Anna on the Farm
say no.
    Aunt Aggie nods. "Yes, he will."
    Anna makes a face without meaning to. "I thought his mother and father might be coming to get him soon."
    "Anna," Aunt Aggie says quietly, "there's something you should know about Theodore."
    "I already know all I want to know about him," Anna says. Taking a deep breath, she adds, "He's mean, and I hate him."
    When Aunt Aggie sighs, Anna feels bad. "Theodore hates me, too," she says quickly. "That's why he shut me in the chicken coop and stole my ribbon and made me rip my dress and called me a city slicker."
    "Theodore has had a difficult time lately," Aunt Aggie says slowly. "Things have been hard for him."
    Aunt Aggie pauses. The room is so quiet Anna can hear a bee buzzing against the window screen.
    "Theodore's an orphan," Aunt Aggie says at last. "That's why he's staying with us. Uncle George is his guardian."
    Shocked, Anna draws in her breath so hard she almost chokes. "Theodore's mother and father are dead?"
    Aunt Aggie nods. A breeze stirs the hot air, bringing the smell of roses through the open window.
    Anna slides closer to her aunt. She doesn't want to think about losing her father or her mother, but if something did happen to them, she'd be mad, too. Mad enough to lock someone in a chicken coop. Mad enough to make faces. Mad enough to be rude.
    "What happened to them?" Anna whispers.
    "His father caught pneumonia and died two years back," Aunt Aggie says. "And his mother—well, she never was a strong woman. She died of a fever in the spring."
    Aunt Aggie takes Annas face between her two small hands and peers deeply into her eyes. "Promise to be patient with Theodore," she says. "The child is hurting something awful."
    Anna promises. But it won't be easy. Even though she feels sorry for Theodore, she doesn't like him. Anna supposes she must be a very hardhearted girl. The heroines in her books would forgive Theodore at once and be endlessly kind to him. Elsie Dinsmore, for instance. Or Pollyanna. Too bad Anna isn't more like them.
    After a while, Aunt Aggie pats Anna's hand. "Would you like to cool off in the farm pond?"
    "How can I go in the water? I didn't bring my bathing costume," Anna says sadly.
    "Oh, for goodness sake," Aunt Aggie says. "We're not going to a public beach. You can wear your drawers."
    "Go outside in my underwear?" Anna stares at her aunt, truly shocked. "What will people think?"
    Aunt Aggie laughs. "You silly goose. Who will see you?"
    "Theodore," Anna mutters.
    "He'll have his drawers on, too," Aunt Aggie says.
    Suddenly, Anna feels very daring. Hasn't she been wearing overalls for two days and going barefoot and doing all sorts of unladylike things? Why not go swimming in her drawers? On a hot day like this, it would be fun to play in the farm pond.
    "Promise you won't tell Mother," Anna begs.
    Aunt Aggie promises. Lifting a long strand of Anna's hair, she says, "Suppose we braid this to keep it out of your face?"
    Anna bites her lip. "Mother never braids my hair. She says my face is too long and narrow and my ears stick out. I'd look ugly."
    "Fiddle faddle." Aunt Aggie takes Anna down the hall to her room and divides Anna's hair into two neat braids. When she's finished, she ties the ends with yarn from her sewing basket and leads Anna to a mirror. "There," she says. "You see? You aren't a bit ugly."
    Anna studies her reflection. No matter what Aunt Aggie says, Mother is right. Her ears stick out and her face is long and narrow. To be pretty, Anna should be pink-cheeked and plump, not pale and thin. Her hair should be blond and curly, not brown and straight. She should look like Rosa. Mother is always praising Rosa's blond curls and plump little hands, her bright blue eyes and her dimples. Just thinking about Rosa makes Anna grit her teeth.
    While Anna stands there staring at herself, she feels a breeze on the back of her neck. She shakes her head and watches her braids fly out like long brown ropes. No more thick hot hair hanging down her back,
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