Life with Lily Read online

  Every day.

  The same fifteen songs.

  Every single day.

  Lily’s legs grew tired of standing for such a long time. She grew bored with the songs and the poems. She was even bored with the same old Bible verses, though she knew it was wrong to think such a thought.

  Mama helped Lily memorize the snowman poem Teacher Katie had assigned to her to recite at the program. Lily didn’t like the poem. It wasn’t a real Christmas poem like Hannah and Mandy’s. Everybody knew that snowmen were around all winter—not just Christmas. Everybody knew that.

  The evening before the Christmas program, Mama helped Lily wrap Teacher Katie’s gifts. Mama had bought a beautiful big candy bowl filled with candies and nuts. She included two pretty pink towels with dark pink roses on them. Lily thought she had never seen such pretty towels. She hoped her gifts would make Teacher Katie happy. Maybe Teacher Katie would be nicer if she liked Lily’s gifts. Lily set the beautifully wrapped gifts next to the door so she would remember to take it to school in the morning. Oh, but how terrible it would be if she forgot!

  As Lily changed into her nightgown to get ready for bed, she wondered what all the other school children would bring for presents. And she thought about who might have drawn her name. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were Isaac? She smiled and snuggled deeper under her covers. Tomorrow, school would be fun.

  Papa was in no hurry to leave for work in the morning. Lily worried he might be sick, but Papa only laughed. “I won’t be going to work today,” Papa said. “I wouldn’t want to miss my little girl’s first Christmas program.”

  “Oh thank you, Papa!” Lily said. What a wonderful surprise! It would be such a treat to have Papa come to school. He could see her desk. He could see her books and her pencils. Lily knew she wouldn’t mind reciting her dumb snowman poem with Papa sitting at the back, smiling at her in his encouraging way.

  After breakfast Mama told Lily to hurry and change. “Today is a special day, so you can wear your purple Sunday dress.”

  Oh, this day was the best day, the very best! Papa was coming to school and Lily was going to wear her favorite dress. She ran up the stairs, two at a time. She took her purple dress out of the closet and slipped into it. Then she covered it with her white organdy apron.

  Lily hurried downstairs so Mama could button up the back of her dress.

  When Mama saw her, she grinned. “I should have told you to wear your purple apron. The white one is only for church.”

  Lily removed her white apron and hung it carefully back in her closet, a little disappointed. She wanted to wear her Sunday best to school today. Even Papa was dressed up. He looked so handsome in his nice Sunday visiting clothes. Papa went outside to hitch Jim to the buggy as Mama scurried around getting everything ready. Lily helped Dannie with his socks and shoes, though she needed Mama’s help to tie the laces. Just as Papa brought Jim up to the house, they were ready to go.

  Lily carried the wrapped gifts for Teacher Katie out to the buggy as if they were made of spun sugar. After everyone was settled, Mama tucked a thick buggy robe over their laps. The buggy robe was warm and cozy, but Lily couldn’t sit still. Too excited! She turned around and knelt on the seat to look out the window. Now she was glad she could wear her purple apron. She wouldn’t have to worry about wrinkles.

  Joseph turned around to look out the window too. It was fun to see the tracks the buggy wheels made in the fresh snow that fell last night. They rolled out like ribbons behind the buggy.

  When they arrived at school, Papa guided Jim up to the hitching rack to wait with the other horses. Papa reached under the front seat and got Jim’s horse blanket. He tossed it on Jim’s back and fastened the straps underneath his belly. The blanket would keep Jim nice and warm until they were ready to go home.

  Mama had packed lunch for them in a big brown paper bag. All but Lily’s. Her lunch was packed in her lunch box, like a usual school day, even though nothing about the day felt usual.

  “Can I carry your lunch box?” Joseph asked.

  Lily handed it to him and carefully carried Teacher Katie’s gifts into the schoolhouse.

  Rows of benches had been brought into the schoolhouse and pushed up against the walls of the schoolhouse. Most of the parents had already arrived. They were seated and visiting with each other. The students were huddled near the front of the room around Teacher Katie’s desk. Her desk was piled high with presents of every shape and size, wrapped in pretty Christmas wrapping. One box was very big. What could be inside? It was almost as big as Lily was tall. She placed Teacher Katie’s gift very carefully on the edge of the desk so it wouldn’t be squashed, and then stood next to Hannah. Together they eyed the packages and tried to guess what was inside them and who would be getting them. Lily couldn’t stop thinking about what was in that big box and for whom it was meant. Maybe it would be for Lily! Maybe it would be a new doll. Sally would like to have a doll friend.

  Teacher Katie rang the bell for the students to sit down. She stood in front of the classroom. “Since we are having a program we will be doing things a little differently this morning,” she said. “I would like to ask Nate Mast and Daniel Lapp to read the Christmas Scriptures for us.”

  Papa? Teacher Katie wanted Lily’s Papa to read! Mandy sat up straight and proud in her chair, so Lily did too.

  Nate Mast and Papa rose from their benches and walked to the front of the schoolhouse. Nate Mast read the second of Matthew. Then it was Papa’s turn to read. Lily loved to listen to Papa’s deep voice, so smooth and clear, as he read the second of Luke. When he finished, he closed the Bible and went back to sit next to Mama and Joseph and Dannie.

  Teacher Katie nodded her head—the signal for the scholars to rise from their desks and file to the front of the schoolroom. The children stood in rows, just as they had practiced so many times. This time, they didn’t use songbooks. Teacher Katie had made them sing the fifteen songs so often that they had everything memorized. Lily thought she could sing them in her sleep.

  After singing several songs, it was Isaac’s turn to recite. His poem was about the innkeeper in Bethlehem. Several other children recited their poems and then they sang more songs. Lily’s turn to recite came last because she was the youngest. Always, always last. She looked out at the sea of faces. There were so many people! They were all looking right at her. Suddenly she couldn’t remember any words to the dumb snowman poem. Her mind was like a white sheet flapping on a clothesline—blank and restless. Her heart thumped loudly. She was sure others could hear it. Ba bump, ba bump, ba bump. It was echoing through the quiet room!

  As she clutched the sides of her apron, she tried to think harder. Think, think, think, Lily! Everything was so quiet. Everyone was waiting. Everyone was watching. The room was full of watching eyes. Lily wanted to run right out of the schoolhouse and keep running. Just then she caught Papa’s eyes. He winked. And just like that—snap!—Lily remembered. She quickly said her poem without a single mistake. And then the scholars sang the final song. Number fifteen.

  At last, it was time to exchange the gifts. The children went back to their desks, watching with anticipation as Isaac and another big boy passed out the gifts. Lily watched as Teacher Katie opened her gift. She took a long time admiring the rose pattern on the towels and she started to eat the candy in the candy bowl. Lily thought she seemed pleased, but it was hard to tell because Teacher Katie never smiled. Not once.

  Isaac placed a lumpy-looking package on Lily’s desk. She turned it over and saw that it was from Hannah. She carefully unwrapped the funny-looking package. Inside was a paint-by-number set. Lily’s favorite thing! Next to playing dolls. And there was also a cute red and yellow apple-shaped glass candy bowl with a few pieces of homemade chocolate candy and three packs of Smarties. Lily smiled at Hannah. Smarties were her favorite candy of all. The gifts were perfect, just perfect. She didn’t even mind that she was not going to get the great big box. She placed her gifts on the corner of her desk and
watched the other children open their gifts. Balls, books, candy. All of the gifts were wonderful! Very, very wonderful.

  Isaac passed out the last gift and sat down at his desk where his gift was waiting to be opened. It was the giant box! Lily couldn’t wait to see what was inside. She kept her eyes on Isaac as he opened it carefully. Inside the box was another box, wrapped in colorful wrapping paper. After he opened that box, there was another box inside of that one, and another and another. Each box was smaller than the one before. Finally, there was only a thin little box left to open. Inside was a coloring book—something Joseph or Dannie might like. But not something a big eighth grade boy would want. Lily felt sorry for Isaac. Everyone received special gifts except for him. She wondered who had given him a joke gift. A rusty snorting sound came from the front of the classroom. Lily looked up and saw it was Teacher Katie, watching Isaac and laughing.

  The big girls gathered up the wrapping paper so the mothers could take it home to iron and reuse. After the room was cleaned up, it was time to eat.

  Together, the students and parents sang a short song of thanks to God for their food. The children ran to get their lunch boxes. Mothers set out the food they had packed. The schoolhouse with filled with happy sounds of laughter and chatter.

  When Lily had finished eating, she gathered her gifts into her arms and went to sit next to Papa and Mama. She stopped beside Isaac’s desk. She had to know. “Who gave you that silly coloring book?” she whispered.

  Isaac glanced around the room. He lowered his voice. “Teacher Katie.”

  Teacher Katie? Teacher Katie! What a mean trick! And then she had laughed at him too. How could a grown-up be so mean, especially at Christmas? It was a mystery to her. “You can have some of my candy.” It wasn’t an easy thing to part with her Smarties, but Lily would do that. She would do that for Isaac.

  Isaac shook his head. “No, that’s okay. It’s yours.”

  Lily went back to Papa and Mama. She gave Joseph and Dannie each a pack of Smarties and then opened the last pack for herself. As the Smarties candy dissolved on her tongue, it tasted like Teacher Katie: sour and tangy.

  18

  The Stranger and the Steer

  The room was warm and full of flickering firelight. Papa and Mama sat on their rocking chairs. A big pile of grapevines lay on the floor between them, near the small table that held the oil lamp. The owner of a nearby vineyard had brought the big bundles of vines for Papa and Mama to prune. One by one, they would take a long vine and carefully count the little knobby buds before they cut the vines into little pieces. Only one or two buds should be on each piece.

  After they had finished trimming them, the owner would use the little pieces to grow more big grapevines. In several years, these little sticks would end up producing big juicy grapes. It was hard for Lily to imagine. Right now, they just looked like a big pile of twigs.

  Lily sat on the couch playing with her doll, Sally. Joseph played on the floor with his stuffed animals. Dannie was already asleep in his crib. Lily wished she could help Mama and Papa cut the vines. It looked fun and easy. They made a quick snip with the pruning shears and tossed the cut piece in the box. The box was slowly filling up.

  “Can I cut a few grapevines?” Lily asked.

  “We only have two pruning shears,” Papa said. “And it is much harder than it looks. Maybe when you are a little older, you can help us.”

  Papa started to whistle. Mama hummed along and soon Lily and Joseph chimed in. The little farmhouse was filled with the sounds of their sweet voices.

  A wailing sound floated down the stairs. Their beautiful singing must have woken Dannie up. Mama went upstairs to rock him back to sleep. She laid her pruning shears on the floor beside her rocking chair. Lily eyed the pruning shears. It looked so pretty with its bright blue handles and its shiny little scissor-like blades. She was sure she could snip the vines just like Mama had been doing.

  Lily scooted behind Mama’s rocking chair and got a vine. She carefully counted two buds and cut. Snip! Suddenly the pruning shears slipped and cut a gash into her hand. Lily screamed as blood seeped out of the cut. Papa bolted from his rocking chair and yanked his big red bandana out of his pocket. He wrapped it around Lily’s hand and took her to the kitchen sink to wash the blood away.

  Mama heard Lily’s scream and rushed downstairs to see what had happened. She peered over Papa’s shoulder to see how deep the cut was. They decided it didn’t need stitches, so they cleaned it carefully, covered it with ointment, then taped a neat little gauze bandage over it.

  “I think it’s bedtime now,” Papa said.

  Oh, no. So early! Lily wished she hadn’t tried to cut the grapevine. Her hand was sore and now Papa was sending her to bed early. After Papa read a short prayer from the little black prayer book, Lily and Joseph went upstairs to bed. As Lily lay in her bed, she listened to the cold winter wind moan through the trees and whistle at her windows. She could hear the murmur of Papa and Mama’s voices as they continued to snip the grapevines. She yawned and wiggled farther down the mattress. Soon, she fell asleep.

  Early one Saturday morning in March, someone knocked on the door as Lily and Joseph gathered breakfast dishes from the table to take to Mama at the kitchen sink. Mama wiped her wet hands on her apron. She reached up to tuck a stray wisp of hair behind her ear before she went to see who was at the door.

  Mama opened the door to a stranger. Lily didn’t know who the man was and tried to listen as he talked to Mama.

  “I have come to pick up your steer,” the stranger said. “Where do you want me to put the trailer to get him loaded?”

  “Along the far side of the barn,” Mama said. “I’ll be right out to help you load him.” She closed the door and turned to Lily. “I have to run out to the barn for a little bit. Keep an eye on Dannie for me and I’ll be right back.”

  Mama put on her warm coat and went out to help the man. Lily and Joseph ran to the living room and knelt on the couch in front of the windows. They saw Mama and the man walk inside the barn. When they came back out, the man was carrying Papa’s big red chain saw. Lily wondered what he needed with Papa’s saw. Lily and Joseph weren’t allowed to touch it.

  Mama and the stranger disappeared behind the barn. Lily and Joseph kept watching out the window. Dannie was happily building towers on the floor with his wooden blocks. Lily heard the chain saw start with a roar. She couldn’t think of anything behind the barn that needed cutting.

  And then she had a dreadful thought.

  Maybe . . . the stranger was cutting off Mama’s legs! Lily could imagine the entire scene in her mind. Poor Mama! She wouldn’t be able to walk or cook or do anything she was used to doing. It was all too terrible to think about. Lily turned to Joseph and said in a thin, scared whisper, “That man is chopping Mama’s legs off!”

  Joseph looked at her with big eyes. He started to cry. Big, loud, gasping wails. Dannie’s mouth opened wide and he started to bawl. The three of them sat on the floor, held each other, and cried at the top of their lungs.

  All of a sudden, Mama was standing in front of them. “Whatever is wrong?” Her eyes scanned all three of them to see if someone had bumped a head or scraped a knee.

  Why, Mama’s legs were still there! They weren’t cut off at all! Lily was so glad to see Mama, still in one piece. But then she felt a little sheepish.

  Joseph wasn’t feeling at all sheepish. “Lily said that man was cutting your legs off.”

  Lily frowned at him. Little boys needed to learn not to tattle.

  Mama looked exasperated. “There was a long branch on the big ash tree behind the barn. The man had to cut it so he could back his trailer up to the barn door.” She crouched down to Lily’s level. “A healthy imagination is a good thing if you use it for the right things, Lily. But it is never a good idea to use it to worry about things that might not happen. Worrying is a big waste of time.”

  Lily wiped away her tears. She would try harder not to think of worriso
me thoughts again. But she still thought Joseph should learn not to tattle.

  19

  Mandy Mast’s Visit

  On a sunny Saturday, Nate Mast stopped by Singing Tree Farm with Mandy at his side. He needed to buy another draft horse at a horse auction and would be gone all day. Would Mama mind if Mandy stayed to play with Lily today?

  Of course, Mama said yes. Normally, Lily liked having friends come for the day, but Mandy was a continual worry. It seemed that every time Mandy came over, Lily ended up doing something that made Papa and Mama sad. And usually, Lily ended up getting sent to her room to think about the choices she had made with Mandy. And Joseph would cry and Dannie would cry and then Lily would cry—mostly because she was sent to her room.

  The problem was that Mandy thought of things to do that Mama had never told Lily not to do until after she helped Mandy do it. Lily hoped that Mandy wouldn’t get any new ideas this time. She didn’t want to get into trouble. She didn’t like to make her parents sad. And she definitely didn’t like to get sent to her room.

  Lily thought back to Mandy’s last visit. She had helped Lily gather the eggs in the chicken coop. Mandy showed Lily how she could hold the little pail filled with eggs and swing her arm around in a wide circle without any eggs falling out of the pail. But when Lily tried it, she didn’t swing her arm fast enough. Every egg in the pail fell to the ground and splattered on the floor. Mama was not at all happy about wasted eggs. At least the hens were happy. They enjoyed pecking them until they had cleaned up the whole mess.