Chapter One
The first beams of sunlight tore through the mountains, and the kids in the city woke up for school. In their kitchen were glass bowls and cornmeal, and maybe even some orange juice. But I wasn’t in town; no I was far from town about forty miles away from it. I had woken up three hours ago and not to go to school but to work.
I lumbered up and down the cornfields picking the few that had survived the winter, listening to the soft cry of a crow in the forest. The wintery air blowing against my face, throwing my red hair everywhere.
Pa hated me to where my hair down when I worked but I couldn’t help it when I put it up in a bun I just found its way out again.
I hauled the basket up to the barn and began to shuck each piece. Each cornel was different, one with more hairs, one with none, all of them seemed to be different. I peeled slower now each piece of corn that I shucked missed the bucket and after ten minutes I had only done four.
“Common Mary Lou” I said to myself “finish!”
All the corn was shucked in less than five minutes. I rushed past Ma and Phoebe on the porch to do my last chore but Mama stopped me.
“Can you take these buckets to the barn?” Ma’s voice croaked and squeaked. She was most likely sick again. “Sure Ma” I said.
I hopped up each step two at a time. When I reached Ma she was almost asleep.
“Is Ma sick again?” I asked as I took the buckets. Phoebe glanced up at me and I could see that she had been up all last night. “Yes, she has the flu again.”
Phoebe’s head drooped just like Ma’s and I could tell she was asleep too.
The buckets were heavy but I could handle them, I was strong. I had beaten my brothers in arm wrestling plenty of times. I galloped across the field to our old barn with a big smirk on my face.
Don and Tommy were wrestling in the forest to my right. I glanced over at them and laughed . When would they grow up?
When I reached the barn the wind had picked up. I looked back. Don and Tommy were heading back inside and Phoebe was taking Ma inside.
I set down the milk and the cream on the bench, and sat down.
A huge limb of the tree outside tumbled to the ground with a loud crack. Maple practically jumped straight out of her stall. I threw my hand up trying calm her down but then came another loud crack. The buckets.
The milk and cream had fallen over into a bigger bucket.
My mind raced. We didn’t have enough money to replace that. Daisy only could be milked once a week.
Maple put her head down in her stall. As if she knew what I had done. I quickly picked up the milk and cream buckets and tossed them into the corner of the barn. That made Maple all riled up again. I picked up the bigger bucket with them both in it and rocked it back and forth making the two liquids mix.
The milk and cream slapped the side of the bucket like big waves in a storm. Soon they were the same color, a light beige.
I set the bucket down. No one will know. I thought to myself. No one will ever know.
Maple slapped her main around trying to get my attention. When I finally turned around she was almost breaking the door of her stall open.
I got up and walked over to her. My hand traced her face. I brought my hand down to her back but before my hand reached her neck so that I could pull myself up, I froze.
There on her back was two huge bite marks. It looked like it had been made by a bear. I stared into Maple’s terrified eyes and followed them to the floor of the barn.
There on the floor were two sets of bear tracks. They came from the door to Maples stall then to the food room. I almost choked when I heard the noise and soft shatter of glass coming from the food room.
I threw myself on top of Maple and cantered out of the barn. I galloped her all the way to the house. We were going too fast to stop, so as we rode by I screamed.
“Pa there’s a bear in our food house!”
It took about twenty seconds for Pa and my brothers to be outside with their rifles loaded.
Pa ran down the porch steps with a ragged look on his face with Don and Tommy right behind him. I turned around Maple and cantered after them.
Pa and my brothers got to the barn before I did and the loud gun fight began. I tied Maple outside of the barn and hurried in with our mallet.
The bears were on their hind legs groaning at the guns. Blood coming from their wounds and their brown eyes searched for forgiveness. I couldn’t stand it!
I didn’t know what I had done until I was right in between the guns and the bears. Pa and my brothers stopped shooting and the bears lay hopeless almost passed on.
“They’re hungry just like us!” I wailed at my Pa. “They’re sorry, let them go, don’t make them die.”
Pa’s voice was still crazed with anger. “Move aside Mary.” He said. His voice as flat as a still pound.
I put my feet apart and stood in a position that I was comfortable in. “Let them go!”
Now I was over by the first bear. His face was covered in blood, and his black chest was heaving. I patted his head and then stroked his ear.
Pa’s face was emotionless as he stared at me touching the bears. My brothers put their guns down and came to sit by the other bear.
They were dying. We couldn’t help them anymore. I could see now that they hadn’t eaten any food they were carrying it. I buried my face into the bears’ neck. My hair now was covered in blood. Tears rolled down my face and I tried to let them die in peace so I held it in.
The bears eyes were now soft. He stared up at me and seemed to be pointing to the door. I strained my eyes through the mist of the morning and saw a small black object.
I stood up and walked over to the door the shadow winced but did not move away. As I came closer the black shadow turned into a baby bear. It huddled into the side of the door and its dark brown eyes were wet with tears.
Without any hesitation I picked him up. His claws stuck into my leg, but I knew he didn’t mean it. I set the cub down by its parents.
The baby black bear wobbled over to its mother and licked her face with his wet tongue. His tongue caressed every wound. He lay silently over his mother.
I sat down next to the dying bear and the cub, and let out the tears. By now Pa was down next to the bear, too, and Ma and Phoebe were at the door.
The bear’s breaths were shorter and harder. It was losing too much blood.
The baby bear knew too. It took one last look at his mother and made a crying sound. The bear’s eyes glanced at the baby, the father, and then me. Her eyes were gone. The room fell silent . I stood up and the baby bear ran to me. I scooped it up and cradled it. Once again it stuck its claws into my leg. I winced, but was still numb from what I had just seen.
I held the baby close and it made another crying sound. My Ma was now beside me crying. I knew it wasn’t good for her to be crying or out in the cold, so I switched the baby bear to the other hip and helped Ma up. Tommy and Don were silent next to the other dead bear and Phoebe was still at the door of the barn. Pa still had his gun in his hand but he was calm. His eyes damp with tears.
We all walked back to the house in silence, Ma, Pa, Tommy, Don, Phoebe, and me and my bear.
