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These Happy Golden Years 1

Mrs. Brewster was scraping the gravy into a bowl.
The table was set, with plates and knives carelessly askew a smudged white cloth;
the cloth was crooked on the table.

"may I help you, Mrs. Brewster?" Laura said bravely.
Mrs. Brewster did not answer.
She dumped potatoes angrily into a dish and thumped it on the table.
The clock on the wall whirred, getting ready to strike,
and Laura saw that the time was five minutes to four.

"Nowadays breakfast is so late,
we eat only two meals a day,"
Mr. Brewster explained.

***

"Dinner's ready," Mr. Brewster said to Laura.
She sat down in the vacant place.
Mr. Brewster passed her the potatoes and salt pork and gravy.

The food was good but Mrs. Brewster's silence was so unpleasant that Laura could hardly swallow.

***
The morning work was done,
the beans for Sunday dinner were baking slowly in the oven.
Pa carefully closed the heating-stove's drafts and
came out and locked the door.

***
Dinner was so good.
Ma's baked beans were delicious,
and the bread and butter and little cucumber pickles,
and everyone was so comfortable, so cheerful and talking.

***
She did not make their bed nor even spread it up.
Twice a day she cooked potatoes and salt pork and put them on the table.

Wilder "These Happy Golden Years"
by foodscene | 2012-06-21 15:16 | アメリカ


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