well, but her voice was hard and she shook Kristina again. “We go on and on when the men are gone. We keep them in the quilt and go on and on because in the end, when it is done, we are the only ones. We are the strong ones. Now pick up your baby and feed him and thenclean the buckets because it is nearly chores time and we must work.”
And she turned and threw the buckets in the sink and then faced the boy, who was standing by the door crying, and she said, her voice still hard, “Go and open the barn and let the cows in and get the stools down and we will come and milk. We must work. We must go on and we must work. Go now!”
After
Sitting in the little house in town coming into evening after apple pie and a glass of whole milk while his grandmother sips Norwegian coffee through a sugar lump, a time of questions:
“Will Olaf the father be in the quilt?”
“Of course. As was
his
father. In a few weeks when Kristina is a little stronger we will all get together and take the quilt out there and put Olaf into it.”
“What will the quilt story say about him?”
“It will say the truth. The quilt always says the truth. That he was a good man who loved his family andwanted to be with them but the war took him. The quilt will tell the truth.”
“Will my father pass over fighting in Europe?” He could not bring himself to use the word
killed.
It had been much on his mind since the two men had come to tell Kristina about Olaf, and he had even had a dream where his mother was in the apartment by the elevated railway in Chicago and the same two men came to her and he was not there to help her. “Will he pass over?”
“You mustn't think such things because there is no way to know.”
“If he passes over will he be in the quilt?”
“Of course.”
“If I pass over will I be in the quilt?”
“Of course.”
“And Mother?”
“Of course.”
“And you?”
She smiled. “I already have the piece of cloth from my wedding dress with my name on it.”
“But not for a long time. You won't go on the quilt for a long time. And neither will Mother or Father or me.”
“No. Not for a very long time. Now, you wash for bed and get your pajamas on and I'll tell you a story about a cow that glowed in the dark.”
“Not really.”
“Yes, really. Now go wash.”
About the Author
GARY PAULSEN is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people, including three Newbery Honor books:
The Winter Room, Hatchet
and
Dogsong.
Among his newest Random House books are
The Glass Café; How Angel Peterson Got His Name; Caught by the Sea; Guts: The True Stories Behind
Hatchet
and the Brian Books; The Beet Fields;
and five books about Francis Tucket's adventures in the Old West. Gary Paulsen has also published fiction and nonfiction for adults, as well as picture books illustrated by his wife, the painter Ruth Wright Paulsen. Their most recent book is
Canoe Days.
The Paulsens live in New Mexico and on the Pacific Ocean.
Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc., New York
Copyright © 2004 by Gary Paulsen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher,
except where permitted by law. For information address Wendy Lamb Books.
Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers
eISBN: 978-0-307-54372-1
October 2005
v3.0
And she turned and threw the buckets in the sink and then faced the boy, who was standing by the door crying, and she said, her voice still hard, “Go and open the barn and let the cows in and get the stools down and we will come and milk. We must work. We must go on and we must work. Go now!”
After
Sitting in the little house in town coming into evening after apple pie and a glass of whole milk while his grandmother sips Norwegian coffee through a sugar lump, a time of questions:
“Will Olaf the father be in the quilt?”
“Of course. As was
his
father. In a few weeks when Kristina is a little stronger we will all get together and take the quilt out there and put Olaf into it.”
“What will the quilt story say about him?”
“It will say the truth. The quilt always says the truth. That he was a good man who loved his family andwanted to be with them but the war took him. The quilt will tell the truth.”
“Will my father pass over fighting in Europe?” He could not bring himself to use the word
killed.
It had been much on his mind since the two men had come to tell Kristina about Olaf, and he had even had a dream where his mother was in the apartment by the elevated railway in Chicago and the same two men came to her and he was not there to help her. “Will he pass over?”
“You mustn't think such things because there is no way to know.”
“If he passes over will he be in the quilt?”
“Of course.”
“If I pass over will I be in the quilt?”
“Of course.”
“And Mother?”
“Of course.”
“And you?”
She smiled. “I already have the piece of cloth from my wedding dress with my name on it.”
“But not for a long time. You won't go on the quilt for a long time. And neither will Mother or Father or me.”
“No. Not for a very long time. Now, you wash for bed and get your pajamas on and I'll tell you a story about a cow that glowed in the dark.”
“Not really.”
“Yes, really. Now go wash.”
About the Author
GARY PAULSEN is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people, including three Newbery Honor books:
The Winter Room, Hatchet
and
Dogsong.
Among his newest Random House books are
The Glass Café; How Angel Peterson Got His Name; Caught by the Sea; Guts: The True Stories Behind
Hatchet
and the Brian Books; The Beet Fields;
and five books about Francis Tucket's adventures in the Old West. Gary Paulsen has also published fiction and nonfiction for adults, as well as picture books illustrated by his wife, the painter Ruth Wright Paulsen. Their most recent book is
Canoe Days.
The Paulsens live in New Mexico and on the Pacific Ocean.
Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc., New York
Copyright © 2004 by Gary Paulsen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher,
except where permitted by law. For information address Wendy Lamb Books.
Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers
eISBN: 978-0-307-54372-1
October 2005
v3.0
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