Free Life with Lily by Suzanne Woods Fisher, Mary Ann Kinsinger Page B

took Mama and Lily a long time to get the kitchen and Dannie clean again. When Mama finished, she turned to Lily. “Didn’t I ask you to watch Dannie?”
    â€œMandy wanted to go upstairs to play dolls!” Lily said.
    Mama looked sad. “Lily, you have to learn to say no to a friend if she asks you to do something that you know you shouldn’t.”
    Lily looked down at her bare toes. Mandy was a friend who often had exciting ideas that got Lily into trouble. She knew she had to say no to Mandy’s ideas sometimes, but it was so hard!
    Mama glanced at Dannie again and started to chuckle. “For such a little boy, he sure made a big mess, didn’t he?”
    Lily was relieved. Mama was laughing again! They dumped the bowl of dough out and started all over again. The bread for tomorrow’s church service didn’t get baked until late that evening. Lily went to sleep that night to the sweet smell of baking bread. Her dreams were filled with snowmen that looked like Dannie.

12

Train Tracks and Little Girls
    M onday through Friday, Lily waved goodbye to Mama and Joseph as they dropped her off in front of the little red schoolhouse in the morning. The school day passed swiftly. At recess and noontimes she played with Hannah and Mandy. She liked school and she loved Teacher Ellen.
    Teacher Ellen made learning about numbers and letters fun and easy. During recess, she would join the children on the playground and teach them new games. Best of all, Friday afternoons were devoted to art. Teacher Ellen would give several suggestions for pictures and the children would draw, paint, or sketch. The finished pictures would hang on the wall to be admired. The schoolroom looked cheerful and happy. Lily was glad that Teacher Ellen had come all the way from Wisconsin to be the teacher for Pleasant Hill School.
    Lily enjoyed school so much that she was sorry when Saturday and Sunday came along. She wished every day was a school day.

    â€œTime to wake up, Lily.”
    Lily sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes when she heard Mama’s voice. She still felt sleepy.
    â€œHurry and get dressed,” Mama said, jiggling Dannie on her hip. “Breakfast is almost ready. Soon, we need to leave for church.”
    Lily jumped out of bed and slipped into her dress. She spun around so Mama could button the back. She followed Mama and Dannie downstairs to the kitchen. Papa had come in from the barn and was washing up at the sink. Joseph sat at the table, waiting to eat. Joseph was always ready to eat.
    Papa spread butter on a piece of bread and cut it into small strips so Lily and Joseph could dip the bread into their egg yolks. “Looks like it will be another beautiful day today,” he said.
    Lily glanced out the window. The sun was beginning to light the sky. No clouds! She was glad it would be a sunny day. She liked playing outside with her friends after church. Today, church was going to be at Mandy’s house and she would discover the secret place where they could play with their dolls. She hadn’t stopped thinking about that secret place.
    As soon as breakfast was over, Papa gathered the dishes from the table while Mama swirled soap into hot water in the sink. Lily stood on a little bench next to the sink. Mama washed and Lily dried and Papa put the dishes inthe cupboards. When the kitchen was sparkling clean again, Mama went upstairs to help Joseph and Dannie into their Sunday clothes. She told Lily to change into her purple dress. Lily skipped into her bedroom and carefully removed her purple dress from the hanger in her closet. She loved purple. She wished she could wear this dress every day, but it was saved for church Sundays.
    Mama brought Lily’s stiffly starched white apron into her bedroom. She helped Lily slip into it.
    Lily went to the living room and opened the little drawer in the table beside Mama’s rocking chair. In it were pretty flowered handkerchiefs. Lily