Life with Lily (18 page)

L
ate on a hot August afternoon, the mailman came and left a big parcel on the porch. Lily and Joseph were shocked. They never got any mail. Lily watched as Mama opened the box with a knife. She pulled out glossy new books, with pages for writing and arithmetic. Schoolbooks!

Mama handed Lily the books. “Papa and I have decided we will have school at home until the school board finds a teacher.”

Lily stroked the covers of the shiny new books. She was glad that she could keep learning even if she and Joseph couldn't go to a real school.

Papa and Mama moved the furniture out of the spare bedroom and put it into the attic. Papa carried two little school desks upstairs and put them in the room. He built a frame around a piece of blackboard and hung it on one of the walls. Mama moved the little brown table from the living room into the room. The spare bedroom didn't look like a bedroom anymore. It looked like a little schoolhouse.

Lily clapped her hands. This was going to be fun!

Mama set a strict new routine. As soon as the breakfast dishes were washed, they went upstairs to have school. Lily liked having Mama for a teacher. She didn't lose her temper like Teacher Katie. She was much nicer than Teacher Katie. As soon as Lily and Joseph finished their workbooks, Mama let them go outside to play or help her in the kitchen or keep Dannie out of mischief. Mama was working hard to keep up with selling baked goods out of the buggy while also teaching school to Lily and Joseph.

But there were some things Lily didn't like about having school at home. Mama never had time to read Lily a story anymore, or sit on the porch to listen to birdsong. And Lily hardly ever saw her friends. She did miss her friends.

One night, Lily lay in bed and listened to the barks and howls from a pack of wild dogs that had been roaming around the farms. It was a scary sound. She worried that wild dogs might eat little girls and little boys. Usually, the wild dogs roamed at night, stealing chickens that didn't make it into the coop to roost at night. Once in a while, Lily would spot a few dogs running through the fields in the day. They were ugly and mean. Papa said the wild dogs were worse than wolves because they weren't afraid of fire or light. They weren't afraid to get too close to people.

Tonight, the wild dogs sounded close by, as near as Jim and Jenny's pasture. Though it was a hot night, the sound made Lily shiver. Lily hoped that Jim and Jenny were both safe. Stormy didn't like having those wild dogs get too close. She barked at them, loud and long. Lily was glad Stormy was trying to keep the wild dogs away.

At breakfast the next morning, Papa spread butter on a piece of toast, deep in thought. “Those stray dogs got the rooster last night.”

The rooster? Their proud, strutting rooster? Lily was sad, though she hadn't forgiven the rooster for pecking at her red buttons. She stayed clear of that rooster, but she never wished him to be killed by wild dogs.

“It seems as if those dogs are getting bolder and bolder,” Mama said.

Papa nodded. “They worry me more than coyotes. They're more vicious and dangerous.”

“At least we don't see them much during the day,” Mama said. “But I am getting tired of having them around during the night. The barking woke Dannie up so much last night that he'll be cranky today.”

Oh no! That was sad news to hear. Whenever Dannie was cranky, Mama would ask Lily and Joseph to play with him to keep him happy. It was hard work to make a cranky little boy happy.

Mama wanted to work in the garden after breakfast. The last of her sweet corn was ripe, ready to be gathered for canning. She spread a blanket under one of the cedar trees in front of the house and asked Lily and Joseph to play with Dannie. She sat Dannie on the blanket and gave him a few toys to play with. She handed Lily a pretty picture book to read to Dannie and Joseph.

Dannie wasn't interested in the toys. He wanted to be with Mama and cried when Lily told him to stay on the blanket. Lily opened the book that Mama had given to her. It was filled with colorful pictures.

“Let's play picture hide-and-seek,” Lily said. “I see a pink tulip. Can you find it?”

Dannie looked and looked at the picture, but Joseph spotted the tulip first, so it was his turn to choose something to find.

“Can you find a brown horse?” Joseph said.

Lily pointed out the horse right away. It was the main thing to see on that page. She didn't even have to look for it. She wished that Joseph would pick something that was a little harder to find.

Lily's turn. She asked Joseph to find a little mouse. It was taking him a long time to find it. Suddenly, Lily heard Stormy barking behind the barn. Then she heard the bark of another dog. Stormy came bounding around the corner of the barn chasing a big, ugly, spotted yellow dog. A wild dog!

Where was Dannie?

While Lily and Joseph had been looking for things in the book, Dannie had toddled off. Lily saw him heading toward the garden. The dogs were hurtling right at him! The wild dog was in the lead, with Stormy right behind, snapping at its heels. Joseph hid behind the tree. Lily jumped to her feet and ran to scoop Dannie into her arms while the dogs raced around them, circling and circling. Her heart was pounding. She didn't know what to do!

Mama came running toward them and snapped her big blue apron at the wild dog. It looked like a wolf—curling its lips, baring its teeth, snarling, growling viciously, but Mama didn't back down. “Shoo, shoo! Get away from here!”

The wild dog didn't like getting whacked by Mama's apron. He howled, tucked his tail between his legs, and ran back to the woods. Mama grabbed Dannie out of Lily's arms and hugged him close to her. She was trembling.

“Lily, you were very brave to grab Dannie before the wild dog could snatch him! Weren't you scared?”

“I was! I was scared,” Lily said. “But Joseph was scareder.”

“I wasn't any such thing!” Joseph said, but Lily knew that wasn't so. He was still behind the tree.

Stormy flopped down on the blanket, her long pink tongue dangling out of her mouth. Lily went over to pat Stormy and tell her how wonderful she was. She thought Stormy looked pleased with herself.

“I'm glad we have such a good dog,” Mama said. “No telling what all those strays might do if it weren't for her.”

Lily was glad Stormy was their dog. But she was even more glad that Mama had a big apron and knew how to snap it at snarling wild dogs.

O
n a hot afternoon in September, Trisha and her father, Larry Smith, stopped by Singing Tree Farm to buy a dozen eggs from Mama's chickens. After Trisha's father had paid for the eggs, he leaned against his car to chat with Papa for a while.

“Trisha's school is having their annual parade next weekend,” Larry Smith said. “I was wondering if you might consider giving people rides with your horse and buggy. You could charge them a dollar a ride. I think you'll have a pretty long line of people wanting rides.”

Papa took his straw hat off and raked his hand through his hair, mulling that over. “As long as it's on Saturday instead of Sunday, I think we could probably do that.” He put his hat back on. “Just let me know what time I should be there.”

Larry Smith's face broke into a broad smile. “I'll talk to the parade organizers and let you know. Thanks, Daniel.”
He opened the car door. “Hop in, Trisha. We're ready to go home.”

Lily gave Trisha a goodbye hug. She stood next to Papa and waved and waved, until the car disappeared down the road. “Can I go to town with you, Papa?”

“We'll have to see what Mama wants to do. It all depends if she wants to come. If she does, then we'll all go. But if not, she'll need your help with the boys. You'll need to stay and I'll have to go by myself.”

Lily ran to the house to find Mama. “I want to see a parade and Papa said I can only go if you go. Please, Mama, please go! Say yes!”

Mama looked at Papa curiously as he came into the kitchen. He walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

“What parade?” Mama said. “Where and when?”

Papa wiped his hands with a dish towel and explained what Larry Smith wanted him to do. “I thought you and the children might like to pack a picnic lunch and sit on one of those benches beside the street. You could watch the parade while I give people rides in the buggy. I was thinking of using the open buggy. It's lighter, so Jim won't get as tired from having to give so many rides.”

“That sounds interesting,” Mama said. But she didn't say she was going. She didn't say she was staying at home, either.

Lily wished Mama would give her answer right away, but she knew she should not ask again. One time was enough. Lily knew that from past experience. Mama would tell her after she had made a decision.

On Saturday morning, Papa woke up extra early to brush Jim until his coat shone. Every little hair was perfectly in place. The night before, Papa washed and polished the little open buggy so it would be ready to go.

And here was the best part: Mama had decided to go along! Lily was so excited. She watched Mama pack a basket filled with delicious food. Mama had made little buns of bread stuffed with cold chicken and homemade cheese. Lily had helped her bake little pecan tarts. She placed them carefully into the bottom of the basket. Mama carefully wrapped Papa's favorite, Apple Schnitz Pie, into a soft clean towel. She filled two water jugs to the very top with fresh water. Lily carried the water jugs to the buggy while Mama carried Dannie and the picnic basket.

They were ready for the parade!

The open buggy was small. It had only one seat. Papa had fastened a board against the dashboard for Lily and Joseph to sit on while they were driving. Dannie sat in Mama's lap. After everyone was settled in, Papa flicked Jim's reins and they were on their way.

Lily loved to ride in the open buggy. There was so much more to see than when they used the top buggy. She and Joseph counted eleven lambs, standing close by their ewe mothers, in a pasture. They saw a Cooper's hawk soaring in the sky. A doe and her fawn peeked shyly at them through the trees.

Jim trotted briskly all the way to town, as if he knew what an important job he had for the day. Papa pulled up to the town square and helped Mama and Dannie out of the buggy. He lifted Lily and Joseph and set them down. Papa jumped back into the buggy and drove off to meet Trisha's father. Mama led the way to a bench under a big shady maple tree. She tucked the picnic basket beneath the bench, then they all sat down to wait for the parade to begin.

Soon, Papa and Jim drove by with someone in the buggy. Lily loved how Jim lifted his feet so proudly as he walked
along. Papa said he did that because Jim's father had been a Hackney horse. Lily was sure no other horse in the world was as handsome and high stepping as Jim.

Papa and Jim drove customers back and forth, back and forth. Soon, Lily grew bored. Mama said she had to stay on the bench or sit in the grass next to it. There was nothing to see or do except watch Papa give people rides in the buggy.

More and more people started arriving at the town square. Some brought funny-looking chairs to sit on while others walked around or stood chatting with their friends. Lily heard a funny, far-off noise.
Boom, boom, boom boom boom
. The booms got louder and louder and closer and closer.
BOOM, BOOM, boom boom boom
. Lily looked all around her, but she couldn't see what was making the booms.

And then Lily saw what was making the booms, far down the street. Rows and rows of young people in peculiar uniforms with odd hats, marching toward her. A row of them held something round against their tummies. They pounded on it with sticks.

“What are they doing, Mama?” Lily asked.

“The parade has started,” Mama said. “Those are drums that they're beating.”

Lily didn't like the sound of beating drums. She thought about covering her ears with her hands. She glanced at Joseph to see if he was cringing with the loud booms. To her surprise, Joseph was pounding his little fists on his knees the same way the drummers were beating their drums. He was fascinated.

The row behind the drummers was a group of girls in bright blue one-piece bathing suits and white cowboy boots. They twirled sticks up in the air, caught them, then tossed them up again. Lily wondered how they could keep walking
and twirling like that without growing dizzy and stumbling. Or hitting each other with a stick. She was sure she would hurt someone if she tried to walk while tossing a stick in the air.

The parade continued on. The twirling stick girls were followed by another group, then another. Lily could hardly hear anything because of the drumbeats:
BOOM, BOOM, boom boom boom
.

After the parade ended, Mama pulled out the picnic basket so they could eat lunch. Lily was ready to go home. The parade wasn't what she had expected it to be. It was too loud. Too loud. She did not like it at all.

But Joseph loved it. He turned the empty picnic basket upside down and pretended it was a drum. He beat out the same rhythm as the drummers.
BOOM, BOOM, boom boom boom
.

Finally, finally! Papa and Jim finished giving buggy rides. As Mama saw him drive up to the square, she said, “Okay, children. It's time to go.” Lily helped gather up Dannie's little toys while Mama packed up the lunch.

Lily didn't talk much on the way home. Her ears were still ringing from the loud drummers. But Joseph couldn't stop talking about the parade all the way home.

“Papa, I think I want a drum,” he said.

Papa and Mama exchanged a glance. “We can't get a drum for you,” Papa said. “But if Mama doesn't mind, you could use one of her mixing bowls and some wooden spoons.”

Joseph was thrilled.

Lily had a bad feeling about this.

Day after day, Joseph pounded on his mixing bowl drum with his wooden spoon drumsticks.
BOOM, BOOM, boom boom boom
.

By the end of the week, Lily was sorry they had ever gone to that parade. She wished she had never begged Mama to go to the parade. She wished she had never heard of parades or ever seen marching drummers. She wondered if Mama and Papa had the same thought, but they never said a word.