Look Out, Lancaster County Page 25

  Rachel’s mouth fell open. “Grandpa, I never knew you did anything like that.”

  Grandpa nodded soberly. “You have to be careful about the choices you make, Rachel. Don’t be in a hurry to experience all the things the world has to offer. Some things aren’t as fun as you think they will be.” He reached for Rachel’s hand and gently squeezed her fingers.

  Rachel nestled against Grandpa’s shoulder. “I’m glad you came to live with us.” He smiled. “Me, too.”

  Chapter 8

  Always in a Hurry

  What are you making?” Jacob asked on Thursday morning when he entered the kitchen, where Rachel sat at the table.

  Rachel turned in her chair. “I’m getting ready to paint a ladybug rock for Orlie, and I need to hurry so I can get it done on time.”

  “Dummel dich net! [Take your time, don’t hurry!]” Jacob said, shaking his head.

  Rachel frowned. “Why do you always tell me what to do?”

  “Because you’re a little bensel and need someone to tell you what to do.”

  “I don’t need you telling me what to do.” Rachel flapped her hand at him. “Go away…shoo…don’t bother me.”

  “No problem. The roads are better today, so Pap hitched one of our buggy horses to the sleigh. I’m going to town with him and Grandpa.” Jacob leaned close to Rachel’s ear. “You won’t have to put up with me for the rest of the morning, little bensel.”

  “If you’re heading to town, don’t forget to buy a whistle so you can train Buddy.”

  “I won’t; that’s why I decided to go along.” Jacob peered over Rachel’s shoulder. “Why are you making a painted rock for Orlie? I thought you didn’t like him.”

  Rachel’s cheeks burned. Would Jacob tease her about Orlie now? “I don’t like some of the things Orlie does,” she said, “but I don’t dislike him. Right before Christmas I promised to make something for his birthday, so I’m trying to keep that promise.”

  Jacob’s forehead wrinkled. “You still don’t like the fact that Orlie gave me his dog, do you?”

  “I don’t like Buddy, but I’m not mad at Orlie.” Rachel shrugged. “Besides, he had to give the mutt to someone.”

  Jacob nodded. “Well, I’d better go. I don’t want to keep Pap and Grandpa waiting in the cold.” Bam! Jacob slammed the back door.

  Rachel picked up the small paintbrush lying on the table. If she hurried, she might have time to play in the snow.

  She dipped her paintbrush in the bottle of black paint and painted the entire rock for the ladybug’s body. Then she dipped the brush into the white paint to make the ladybug’s eyes and antenna.

  “Ach!” Rachel cried when she realized that the white paint had turned gray. “I should have cleaned the black paint off the brush before dipping it into the white paint.”

  Rachel rushed to the sink and washed out the brush then hurried back to the table. She dipped the brush into the white paint again and drew a circle for each eye and thin lines for the ladybug’s antenna. Now it only needed some red circles on its body for wings, two black dots in the white circles for the eyes, and a red line for the mouth. Then the ladybug rock would be finished.

  This time Rachel remembered to wash the brush before she dipped it into the red paint. But she didn’t remember to wait until the black paint had dried before adding the red dots to the body.

  “Ugh!” she moaned. The red paint had run into the black paint! Now she had to start over again.

  Rachel was glad Jacob wasn’t there to see her mistake. He probably would have teased her about it and called her a bensel.

  Rachel took the rock to the sink and turned on the faucet. Black, red, and white paint dribbled off the rock and ran down the drain. “What a waste,” she muttered.

  “Rachel, please go outside and give the chickens food and water,” Mom said as she stepped into the kitchen.

  “Now?”

  Mom nodded.

  “Can’t it wait until I finish painting Orlie’s ladybug rock?”

  Mom shook her head. “The chickens need to be cared for.”

  “Okay.” Rachel placed the rock on the edge of the sink and dried her hands on a towel. At this rate, she would never get to play in the snow.

  She slipped into her jacket and was almost to the back door when Mom called, “While you’re outside, you’d better go to the barn and give Jacob’s dog some food and water.”

  Rachel frowned. “Didn’t Jacob do that before he left for town?”

  Mom shook her head. “Your daed was in a hurry so Jacob asked Henry to give food and water to Buddy.”

  “Then why are you asking me to do it?”

  “Because I asked Henry to chop wood for the stove, and he’ll be busy with that for quite a while,” Mom said. “Since you’re going outside, I figured you could tend to Buddy.”

  Rachel wasn’t happy about doing anything for Buddy, but she knew better than to argue. “Okay,” she mumbled.

  “And don’t forget to take a bucket of hot water with you, because the water dishes in the chicken coop are probably frozen.”

  Rachel found a bucket in the utility room, filled it with hot water from the sink, and headed out the door. She walked carefully through the snow so she wouldn’t spill any water. Besides the fact that it was hot, Rachel knew if she got any on her clothes, it could freeze right on the spot. The last thing she needed was to burn herself, or end up with a cold, frozen dress!

  When Rachel entered the chicken coop, she discovered that the water in all the dishes was frozen, just as Mom had said. Carefully, she poured hot water over the ice. When it melted enough for the chickens to drink, she opened the bag of chicken feed and put some in each food dish.

  When that was done, Rachel picked up the empty bucket and turned to go. She’d only taken a few steps, when—whack!—she was hit in the leg by the wing of a squawking chicken. Another hen squawked and soon the whole chicken coop became a whirl of noisy, flapping chickens.

  Gripping the empty bucket, Rachel dashed for the door. She didn’t look forward to returning to the chicken coop, but knew she would be expected to feed and water the chickens again tomorrow.

  Rachel stepped outside and walked slowly across the yard. When she entered the barn she heard a whistling, snorting sound coming from the stall where Buddy slept. She set the bucket on the floor, hurried to the other side of the barn, and slowly opened the stall door. The last thing she needed was for Buddy to see her and get all excited.

  As soon as Rachel saw Buddy, curled up in a mound of straw, she recognized the whistling, snorting sound. Buddy was snoring!

  She held her breath and tiptoed across the floor, careful not to wake the sleeping dog. Then she picked up Buddy’s empty water dish and left the stall.

  When Rachel reached the other side of the barn, she set the dish on the floor and grabbed the hose Pap used to clean things in the barn. The hose was connected to a water pipe, and during the cold winter months, Pap kept a lantern lit above the pipe so it wouldn’t freeze.

  Rachel leaned over, and was about to turn on the faucet, when—fump!—two big paws landed on her back and nearly pushed her over.

  Rachel whirled around and shook her finger at Buddy. “Stay down! You almost knocked me down, you big, hairy mutt!” She would be glad when Jacob got home with a new whistle.

  Buddy tipped his head to one side and whined.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself, Buddy,” she muttered.

  The dog nudged Rachel with his cold, wet nose, the way he did when he wanted to play. She wished she’d remembered to close the stall door, but she hadn’t expected Buddy to wake up while she was filling his water dish.

  “I don’t have time to play now.” Rachel grunted. “I only came here to give you some food and water.”

  Buddy’s tongue shot out, and he licked Rachel’s hand. “Stop that!” She wiped her hand on her jacket and turned on the hose. When Buddy’s dish was full of water, she carried it carefully back to his stall. Buddy
followed and lapped at the water as soon as she set the dish on the floor.

  Rachel put food in Buddy’s dish; then she closed the stall door and headed out of the barn.

  She tromped through the snow toward the house but halted when several snowflakes brushed her cheeks. “I hope we don’t have another snowstorm,” Rachel said with a groan. She needed to get Orlie’s rock painted, and then she hoped to build a snowman.

  The snow stopped as quickly as it had started, and when Rachel looked up, she realized the flakes of snow she’d felt had dropped from the tree overhead, not from the sky.

  Rachel stared longingly at the ground, glistening with tiny ice crystals. It would be so much fun to make a pretty snow angel. If she was going to get Orlie’s rock done today, she shouldn’t take the time to play in the snow, but—well, maybe she could make just one snow angel.

  Rachel dropped to the ground, spread her arms back and forth, and stared at the hazy sky. Of all the seasons, she liked summer the best, but there were some fun things to do in the winter.

  Yip! Yip! Yip! Rachel’s thoughts were interrupted as Buddy carried on in the barn.

  She moaned and clambered to her feet. “Now what is that dog’s problem? He’s been fed and watered; I thought he might go back to sleep.”

  Rachel glanced at the barn and gasped. Water ran out from under the barn door and formed a puddle in the yard!

  “Oh no,” she moaned. “I must have left the hose running!”

  Stepping around the water, which seemed to freeze right before Rachel’s eyes, she rushed into the barn. Sure enough, the hose was still running, and water ran everywhere.

  “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get,” Rachel mumbled. That was one of Grandma Yoder’s favorite sayings. “Why, oh why, did I leave that hose running?”

  Rachel sloshed her way over to the sink and turned off the water. Then, being careful to stay away from the frozen puddle outside, she started for the house.

  Woof! Woof! Buddy bounded up to her, barking and wagging his tail.

  “How did you get out?” Rachel scolded. She’d thought she had closed both the stall door and the barn door. She shook her head slowly and frowned. “Everything’s so verhuddelt [mixed up] today.”

  As Rachel stepped forward, her foot slipped on the ice, and she grabbed Buddy’s collar to keep from falling.

  Buddy must have thought she wanted to play because he took off like a shot. Slipping and sliding over the frozen water and into the snowy yard, he pulled Rachel along.

  “Stop, Buddy!” she hollered. But Buddy kept going. Around and around in circles he went, like an ice skater. Rachel’s stomach flew up and her head spun like a top. This was not the kind of fun she’d planned to have today!

  Buddy screeched to a stop, and Rachel plopped into a mound of snow.

  Slurp! Slurp! The unruly dog licked her face with his big red tongue.

  Rachel scrambled to her feet. “Bad dog! Jacob needs to teach you some manners!”

  Buddy whimpered and lowered his head.

  Rachel clomped up the stairs and rushed into the kitchen.

  “Slow down, Rachel,” Mom said. “What’s your hurry?”

  Before Rachel could reply, Buddy bolted into the room, circled Rachel, and crashed into the table. Rachel’s jars of paint toppled over, and a pool of red, black, and white paint dripped onto the floor.

  “Oh no!” Rachel wailed. “Now I can’t paint a ladybug rock for Orlie’s birthday!”

  Mom grabbed Buddy’s collar and ushered him out the door; then she turned to Rachel. “Why did you let Jacob’s dog in the house?”

  “I—I didn’t. He followed me up to the house after I—” Tears sprang to Rachel’s eyes. “Oh, Mom, everything I’ve tried to do this morning has gone wrong!”

  “Besides this mess, what else has gone wrong?”

  Mom asked, motioning to the paint.

  Rachel grabbed a mop to clean the paint, while she told Mom about the trouble in the chicken coop, the barn, and then outside with the ice and Buddy dragging her across the slippery yard.

  “It sounds to me like you could have avoided at least some of that trouble if you hadn’t been in such a hurry.” Mom clucked her tongue. “It doesn’t pay to be impatient or to try to do things too quickly.”

  “I wanted to hurry so I could paint Orlie’s rock, and then I hoped I could play in the snow.” Rachel drew in a quick breath. “Now I have no paint left, so I can’t give Orlie a rock for his birthday.”

  “Why don’t you give Orlie one of your own painted rocks?” Mom suggested.

  Rachel sniffed. “I—I do have that ladybug rock in my room. I guess I could give it to Orlie and make a new one for myself when I get more paint.”

  Mom smiled and patted Rachel’s head. “That would be a nice thing to do.”

  Just then, the back door opened, and Jacob stepped into the house. “Whew! It was sure cold riding in that sleigh!” he said, rubbing his hands together.

  “Where’s your daed and Grandpa?” Mom questioned.

  “In the barn, putting the horse away.”

  “Would you like some hot chocolate?” Mom asked.

  Jacob nodded. “That sounds good.”

  Mom scurried to the stove. “I’d better put some coffee on for the menfolk. It’ll warm them when they come inside.”

  Rachel stepped up to Jacob. “Did you get the whistle for Buddy?”

  He reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a shiny plastic whistle. “Sure did. And this time I didn’t lose it, because Mom patched the hole in my pocket.”

  “When are you going to try it out on Buddy?” Rachel asked.

  “I’ll probably wait until Saturday.”

  “Why not now?” she asked.

  He slipped out of his jacket and rubbed his hands over his arms. “I’m too cold to work with Buddy right now, and later today I’m supposed to go to Grandma and Grandpa Yoder’s to help Grandpa clean his barn.”

  “What about tomorrow?” she asked.

  Jacob shook his head. “We saw Deacon Byler in town, and he said the schoolhouse will be open again tomorrow.”

  Rachel smiled. “Oh, that’s good. I’m more than ready to go back to school.”

  “Jah, me, too.”

  “So can’t you work with Buddy tomorrow after school?”

  “I don’t think so. Pap said something about my helping Henry groom the horses.”

  Rachel’s smile turned to a frown. At this rate, Buddy would never be trained!

  As Rachel headed to school the next day, she felt good about what she had in her coat pocket.

  “Why are you wearing such a silly grin?” Jacob asked. “Are you glad we’re going to school?”

  She nodded and quickened her steps, careful not to step on any icy patches. When she entered the schoolyard, she spotted Orlie by the swings, building a snowman.

  She pulled the ladybug rock out of her pocket and hoped no one would see her give the rock to Orlie. She was almost there when her foot slipped on a patch of ice. The rock flew out of Rachel’s hand, and she landed face-down in a pile of snow.

  “What happened?” Orlie asked, pulling Rachel to her feet.

  “I was coming to give you—” She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Oh no—I lost it!”

  Orlie’s eyebrows drew together. “What did you lose?”

  “Your birthday present. I dropped it in the schnee [snow].”

  “You brought me a birthday present?”

  She nodded. “It’s one of my painted ladybug rocks.”

  “Let’s look for it.” Orlie dropped to his knees and pawed through the snow, like a dog trying to cover a bone. Rachel did the same. Snow flew to the left. Snow flew to the right. No ladybug rock was in sight.

  “I think it’s lost,” Rachel mumbled.

  Orlie grinned at Rachel as he helped her to her feet. “It’s okay. When the snow melts, I’m sure we’ll find my birthday present.”

  Rachel smiled. She was glad Orlie was so un
derstanding.

  “How’s Buddy getting along?” Orlie asked as they walked toward the schoolhouse.

  “Well, he’s—”

  “I’ve been meaning to get over to your place to see him,” Orlie interrupted, “but something’s always prevented me from coming.”

  “Like what?” Rachel wanted to know.

  “First my daed came down with the flu, so I had twice as many chores. Then it was the bad weather.” Orlie’s forehead wrinkled. “Maybe it’s best if I don’t see Buddy. It might make me miss him more than I already do.”

  “If you miss the dog so much, maybe you should take him back,” Rachel said as she and Orlie stepped onto the schoolhouse porch.

  “I can’t. My mamm’s allergic to Buddy, remember?”

  Rachel nodded.

  “So, how is Buddy doing? Is he happy living at your place?”

  “He seems happy enough, but he chases my cat and won’t come when he’s called.”

  Orlie’s eyebrows drew together. “Isn’t Jacob using the whistle I gave him?”

  Rachel explained how Jacob had lost the whistle but had bought a new one for Buddy yesterday. “Jacob thinks he can train Buddy better now that he has a new whistle,” she added.

  “I think he’s right,” Orlie said, nodding. “Using a whistle with Buddy always worked for me.”

  Rachel opened her lunch pail, pulled out a plump winter pear, and handed it to him. “This isn’t the present I’d planned to give you today, but happy birthday, Orlie!”

  Chapter 9

  A Dappich [Clumsy] Day

  Are you sure you don’t want to go shopping with me and your daed?” Mom asked Rachel as she wrapped a large woolen shawl around her shoulders.

  “Why are you going shopping? I thought Pap, Grandpa, and Jacob went shopping on Thursday.”

  Mom shook her head. “Not exactly. They went to town to pick up a new harness your daed ordered. Today we’ll shop for groceries.”

  “I see.”

  “So do you want to go along?”

  Rachel shook her head. “Since today’s Saturday and there’s still plenty of snow, I thought it would be fun to build a snowman.”