Green Fever (16 page)

Bz.z.z. Bz.z.z
. Mattie’s eyes snapped open, and she sat straight up. A bee flew past her nose, and she quickly clambered to her feet. She’d been stung once last summer and didn’t want to experience that again.

As the bee flew away, Mattie noticed that the sun was up higher, which let her know she’d been here much longer than she’d planned.

Jumping to her feet, she quickly picked some wildflowers—lavender, wild hyacinth, white trillium, and larkspur. Then, holding the bouquet in one hand, she climbed onto Mark’s bike, gripped both handlebars, and headed for home.

When Mattie stepped onto the porch sometime later, Mom came out to greet her. “Mattie Miller, where have you been?”

Mattie could see from the wrinkles in Mom’s forehead that she was upset. “I—uh—took a ride on Mark’s bike,” Mattie stammered.

“You left without telling anyone where you were going?” Mom shook her finger at Mattie. “Your daed and brothers are out looking for you. Don’t you know how dangerous it was for you to be out by yourself with no one knowing where you were?”

Tears gathered in Mattie’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Mom. I just wanted to ride Mark’s bicycle, and I thought if I went early, before anyone got up, he’d never find out.” She extended her hand. “I found a field full of pretty wildflowers, and I picked some for you.”

“I appreciate the gift,” Mom said, picking up the broom to sweep the porch steps. “But you can’t go running off without at least telling one of us what you’re planning to do. Is that clear?”

Mattie nodded, tears dribbling down her cheeks.

“And you shouldn’t have ridden your brother’s bike without asking permission.” Mom clasped Mattie’s shoulders. “You know it’s not right to have jealous thoughts, don’t you?”

“Jah. I just wish I had a bike of my own.”

“Maybe someday you will,” Mom said, “but from now on, if you want to ride your brother’s bike, you’ll need to ask him first.”

Mattie sniffed. “I—I will.”

Just then Dad and the boys returned. “Mattie, where have you been? We looked everywhere for you!” Dad shouted as he ran across the yard toward the porch.

Mattie quickly explained things to him and ended it by saying she was sorry. Then she looked at Mark and said, “Someday maybe I’ll have a bike of my own, but right now, I don’t care about that. I’m just happy to be home.”

Mark smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay, Mattie, and the next time you want to ride my bike, just ask.”

“I sure will. I’ve learned a good lesson today.”

That afternoon Mark went out on the porch and watched as Russell painted the fence that surrounded their yard. It was a bright green color and reminded Mark of grass. Mark wished Dad had asked him to do some of the painting. It looked like fun and seemed easy enough. Since Mark’s ankle was better now, he felt sure he’d have no trouble climbing the ladder.

Mark left the porch and headed across the yard. “That looks like fun,” he said, standing at the foot of the ladder and looking up at his brother.

Russell groaned. “There’s nothin’ fun about painting the fence. It’s a lot of work, that’s what it is.”

“Doesn’t look that hard to me. I’d sure like to give it a try.”

Russell said nothing, just whistled as he kept painting.

“Sure wish Dad had asked me to paint. It’s not fair that he asked you instead.”

Russell stopped painting and looked down at Mark. “Are you jealous because I get to paint the fence?”

“Jah, a little.” Truth was, Mark was more than a little jealous. He felt green with envy right now.

“I’ll tell you what,” Russell said, climbing down from the ladder, “you can take over for me while I go up to the house to get a drink of water. How’s that sound?”

Mark bobbed his head eagerly. “That’s great. I’m sure I’ll do a good job.”

Russell handed the paintbrush to Mark. “Be careful you don’t get any paint on your clothes. Mom wouldn’t be happy about that. And be really careful climbing the ladder. The paint can is balancing on the small wooden platform on top, but it should be okay if you climb up slowly.”

Soon after Russell headed for the house, Mattie showed up. “What are doing?” she asked, pointing to the ladder.

“I’m takin’ over for Russell while he goes to get a drink,” Mark replied with a grin. “I think it’ll be fun to paint this old fence.” Before Mattie could respond, Mark put one foot on the ladder. He was about to start up when his arm bumped the ladder,
and—whoosh!—the
bucket tipped over, and the paint spilled out.

“Mark, look out!” Mattie hollered, covering her mouth. But it was too late—green paint splattered on Mark’s head and dropped onto his shirt and trousers.

“Oh no,” he groaned, moving quickly away as the remaining paint spilled onto the ground. “Guess that’s what I get for being jealous of Russell. This has sure taught me a good lesson.”

That evening as the Miller family sat around the supper table, the discussion turned to the nice weather they’d been having. Mark was glad the topic of conversation wasn’t about him because he felt bad enough about spilling the paint. Worse yet, he was sorry he’d allowed his feelings of jealousy to surface again. Both he and Russell had gotten in trouble for the mishap—Russell for letting Mark do a job Dad had asked him to do—and Mark for knocking over a bucket of perfectly good paint. Normally, Mom and Dad didn’t punish their children for an accident they couldn’t avoid, but in this case, Dad pointed out that Mark had no business trying to climb the ladder, especially since he hadn’t been asked to do the job. Both Mark and Russell had been given extra chores to do for the next week.

“You know,” said Mom, continuing with their talk about the weather, “as soon as the snow melts at the end of each winter and the weather turns warm, I always get a case of spring fever.”

Mark smiled and looked across the table at Mattie. “Spring fever’s a lot better than having green fever, wouldn’t ya say?”

Mattie giggled. “When that paint dripped on your head and clothes, you definitely looked like you had a case of green fever.”

Mark gave a nod. “From now on I’m gonna try to remember that it’s wrong to have jealous thoughts.”

“Same here,” Mattie agreed.

“That’s good to hear,” said Dad. “Now let’s say our silent prayer, and then we can eat.”

They’d just finished supper when a knock sounded on the back door.

“Now, I wonder who that could be,” Mom said, rising from her chair. She left the room, and a few minutes later she returned with a strange expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, Alice?” Dad questioned. “You look
verhuddelt.”

“I am confused, Willard,” Mom admitted. Then she motioned to Mattie and said, “There’s something on the porch, and I think you should see it.”

“What is it?” Mattie asked.

Mom gestured to the door. “Why don’t you go take a look?”

Mattie jumped up and raced out the door. The rest of the family followed.

When Mattie stepped onto the porch, she was surprised to see Stella’s bike parked there. But where was Stella, and why had she left her bike on the porch without coming into the house to see Mattie?

“What’s going on here?” Mattie asked her mother. “Do you know why Stella left her bike on our porch?”

A smile stretched across Mom’s face as she pointed to the handlebars, where a piece of paper was attached with a bow. “You’d better read that note.”

Mattie tore the note away from the bow and read it out loud. “ ‘To my best friend, Mattie: I’m giving you my bike.’ ” Mattie stood with her mouth hanging open, hardly able to believe what she’d just read. “But why would Stella give me her bike?”

Stella came around the side of the house then, pushing a brand-new bicycle. Her cousin John was with her. “My grandparents bought me a new bicycle,” Stella explained, grinning at Mattie as she and John joined the Miller family on the porch. “So I wanted you to have mine,” she said, giving Mattie a hug. “John pedaled it over here for me while I rode my new bike.”

Mattie stood for several seconds, letting Stella’s words settle into her brain. She’d never expected to be given such a wonderful gift. “Danki, Stella,” she said tearfully. “Now we can ride our bikes together whenever we want.”

“But only when you’ve gotten your mamm’s or my permission,” Dad said as he lifted Mattie’s new bike off the porch and placed it in the yard.

Mattie nodded. “Jah, of course.” Then she bounded down the steps and climbed onto the bike. She was pleased to see that Stella’s old bell was on the bike as well as a basket for carrying things. This day had turned out to be perfect. Like Mark had said earlier, she would try to remember not to let jealousy take over her thoughts, for she never again wanted to worry about coming down with a case of green fever.

W
ANDA
E. B
RUNSTETTER
is a bestselling author who enjoys writing historical, as well as Amish-themed novels. Descended from Anabaptists herself, Wanda became fascinated with the Plain People when she married her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church in Pennsylvania. Wanda and her husband live in Washington State. They have two grown children and six grandchildren. Wanda and Richard often travel the country, visiting their many Amish friends and gathering further information about the Amish way of life. In her spare time, Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, reading, and having fun with her family. Visit Wanda’s websites at
www.wandabrunstetter.com
and
www.amishfictionforkids.com
.

Join Rachel Yoder on a series of adventures with these 4-in-1 story collections written by bestselling author of Amish fiction Wanda E. Brunstetter. Whether Rachel is bringing frogs to church, chasing ornery roosters, or taking wild buggy rides, girls will encounter a lovable character who finds trouble nipping at her bare-footed heels at every turn!

Look Out, Lancaster County!