Hannah Read Free Page B

school. He knows he isn’t very good at schoolwork. I made a bargain with him. I told him that if he behaved and settled down to studying, I’d give him a whole week off during the potato harvest.”
    I didn’t want to go back to school, but I had never had a dress all my own, just hand-me-downs from Verna. For a new dress, I thought I might go back to school. Just for a day.
    Mama was against it. At supper that night when I said Miss Robbin would make me a new dress for school, Mama said, “Hannah, you’ve had all you are going to have of school.”
    Papa said, “Don’t be hasty, Martha. What happened today set me to thinking. We can’t let Hannah stay helpless. She has to learn to take care of herself. You and I aren’t going to be around forever. The time will come when she’s going to be on her own. She can’t go getting lost every time she puts her foot out the door.”
    Nothing more was said, but when Saturday came, Miss Robbin began to make my new dress. Mama couldn’t help herself exclaimingon how pretty the material was. “I don’t see why you want to waste it on a little girl’s dress,” she said to Miss Robbin. “You’ve got more than enough there for a dress yourself.”
    “I’d rather see Hannah in the dress,” Miss Robbin said. “Besides, it was my fault that Hannah tore her dress. I should have done a better job of watching over her.”
    I could tell from Mama’s “humph” that she was getting a little more soft-hearted toward Miss Robbin.
    “I’m putting a ruffle around the bottom of your skirt,” Miss Robbin said to me. “Here, Hannah, you can feel it.”
    The material was soft when I touched it. It had a sharp new smell. Even the collar had a little ruffle around it.
    Saturday evening, when we got the bathtub out and put it in the kitchen, Mama said, “Hannah, I believe I’ll cut your hair before I wash it. It’s looking kind of stringy.” I guess she didn’t want Miss Robbin to be the only one to fuss over me. I could feel the weight of my hair grow lighter, and little pieces of it fell down my dress. “There now,” Mama said when she had finished, “your hair crimps up into real pretty curls. It’ll be easier for you to comb, too.” And then, like she was choking down some bitter medicine, Mama added, “… when you have to get dressed for school.”

    I could hardly believe my ears. Mama was actually going to let me go back to school. I reached out and hugged her. “Heavens,” Mama said, “there’s no need for that.” She began to pour the hot water from the stove into the tub. “All right, Johnny, you’re first.” Johnny and I and Verna all took turns. Later on in the evening Mama would pour clean water into the tub. Then she and Papa would retire to their bedroom so Miss Robbin could take her bath.

    After we were sent upstairs to bed, I could hear Miss Robbin working at Mama’s sewing machine, making my dress. Mama had the paddle of the butter churn going. She was keeping Miss Robbin company in the kitchen. If Miss Robbin and Mama got to be friends, I thought, maybe Mama wouldn’t need me so much.

6
    When Monday morning came, I had second thoughts about school. I nearly hid from Verna when it was time to go, but the crisp feel of my new dress and the ruffle around the skirt gave me courage. Mama had even found a yellow ribbon to make into a bow for my hair.
    When we got near the schoolhouse, I started to get scared again, and Verna had to drag me along. A girl whose voice I didn’t recognize came up to us. “Your sister’s gota pretty dress, Verna,” she said. Another girl named Effie said, “What did your sister do to her hair?” Just because I can’t see, strangers think I can’t hear either. Or they believe I am stupid. I was pleased, though, to hear the girls say I looked nice even if they didn’t say it to me.
    This time Miss Robbin let me sit with Verna instead of making me come up to the front of the classroom. And Carl kept