A Big Year for Lily Read online

  © 2013 by Suzanne Woods Fisher and Mary Ann Kinsinger

  Published by Revell

  a division of Baker Publishing Group

  P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

  www.revellbooks.com

  Ebook edition created 2013

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  ISBN 978-1-4412-4251-8

  Scripture quotations, whether quoted or paraphrased, are from the King James Version of the Bible.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Published in association with Joyce Hart of The Hartline Literary Agency, LLC.

  Illustrations by Tim Foley

  From Mary Ann

  I would like to dedicate this book to my loving husband who has given me unmeasured love and support.

  From Suzanne

  To my very special nephews—Tim, Connor, Drew, and Scott. I have a hunch you would each pick Aaron Yoder as your favorite character!

  Contents

  Cover 1

  Title Page 3

  Copyright Page 4

  Dedication 5

  1. Effie’s Trick 9

  2. Bats in the Bedroom 16

  3. A Walk in the Woods 22

  4. Lily’s Perfect Day Unravels 29

  5. A Trip to Town 35

  6. The Lesson of the Bumblebee 43

  7. The Sandwich Switch 47

  8. Papa’s Woodwork Shop 51

  9. Joseph’s Campfire Birthday 56

  10. Trouble Is Brewing 60

  11. Marshmallow Mess 63

  12. Aaron Yoder Surprises Lily 68

  13. Lily Bones 74

  14. Papa’s Surprise 80

  15. Lily, the Famous Artist 92

  16. Tummy Troubles 96

  17. Green Hair and a Broken Plate 104

  18. One Chocolate Cupcake 112

  19. Frozen Dannie 116

  20. The Gas Thieves 120

  21. Christmas at Whispering Pines 125

  22. The Snow Cave 133

  23. Fire at the Schoolhouse! 139

  24. Starting Over 146

  25. Mama’s Pig Story 152

  26. Holey Lily 160

  27. Levi Up a Tree 163

  28. Lily Turns Ten 171

  29. Lily’s New Blue Dress 180

  30. Stuck in the Basement with Aaron Yoder 189

  31. A Hurt Toe and an Escape from School 193

  32. Love at First Splash 200

  33. Mama’s Birthday Cake 208

  34. Teacher Rhoda’s Horrible News 215

  35. Late Night Visiting 222

  36. Teacher Rhoda’s Wedding 230

  37. Summer of Kangaroos 236

  38. The Taffy Pull 241

  39. Effie’s Quilt Block 250

  40. The Quilting 257

  Questions about the Old Order Amish 265

  Sweetheart Pudding 268

  About the Authors 269

  Other Books by the Authors 270

  Back Ads 271

  Back Cover 274

  1

  Effie’s Trick

  Lily’s toes felt tingly. She had been sitting on a backless church bench all morning long, and she wasn’t sure how she could sit still one more moment. It was one hundred degrees in the shade, hotter inside the house. She wanted to swing her feet to wake them up, to jump up and down and stomp on them, but that wouldn’t do at all. Mama would frown. There was a time and a place for all things, Mama often said. And church was a time to be still and silent. For three long hours. Even on a steamy July morning.

  Lily glanced at baby Paul, snuggled in Mama’s lap, looking at a little picture book of bunnies. It must be fun to be a baby and be held in church instead of having to sit on a hard bench until her back ached and her toes went dead. It was too bad she couldn’t remember being a baby.

  David Yoder, the minister, stood before the congregation, reciting some Bible verses in German that she couldn’t understand. She stifled a yawn as her gaze shifted to an open window. A gentle breeze blew the white curtain. It reminded Lily of Mama’s sheets on the clothesline, luffing in the wind. A lazy bumblebee flew inside and buzzed around David Yoder’s long crinkly beard. He kept on solemnly preaching while the bee buzzed around him. Even the bee grew bored and flew back out the window. For a moment, Lily imagined what might have happened if the bee had stung David Yoder. Now that would have caused a little excitement!

  At long last, David Yoder’s voice flattened to a deep hum—a sign that the long sermon was coming to an end. Around her, Lily noticed others shift their bottoms on the hard bench in anticipation of the end. The final hymn was sung and church was over! As soon as the fellowship meal was over, Lily could have the rest of the afternoon to play with her friends.

  Mama asked Lily to take care of baby Paul while she went to help the other women set stacks of homemade bread on the tables and pour fresh peppermint tea into cups. Lily didn’t mind taking care of baby Paul. All her friends eagerly took turns holding him, and it made her feel special to know that she had something other girls wanted.

  When lunch was ready, everyone sat at long tables to eat the bread and sip their tea. The bread was spread with a special sweetened creamy peanut butter—church peanut butter. The cookie tray was piled high with Ida Kauffman’s sugar cookies and Mama’s raisin-filled cookies. Lily watched the raisin-filled cookies disappear as the tray made its way down toward the end, where she and Mama sat. She had worried there wouldn’t be enough and even gave Mama a tiny suggestion to bring more cookies along this morning. Mama said there would be plenty, but Lily knew that everybody loved Mama’s raisin-filled cookies. Only two cookies were left on the tray as it passed by Ida and Effie Kauffman. Ida didn’t take a raisin-filled cookie and shook her head when Effie tried to grab one. Instead, they took a bland sugar cookie. There were plenty of those on the tray.

  That left two raisin-filled cookies for Lily and Cousin Hannah. As Lily nibbled on her cookie, she tried to pay attention to Mama and Aunt Mary’s conversation, but she thought it was uninteresting. All mothers ever seemed to talk about was the work they had done that week and what silly new thing their babies had learned to do. She was glad when the bishop announced it was time to have a prayer of thanks. Finally, Lily could go play.

  Lily and Hannah hurried to join their friends. Beth suggested they could play church with their dolls but Effie Kauffman said no. “Church is at my house today so I get to pick what we play,” Effie said, sounding very much like Ida, her bossy mother. “Besides, we’re in fourth grade now. Much too old to play with dolls.”

  Lily and the other girls looked at each other, eyes wide. None of them thought that they were too old, at the age of nine, to play with dolls. They loved to play with their dolls! No one dared to speak up, though. As Papa had once pointed out, Effie ruled the henhouse.

  “Then what do you want to do?” Beth asked Effie.

  “I think we’ll go on a walk like the big girls often do on Sunday afternoons,” Effie said. “It’s a very grown-up thing to do.” She started out the door and up a hill behind the house to a little orchard. Four little girls, including Lily, trotted behind her.

  The orchard did look
pretty, the trees full with soft green leaves. Lily spotted a few apple trees that were loaded with ripening apples.

  “Perhaps,” Effie said, tapping a finger on her chin, “perhaps we could each pick an apple.”

  Lily grew suspicious. It was not like Effie to be generous, even with an apple on a tree. Beth and Malinda walked around the tree to decide which apple they wanted to eat. Lily had already found the one she wanted. Near the top was one of the most beautiful apples she had ever seen. It was enormous, bright yellow, and Lily could practically taste the crisp juicy crunch as she bit into it.

  She pointed it out to Hannah. There must be some way to get to it. “I have an idea,” Lily said. “I’ll go ask Joseph to climb the tree and get that apple for us.” Joseph was always climbing trees.

  “No boys,” Effie said, which made Lily annoyed. Effie was always adding new rules onto her games.

  “I could climb the tree,” Hannah said.

  “Girls don’t climb trees,” Effie said. “That’s sinful. Everybody knows that.”

  Hannah looked bewildered. “It is not sinful to climb a tree,” Lily blurted out.

  Beth, Malinda, and Hannah’s mouths opened to a surprised O. They seemed astonished to hear Lily stand up to Effie. It just wasn’t done.

  It sure did feel good, though. It sure did. Lily ignored her friends’ warning looks and kept going. “It might not be ladylike but it is not sinful. I’m going to climb up and get that apple myself.” She grasped the lowest branch and pulled herself up. She looked down at the girls and took in the varied expressions on their faces: Effie looked angry, Malinda seemed worried, and Beth was amused. Best of all, Hannah looked pleased. That was all the encouragement Lily needed. She scrambled to the next branch, then the next, until she reached the branch that held the big shiny apple. She gathered the corners of her apron together to make a basket and dropped her apple into it. She picked a few more apples for the girls. The biggest sweetest apples always grew near the top of the tree. Everybody knew that.

  With five apples in her apron, Lily clutched it with her left hand and made her way back down the tree. When she had reached the last branch, she carefully tossed the apples, one by one, to the girls. Lily took a big bite of the apple she’d been after. Delicious! Crisp and juicy, just like she imagined.

  As Lily hopped down, her dress caught on a branch and held. For a split second, she dangled in the air. Then a ripping sound filled the air and she dropped the rest of the way to the ground. Effie laughed hysterically as the girls helped Lily to her feet. “Oh Lily, your dress!” Hannah said.

  Lily’s heart sank. Her dress had ripped in a huge three-cornered tear. Her beautiful purple dress was ruined.

  The nice big apple no longer seemed quite so delicious. There was nothing to do but try to hold the tear shut and go find Mama. She wished she had never climbed that tree. Mama would be disappointed that she had torn her best Sunday dress.

  As Lily entered the house, clutching the backside of her torn dress, the women stopped talking. Everyone stared at Lily. She wished she could disappear. Mama quickly came to her side and guided her into a bedroom. “What happened?” she asked.

  “I climbed a tree to get some apples,” Lily said. “My dress caught on a little branch when I jumped down.”

  Ida Kauffman had followed them into the bedroom and listened to Lily’s confession. She handed Mama some safety pins to try to hold Lily’s skirt together. “That’s what happens when you try to draw attention to yourself,” she said to Lily. “God has to teach you a lesson.” Before she left the room, she turned back for a moment, one eyebrow arched. “Wi der Baum, so die Frucht. Recht, Rachel?” Such as the tree is, such is the fruit. Isn’t that true, Rachel?

  Mama kept her eyes down. After Ida left, Mama asked Lily, “Why on earth would you climb a tree in your Sunday clothes?”

  “I wasn’t planning to,” Lily said. “But Effie said that it’s sinful for girls to climb trees. Next thing I knew I was halfway up the tree.”

  Mama finished pinning Lily’s skirt. Then she put her hands on Lily’s shoulders. “I know how it can feel to want to prove someone wrong. But when you act on that prideful impulse, it usually hurts you in the end. Next time, think twice, Lily.” She tapped her gently on the nose and rose to leave.

  Lily was surprised that Mama understood how it felt to want to prove someone wrong. She wondered if that someone for Mama might be Ida Kauffman. Maybe there was hope for Lily after all. If Mama had grown up to be good and sweet and kind even when people annoyed her, maybe someday Lily would, too.

  In the meantime, Effie Kauffman made life a misery.

  2

  Bats in the Bedroom

  Lily loved her new bedroom. When the family first moved into the ugly olive-green house, over a year ago, the upstairs hallway had doubled as her bedroom. Joseph and Dannie galloped past her bed every time they ran to their room. Every sound in the kitchen floated up the stairs and to her room. The hallway bedroom had been a sore trial for Lily.

  But just after school had let out for the summer, Papa had finished off a special room for Lily up in the attic. And now she had the best room in the house.

  The window was Lily’s favorite part of her bedroom. She pretended it was a picture frame, changing throughout the day and night. Mama had made a fluffy white curtain for it but Lily liked to keep the curtain drawn back so she could look out at the tall pine trees. The breeze that swept through the pine branches sounded like whispers to Lily. Sometimes, when she lay in bed, she wondered what they might be saying to each other, if trees could talk.

  She could see the rolling mountains far off in the distance from her window. The mountains changed color throughout the day and night. They went from pinks and lavenders at dawn to blues and greens at dusk. In the night, she could see the moon travel across the sky.

  The walls were a soft honey color made from smoothly varnished maple boards. In one corner, Papa had built a closet. It was nice to have her dresses hanging neatly inside of it instead of on a hook on the wall. Mama had painted the plywood floor lavender and made a bright purple rag rug to use beside her bed.

  The rug matched the pretty purple cushion Mama had made for the chair beside the bed. A long, low chest of drawers stood along another wall. Grandma had crocheted a lavender doily for Lily’s little oil lamp to stand on. And Grandpa had built a pretty bookshelf for her books and made a small nightstand for her bedside. Lily kept a flashlight on top in case she woke during the night.

  Tonight, after she got ready for bed, Lily pulled her diary from its special hiding place—far from the eyes of curious little brothers. She wrote a few paragraphs about her day and tucked it away again. As she crossed the room to blow out her lamp, she paused by the window to gaze at the moon, a tiny sliver above the distant mountains. If she squinted her eyes, it almost looked like a cookie with a big bite out of it.

  She climbed into bed, pulled the covers up under her chin, and closed her eyes. Everything about her room made her feel happy.

  Lily’s eyes flew open. Her heart pounded like a drum. There was a strange noise in her bedroom. She held her breath and tried to listen. There it was again! A rustling flapping bumping noise. Something was in her room! Her hands trembled as she reached over to get the flashlight. She flashed the light around her room and found the sound: a bat fluttered about her room, darting and diving, trying to find its way back out.

  Lily quickly ducked and pulled her covers over her head. She heard the bat fly around and around her room. She couldn’t stay in this room for one minute longer. She jumped out of bed, holding her pillow over her head, dashed out of her room, and flew down the stairs to knock on Papa and Mama’s bedroom door.

  “Who is it?” Papa sounded sleepy.

  “It’s me,” Lily said. “There’s a bat in my bedroom.”

  Papa opened the door. “There’s a bat in your bedroom? What does it look like?”

  “It looks like an ugly little mouse with wings. And it
keeps flying into the walls.”

  “Wait here while I get something to catch it.” Papa put his boots on by the kitchen door and went out into the dark night. A few minutes later, he came back inside with the buggy whip. He told her to stay put as he went upstairs. Lily wondered how Papa could catch the bat with a buggy whip. She had never even seen him use the whip. It had been carried in the little whip holder outside the buggy as long as she could remember. She thought he didn’t know how to use it.

  Lily’s curiosity got the best of her. She tiptoed up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom a tiny crack so she could watch. Papa stood in the middle of the room watching the bat. It flew back and forth across her room, bumping into the walls, trying to find a way to get out. Papa snapped the whip lightning fast and the bat fell to the floor. Lily clasped her hand over her mouth to keep from squealing out loud. Papa bent down and gingerly picked the bat up by the tip of one of its wings. Lily hurried down the stairs and waited for him.

  “Did you kill it?” she asked when he came downstairs.

  “No. I didn’t intend to. The whip knocked it out for a little bit, but it will wake up soon. Bats are helpful little creatures as long as they don’t get inside the house. They eat mosquitoes.”

  Lily shuddered. The bat looked hideous to her. She would rather get a few mosquito bites than have a bat in her bedroom again.

  Lily waited to go back to bed until Papa double-checked her bedroom to make sure that there were no more bats. Then she climbed into bed and fell sound asleep.

  For an entire week, no bats came to visit Lily’s room. She’d settled into a peaceful sleep one night when she suddenly woke, startled to hear the same bat-like flutters and bumps. She flew downstairs to get Papa.

  This time, she waited downstairs while Papa knocked the bat unconscious with the buggy whip. Again, Papa double-checked her room for bats before she would go back into it.

  The next morning, Papa went to inspect her room. “I need to see if I can find how these bats are getting into your room. This has to stop.”