Bumpy Ride Ahead!

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  © 2012 by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Print ISBN 978-1-61626-790-2

  eBook Editions:

  Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62029-022-4

  Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-62029-023-1

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

  Churches and other noncommercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of Barbour Publishing, provided that the text does not exceed 500 words or 5 percent of the entire book, whichever is less, and that the text is not material quoted from another publisher. When reproducing text from this book, include the following credit line: “From Double Trouble: Bumpy Ride Ahead, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.”

  All German Dutch words are from the Revised Pennsylvania Dutch Dictionary found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

  Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®.

  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Cover illustration: Colleen Madden/MB Artists

  Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683, www.barbourbooks.com

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Dickinson Press, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI 49512; September 2012; D10003513

  DEDICATION

  To Helen Ballard and the children in her class at the school I’ve visited in Walnut Creek, Ohio.

  GLOSSARY

  absatz—stop

  ach—oh

  achtsam—careful

  appeditlich—delicious

  baremlich—terrible

  bickel—pickle

  bletsching—spanking

  blumme—flowers

  bopp—doll

  boppli—baby

  bruder—brother

  buch—book

  daed—dad

  donki—thanks

  daremlich—dizzy

  dumm—dumb

  eegesinnisch—selfish

  faahre—ride

  gaul—horse

  gern—nap

  glicker—marble

  grank—sick

  gut—good

  hund—dog

  hundli—puppy

  hungerich—hungry

  hunnskop—dog’s head

  jah—yes

  katz—cat

  keffer—bugs

  kichlin—cookies

  kinner—children

  Kumme, schnell!—Come, quickly!

  leinduch—sheets

  maedel—girl

  mamm—mom

  mann—man

  niesse—sneeze

  schnee—snow

  Sei net so eegesinnisch!—Don’t be so selfish!

  walnuss—walnut

  wasser—water

  Wie geht’s?—How are you?

  yung bu—young boy

  CONTENTS

  1. A Troublesome Day

  2. Sticky Pickles

  3. A Day with Grandpa and Grandma

  4. Tent for Two

  5. Zoo-rific!

  6. Selfish Decisions

  7. Walnut Juice

  8. Copycat

  9. Horse Sense

  10. A New Treasure

  11. The Big Squeeze

  12. Purple Sheets

  13. Consequences

  14. Discoveries

  CHAPTER 1

  A Troublesome Day

  “Sure wish we could do somethin’ fun today,” nine-year-old Mark Miller complained to his twin sister, Mattie, as they headed down the driveway toward their parents’ roadside stand. “Selling fruits and vegetables from our garden is just plain boring—especially now, since it’s supposed to be nice out today.”

  “I agree,” Mattie said, swatting at a bug that had landed on her arm. “We’re in school all week and don’t have much time to play when we get home. Because it’s Saturday and already warm outside, I was hoping I could visit my friend Stella Schrock.”

  School had started a few weeks ago, and even though summer was officially over, there was no sign that the mild weather was going away just yet. In a few weeks they’d probably be wearing jackets, but not today. It was warm and comfortable, and the humidity was low. Although a few pesky insects were still around, they’d be gone in a few short weeks.

  This morning the blue, cloudless sky made the landscape look so pretty. Mattie didn’t think it was fair that she and Mark were stuck watching their roadside stand today.

  “I was hoping I could go fishin’ today.” Mark took a seat on one of the stools behind the wooden stand and folded his arms.

  “Maybe we’ll sell everything really quick. Then we can do whatever we want for the rest of the day,” Mattie said with a hopeful smile as she watched a brownish-orange butterfly flit past and hover near some flowering bushes that were close to the stand. “Did ya see that pretty butterfly, Mark?”

  Mark looked where Mattie was pointing. “Oh, that’s a Great Spangled Fritillary.”

  “A Frita-what?” Mattie scrunched up her nose. “Are we talkin’ about the same thing?”

  “I was talkin’ about the butterfly. Isn’t that what you were referring to—about how pretty it was?” Mark answered.

  Mattie nodded, thinking to herself, Here we go again with the big words.

  “Well, that butterfly is a Great Spangled Fritillary, and it’s common in our state of Ohio. It can be seen from June until October, and it thrives in woods, fields, and gardens. And,” Mark added, “these butterflies lay their eggs on violets.”

  “Wow, you sure know a lot about this butterfly!”

  “That’s ’cause I like to read about things.” Changing to a new topic, Mark pointed to the stack of pumpkins on the ground to the right of the stand. “Do ya really think we’re gonna sell all those?”

  Mattie shrugged. “We’d have a lot more if we hadn’t given some of our pumpkins to our cousins Harold and Mary to sell at their stand.”

  “Well, at least Mom and Dad said we could keep the money we make from all the pumpkins we sell.”

  “That’s true, but we also have potatoes, apples, beets, pears, and some of Mom’s kichlin and homemade bread for sale. ‘Course, any money we make from that will go to Mom and Dad.”

  Mark looked at the tray full of goodies Mom had brought out earlier and licked his lips. “Those peanut butter kichlin sure look appeditlich, don’t they? I could eat a few of ’em right now.”

  Mattie nodded. “The cookies do look delicious, but you’d better not eat any ’cause Mom’s kichlin usually sell really well.”

  “Wish we could keep every bit of the money we make here today,” Mark said. “I’d like to buy a new yo-yo and some other fun things.”

  Mattie sighed and leaned her elbows on the edge of the wooden surface. “Mom made the baked goods and Dad grew the produce, so it’s only fair that they should get most of the money.”

  Mark motioned to a car that had just pulled up near the stand. “Wow, now that was quick! Looks like our first customer is already here.”

  Mattie smiled. “That’s good. I hope they buy lots of things.”

  A tall woman with short brown hair and a young blond-haired girl, who l
ooked to be about Mattie’s age, got out of the car and approached the stand. “We need two nice big pumpkins,” the woman said, opening her purse and removing a leather wallet.

  Mattie motioned to the pumpkins sitting on the ground, sure that the woman would want to buy a few. “We have them in all shapes and sizes.”

  While the woman looked at the pumpkins, the girl leaned her elbows on the edge of the stand and stared at Mattie. “My name’s Joyce. What’s yours?”

  “Mattie.”

  “How old are you?” she asked, blinking her blue eyes rapidly.

  “My brother and I are both nine years old.” Mattie motioned to Mark. “We’re twins, and his name is Mark.”

  Joyce looked at Mark then back at Mattie. “You do sort of look alike—same red hair, same blue eyes.”

  “But we’re different as day and night,” Mark was quick to say. He stepped off the stool, and when he bent down to pick up an odd-shaped rock near the toe of his boot, his straw hat fell off. This caused his thick red hair to stand straight up.

  Mattie tried not to giggle, so she focused on the rock in her brother’s hand instead of his funny-looking hair. Since Mark liked to collect rocks of all sizes and shapes, Mattie figured he would probably add this one to his collection.

  “You have big ears, and your hair looks funny.” Joyce snickered as she stared at Mark.

  “Joyce! You apologize right now. That was not nice,” the girl’s mother scolded.

  “I’m sorry,” Joyce said, but she didn’t sound very sincere.

  “That’s okay,” Mark answered, and then he walked away from the impolite little girl.

  “Where’s your mother?” Joyce asked, looking back at Mattie with a strange expression.

  “She’s up at the house baking more pies and bread for us to sell.” Mattie pointed to the baked goods sitting on the counter. “Don’t they look good?”

  Joyce’s blue eyes widened. “You mean, your mother sent you and your brother out here by yourselves?” she asked, ignoring Mattie’s question.

  “That’s right. Everyone in our family, except for our little sister and brother, takes a turn selling things here at the stand.” Mattie glanced over toward where Mark had been standing, but he wasn’t there. He had wandered away, looking for more rocks, no doubt.

  Mark shouldn’t leave me here to talk to this girl by myself, Mattie thought. He’s being selfish right now.

  Joyce pointed to the black bonnet on Mattie’s head. “How come you’re wearing a hat and long dress?”

  “Because I’m Amish, and this is how we dress,” Mattie explained, wondering what the curious girl’s next question might be.

  Joyce opened her mouth, like she might say something more, but the woman spoke first. “I didn’t see any pumpkins I like,” she said, rising to her feet and putting her wallet away. “I’m sorry, but none of them are big enough.”

  “Oh, I see.” Mattie couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. “Is there anything else you’d like?” she asked. “We have lots of other fruits and vegetables for sale, and plenty of baked goods, too.”

  The woman slowly shook her head. “All I need are some pumpkins right now.”

  “Our cousins down the road have pumpkins for sale,” Mark said, moving back to the stand.

  “Why, thank you,” the woman said, smiling. “I believe we’ll check that out.” She paused a moment and then quickly added, “I’m sorry I couldn’t find the right size pumpkins I need, but you’ve been most helpful referring us to your cousins.”

  “You’re welcome,” Mark said.

  Mattie waited until the woman and her daughter got into their car, then she turned to Mark and said, “Why’d you tell her about the pumpkins we gave Harold and Mary to sell at their stand?”

  “’cause she didn’t like our pumpkins and wanted somethin’ else.” Mark gave Mattie’s arm a quick jab. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we’ll sell some of our pumpkins, and I bet it’ll be soon.”

  Mattie hoped Mark was right, but she had a funny feeling this might not be a good day.

  An hour went by, and not one single customer came. Mark was bored and tired of sitting and waiting. Mattie seemed fine with it, though. She had her nose in a book.

  Mark nudged Mattie’s arm, and when she pulled it away, her elbow banged the wooden counter. “Want to go play in that?” he asked, pointing to the mound of leaves their brother Russell had raked into a pile the day before.

  Mattie shook her head. “Ouch!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I got a splinter in my elbow,” she said.

  “Want me to see if I can get it out?”

  “That’s okay. I can manage.” Mattie picked at the place where the splinter stabbed her skin. “There—it’s out now.”

  “That’s good. Now do you wanna play a game?”

  “Huh-uh,” she replied. “And please don’t jab me again. It was your fault I got that nasty old splinter.”

  “It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t jerked away when I bumped your arm.” Mark reached over and tickled Mattie under the chin. “Aw, come on, let’s play a game; it’ll be fun.”

  Mattie shook her head so hard that the ribbon ties connected to her bonnet swished around her face. “Whenever I play one of your silly games, it usually means some kind of trouble for me.”

  “This game won’t cause you any trouble—I promise,” Mark said.

  “I don’t care. I’m not gonna play. I’m gonna sit here and read my buch until another customer shows up.”

  “Suit yourself.” Mark hurried off, stopping in front of the huge pile of leaves. Then he reached into his pants’ pocket and took out a large blue marble. Grandpa Troyer had given the marble to Mark last summer, and it was the biggest in his collection.

  Mark stepped into the pile of leaves and tossed the marble into the air, watching as it dropped. Then he reached into the leaves, felt around, and grabbed the marble out.

  This is so easy, he thought. I figured it’d be harder to find the marble, but it’s not.

  Mark tossed the marble into the air again, let it drop, dug into the leaves, and pulled the marble out. “Want to see what I can do with my marble?” he called to Mattie.

  Still showing no interest, Mattie shook her head. “Someone has to watch the stand.”

  Mark shrugged and kept tossing the marble and then picking it up. He’d just thrown it into the air once more when—woof! woof!—a big black shaggy dog came out of nowhere, barking loudly and wagging its tail. The mutt wore no collar, and its fur was matted with briars. Mark was pretty sure it must be a stray.

  “Get away from here!” Mattie shouted when the dog bumped into the stand. “Mark, kumme, schnell!“

  Mark figured he’d better go quickly like Mattie had asked, or the dog might knock something over and make a mess of things.

  He hurried back to the stand, for the moment forgetting about his marble. “Get away from here you troublesome hund!” he hollered, waving his hands.

  Woof! Woof! The dog’s long pink tongue hung out of the side of his mouth as he raced back and forth, circled the stand, and came to a halt in front of the basket of apples. Hunkered down on his front legs and watching the twins as if wanting them to play, the mutt barked again. Woof! Woof! Woof!

  Mark made a lunge for the dog but missed. The critter stuck his snout into the basket, snatched an apple in his mouth, and darted away.

  Mark started after the dog until Mattie shouted, “Just let him go, Mark! He’s got what he wants, and we sure don’t want the apple back now that it’s been in the hund’s slobbery mouth.”

  Mark stopped running and returned to the stand. “You were right, Mattie. It doesn’t look like we’re gonna make any money today,” he said with a frown.

  “The day’s not over yet. Maybe someone will come along soon,” Mattie said with a hopeful-looking smile.

  Mark’s stomach rumbled. “I’m hungerich. Think I’m gonna eat one of Mom’s kichlin.”

/>   Mattie shook her head. “You’d better not. Mom said she’d bring us something to eat when it’s time for lunch, and if we start eating cookies there won’t be any left to sell.”

  “I don’t care. We haven’t sold one single thing all morning, and I doubt that we will.”

  Mattie tipped her head and looked toward the road. “I hear a horse and buggy coming. Maybe the driver will stop at our stand.”

  Mark listened to the steady clip-clop, clip-clop of the horse’s hooves. A few minutes later, a horse and black box-shaped buggy pulled up near the stand. Mark recognized the elderly driver and his wife—Elam and Martha Fisher. Elam held the reins while Martha climbed out of the buggy. “Do you have any carrots?” she asked, smiling at the twins.

  Mark shook his head. “All we have for sale is what’s sitting out.”

  “That’s too bad. I really need some carrots for the vegetable soup I’m planning to make later today,” Martha said.

  Mattie spoke up. “Our cousins down the road have a stand, and they might have some carrots.”

  Martha smiled. “Danki. We’ll go there now and check it out.” She turned and climbed back into the buggy.

  Mark looked at Mattie and frowned. “Looks like our cousins are gonna make all the money today ’cause we sure aren’t making any. Think I’ll go back to the pile of leaves and look for the marble I dropped there.”

  Mattie’s eyebrows shot straight up. “How are you gonna find it in all those leaves?”

  “It’s simple. I saw where I dropped it, so I’ll just reach inside and pick it up, just like I did a couple of times before. It’s a fun game. You really oughta come and watch.”

  “Now this I’ve gotta see.” Mattie followed Mark to the pile of leaves and stood watching as he dug around for the marble.

  Mark’s forehead wrinkled as he frowned. “That’s really strange. I’m sure I dropped it right here,” he said, scooping out some of the leaves and peering into the hole.

  Woof! Woof! The big black dog that had taken the apple came running down the road and headed straight for the stand again. Before Mark or Mattie could do a thing, the bouncing dog knocked the tray of cookies on the ground and gobbled them all up, leaving only the crumbs clinging to his whiskers.