Blossoms on the Roof Read Online Free PDF

other girl.
    Susan stopped short and stared at Polly. “What? You are going on a trip? I thought you said there’s no money to pay the rent.”
    â€œNo, no,” Polly replied, laughing. “We are not going on a trip. Well, yes, we are, but then we’ll stay there—in North Dakota where we can get a free farm from the government.”
    Susan started walking slowly, scuffing her feet in the mud. “Oh. You are moving away. But not soon I hope.”
    Her voice sounded so sad that Polly hardly knew what to say. “Well, yes. At the end of this month.”
    â€œOh, Polly, I’ll never see you again.” Two big tears pooled in Susan’s blue eyes.
    Suddenly Polly felt like crying too. Up to now she had only thought of the exciting parts. Moving to North Dakota had sounded like a marvelous adventure, but this was different. Now she started to think of all the friends she would leave behind. Is it true? Will I never see them again? In a very small voice, she said, “Maybe we’ll come back to visit. On the train, you know.”
    â€œOh,” Susan said again just as forlornly as before. “How far away is North Dakota?”
    â€œMore than six hundred miles.” Polly’s voice was almost a whisper.
    â€œSix…hundred…miles. Why, that’s like the other side of the world, Polly.”
    Polly swallowed hard. Was that a sob, trying to push up into her throat? I must be brave , she thought to herself. “No, it’s not, Susan. Father showed us on the map. North Dakota is in the United States so it can’t be on the other side of the world.”
    â€œOh.” It seemed Susan had run out of things to say.
    Meanwhile, Ben and John were also talking aboutNorth Dakota. John’s first comment was, “Why, that’s almost in Canada where the Eskimos are.”
    â€œNo, they—”
    John cut Ben off by saying, “My father heard that some Amish are moving up there, but I never dreamed it would be anyone I knew. Guess what Father said about North Dakota, Ben. He said the winters get so cold that the smoke from your stove freezes before it ever leaves the chimney.”
    Ben stared at his friend. “That’s not true. Smoke can’t freeze.”
    â€œWell, Father said so,” John replied with a shrug and pushed open the school gate. He shouted to the other boys, “Guess what! Ben’s going to move up to Eskimo land!”
    Ben was stunned. He had not dreamed that John would react like this. Stopping inside the gate, he waited unhappily to see how the other boys would respond.
    They crowded closer to John and cast curious glances in Ben’s direction. “What did you say? The Yoders are moving?” questioned Tom Ghent, the curly-haired son of an Irishman.
    â€œYep,” John answered with an air of importance. “Up to North Dakota. You know, that cold place where they’re starting an Amish settlement.”
    Harry Pontocki said with a smirk, “Oh, yeah. Where it gets so cold at night that your breath freezes on the blankets and you have to break the ice before you can get up in the morning.”
    Ben stood miserably nearby. This was so different than he had imagined. He had pictured himself in the center of the crowd, holding everyone’s attention as he told about the planned move. Instead, John was telling the others, and the only kind of attention he was getting was scorn.
    Ed Dupont yelled over to Ben, “You’ll have to kill a polar bear and make yourselves fur coats to keep warm.”
    And Adam Rheal piped up with, “Might as well trade in your team for a bunch of huskies to pull your sled.”
    Ben had never been so glad to hear the clang of the big brass bell. He scurried in ahead of the other boys and was in his seat before anybody else could think up a scornful remark.
    The desks were double ones—two students to each bench. Ben wasn’t sure if he imagined it,