Miss Auré1ie lived alone on the farm all her life. She had never thought of marrying, and she had never been in love. At the age of twenty she was asked to marry somebody, but she did not accept, and at the age of fifty she had not yet lived to regret it. So she was quite alone in the world, except for her dog, the negroes who lived with her and worked her crops, the chickens, a few cows, her gun and her religion.
One morning Miss Auré1ie's young neighbor came to her, accompanied by her four small children. She carried the little baby in her arms and dragged the youngest son by an unwilling hand, while two little girls followed behind. Her face was red from tears. She had been called to a neighboring village to take care of her sick mother while her husband was away in Texas. She came to ask Miss Auré1ie to take care of the children while she was away.
After she had left, Miss Aurélie stood looking at the children, and thought of a plan of how to take care of them. She began by feeding them. If Miss Aurélie's responsibilities had begun and ended there, it would have been easy, because there was enough food in the house. But little children are not little pigs: they require and demand attention and care, for which Miss Aurrlie was not prepared. "
She was, indeed, very bad in her management of the children during the first few days. How could she know that the oldest girl always wept when spoken to in a loud and commanding tone of voice? She became used to the little boy's love of flowers only after he had picked all the most beautiful ones from the garden to study their botanical construction.
At night, when she ordered them one and all to bed, they kept standing before her, as if they didn't understand. Only after Miss Aurélie had given them a bath, told the little boy a bed-time story and sang sweet songs to the little baby, did they all fall asleep. Taking care of a small band of such young children is not easy for a woman of little experience.
Miss Aurélie learnt something every day, and by the end of two weeks she had grown quite used to these things, and she no longer complained. It was also at the end of two weeks that Miss Aurélie, one evening saw the children's young mother coming from the railway station. As she drew near, the young woman's face showed that her home-coming was a happy one.
But her coming, neither announced nor expected, made Miss Aurélie very upset. The children had to be found. Where was the naughty boy? Where were the two girls? As for the baby, she was safe enough in Miss Aurélie's arms; and she had screamed with delight at sight of the familiar blue wagon which was bringing her mother back to her. The excitement was all over, and they were gone. How quiet it was when they were gone! Miss Aurélie stood in front of her farm house, looking and listening. She could no longer see the cart. She could no longer hear the noise of its wheels, but she could still hear the glad voices of the children in the distance.
She went into the house. There was much work to be done, for the children had made a mess, but she did not immediately start cleaning up. Miss Aurélie seated herself beside the table. She looked around, and then she let her head fall down upon her bended arm, and began to cry. Oh, how she cried! Not softly, as women often do. She cried very loudly. She did not notice her dog licking her hand. |