The origins of Groundhog day go back in history many centuries. It was
based in folklore that said that when a groundhog comes out of his burrow and it
is sunny and if he sees his shadow then winter will last another six weeks.
If it is cloudy and he can't see his shadow then spring will come early.
This story is told from the view of the groundhog. Punxsutawney Phil is the name
of the groundhog in this story, but there are a lot of different groundhogs
around the world and each of them would have their own story. This is
Phil's story.
On groundhog day Phil woke up early because of all the
noise above his head. He was
looking high and low
for his slippers. He couldn't remember where he had taken them off.
Dollar for donuts
he had left them under his bed but he could never
keep track
of anything. This morning promised to be
a heavy day
because he was expected to get out of bed and go outside. You see in the
winter, Phil usually stayed inside his nice burrow where it was warm and cozy.
He was muttering and pulling things out from under the bed when he finally woke
up Mrs. Phil who wanted to know
what's up?
He said that he was just trying to find his slippers and she told him to
carry on
but to keep the noise down. Phil took that as a hint and decided to
call off
the search for the slippers. He knew that today he should
dress up,
because everyone thought that he had a
hidden talent
to be a weather forecaster. But what can a groundhog do to dress up?
He thought that the idea that he could tell weather by coming out of his burrow
was just silly. He wasn't
in the mood
to go outside his burrow because he was warm and comfortable. If spring
came early he would see the grass roots growing by just looking up from his bed
(which was a burrow under a field of grass). He took this weather
prediction idea with a
grain of salt.
What did he know about weather? He thought that maybe this year he would
lie down on the job
and not bother showing his head out of the burrow. He knew that he was the
shining star
of ground hog day and he was considered to the
number one
Groundhog. He'd heard the stories about all the other groundhogs that had the
exact same job as Phil. There was Balzac Billy from Alberta, Canada and
Grady the Groundhog from North Carolina and Susquehanna Sherman from
Pennsylvania and lots of others. But were they all weatherman? Come
on, didn't humans realize that predicting weather by coming out burrows was just
a pack of lies?
Despite this, he was a famous groundhog and he felt that the other groundhog's
predictions didn't
hold a candle
to his predictions. All Phil knew was that this Susquehanna Sherman must
be related to him, because their names sounded the same. He would like to
just go back to bed or
slip away
further into his burrow. Phil knew that he couldn't do that because if he
didn't come out of his burrow, someone would make him come out. He could
hear the footsteps of the crowd that had gathered around his burrow and he knew
whatever happened he would be
coffee talk
for all the humans who had come to
rubberneck.
He knew that there would be reporters who would be anxious to
break a story
about what happened. There would be mayors and cameras and cheers when he
came out of the burrow. He thought he would talk to Philomena, (his wife)
and ask her if she would like to come with him this time but he couldn't
make up
his mind if it was a good idea to wake her up again. Then he
remembered the expression "Happy wife, happy life" and decided that that was a
word to the wise,
he would let her sleep. He thought that maybe he would have a drink of
water before he went out. He didn't much like coffee this early in the
morning and plain old water was his
cup of tea.
The only thing that he knew was that today he was
in charge
of the weather. The noise outside started to get very bad and he knew that
he had better get out before someone made him come out, (and before they woke up
Philomena). He decided that he should
hurry up
and get this over with. He wished that he could tell them all to
keep
their shirts on but he didn't know how to speak and the people didn't
understand groundhog grunts and besides if he shouted, he would wake up Phiomena
(Happy wife, happy life)! Phil knew the
ins and outs
of a happy marriage. Phil thought that
on the bright side
it would all be over soon. He was about to step out of the burrow when he
thought
hang on,
where are my shoes.
He decided that a groundhog would look silly in shoes
so
on the dot
of 12:00 pm. he poked his head out of the burrow. The crowd
went wild
with excitement.
Phil thought that humans were easily amused, but to keep
things
above board
he stood up on his hind legs and looked around for his shadow. There it
was clear as clear could be. Phil was disgusted because he had gotten out
of bed for no good reason. Winter would continue for at least another six
weeks. Phil thought to himself that he should have just stayed in bed for
another six weeks.
Idioms in this Story
went wild
what's up
word to the wise
cup of tea
dollar for donuts
dress up
shining star
slip away
call off
carry on
coffee talk
rubberneck
break a story
number one
on the bright side
on the dot
a heavy day
a pack of lies
above board
lie down on the job
look high and low
make up your mind
hang on
hidden talent
hold a candle
hurry up
in charge
in the mood
ins and outs
keep track
keep your shirt on
grain of salt