Bubble Troubles Read online

  “I know, but they can’t, ’cause they would pop.” Mark grabbed the bubble wand and blew a giant bubble that floated above Mattie’s head. He reached up and popped it. “See what I mean?”

  “Absatz!” Mattie poked Mark’s arm. “You’re always teasing.”

  He grinned. “I know, but you like it sometimes.”

  When the twins got tired of blowing bubbles, they took a walk over to Mattie’s garden, and Mark set the frog pool in place. “No sign of the frosch yet,” Mark said, bending down to look in the opening of his frog house.

  “Don’t worry,” said Mattie. “I’m sure he’ll come out of hibernation soon. He’s probably burrowed in the dirt underneath the frog house.”

  “Well, since we can’t watch the frosch and there are no birds drinkin’ from the little pool yet, why don’t we get our kites and try to fly ’em?” Mark suggested. “The wind’s picked up a bit, so it’s perfect weather for kites.”

  “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

  Mattie and Mark were about to head for the house to get their kites when a small blue car pulled into the yard. Then a middle-aged woman with short brown hair got out and walked over to them. “Can you tell me where the Walnut Creek Cheese Store is?” she asked.

  “It’s that way.” Mark pointed to the road that ran along the right side of their property.

  The woman smiled, and then looking toward the clothesline, she said, “That’s a beautiful quilt. Is it for sale?”

  “No,” said Mattie. “It belongs to our mom.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” the woman said. “I’d be willing to pay a fair price for it.”

  Mattie shook her head, but Mark stepped up to the lady and asked, “How much would you pay for it?”

  “I’ve seen some other quilts similar to this, and they were selling for $800, so I’d be willing to pay that much. I’d have to speak to your mother first, of course,” the woman added.

  “Our mother isn’t home at the moment,” Mark stated. “But our folks need money right now, and Mom’s gonna try to sell some things. So I’m sure she’d be real pleased if you bought the quilt.”

  The woman nodded. “Why, thank you. I think I will.”

  “I don’t think selling Mom’s gwilde is a good idea,” Mattie whispered in Mark’s ear.

  Ignoring his sister’s comment, Mark took the lady’s money, smiled, and said, “Thank you.” He could hardly wait until Mom got home so he could give her the money. But looking over at his sister and seeing the worried expression on her face, Mark wondered, Did I do the right thing?

  “Mom’s gonna be upset when she finds out what you did,” Mattie said after the woman left with the quilt.

  Mark shook his head. “No, she won’t. She and Dad need the money, and since Mom said she was gonna try to sell a few things she’s made, I’m sure she’ll be glad I sold her gwilde.”

  Mattie wasn’t sure about that, but maybe her brother was right. Eight hundred dollars was a lot of money that would surely help their parents out. She hoped so anyway.

  When the twins got tired of blowing bubbles, they went into the house to get a snack.

  “I wonder how long Mom will be gone,” Mattie said as she took a jar of peanut butter down from the kitchen cupboard. “Did she say where she was going?” Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea.”

  “What kind of crackers do you want—multigrain or the whole-wheat kind?” Mattie asked.

  Mark tapped his chin a couple of times. “Hmm … I can’t decide.”

  “Okay, I have an idea,” Mattie said. “Close your eyes, and I’ll give you two different crackers to taste. Then you can decide which one you like best.”

  Mark nodded eagerly. “That sounds like a good idea.” He leaned against the counter, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Mattie giggled as she popped the first cracker into Mark’s mouth. He chewed it up and smacked his lips. “All right, I’m ready for the next one.”

  Mattie put the second cracker in Mark’s mouth, and he chewed that one up, too. “Yum. They’re both good. It’s hard to differentiate.”

  “Differ-what?”

  “Differentiate. It means it’s hard to tell ’em apart, so I’ll take some of both.” Mark opened his eyes.

  “I figured you might.”

  After Mattie set out some peanut butter, crackers, and an apple for each of them, she and Mark took a seat at the table. As they ate their snack, they talked about their parents’ financial situation.

  “Sure wish I was done with school and could get a job to help out,” Mark said.

  “Well, you’re not, so we just need to pray that Dad gets more work in the wood shop.”

  “I know. It’s hard not to worry, though, isn’t it?”

  Mattie nodded.

  Mark tipped his head as he heard the clip-clop of a horse’s hooves coming up the driveway. “Sounds like Mom is home,” he said, rising from his seat and going to look out the kitchen window. Sure enough, Mom had pulled her horse up to the hitching rail, and she was helping Ada and Perry out of the buggy.

  Mark drew in a deep breath. I hope Mom’s okay with me selling her quilt.

  Several minutes later, Mom and the little ones entered the house. When they stepped into the kitchen, Mom smiled at Mattie and said, “Did you take some of the things off the clothesline? I noticed that my quilt wasn’t there.”

  Mattie looked at Mark, and Mark stared at the floor. “Uh, Mom, I have to tell you something,” he mumbled

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “I sold your gwilde today.” He looked up at her with a feeling of dread.

  Mom’s eyebrows shot up. “You sold my beautiful quilt—the one your daed and I keep on our bed?”

  “Jah.”

  “Oh Mark, why would you do such a thing?”

  “I heard you and Dad talking about your finances this morning, and …”

  “You were listening in on our conversation?” Deep lines formed across Mom’s forehead. She looked really upset. Mom paused and sent Ada and Perry out of the room. “You know better than to do something like that,” she said, shaking her finger at Mark. “Listening to other people’s conversation without them knowing is called eavesdropping, and it’s wrong.”

  “Sorry, Mom, but I wasn’t listening on purpose. I just happened to hear what you said. When Dad mentioned that he didn’t have enough money to buy a new buggy, and you said …” Mark stopped talking and swallowed around the lump in his throat. “You said you might try to sell some of the items you’d sewn this winter.” He looked up at Mom with tears in his eyes. “Since you’re out of money, I wanted to help, and when a lady came into the yard today and wanted to buy the quilt, I said yes.” He pointed to the money lying on the counter.

  Mom sank into a chair at the table and buried her face in her hands. “That was one of my favorite quilts,” she sobbed. “My friend Vera gave it to me when your daed and I got married. And for your information, we are not out of money. Things are a little tight right now, but we’ll manage just fine.”

  Mark felt terrible about what he’d done, and he apologized to Mom again. “I wish I could get your gwilde back, but I don’t know who that lady is or where she lives.”

  “Until today we’d never seen her before,” Mattie spoke up.

  “Were you in on this, too, Mattie?” Mom asked.

  “No. Well, jah, in a way I was,” Mattie admitted. “I told Mark I didn’t think it was a good idea, but I should have said more before it was too late.”

  Mom sighed deeply. “Well, what’s done is done. Crying about it won’t bring back my quilt.” She looked at Mark and Mattie with a stern expression. “I hope you two have learned something from this today. You need to think before you act, because some actions can’t be turned around or taken back. All of this came about from you worrying so much.”

  The twins both nodded soberly. Mark figured they would surely be punished.

  Just then, a
knock sounded on the back door. “I’ll get it,” Mattie said, hurrying from the room.

  When Mattie returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, Mark was surprised to see that the woman he’d sold the quilt to was with her. She held Mom’s quilt in her hands.

  “I didn’t feel right about buying this without your mother’s permission,” the woman said, looking at Mark. “So I decided to come back and talk to her first.”

  Mom stepped forward with a look of relief. “I’m so glad you did. My son shouldn’t have sold you the quilt, and I’d really like it back. You see, the quilt is very special to me.” She picked up the money Mark had placed on the counter and was about to hand it to the woman, when she paused and said, “Say, I have an idea.”

  “What’s that?” the woman asked.

  “How about I make you a quilt similar to this one?”

  The woman smiled. “Yes, I would like that.”

  “Let’s go into my sewing room, and I’ll show you some material,” Mom said. “That way you can pick out the colors you’d like.”

  “That would be wonderful.” The woman handed Mom the quilt and followed her out of the kitchen.

  Mark leaned against the counter and blew out his breath. “I’m glad that all worked out.”

  “Me, too,” Mattie said. “You know, I’ve been thinking … If worry is like a bubble, and it will soon blow away, maybe we shouldn’t worry so much. Maybe whenever we start to worry about something, we should blow some bubbles and let all our troubles go up in the air. You know, let the bubbles carry our troubles away.”

  Mark smiled. “Bubble troubles, right?”

  Mattie gave a happy nod.

  Mattie’s Pumpkin Cookies

  Ingredients:

  1 cup brown sugar

  1 cup cooked pumpkin

  2 cups cooking oil

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  2 cups sifted flour

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon nutmeg

  ¼ teaspoon ginger

  1 cup raisins

  ½ cup chopped nuts

  In large mixing bowl beat together brown sugar, pumpkin, cooking oil, and vanilla. In separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients, then add to other ingredients and stir until smooth. Blend in raisins and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 3 to 4 dozen. Cookies will be soft and moist.

  About the Author

  WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER is a bestselling author who enjoys writing historical, as well as Amish-themed novels. Descended from Anabaptists herself, Wanda became fascinated with the Plain People when she married her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church in Pennsylvania. Wanda and her husband live in Washington State. They have two grown children and six grandchildren. Wanda and Richard often travel the country, visiting their many Amish friends and gathering further information about the Amish way of life. In her spare time, Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, reading, stamping, and having fun with her family. Visit Wanda’s website at www.wandabrunstetter.com and to learn more about her children’s books, visit www.amishfictionforkids.com.