Lucy’s Wish Read Online Free PDF Page A

face.”
    â€œYou can’t tell me what to do,” Daisy complained.
    â€œI can if I’m your big sister,” Lucy said.
    Daisy grumbled, but she quickly washed in the cool water. She even wiped up the splatters with her towel.
    Lucy worked with Daisy to put the room in order. Then they hurried outside to the privy,remembering to wash their hands and dry them on the towel hanging outside the kitchen door.
    The door opened, and a plump, middle-aged woman poked her head outside. “So this is where you got to,” she said. “I was gonna start huntin’ for the two of you if you didn’t show up pretty soon.” She smiled and said, “I’m Gussie, the Judsons’ housekeeper.”
    â€œShe has a housekeeper?” Daisy whispered to Lucy. She looked terribly disappointed. “We thought she might need a girl … uh … two girls to help out with the housework,” Daisy told Gussie.
    Gussie laughed. She poked a stray wisp of gray-blond hair back into the twist that sat like a fat biscuit on top of her head. “Last thing Mrs. Judson needs is two little girls. She has four of her own already and just married off the last one. What she wants now is to sleep late, like she’s doin’ this mornin’.”
    Gussie held the back door open wide. “Youcome inside now. I’ll fix your breakfast and get you to the depot in time for the train.”
    Lucy took Daisy’s hand. “Don’t be sad,” she whispered. “We’ll find our families. Maybe at the next stop.”
    â€œWhat if we don’t?” Daisy whispered back.
    Lucy remembered Miss Kelly’s words. “You have to believe,” Lucy said.
    It was hard to believe and not be frightened. Lucy found that it was even harder not to give in to her fears when Gussie left her and Daisy at the train station. Lucy could see from the faces of the other children that they were just as terrified as she was.
    Everyone looked sad. Everyone looked scared. No one had wanted them at the first stop. Would it be any different at the next stop?
    A young couple rushed up to Miss Kelly. They had taken five-year-old Walter just to spend the night and had decided they wanted to keep him.
    Lucy couldn’t help feeling jealous.
There areonly eleven of us now.
She fought back a lump that stuck in her throat and made her want to cry.
    In the distance she heard long blasts from the train’s whistle. The train would be there soon, and they’d be on their way to Springbrook.

T he train chugged through patches of woods and clearings. Lucy slumped against the uncomfortable wooden back of her seat. One hand gripped Baby. The other held tightly to Daisy, who huddled against her.
    No one ran up and down the aisle. None of the boys teased. The car they rode in was quiet. Lucy was sure that everyone was thinking about the same thing: What would happen in Springbrook?
    Lucy knew that Miss Kelly was trying to cheer them up. She told stories and sang and even made up riddles.
    But every few minutes someone would ask,“Will it be long until we get to Springbrook?” Or “Are we almost there?”
    â€œIn a little while,” Miss Kelly would say patiently.
    Then, finally, it was time to wash faces and hands, comb hair, and straighten jackets.
    The conductor strode through the car. He called out, “Springbrook, next stop. Springbrook, five minutes.”
    Lucy found it hard to breathe. Her heart began to pound again as the train reached the depot. She saw a large cluster of people waiting on the platform.
    Just as before, Lucy carried her parcel and Baby and climbed down the steps with the other children, following Miss Kelly.
    A tall, thin woman shook hands with Miss Kelly. “I’m Isabelle Domain, chairman of Springbrook’s placing-out committee,” she said. “The train will be here for half an hour, so we’ll do the choosing right here on the