Free Blossoms on the Roof by Rebecca Martin Page A

wanted to get home as fast as possible.
    â€œBen,” said Father, several hours later and as they neared home, “let’s not tell Polly those stories that Jess Holmes told.”
    Ben looked up at Father and nodded.

13
    Picnic with the Oxen
    W ater!” yelled Ben so loudly that Polly and Mother could hear him from inside the house.
    Polly was helping Mother get dinner when she heard Ben’s shout and ran outside shrieking, “Is it coming? Did you find water?”
    There was Ben, all covered with dirt and climbing out of the new well. For days the Yoder family had been digging their well. Ben had done most of it because Father had to keep plowing. Mother and Polly often helped Ben by cranking the pails of earth out of the well as fast as he filled them.
    Beneath the mud on Ben’s face was a big smile. “Yes, there’s water down there. Lots of it! I had to hurry to get out of the way.”
    Polly leaned over to stare into the well. The noonday sun shone right down into it. And yes, there was the glint of water!
    â€œIt’s a good thing we have a well now,” Mother said happily. “The creek has been getting very low with all this dry weather.”
    Jakie came running to see what all the fuss was about. Just in time Mother grabbed his trousers. “Careful! Don’t fall in.”
    Ben cleaned out the bucket they had been using to remove the dirt and then let the bucket down again. This time when it came up, it was full of fresh cold water.
    â€œThe water’s muddy. We can’t drink that,” Polly complained.
    â€œIn a little while the water will be clear,” Mother assured her. “Now I better hurry in to check those potatoes on the stove.”
    Polly followed her indoors. She set the table, sliced the bread, and then ran out again to check the sun. It was straight overhead. That meant it was time for Father to come in for the noon meal.
    â€œWhy doesn’t Father come in?” Polly asked.
    Mother kept on stirring the soup. “Maybe he forgot to check the sun. Surely he’ll be in soon.”
    Polly stared across the furrows. Father was way out there with the oxen. They were so slow! It would take them a while to reach the house.
    Then Polly heard something. “Mother, I can hear Father shouting!”
    Mother dropped her spoon and came to the door. For amoment she listened. A smile slowly spread across her face. “He’s shouting at the oxen. I think they don’t want to move.”
    â€œOh, are they being stubborn?”
    Mother smiled again. “I think so. I know what we will do. Father can’t leave the oxen alone out there. That means he can’t come in for dinner. So we will take our dinner out to him and have a picnic!”
    Polly laughed and went to find Jakie and Ben. Soon they were all on their way across the furrows, each one carrying some food. Even Lisbet clutched a slice of bread in her little hand.

    The children thought a picnic was a great idea!
    When he saw the family coming, Father mopped his forehead with his big, blue hankie and started to chuckle. “So you are bringing me my dinner out here because Roland and Trim won’t move.”
    Mother smoothed out a square in the grass. While she and Polly laid out the food, Father said, “I will get some slough grass for the oxen to eat. Maybe after they have had dinner, they will stop being so stubborn.”
    Polly knew what slough grass was. A slough was a low, marshy spot, and the grass that grew there was especially tender.
    Once the oxen were munching away, the Yoder family sat down in the grass and asked a blessing on their food. It was May, and the wind blew warm and fragrant across the prairies.
    Then Ben remembered the exciting news. “Father, we have a well! I struck water this morning.”
    â€œAh, that’s good,” Father said gratefully. “It reminds me of that story in the Bible where Jesus met a woman at a