A Prairie Rose

Chapter 20

Mrs. Hansen continued with the lessons each night- but only with her own daughters. I may have felt left out, had it not been for the time set aside for me, as well- a bold statement from me, I knew, when they were her daughters, and I was of no relation to her. But I was finding myself growing more and more attached as the days went on. 

Every day, Mrs. Hansen would go over the alphabet with me. It was difficult- even when I had memorized the sounds that A, B, C, D, E, and F all made, that meant very little to me. It helped some when she took a slate from Hattie's trunk in our bedroom, though, and wrote the letters out for me. 

It helped even more when she assigned me chores in the kitchen, and had me mold cookie or flatbread dough into the shapes of letters. Once it was cooked, she would have me sound out each letter before I could eat them.

One morning, she had me wait before eating the cookies, even after I had sounded out all of the letters- even out of order.

"Now hold on," She told me, watching as I tried to bring the 'F' cookie to my mouth. "Look at all the letters you have there- what words can you make with them?"

I stared up at her, baffled. "But I don't know any words, Ma'am."

She waved off my concern. "Nonsense. You have the letters A-F there, and you know each one. So what words can we make?"

I didn't answer, already feeling as if I would cry.

She reached and picked up three of the little cookies, arranging them in a line in her hand. "Here- try to read this."

I stayed quiet, and she urged me to try. Just try, she said. That was all.

Slowly, I tried to sound it out. "Buh-Eh-Duh. Bed?"

She grinned at me, nodding, and I was so excited as Hattie clapped and cheered from somewhere behind me, that I forgot to even want to eat the cookies. "Can we do another one? Please?"

Mrs. Hansen traded out one of the cookies for another, keeping the other two. Again, I sounded it out. "Buh- Ah- Duh. Bad!"

I erupted into excited giggles, snatching up the cookies and staring at them. I had read words. Real words, that meant real things! 

Turning to Hattie, I held out the cookies as proof. "I can read!"

"You can read!" Hattie echoed, seeming just as excited as me. 

Mr. Hansen came inside just then with Grace. They both made a slight face at the sound of high-pitched squealing, but Grace looked far more irritated as she covered her ears and walked past us, setting down the water that she had gathered at the river. Her Father had no squirrel or rabbit or raccoon, so I supposed there had been nothing in the snares down by the water.

"Now, what's all this fuss about?" He asked, hanging his coat up on a nail to dry.

I held out the cookies, showing him. "Look! I can read! Buh-Ah-Duh. That spells bad! And look-" I enthused, trading out the A for the E cookie. "Buh-Eh-Duh. Bed! And look-"

Once again, I reached for a cookie, not looking at which ones I swapped out. 

"Duh-Eh-Buh!" I declared. "Deb isn't a word I don't think, but if it was, I could read it!"

He laughed and patted my head and told me that soon I would be the one reading to him instead of the other way around. I asked if Shakespeare happened to only write with the letters A-F, and he said he did not, but that if Shakespeare had been a little bit smarter, maybe he would have thought to do so. 

I was still excited as I stood naked in the washtub that night as Mrs. Hansen gave me my weekly bath. Grace was old enough that she took hers in the back room, but Hattie and I were still little enough that we just took ours together in front of the fire- it was warmer there, and easier to put in hot water if the tub got too cool.