Free Uncle John’s Presents Mom’s Bathtub Reader by Bathroom Readers’ Institute Page B

the care of their 18-year-old cousin, Dennis—hardly the best supervision.
GETTING MARRIED IS GOOD BUSINESS
    On his quest for a wife, Thomas Lincoln sought out an old flame, the widow Sarah “Sally” Bush Johnston. Lincoln and Sarah had known each other in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, but Sarah had married another man. Now Thomas found her a widow, free to marry her old beau.
    There was no time for holding hands or candlelight dinners. In a quick, businesslike arrangement, Thomas paid Sarah’s debts and they were married the following day. Thomas, Sarah, and her three children packed up and headed for Indiana.
THE WAY TO A BOY’S HEART
    Meanwhile, back in the cabin, it had been nearly six months since Thomas left. Ragged, filthy, and hungry, his abandoned children were sure they were orphans. Abe struggled to comfort his sister with presents like a baby raccoon and a turtle, but secretly he feared they would soon die. Imagine his feelings when his father returned with awagon full of people, including three playmates, Elizabeth, Matilda, and John, and a stepmother who hugged Abe lovingly, then energetically set about making sure he was well cared for.
    Sarah immediately bathed the Lincoln children. She mended their clothes and as their cousin Dennis later said, made them “look human.” Once the children were clean and fed, she got to work on the house, eventually insisting that the Lincoln cabin be fitted up with a wooden floor, a window, and a real door that opened and, most importantly, shut. A loft bedroom was made for Abe, Dennis, and John, while the girls and their parents slept downstairs.
    Abe’s new stepmother brought treasures with her. A table and chairs replaced the tree stumps that had provided seating. Abe and little Sarah learned to use real knives and forks and spoons. Best of all, their lumpy cornhusk mattresses were replaced with feather beds.
A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE
    But most important of all, Sarah brought books to Pigeon Creek—biographies of Ben Franklin and George Washington and fiction such as Robinson Crusoe, The Pilgrim’s Progress , and Aesop’s Fables . Abe had always had a hunger for learning and he read the books eagerly. Sarah’s books, along with the Bible, provided his curriculum, since formal schooling on the frontier was unpredictable.
    Abe much preferred reading and studying to splitting logs or working in the fields. This strained his relationship with his father. Thomas didn’t see much value in book learning when there were so many farm chores that needed doing just to survive. It was Sarah who valued Abe’s sensitivity and intelligence and who encouraged theboy to read, do arithmetic, and write poetry. Her stepson, starved for affection and understanding, blossomed under the attentions of the woman he called “mother.”
    With Sarah’s help, a lonely, unhappy boy grew into a clever, self-confident man, determined to become a success in the greater world. To the Lincoln children, Sarah brought comfort and stability. More important, she gave them love and support. Neighbors said that she managed her blended family well, treating all the children impartially. But years later, Sarah admitted to an interviewer that she secretly had a favorite. “Abe was a good boy,” she said, “the best boy I ever saw. I never gave him a cross word in all my life. His mind and mine . . . seemed to move in the same channel.”
WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE AND CHARITY FOR ALL
    Abraham Lincoln always revered Sarah. He made sure that after his father’s death she received 40 acres to live on as long as she lived. Proud Sarah lived to see her “good boy” become the president who held the Union together and ended slavery.
    Today a grateful nation still honors the president, who, despite the hatreds formed in a raging civil war, called for “malice toward none and charity for all.” Along with his eloquence and courage, Abraham Lincoln is beloved for qualities of kindness, tolerance, and