Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

Tags: #Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #test

Ellie (7 page)

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wanted her to come and stay with her and she would let her play with her doll, Ellie thought she must be dreaming.

Now it was time for bed. The girls made a visit to the outhouse, washed their hands and faces, brushed their teeth, took a drink of water, and went up to bed. Ellie thought she had never seen a nightgown as pretty as the one her friend had. It was white with tiny red hearts and lace around the neckline and sleeves.
Everything she has is so pretty,
thought Ellie.
I wonder why she even bothers with me.

Soon the girls were laughing and giggling about the lumpy straw tick. Missy usually slept on a firm mattress, so this was all new to her. Ellie told Missy what a time her mother and she had the last time they filled the ticks. They giggled some more when they thought about the baby who crawled inside the straw tick.

"I have never slept two in a bed," said Ellie.

"Me, either," was Missy's reply, "but I know a song about ten in a bed."

"Ten!" exclaimed Ellie.

Missy began to tell her how the song went: "There were ten in the bed and the little one said, 'Move over, move over.' So they all moved over and one fell out. There were nine in the bed and the little one said, 'Move over, move over.' So they all moved over and one fell out. There were eight in the bed . . ." and so on until only one was left.

Ellie thought it was so funny. "Let's play it," she said.

So they started all over. They bounced and turned

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each time they said, "Move over." But when they were down to four and went to move over, they both fell out of bed. They laughed so hard their tummies hurt.

Then Ellie heard her father call, "Ellie, you girls settle down or I'll come up there."

Quickly and as quietly as they could, they crawled back into bed. They pulled the covers up over their heads, whispered little girl secrets, and laughed their little girl giggles way into the night. Oh, this was a night they would always remember. But in spite of all the fun they were having, their eyes began to close, and before long they were peacefully asleep.

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8
Forbidden Fruit

It was Sunday morning again, and the family was on its way to church. Ellie was thinking of the fun she had when Missy spent the night with her.

"Mama," she asked from her place in the front buggy box, "don't you think Missy is pretty?"

Before her mother could answer, Papa said, "Pretty is as pretty does, and what good is a pretty dish if it's empty?" Ellie did not know what he meant by those remarks, but she could tell by his tone of voice and expression that he didn't approve of her friend Missy. So she said no more. She would wait until after Sunday service, then she could relate all her recent happenings to Rachel and Alta. They were her little Amish friends, whom she saw only at church now since they moved so far away.

Papa had sold Dixie for a good price and bought a safer buggy horse. This one could run at a fair speed, too, but was much more gentle. Mother liked Molly

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the minute she saw her, and it was good to know that she could drive her if necessary.

Molly trotted along at an even gait, and soon they were turning in the drive of the Hershberger homestead. The Amish do not have church houses, but rather hold services in their homes. Each family takes its turn.

Jake stopped his horse by the front gate behind other buggies and waited for the womenfolk (as he called them) and the babies to alight. Then he and the boys drove toward the barn, unhitched Molly, tied her in line with the other horses, gave her a few tufts of hay, and then joined the other men and boys.

Lydia Miller took the twin Ellie had and carried her to the house. "You just bring the
Vindel Satchely
(diaper bag)," she told Ellie. "I'll take care of this little one." They went to the enclosed porch where they removed their bonnets, shawls, and capes. They laid them on a table reserved for that purpose, then joined the other women in the house. Most of the mothers with children sat in the kitchen or bedroom. The older women, young girls, and men occupied the living room and dining area, if there was a dining room available.

Now the singing began. The second song was always the same. It was
"Das Lob Lied,"
a song of praise. They sang very slowly. To sing four verses took nineteen minutes. Even before the singing was completed, Ellie's back began to ache. The benches they sat on were backless, made of hard wood, and very uncomfortable. But Ellie knew she must try to

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sit as still as she possibly could.

The ministers had gone to an upstairs room where chairs had been set up for them. They needed time together to discuss matters of the church, to decide in what order they would give their sermons, and to pray together. There were always three ministers, and often more, if any visiting ministers were present. The first minister would lead the opening service and read the Scripture and prayer. Then a minister, in turn, gave the main sermon. This was followed by more prayer. After that, the deacon would say a few words regarding what had been presented, and they would have another prayer. At last, after the preaching, one of the ministers would announce at whose home services were to be the next time. They held preaching service only every two weeks. The Sunday when no church was in session was known as "in-between" Sunday.

Ellie sat quietly as long as she could. She knew her mother didn't like for her to
rutsch
(stir) during church. She had forced herself to sit still all during the singing. Now the ministers had come down from upstairs, and the first one stood by the doorway between the living room and bedroom. He cleared his throat several times and, in singsong fashion, began to speak in a different German dialect than the people spoke at home every day. Ellie understood very little of what was said. Her back ached worse than ever. Her feet didn't quite touch the floor, so a spot behind her knees hurt, too. She could stand it no longer. Ellie
rutsched.
Her mother reached down and pinched her. That hurt, too, and

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she almost said, "Ouch!" aloud, but she caught herself in time. Well, at least she had changed position.

After the reading of Scripture and prayer, everyone stood for a short while as the minister spoke a few more words. As they were seated, the bishop arose. Ellie liked him. He was a kindly person, but spoke firmly. Often he spoke in words the children could understand and referred to Jesus' love for little ones. Time seemed to go faster when the bishop preached.

Now the lady of the house entered the room with a big bowl of homemade sugar cookies and soda crackers for the smaller children, so they wouldn't get too hungry before services were over. Ellie's mouth began to water, and she wished she were still considered young enough to take some. Then an idea popped into her head. She reached for the twin Lydia Miller had been holding all this while and sat her firmly on her own lap, turning her away from the watchful eye of her mother. Now when the cookie and cracker bowl was passed, Ellie dutifully reached in and took one of eachfor the baby, of course. Some of the ladies smiled, probably thinking how considerate and kind Ellie was to take the responsibility of helping with her sisters. If they only knew!

Bending her head low, with her face very close to the baby's face, Ellie began to feed her the cookie. Every so often, a crumb would happen to break off and find its way inconspicuously into Ellie's mouth. She felt rather wicked, but oh did those crumbs ever

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taste good! The cracker had been placed into the twin's hand to eat by herself. Ellie knew a cracker would be too crunchy to try to eat without being caught. She also knew that even though the taste of the cookie had made her thirsty, she dare not take a drink of water which was later offered to those small children who had eaten a snack.

Now the bishop was talking about a woman who had disobeyed God by eating forbidden fruity.
Oh, my,
thought Ellie,
how can he know what I did so soon? He must have seen me.
Her head bent lower and lower, and her face burned. She was so ashamed.
Why do I do such silly, impulsive things?
she wondered. If only he hadn't seen her. Better still, if only she hadn't eaten any of the cookie.

Then she heard bishop say, "God asked Eve, 'Why did you eat of the fruit of the tree I had told you not to eat of?'" Ellie knew he was not talking about the cookie crumbs.

From that time until the last hymn was sung, Ellie listened very carefully. The baby had fallen asleep in her arms. Although she ached from holding her, Ellie bore it as patiently as she could. Perhaps this was her penance for what she had done earlier.

At five after twelve, the deacon arose and spoke once more about the message for the day. Then he announced that in two weeks church services were to be held at the Abraham Hostetler home, if the Lord willed it so.

After everyone was dismissed, the men began to push benches together to form tables. The lady of the house, her daughters, and the young teenage

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girls covered the benches with tablecloths and began to set food, silverware, and glasses in place. The meal consisted of homemade bean soup, bread, butter, apple butter, pickled red beets, pickles, peanut butter spread, and coffee. Everything except the coffee and peanut butter was homegrown or homemade. It looked absolutely delicious. After they all bowed their heads in silent prayer, the eating and visiting began. What a happy fellowship it was.

One of the older women again offered to help with the twins, freeing Ellie to be with her friends, whom she seldom saw anymore. After they had finished eating, three little girls found their way out to Jake Maust's buggy and sat in it to talk and share secrets.

"Something happened at our house yesterday," said Rachel. "But you can't guess."

"Tell us," begged the other two.

"Our roan cow had a baby calf."

"Well, we had a dozen chickens hatch," remarked Alta, "and they are so cute. I helped Mom take them out of the basket and we put them in the grass. Right away they started pecking for something to eat."

Now it was Ellie's turn. Not to be outdone, she began to tell them how her English girlfriend from school had spent the night with her, and what fun they had. At first, Rachel and Alta listened awestruck, and Ellie felt very important. Then it happened.

"Oh, Ellie," said Rachel, "you are making that up. My dad would never allow an Englisher to stay at

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our house just for fun, and I don't believe yours would either."

"Well, my papa did," answered Ellie.

"That's another thing," remarked Alta. "You are getting so 'high' since you moved and go to the outsider's school. You're even starting to talk like the English people do. My mom said she won't be surprised if a lot of their ways rub off on your family."

"My dad said that, too," Rachel exclaimed. "He said your dad is getting pretty foxy, driving fast horses and a shiny buggy."

How could they turn on me so quickly?
Ellie wondered. Rachel leaned over and whispered to Alta, and then the two girls jumped out of the buggy and ran to the house, leaving a very sad and disappointed Ellie sitting all alone. Big tears began to roll down her cheeks. But she couldn't stay there forever. At last she, too, made her way to the house.

At the edge of the porch the bishop stopped her. Reaching into his inside coat pocket, he handed Ellie a piece of wintergreen candy. "I noticed how well you listened today to the preaching," he said, "so I think you can have one piece of candy, at least."

Ellie took it and barely whispered,
"Danki,"
or "thanks."

"What's the matter? Has the cat got your tongue?" asked her preacher friend.

But Ellie just shook her head and continued to the house. Not only did her back still ache, but so did her heart. Her two friends were shunning her, and now the kind bishop had given her a compliment she felt she didn't deserve. She hoped her parents were

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