Hadassah Chp. 7

C H A P T E R   7—O L D   B A S E L 

The day went by and the weather was fairly good. In the morning, Hadassah sat by the oak tree and read her book, A Tale of Two Cities. She read until lunch and then learned how to use a grill. 

The day slipped passed and in the evening, Hadassah, Uncle Henry, and Aunt Albie sat on the porch steps watching the sun set. 

The stars hung in the sky and the sun slept among the clouds. Hadassah sat on her bed snuggled beneath the covers, just finishing up her book. When she read the last page, she flicked off the lamp and laid her head on her pillow. 

Hadassah woke up. She looked at the clock: 6:30 am

She rubbed her eyes. Is is time already? She jumped out of bed, and went downstairs. Aunt Albie was still in bed, so she tiptoed to the kitchen and buttered a biscuit from a few days ago. 

She combed her hair and got dressed and then waited for Uncle Henry.

“I wonder why he’s still sleeping.” She wondered aloud. Just then, Uncle Henry walked in from outside. 

“Oh, you’re awake. Time to get dirty!” He exclaimed. He sounded anxious to begin.

Hadassah shuddered, but then straightened up.

“I’m all ready.” She said, trying to sound confidant. But Uncle Henry lifted his eyebrow.

“Oh, no, you’re not.”

“What?”

“You can’t go feeding animals and cleaning stalls, dressed like that.” Hadassah looked confused. She was wearing an old dress.

“What do you mean, Uncle?”

“I mean, take these overalls, and get some boots. We’re here to get muddy, girl.”

Hadassah was dressed and headed outside. This is so humiliating. She thought. She never, ever wore overalls!   

“Here, can you get that for me?” Uncle Henry motioned his hand towards the tin bucket that sat in the corner. Hadassah picked it up sheepishly and handed it to him.

“Now, you can sit on that stool, and milk her.” Hadassah stared at Uncle Henry. Then at the cow.

“With what?” She asked, hoping for a good answer.

“With your hands child! What else can we milk a cow with?”

Hadassah inched her way to the stool and sat down. Uncle Henry motioned his head towards the cow.

“You better get milkin’. I’ll be back shortly.”

Hadassah nodded her head and began. This is the grossest thing I’ve ever done in my life. She kept milking Basel, when she heard a sound. It kind of sounded like mice. Then she saw a little tail peek from a hole in the wall. Hadassah screamed and fell backwards, having the bucket of milk spill all over her face.

“Ew, mice!” She sputtered, wiping the milk from her eyes. But just when she wanted to cry, three tabby kittens popped out from inside the hole. Hadassah’s face grew red.

“Kittens? I spilled a weeks worth of milk, for kittens?” She dropped her head in her hands and cried. I don’t know how to do anything right here!

She cried for awhile and then wiped her tears away. She decided she would try again.

She picked the stool back up, wiped her milk—covered face, and tried again. This time, no milk came.

“Basel, come on, you’ve got to have something left in there!” She kept trying and trying. But no milk came. It was all gone.

By that time, Uncle Henry walked in and saw Hadassah’s clothes covered in milk, and the bucket sitting there empty. He sighed and rubbed his beard.

“We’ll try again tomorrow. Now let’s feed the other animals.”

They fed the goats, and the sheep, and the cow and pigs. When they finished feeding and cleaning out their stalls, they took care of the ducks. The ducks had a little pond, all to themselves. They had just had babies, but they looked strange.

“Where’s the father?” Hadassah asked Uncle Henry. Uncle Henry shrugged and pointed his head towards the fence. Hadassah looked at the fence. Nothing was there. She just stood there silent for a moment while Uncle Henry showed her how to handle ducklings. Then, out of nowhere, a loud, GAUKKKK!! GAUKKKKKK!!! Hadassah screamed and nearly fell in the pond. A enormous white duck was trying to peck her and chase after her.

“That’s the father?!” She asked, sounding petrified. 

“Sure is. Rachel found him wandering on our farm, when he was a baby. That was loooooong ago. What we didn’t know however, was that Rachel wanted ducklings. Now, at that time, we had no male duck. So when Rachel found this strange looking duckling, she just figured she was in luck. It was supposed to be a surprise for us.” He began laughing and Hadassah laughed too. 

When they finished with the ducks, they headed inside and Hadassah took a nice, hot bath.

This is just what I need after a hard day’s work. She thought contently. 

Uncle Henry finished dressing and went to the kitchen where Aunt Albie was wiping the counter. He sat down at the little table and began chuckling again.

“My, what a child.” He muttered under his breath. Aunt Albie sat down next to him.

“When are you going to tell her? She’s been here more than a week,” she said looking him straight in the eye.

“Well, I don’t know Alberta. I really just don’t know. But I’m sure the Lord will reveal to me when it’s the right time.”