Free What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren Page A

her ribbon. He told her it was the finest blue ribbon he had ever seen. He told her he’d never known a champion speller before, and he smiled at her proudly. Esther felt a little better. If only Ma could have been as enthusiastic as Pa.
    Still, Esther was determined to impress Ma, if not with ribbons, then with hard work.
    She was the first one up from the supper table that night. She carried more dishes to the sink than Ma and Violet did together, and she dried them until they squeaked. After supper she swept the kitchen floor, and when Ma didn’t seem to notice, she called, “I’ll just sweep off the porch, too, while I’m at it.”
    But when she came back inside, Ma was talking to Pa. She didn’t say, “Thank you, Esther. What a fine helper you are!” She didn’t look at Esther with pride glowing in her eyes. She didn’t say anything at all.
    Esther was tired. She went up to bed early. But alone in the darkness, all she could think of was the note from Miss Larson. She kept imagining how horrified Ma and Pa would be when they read it. She hadn’t wanted to cheat. She hadn’t meant to bring shame to Ma and Pa. She hugged Margaret to her chest and sobbed into her pillow.
    Maybe she should have just given them the note and gotten it over with. Putting it off was only stretching out her misery. But maybe tomorrow would be different. Maybe she would be able to make Ma and Pa proud of her for at least a little while before they found out what she’d done.
    The next morning, after Esther did her chores, she brought in wood to fill the basket by the stove. She set the table for breakfast and cleared it afterward. Then she dusted the furniture in the parlor without being told. She dusted the legs and the feet of the furniture, too, not just the tops. But all Ma said was, “Shake out the cloth when you are done.”
    Esther shook out the cloth. Then she shook out the rag rugs from the parlor and the kitchen. Her arms ached, and when she saw Bruno in the pasture, her heart ached, too. It was sunny and warm. How much fun a ride would be! But she went back into the house. She polished the parlor mirror with a soft cloth and vinegar. She tidied Pa’s stack of seed catalogs. Then she looked around for some other job to do. “Ma, I think I’ll wash the floor,” she announced on her way to the pantry for the mop.
    â€œNu,”
said Ma, sounding a little annoyed. “I just waxed it yesterday. Can you not tell?”
    â€œOh, sure,” Esther said quickly. “Of course.” Although the truth was the floor was so scarred and stained that even Ma’s scrubbing and waxing could not make it shiny or bright. “Is there something else I could do—to help you?” she added.
    Ma frowned in thought. “I cannot think of anything,” she said at last. “You have done everything already.” She smiled. “You—”
    The kitchen door opened and Pa called to Ma for the peroxide. He had cut his hand working in the barn. Ma hurried to help him.
    Esther felt sorry for Pa. But she felt sorry for herself, too. What had Ma been about to say?
    Esther looked on as Ma bathed the cut with soap and water and then with peroxide before wrapping a bandage around it. When Pa finally headed back to the barn, Esther waited expectantly. But after Ma put away the peroxide, she took out a pot and filled it with water. She put it on the stove to hard-boil some eggs. She had forgotten whatever she was going to say to Esther.
    Esther went up to her room and found Margaret. “Nothing I do seems to make any difference,” she told the doll. “Maybe that’s because I’m not being honest. Maybe God is angry at me for not giving Ma and Pa the note right away. Do you think that could be it?” Margaret’s china-blue eyes stared solemnly back at Esther. It was very clear to Esther what Margaret thought.
    Esther sighed and took the