Bit by bit I managed to sob out the story of what I had done. Pa ate his supper in silence, every so often stopping to look at me as though he couldn’t believe that any daughter of his could be so foolish.
As soon as prayers were over, Pa clamped his hat on his head and started out to find the buggy. I waited fearfully for the sound of Nellie’s hooves on the road. So far Pa had not mentioned what my punishment was to be, but I was sure that it would not be a light one.
Finally, after what seemed hours to me, Pa returned with the buggy. He had found it, he said, in Carter’s Grove. Some of the older boys had seen it there, and thinking I needed taking down a peg, had pushed it into the woods a little farther. They were sure that I could find it, but since I hadn’t gotten off Nellie or looked beyond the spot where I had left it, I had not seen it.
Pa sat down and looked at me soberly.
“Mabel,” he said, “since you can’t seem to get over the habit of being so thoughtless, we can’t let you go to school alone again. If the boys have to stay home, you’ll have to stay too. Maybe when you’ve grown up a little more, we can trust you. But for now you’ll have to be watched like a little girl.”
Then he kissed me and sent me to bed. I felt much worse than if he had paddled me good, but it certainly made me think about my foolish tricks.
Grandma looked at me with a smile. “Now, see if you can’t find those mittens at school tomorrow,” she said. “And try to be more careful from now on.”
In Grandma's Attic Page 8