" I once heard that my father was the meanest man in the hills. This buzzes around in my head, then, poof. He never hurt me! Maybe it's for the best what he did to me, but times like today, I wonder. I look the same as I looked this morning, my curls tight as sausages. There's a proper sash on my dress. Mom fussed with the bow fluffing it until it stood out so far behind me that I'm afraid to sit down even now 'cause I'll smash it.
The merry-go-round is empty. I want to walk over and make it go round and round so I can take a ride, but that would be rude. So I watch the clouds overhead and think. I'm in trouble, bigger trouble than I intended. I wish I could undo what my father did...."
from Elizabeth Amelia, Cats & Other Tales
Copyright © 1999 by Marilyn Schoefer Wagner Table of Contents
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