up, I know." "It may help you, Mrs. Walton, the young couple that are adopting her can't have children of their own." "She'll be wanted and loved." "Maybe you could tell us something about these people." "They're the couple out in the car." "Perhaps we could have a word with them." "It's not customary." "I would advise against it." "I'd like to see them." "Ida, Jim, would you come in, please?" "Hello." "Come in, please." "This is Ida and Jim Piercy." "This is the Walton family." " Hello." " Is that Jennifer?" "Could I hold her?" "If there's anything you want and we have it, you're welcome." "Thanks, but we've been planning for so long." " Gathering things, you know." " We got plenty of diapers." "She goes through them like they grow on trees." "She loves to be held, especially late at night." "One of these nights, Jim, you're gonna come downstairs..." "I'm sorry." "Okay." "Children, say goodbye to Jenny." "Come on." "You, too, honey." "She's a real sweet baby." "She doesn't cry much." " She's beautiful." " I gotta get some juice for her." "I wonder who'll use it next, Mary Ellen or Erin." "John, don't put it too far back." "The cradle was never far back in the attic." "It was used again and again as our own families grew." "And I think she is never so happy as when one or all of her grandchildren come to visit in that house on Walton's Mountain." " Night, Mama." " Good night, John-Boy." " Good night, Mary Ellen." " Good night, Mama." "Good night, Erin." " Do you think Chad will ever come back?" " I don't know, Erin, maybe." "I hope he doesn't." "When he was here, you and Erin were primping in the bathroom all the time." "Good night, Jim-Bob." "A guy has to get in the bathroom sometime." " Good night, Jim-Bob." " Good night, Jim-Bob." "Good night, everybody." "ENGLISH"