by Diane Adams
A Hole in the Fence
Christian Fiction for Kids
Diane Adams
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Digital Edition
Copyright 2011 Diane L. Adams
All rights reserved
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This is a work of fiction.
All the characters and events are the result of the author's imagination.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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All Scripture taken from the
HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (trademark).
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved.
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All the glory to God!
A special thanks to Tank
for his technical support, artistic talent,
and continual encouragement.
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This book is dedicated to my Grand-Girl Extraordinaire
Phoebe Christine Clark
who wielded her red pen with diligence and wisdom.
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A Hole in the Fence
Christian Fiction for Kids
For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief
to the children of men.
- Lamentations 3:33
Prologue
The elderly woman came out onto the balcony and rested her arms on the warm wooden railing. She was slightly tall for her age, with silver hair and pink glasses which she wore on a gold chain. Her name was Margaret Cameron, but her grand-girls called her Meemaw. She baked the best chocolate chip cookies in the universe, because she was allowed to borrow recipes from the Divine Cookbook.
Three stories below, her husband was busy removing twigs and leaves from one of the tiny culverts that diverted rain from the miniature roads that zigzagged across the garden. His earthly name was Walter Cameron, but nearly everyone called him Pops. He was nearly as tall as his wife, but he had a lot less hair and his was white.
They both had remarkable blue eyes that twinkled like Christmas lights when they were pleased. They were both very easy to please.
Pops looked up when Meemaw appeared, almost as if she had sent a secret signal. He raised a hand in greeting, then tipped his head, asking her a familiar question.
Meemaw laughed and nodded. Yes, she told him silently. I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and set aside a whole jar just for you.
Pops was caretaker of the 'old Templeton place.' His job didn't pay well, by human standards, but it included a few special privileges - Pops could eat as many cookies as he wanted without ever getting sick or fat. Since it was Meemaw's job to care for the caretaker, she baked at least one batch of chocolate chip cookies every day.
Meemaw turned her head so she could observe the drama about to take place next door. A boy of eleven had come out to sit on the neighbors' back step. He was a tall boy, but just now, he was hunched over, as if a heavy weight had settled on his shoulders. He bowed his head, his sandy-colored hair hiding the tears that were threatening to spill from his pretty green eyes.
Meemaw hated to see children suffer. She was glad she would be permitted to help Neal find his hole in the fence. She began to listen with increased concentration, so she would know exactly what she was meant to do.
"Neal!" someone called from the front yard, but the boy only shook his head. "Neal!" came the woman's voice again, more insistent this time. He raised his hands and covered his ears. His mother's voice was strained with grief, but Meemaw knew it sounded like anger to Neal.
The woman strode purposefully over the grass and began to lecture the boy, because he hadn't answered when she called. Though her words were blurred by distance, Meemaw knew what his mother wanted - she wanted Neal to say he understood why she was going away without him. She had forgotten that a child cannot understand an adult's reasons, just as an adult cannot understand the reasoning of God.
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