© 2013 by Wanda E. Brunstetter
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All German Dutch words are from the Revised Pennsylvania Dutch Dictionary found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Dickinson Press Inc. Grand Rapids, MI; April 2013; D10003846
DEDICATION
To Sara Beth,
a very special Amish schoolteacher.
GLOSSARY
absatz—stop
ach—oh
amberell—umbrella
appeditlich—delicious
baremlich—terrible
bauchweh—stomachache
bruder—brother
bu—boy
daed—dad
danki—thanks
deich—pond
dumm—dumb
frosch—frog
gfarlich—dangerous
grummbier—potatoes
Guder mariye. —Good morning.
gut—good
gwilde—quilt
hund—dog
hungerich—hungry
jah—yes
katze—cats
kichlin—cookies
kinner—children
kumme—come
lecherich—ridiculous
maedel—girl
mamm—mom
melke—milk
Mir hen bang gat. —We were afraid.
naerfich—nervous
rege—rain
schmaert—smart
schnee—snow
schtiffel—boots
umgerennt—upset
vergeksagdert—terrified
Zaahweh is schlechdi kumpani. —A toothache is a bad companion.
CONTENTS
1. Worrywart
2. Muddy and Wet
3. A Good Week
4. Grandma Troyer’s Birthday
5. Mattie’s Tooth
6. Grandpa Miller’s Advice
7. Secret Gifts
8. Snow
9. Thinking Alike
10. Misunderstandings
11. Rotten Bananas
12. A Terrible Storm
13. Thin Ice
14. A Valuable Lesson
CHAPTER 1
Worrywart
“What are you doin’ with that?” nine-year-old Mark Miller asked when his twin sister, Mattie, came out of the house with her umbrella.
“I’m taking my amberell to school in case we get rege,” Mattie replied. “Come to think of it, maybe I should go back in the house and get my rubber schtiffel, too.”
“Just hold on a minute, Mattie!” Mark pointed to the blue sky above. “There’s not a single cloud this morning, so I don’t think it’s gonna rain … which means you don’t need an umbrella or rubber boots. Besides that, I can always smell rain when it’s comin’, and I sure don’t smell it right now.” He motioned to the porch. “You oughta just leave the amberell on the porch so we can get moving. We don’t wanna be late for school, ya know.”
Mattie frowned. “Oh Mark, quit your fussing. We’re not gonna be late. We still have plenty of time to get there.”
“But don’t forget—we’re walkin’ to school today, Mattie, so it’ll take us longer to get there.” Their bicycle built for two had a flat tire, and Dad hadn’t found the time to fix it yet, so the twins had no choice but to walk. “We won’t get to school before the bell rings if you keep foolin’ around,” Mark said.
“I’m not fooling around.” Mattie slipped the umbrella into her backpack. “And I’m takin’ this to school just in case it does rain.”
“Whatever.” Mark didn’t know where his sister had gotten the silly notion that it was going to rain today. Anyone could look at the sky and see there wasn’t even a hint of rain. It was clear and blue and one of those mornings you could see for miles. “You worry too much, Mattie,” Mark said as they hurried out of their yard. There were times, like now, when he didn’t think he’d ever understand his sister, even though she was his twin.
There were many things Mark and Mattie didn’t agree on or see the same way. Mark liked to tease and fool around, and Mattie was more serious about things. But then their differences made them special, and as Grandpa Miller often said, “The twins are unique.”
“I do not worry too much,” Mattie insisted. As she started walking faster, a wisp of red hair came loose from the stiff black cap she wore on her head. Sometimes Mattie wore a dark head scarf, but not on the days she went to school. She mostly wore it around the house or when she had chores to do.
“You’ve been worrying a lot lately,” he insisted. “Last week you were worried about the fog. Said you didn’t think we could find our way to school ’cause the mist was so thick. But we made it just fine and got there on time. Remember, Mattie?”
“Jah, of course I do.” She slowed some and turned to look at him. “Why do you always have to remind me whenever I’m wrong about something?”
“I’m not tryin’ to rub it in or anything,” he said. “I was just tryin’ to make a point.”
“What kind of point?” she asked.
“The point that you sometimes make an issue of things when you oughta just learn to relax.”
Mattie didn’t say anything. Just blinked her blue eyes a couple of times and started walking again, even faster this time.
“So what’s making ya so jumpy today?”
“Nothing. I just remember the last time it rained on the way home from school, we got soaking wet,” she said. “I won’t let that happen again.”
“It’s a nice fall day, with no clouds in the sky, and you’re worried about rain?” Mark asked, walking real fast to try and keep up with her. “You know what you are, Mattie?”
“What?”
“You’re a worrywart!” He chuckled. “Jah, you’re nothin’ but a silly little worrywart!”
“No I’m not.”
“Jah you are.”
“I like to be prepared,” she said with a huff.
“So do I, and I’m prepared for sunshine today.” Mark lifted one hand toward the sky while he held on to his lunch pail with the other.
Mattie didn’t say a word.
As Mattie sat at her school desk that morning, she kept glan
cing out the window, watching the sky. There were a few white, puffy clouds, but not a hint of rain, just like her brother had said.
Maybe Mark was right, she decided. Maybe it won’t rain today after all. But I’m glad I brought my amberell, just in case. Mattie wanted to be prepared. It was better than ending up soaking wet. Like Grandma Miller often said, “The weather can be quite changeable at times.”
“Mattie, did you hear what I said?” Their teacher, Anna Ruth Stutzman, touched Mattie’s shoulder.
Mattie jerked her head. “Uh, no. Guess I didn’t.”
“I asked if you did your homework over the weekend.”
Mattie gave a quick nod, thankful she’d gotten her assignment done.
Anna Ruth smiled and said, “That’s good. Now, would you please hand it to me, like the other scholars have done?”
Mattie’s cheeks warmed. She’d been so busy staring out the window watching the clouds that she hadn’t even heard the teacher ask the class to turn in their homework. She opened her backpack, pulled out the folder with her math assignment inside, and handed it to her teacher.
“Thank you, Mattie.” Anna Ruth gave Mattie’s arm a gentle pat, and then she returned to her teacher’s desk at the front of the room.
Mattie liked her teacher. Anna Ruth had light brown hair, hazel-colored eyes, and a pretty face with a pleasant smile. Although she didn’t tolerate any fooling around in class, Anna Ruth was always kind and patient.
Mattie’s friend Stella Schrock, who sat in the seat behind her, tapped Mattie on the shoulder. Stella had dark brown hair, matching eyes, and a creamy complexion, with not even one freckle on her face. Not like Mattie, who had several freckles.
Mattie turned her head toward Stella. “What do ya want?”
“Did you bring your jump rope with you today?” Stella whispered.
Mattie shook her head. “The last time I brought the jump rope, it got caught in my bicycle chain, remember?”
“No talking, girls.” Anna Ruth put one finger to her lips. “You’re supposed to be copying your spelling words.” She pointed to the blackboard, where she’d written all the words. “You’ll need to learn these for the upcoming test.”
Mattie frowned. Not only had she been caught talking in class, but she also had a list of spelling words to copy, and some of them looked kind of hard.
Before Mattie started writing, she glanced over at her brother, who sat across from her. He stopped copying the spelling words long enough to frown at her, and then he put his head down and went right back to work.
Mattie looked away and tried to focus on each of the words. She could only imagine what Mark would say when they went outside for recess. Most likely she’d get a lecture from him, since he always did well with his studies and rarely talked out loud in class. Mark was especially good at spelling, so he probably thought the words Anna Ruth had given them were easy. I’m sure he’ll pass the spelling test, Mattie thought. But not me. I’ll probably fail.
The test would be given at the end of the week, and Mattie was worried. Thankfully, she had a few days to prepare, and maybe if she studied really hard, she would get at least some of the words right. Mattie would have to work twice as hard as Mark. But if that’s what it took for her to pass the test, then she was prepared to do it.
“I told ya it wasn’t gonna rain today,” Mark said as he and Mattie walked home from school that afternoon, following their brothers, Calvin and Russell, who were some distance ahead on their bikes. “See, you were worried for nothing.” He looked at Mattie and noticed her frown. “What’s wrong? Are ya umgerennt because you brought your amberell to school for nothing?”
She shook her head so hard that the ties on her bonnet swished around her face.
“Then what’s wrong? Why are you frowning?” he asked, bending down to pick up a small flat rock. It would go nicely with his collection of other unusual rocks.
“I was thinking about those spelling words the teacher gave us today,” Mattie said. “Some of them are really hard.”
“No they’re not. I think most of ’em are pretty easy,” Mark said. “In fact, I can spell every one of those words without even studying, and I can write ’em in a sentence, too.”
“Really?”
“Jah. Here I go … Scarecrow. S-c-a-r-e-c-r-o-w. Mom put a scarecrow in the garden to keep the birds away. Toothpaste. T-o-o-t-h-p-a-s-t-e. Some people in our family forget to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom.” Mark waited to see what Mattie would say, since she was one person in the family who often forgot to squeeze the bottom of the toothpaste to make sure there was plenty at the top. But Mattie said nothing—just kept plodding along.
“Popcorn. P-o-p-c-o-r-n. One of my favorite winter snacks is popcorn.” Mark continued with his words and sentences. “Volleyball. V-o-l-l—”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Mattie stopped walking and tapped Mark on the shoulder. “You know you’re schmaert, and I know you’re smart, so you don’t have to rub it in.”
“I’m not trying to rub it in,” Mark said. “I just wanted you to see how easy those spelling words are.”
“They might be easy for you, but they’re not for me. I always have trouble with spelling.” Mattie sighed. “I’m worried I might fail the test.”
“There you go again … worrying about something that may never happen.” Mark grunted. “Just study those words, Mattie. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Mattie mumbled. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“I do understand. I’m good at some things, like spelling, and you’re good at other things, like playing ball. Why don’t you try writing each word down several times until you’re used to spelling out the word? You could be better at spelling if you’d study harder.”
“And you could be better at baseball if you’d practice running and throwing the ball more often,” she said. “We need to play catch sometime.”
Mark knew Mattie was right, but he didn’t like playing baseball. He had trouble catching the ball, and he couldn’t run as fast as the other kids, either. He was the one who always got teased by some of the boys in their class because he couldn’t play as well as they did. What made it worse was that his twin sister could play ball better than he could. Mattie was a fast runner and could hit and catch the ball better than most of the boys. Because she was so good at baseball, and Mark wasn’t, he didn’t play unless their teacher said he had to. But that was a lot different than studying for a test. It was important to get good grades in school.
“By the way,” Mattie said, “do you know how we got that scratch on the back fender of our bike? I noticed it the other day when our tire went flat.”
Mark wondered why Mattie would even care about something like that. “Probably happened during one of the times we fell, when we were learning how to ride the bicycle built for two,” he said.
“We’d better ask Dad if he has any paint. We don’t want it to start rusting where the scratch is,” Mattie said.
“There you go, worrying again,” Mark complained. “I’m sure that scratch has been there awhile. Why are you fretting about it now?”
“Never mind, Mark. I’m sorry I even mentioned the scratch.” Mattie shifted her backpack, and Mark figured it was heavier than usual today. Too many books, and her amberell, he thought. She really should have left it at home.
The twins walked the rest of the way home in silence. Mark was eager to get there so he could play with his two cats—Lucky and Boots. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to do that until he’d done all his chores.
“Where’s Twinkles?” Mattie asked Mom after they got home. “I didn’t see her outside anywhere, and I called for her several times.”
A wisp of Mom’s pale auburn hair came loose from the stiff white cap she wore on her head as she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen your dog since you fed her this morning. Did you put Twinkles in the kennel before you left for school?”
&n
bsp; “No, I forgot.” Mattie’s forehead wrinkled. “Maybe she’s in the barn. Did you, by any chance, look for her in there?”
“No, Mattie,” Mom said, shaking her head. “I’ve been busy all day, washing clothes and taking care of your little brother and sister. Besides, I assumed Twinkles was in her kennel, where she usually is during the day.”
“I need to hurry and change my clothes; then I’m goin’ out to look for her,” Mattie said, eager to find her dog.
“I’m sure Twinkles didn’t go far, and you can look for her after you’ve done your homework,” Mom reminded. “You, too,” she added, looking at Mark.
“I don’t have any homework,” he said. “I got it done during recess today.”
Mattie groaned. “Can’t I do my homework after supper?”
“No,” said Mom. “You need to do it now, because Grandma and Grandpa Miller will be joining us for supper, and I’m sure you’ll want to spend some time with them after we eat.”
“That’s true,” Mark put in. “It’s always fun to listen when Grandpa tells stories about when he was a bu.”
Mom chuckled. “That’s right, and I think your grandma likes to tell stories about when she was a maedel, too.”
“I wonder, when I grow up, if I’ll be tellin’ stories about when I was a boy,” Mark said, taking a bite of the molasses cookie Mom had just handed him. “Yum … this sure is gut.”
“Danki,” said Mom. “I’m glad you like it.” She gave one to Mattie as well. “Now tell me what you think, Mattie. Are the kichlin as good as usual?”
Mattie took a bite and bobbed her head. “Jah, Mom. The cookies are very good. They’re moist and chewy, just the way I like ’em.”
Mark lifted the remainder of his cookie to his nose and took a sniff. “They smell really good, too. I love the aroma of ginger in them.” He looked over at Mattie and grinned. “In case you didn’t know it, aroma means smell.”
Mattie grunted. “I figured as much.”
“Would you two like some meilke to go with your cookies?” Mom asked. “When Calvin and Russell got home, I gave them some cookies and milk, but they took theirs out to the barn.”
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