Perry’s forehead wrinkled, and tears welled in his eyes. “I’m tellin’ Mom on you.”
Before either Mattie or Mark had a chance to respond, he hopped out of the wagon and raced to the house. A few minutes later, he returned, and Mom was with him.
“What’s this I hear about you not letting your little bruder take a ride in the wagon?” she asked, looking first at Mattie and then Mark.
“It’s our wagon, and Mattie and I are takin’ turns pulling each other up and down the driveway,” Mark said.
“That’s fine, but you should share. Now, is there any reason why you can’t give Perry a ride?”
Mattie shook her head. Mark did the same. Mattie knew if they didn’t let Perry take a ride, Mom would probably make them put the wagon away.
After Mom went back in the house, Perry climbed into the wagon again. “I’m ready for my ride,” he said, grinning up at Mark.
Mark leaned close to Mattie and whispered in her ear, “Maybe if we give Perry a wild enough ride, he won’t like it and will go back inside. Then we can have the wagon all to ourselves again.”
“That might work,” Mattie agreed. “I’ll pull, and you can push. That will make the wagon go even faster.”
“Good idea,” Mark said.
Mattie grabbed hold of the handle, and Mark put his hands on the back of the wagon. “Alright, Perry!” he shouted. “Here we go!”
Perry squealed with laughter as the wagon rolled along the driveway and then zigzagged back and forth through the grass. He seemed to be having a great time and wasn’t the least bit afraid. Mark figured they might be stuck pulling their little brother all over the yard for the rest of the day—or at least until Mom called them in for lunch.
“Pull the wagon over there,” Mark called to Mattie as he pointed to some big bumps along the edge of the driveway.
“Okay.” Mattie pulled the wagon in that direction.
“Now run as fast as you can!”
Mattie did as Mark said, and while she pulled, he pushed as hard as he could. They were going so fast and making so much racket, the blue jays that had flown into the nearby tree flew back out in every direction to get away from the loud noise. The wagon picked up speed, hit one of the bumps, and—whoomp!—Perry bounced right out.
“Yeow!” he hollered, and then he started to sob while holding his head.
“Oh no, I think he’s hurt!” Mattie dropped the handle of the wagon and raced to Perry’s side. Mark did the same.
Sure enough, there was a gash on Perry’s forehead, and it was bleeding.
“Go get Mom!” Mattie shouted. “Schnell!”
Mark paced the floors while Mattie kept Ada occupied. It had been more than two hours since Mom and Dad took Perry to the hospital to have his forehead looked at. What could be taking them so long? Mark hoped his little brother wasn’t seriously hurt.
“You’re gonna wear a hole in your boots if you don’t stop pacin’ back and forth like that,” Russell called from across the room where he sat reading a book.
“I can’t help it. I’m worried about Perry.”
Mattie left Ada and joined Mark as he walked back and forth. “It’s our fault Perry fell out of the wagon. We shouldn’t have gone so fast and taken him over those bumps.”
“I know,” Mark agreed. “But I didn’t think he’d get hurt. I just wanted to scare him a bit so he’d go back in the house.”
“Remember when Grandpa said we’d have a bumpy ride ahead if we didn’t stop being selfish?”
Mark nodded. “Guess our little bruder’s the one who got the bumpy ride, but it wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t been so selfish.”
“Jah. We should have given him a nice easy ride instead of trying to scare him,” Mattie said.
Mark heard the rumble of a vehicle coming up the driveway, so he stopped pacing and hurried over to the window. “It’s Mom, Dad, and Perry! Their driver just pulled in,” he announced.
Mattie raced to the front door and pulled it open. Then both she and Mark stepped onto the porch.
“How’s Perry doing?” Mark called as his parents and little brother approached the house.
“His knees are scraped up, and the doctor put four stitches in Perry’s forehead, but he’s going to be okay,” Mom replied.
Dad looked sternly at the twins. “I’d like to know one thing. How come you were pulling Perry so fast in the wagon that he fell out?”
Mark dropped his gaze. It was hard for him to look at Dad when he knew he’d done something wrong. “We didn’t mean for Perry to fall out. We just wanted to scare him a little so he wouldn’t want to ride in the wagon anymore and we could have it all to ourselves.”
“I see. So because of your selfishness, your little brother has a nasty gash on his forehead.”
“I’m sorry,” Mark and Mattie said at the same time. “We won’t ever do anything like that again.”
“I should hope not,” Mom said. “A selfish attitude isn’t pleasing to God.”
“I know, and we’ve learned a good lesson,” Mark said.
Mattie nodded in agreement.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Dad said. “But your actions deserve some kind of punishment, don’t you think?”
“Jah,” Mark and Mattie both gave a quick nod. It seemed like lately, more so than ever, they’d been getting punished a lot and trying to remember the lessons they’d learned from all their wrongdoings.
Dad turned and motioned to the wagon, still sitting in the yard. “The wagon will be put in the barn, and neither of you will be allowed to ride in it for two weeks.”
Two weeks seemed like an awfully long time, but Mark didn’t argue with Dad. Instead he smiled and said, “The next time Perry or Ada wants to play with something of mine, I’m gonna share.”
“Me, too,” Mattie put in. “I don’t want any more bumpy rides.”
CHAPTER 14
Discoveries
For the next two weeks, Mark and Mattie remembered not to be selfish and to think about others rather than themselves. But that all changed one Saturday morning when Mom came into the living room where Mark and Mattie sat at a small table, working on a puzzle together.
“I’m taking Perry and Ada, and we’re going over to see Freda Hostetler this morning,” Mom announced. “I thought maybe you two would like to come along.”
Mark shook his head. “I’d rather stay here and work on the puzzle Mattie and I have started.”
“What about you, Mattie?” Mom asked. “Wouldn’t you like to see Freda?”
“I don’t think so, Mom. I wanna finish this puzzle today.”
“You know, children,” Mom said, “Freda lives alone and gets lonely sometimes. I’m sure she would enjoy your company.”
“Maybe some other time,” Mark said. “We don’t want to go over there today.”
Mom’s brows furrowed; she really looked disappointed. “All right then. I won’t force you to go.” She called Perry and Ada to come, and they all went out the door.
“Maybe we should have gone with them,” Mattie said. “Freda always gives us something whenever we stop by her house to visit after school.”
Mark nodded. “That’s true. Once she gave me a little cage to catch tadpoles in.”
“She gave me some flowers she’d dried so I could make a bookmark,” Mattie said. “Oh, and she usually gives us a snack to eat.”
“You’re right, and to tell ya the truth, that’s the real reason I ever go there. I mean, it’s not like Freda has any kinner for us to play with. She’s old, and her grandkids live in another state.” Mark turned his hands over so his palms were straight up. “I just didn’t feel like goin’ there today.”
“Me neither,” Mattie agreed. “I’d much rather be here.”
“Let’s get back to work on the puzzle now,” Mark said. “If we work fast, maybe we can get it put together before Mom, Ada, and Perry get home.”
“I can’t work fast on the puzzle,” Mattie said. “Looking
for the right pieces that will fit together takes time. Besides, this puzzle is harder than most.” Mattie motioned to the picture on the box. It was of a big red barn with lots of puffy clouds in the sky, and they all looked the same.
“It’s not hard for me.” Mark picked up an end piece and slipped it right in place.
Mattie wrinkled her nose. “Hey! I was just gonna pick that one up.”
“Guess we think alike.” Mark snickered. “At least on some things, anyway.”
“There are lots of things we don’t think the same way about,” Mattie said, leaning closer to the puzzle and squinting her eyes.
“You’re right, and I know one thing we don’t agree on.”
“What’s that?”
“I can’t wait for winter ’cause I really like the schnee, but I know that you don’t care much for snow.”
Mattie nodded. “But I do think it’s fun when we get to build a snowman or go sledding.”
“I like that, too,” Mark said. “Oh, and I always enjoy going ice-skating.”
“Not me,” Mattie said with a shake of her head. “I worry that the ice might be too thin and I’ll fall through and drown in that chilly cold water.”
“Well, you can worry about that when winter comes. Right now we need to concentrate on findin’ the right pieces to fit into this puzzle.”
For the next hour, the twins worked on the puzzle and teased each other about who would get to put in the very last piece.
As the puzzle neared completion, Mark started picking up pieces lickety-split and then putting them in the proper place. Just when Mattie would reach for a piece of the puzzle, Mark would quickly grab it up.
It’s not fair. He’s not even giving me a chance to put any in, Mattie fumed. Then an idea popped into her head. As Mark was busy putting another puzzle piece in place, she grabbed the nearest piece to her, closed her fist around it, and placed her hand in her lap. Then she sat and watched as Mark put in one piece after another until there was just one empty space left.
Mark’s brows furrowed as he studied the puzzle and looked all around and even under the table. “Now that’s sure strange,” he muttered.
“What’s strange?”
“The last piece is missing.”
“No it’s not. I have it right here.” Mattie, feeling quite pleased with herself, slipped the last piece in place and clapped her hands. “There, the puzzle’s all done!”
The skin around Mark’s eyes crinkled as he stared hard at Mattie. “You had that piece the whole time, didn’t you?”
She shook her head. “Not the whole time. I just picked it up a few minutes ago.”
“That’s not fair. You cheated.” Mark’s eyes narrowed.
“Well, if I hadn’t picked it up, you probably would have.”
“Maybe, but not till it was time to put the last piece in place. You took it before it was time.”
Mattie was about to say more, but their conversation was interrupted when Mom, Perry, and Ada came in the door.
“We had a nice time at Freda’s,” Mom said, “but she was really disappointed that you two didn’t come see her today. She even made your favorite ginger cookies, thinking you two would be coming with me and the little ones.”
Mattie looked at Mark, and Mark looked at Mattie. From the sad expression she saw on his face, she figured he felt as bad as she did about not going to see Freda.
“It was selfish of us to stay home,” Mattie said.
“That’s right,” Mark agreed. He looked up at Mom and said, “If it’s okay with you, Mattie and I can stop by to see Freda Monday afternoon on our way home from school.”
Mom smiled and gave the twins’ shoulders a gentle squeeze. “It’s just fine with me.”
Monday afternoon, as the twins pedaled their bike home from school, Mark remembered that they’d agreed to stop by Freda Hostetler’s place.
“Where are you going?” Mattie asked as Mark turned onto the road where Freda lived.
“We’re stoppin’ by Freda’s house. Did you forget?”
“Oh that’s right. I wonder what she’ll give us today.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t think we should take it,” Mark called over his shoulder.
“How come?”
“Remember on Saturday, how we talked about being selfish, and how the main reason we’ve always gone to see Freda is because she gives us things?”
“Jah, now I remember. Guess if she offers to give us something today, we’d better say no.”
Mark smiled. He was glad he and Mattie were in agreement on this. It wouldn’t do for one of them to take whatever Freda gave and the other one to turn it down.
When they entered Freda’s yard, they parked the bike by her porch and sprinted up the stairs. Mark knocked once on the door and was about to knock again when Freda opened it and said, “It’s nice to see you, Mark and Mattie, but I’m sorry, I won’t be able to visit with you today.”
“How come?” Mattie asked.
“There’s an English family who lives down the road a ways, and last night their house caught fire.” Freda slowly shook her head, and her brown eyes looked so sad. “That poor family lost everything they owned.”
“That’s baremlich!” Mattie exclaimed.
“It sure is terrible,” Mark put in. “Was anyone in the family hurt?”
“No,” said Freda. “They weren’t at home when the fire started, so that was a good thing.”
“I’m surprised we didn’t hear about this sooner.” Mark looked over at Mattie and noticed how sad she looked. “Anna Ruth must not know about it either, or she would have said somethin’ during school today, don’t ya think?”
Mattie gave a slow nod.
“The family is staying with some other English neighbors right now,” Freda said. “And I’ve been busy all day gathering up some things to give them.”
“We should go home and tell Mom and Dad about this,” Mark said. “I’m sure they’ll want to help that family, too.”
“Before you go, would you like something to eat?” Freda asked. “I baked some more cookies today, and you can take them with you.”
“No thanks,” Mark said. “We didn’t come here to get anything. We just came by to say hi and see how you’re doing.”
Freda smiled. “I appreciate that.”
“We’ll come by to visit you some other day,” Mattie said before they climbed onto their bike and rode away.
That evening during supper, Mark and Mattie told their family about the English family whose house had burned down.
“I heard about that,” Dad said. “Someone came into the wood shop today and told me and Ike the news.”
“I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose your house and everything you own,” Mom said. “I think we need to do something to help that family.”
Dad nodded. “I agree. In fact, I spoke to a few people in our community today, and we’re going to help build the family a new house.”
“You can count on my help,” Ike said.
Russell and Calvin said they would help, too.
“What can Mattie and I do?” Mark wanted to know.
“Well, some in our community are going to gather up things that the family will need in their new home,” Dad said. He looked at the twins and smiled. “What I think the two of you can do is donate a few of your toys.”
“Sure, we can do that,” Mattie was quick to say. “I’m sure I can find several things to give away.”
“Me, too,” Mark said with a nod. “As soon as supper’s over, I’ll go upstairs to my room and pick out some toys.”
Mark ate everything on his plate. As soon as Dad said he could be excused, he hurried upstairs.
Since Mark’s toys were scattered all over his room, he had to spend several minutes looking. Here’s something I could give away, and I wouldn’t even miss it, Mark thought, picking up his old yo-yo.
He glanced around and spotted the baseball mitt his friend John had given him as a birt
hday present a few months ago. Since Mark didn’t like playing ball and had never used the mitt, he’d have no problem giving it up. However, Mark figured it might hurt John’s feelings if he gave his gift away.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Mark looked at the door. “Who is it?” he called.
“It’s me—Mattie. Can I come in?”
“Jah, sure.”
Mattie stepped into the room. In one hand she held a stuffed bear with a missing ear. In her other hand was a pair of old ice skates that used to be Mom’s when she was a girl.
“I found these to give to the kinner who lost their toys in the fire,” Mattie said. “What’d you find, Mark?”
Mark motioned to the baseball mitt and yo-yo that he’d placed on his bed. “Don’t think I’d miss either of these one little bit, but I can’t give John’s present away, so I need to come up with somethin’ else, I guess.”
“I won’t miss the things I chose either.” Mattie sighed as she sat on the end of Mark’s bed. “Only thing is, I don’t feel good about it.”
Mark tipped his head. “You don’t feel good about giving some of your toys to the kids who lost all theirs?”
“It’s not that. I just don’t feel good about the things I chose because they’re things I don’t want anymore.”
Mark’s fingers made little circles on his forehead as he thought things through. “To tell ya the truth, I don’t feel good about what I chose either. I think what we need to do is give those kids something nice—something we really like ourselves.”
“I agree.” Mattie leaped to her feet. “I know what I can give.”
“What’s that?” Mark asked.
“I’ll give away one of my nicest dolls. Not the one my friend Stella gave me for my birthday, though. That might hurt Stella’s feelings. But I have other dolls that are really nice, so I’ll give up one of those.” Mattie smiled. “Think I’ll also give away some of my books or one of my favorite board games.”
“Let’s see now … I know!” Mark clapped his hands together. “I’ll give the pocketknife I found a few weeks ago and also some of my best marbles. I have a game that I could give away, too.”
Bumpy Ride Ahead! Page 11