Cindersue part 3

part 3
In cindersues short life there weren't too many things that set her on edge. But one particular thing did tend to make her a bit antsy. That was waiting with nothing to do. In the mountains there usually was a mite smart to keep a person busy even one as young as Cindersue. Daily chores that a person couldn't put off. Wood to gathered for keeping warm in the winter and cooking all year long, Chickens to feed, eggs to gather. A big once a week washing to stir in the big black pot mama inherited from her mammy, and then of course rinsing wringing and hanging out the wash.Taking it in when it got all nice and sun dried then sprinklin, ironing and folding. Not to mention a dozen other things that had to be done to make mountain life sustainable.
Every fall mamas brother uncle pop, now bout sixity years old, would kill a hog for mama and so the smoke house had to have the fire tended. Plus making lye soap from the hog rendering to use all year. Canning fruit and vegetables kept them busy in the spring. About the only times Cindersue remembered sitting and waiting with nothing to do was at the wakes that were held when someone died on the mountain. Even at Sunday school there was always something to read or something to write on or draw pictures, even though you did have to sit in the hard pews and try not to wiggle so much you made mama and the other ladies frown..If by chance preacher Leighton got too long winded and you happened to nod in the pew, someone would always hand mama a nice cardboard fan for you to keep your self awake with and oft times a hard peppermint round candy to suck on.But the wakes were just really hard on Cindersue..
She remembered when Missy Barbra Lou Tilly Bakkers daddy died after he was attacked by a panther one year whist he was ahuntin coons. Big cat pert near ripped his shooting arm clean off. He suffered for two weeks afore he gave up the ghost and old man death came a callin. They all went to Missy's cabin and sat awatch on the body till some of the men got the grave dug. Which took three days as the snow had already come a ginsts to fallin by then, it bein November 12th, and the ground was pert neart froze.. All that crying and snifflin , whispering, sitting and awaiting was just about harder than the chores she did every day. No doubt about it she would pick chores over wakes anytime. The tic tock, tic tock, of the big Sears and Robuck clock on Missys mantle was a sound she couldn't soon forget.
Sitting at aunt Lucyballs kitchen table she heard the same tic tock coming from the quiet house. It set her on edge . She decided to go on and see what was in the icebox to cook for breakfast. Ugly dog was still under the table watching her every .move.
"Ok, ugly dog lets start us some morning vittles. Cindersue whispered.
In the ice box she found some small eggs, some butter and milk. A half a jar of apple butter and some grape jelly. All store boughten." Well its better than nothing" She said to ugly dog . She found the iron skillet she had made cornbread in last night and started breakfast. She wasn't about to watch her o'l cousins eat biscuits anytime soon, so she didn't even reach for the flour. She pulled out the store bought white bread and put several slices on a plate. She set the jelly, apple butter and store butter on the table and then she set about scrambling some eggs. When the table was set and she was putting the eggs on a platter she heard her aunt waking up..."Oops" She said to ugly dog. "I forgot to start the coffee water". She hurried to fill the pot with water and get it on the red eye of the e- lectric stove . It was beginning to boil when aunt Lucyball shuffled into the kitchen lookin pinched and puffy . Lucyball's chenille faded orange bathrobe was tied tight on her plump waist and Cindersue thought she looked like a fuzzy orange caterpillar. But she knew not to open her mouth about thinking that because aunt Lucyball seemed a tad grumpy...
"Coffee" Lucyball croaked at Cindersue and pointed to the stained cup she had in her hand. Plop! Her big bottom went as she sat down hard on the red checkered vinyl kitchen chair."I cant wake up with out my coffee gal , you got water on? hurry, gimmie that pot before you spill it and boil me alive" Cindersue did as she was told then retreated to a chair across the table from her old aunt and stayed silent . She sure didn't want to make her mad, old aunt Lucy might just put a hold on her schooling or send her home afore she even got to see the big city school iffin she riled her too much.
Lucyball didn't say another word until she had finished her second cup of coffee. She seemed to perk up some after that and looked at Cindersue with her eyes all squenched together like she was tryin to figure something important out.
"So I see you found you way around fixin breakfast" She said to Cindersue."Good thing too, its near six am . Youngans got to catch the school bus at seven. Go on wake em up gal, we aint got all dang day."
Cindersue didn't like the idea of waking her cousins up and facing them again this early in her day , but she did as she was told because she didn't want to miss the school bus her self on her first day of school. Half way to their bedroom she met both cousins headed to the kitchen in a trot. Well a waddle, Cindersue thought.
Both gals were too big to trot anywhere. But they was breaking time to get to the kitchen. "I smell something cooking" Virginia Amy said. As they got to the kitchen they stumbled over each other to get in a chair and started filling their plates with eggs. Dang them gals sure can eat, thought Cindersue as she came back in and sat down again. It hadn't taken 5 minutes for all but one small spoon full of eggs to end up on their plates. Of course, aunt Lucyball already had her food almost eat up already and was started on her third cup of coffee. As Cindersue reached for the serving spoon to get the last bite of scrambled eggs, Anna Loraine scooped up the tid- bit of eggs with her fork and tossed them to floor for ugly dog. Cindersue almost told her what for, but the I dare you look Virginia Amy was giving her made her stay quiet.She made do with some light bread and apple butter, and bit her tongue .
Nothing! will spoil my first day of big city school she told her self. And I mean nothing!...
After the cousins had wolfed down the food and about a quart of cold milk apiece aunt Lucyball said. " Ok, Cindersue you best git to cleaning up this kitchen. Youngins got to be ready fer the school buss soon." Everyone left the kitchen but her and even though she knew it wasn't fair she had cooked supper and breakfast all by her self with no one even lifting a finger to help her she also knew she didn't want to fuss with aunt Lucy. So she got up and commenced to clean up the breakfast table. No one had even mentioned the pretty Jesus died for me dogwood blossoms. She carefully took the mason jar off the table and into the backporch room. Now my little room has the smiles, she thought to her self But she didn't smile this time. She had a bad feeling coming over her and she couldn't put her finger on just why.She simply walked back in the kitchen and started washing the breakfast dishes..
Before she had finished in the kitchen o'l aunt Lucyball came back in and sat down at the table again. " Cindersue me and you got some serous talking to do now"
" Yes mama aunt Lucyball " Cindersue replied politely laying her drying rag on the back of the chair. " Now I don't want you agettin all het up about this, but lettin you come here and live with us is a blessing to you and your ma" Lucyball had that pinched look she had taken on at breakfast. Kinda studyin Cindersue like a bug she was thinkin on squashin, or trying to convince a shy dog to eat pision meat,. "Yes a real blessin and don't you ferget it child, but ya cant live here all free of charge and the like. Its gonna cost me to have and extra mouth to feed and I'm expectin you to repay my kindness by doing a few chores me and my girls need doin. You fixed up my room right nice, and your cookin will pass muster too, so its gonna be your job from now on to do what I tell you and when I tell you to do it. I don't want no whining nor fussing or its right back on the bus you will go and believe me gal you is goin to have to pay fer your own ticket back the mountains too. Lord knows I got enough on me paying bills now. Your uncle didn't quite leave me as well off as some people might think. But your mammy aint got a pot to pee in back there and all you was to her was a burden. Even though the good Lord knows she wouldn't ever complain. God will bless me shore as I'm talkin to ya fer easng my baby sisters mind by keepin her one and only youngin fed. As for school, now that cost money too. You got to have clothes and shoes and all kinda of school supplies and I aint got no extra money on layby fer you to jest start school right now. I'll tell you this too, you keep this house clean and do the cooking and that's your room and board but fer school books and shoes and the like you got to earn that money your self."
Her aunts words felt like yeller jacket stings on her heart. Mama was right! Aunt Lucyball aint so gall dern nice and it aint gonna be so nice living here. Cindersue screamed in her head. Out loud she said to her stern looking aunt, in a quivering voice " How can I earn any money aunt Lucy?, I aint never had a paying job afore".
A big tear rolled down the face that held her daddies big nose and another one soon followed. Her world just got real tiny and she was feeling trapped like a possum in a tree. No escape in sight.
"Well I recon you aint too good to do some ironin round here, in fact I already got some coming here tomorrow from the ladies in my library club that is awillin to pay fer their ironing to be done ever week, and what you make i'll only take half to pay fer the e-lictricity fer the iron, and set aside your part to a savin fer your school or your bus ticket back home or what ever you decide. Shouldn't take you over 6 months to make enough fer one or the other" With that said, old Lucyball grunted and got up from the table. "So you needent start all that crying ya aint got time fer tears. Finish in here and start on the living room and commensts to cleanin, days gonna be over afore we know it."
She waited for her mamas mean o'l sister head out of the kitchen before the real tears burst out of her. " Oh mama this is a awful place. I shoulda never left you and come here, Why couldn't I see my future should be on the mountain with you not here in Knoxville with ol aunt Lucyball.. what am I gonna do mama?? Hot tears fell fast and ran down her face. She sat with her head down on her arms at the table and balled like a baby until all her tears dried up and all she could do was dry heave into the damp dishrag...
She didn't budge when she heard her cousins leaving out the front door for school. Followed soon after by aunt Lucyball going Lord knows where. She sat alone in the brick house that had just become her nightmare. Alone, except for the little ugly dog that sat watching her quietly from under the table.
And so resigned to her sad fate Cindersue passed the next three years in servitude to her aunt and cousins. Her days were spend cleaning and cooking . She even found an old ball jar canning book and when aunt Lucyball thought she had nothing better to keep her busy brought home bussels and bussels of vegatables for Cindersue to can and fruit to put in the big long white freezer lucyball kept locked tight in the basement..
When she had any spare time at all Cinder sue would teach ugly dog tricks. She plaied school with him too. She found some old school books her cousins had tossed out in the trash and read to ugly dog. Cindersue would shake her head in amazement that her silly old cousins treated books so badly. Her mountain people treasured books. So when ever she found any they had discarded she cleaned them up and carefully hid them under her small cot on the porch. Before long she had over twenty school books and had , in reading to ugly dog, learned many things. She still longed to go to school but decided if she could only get home to mamma and her mountain, things would be just fine again. So she did her chores without complaint and dreamed of the day she could return home.
The ironing never seemed to end yet she never seemed to have enough money to go home or to school according to aunt Lucyball, and her ideas on how everything was a costing more and more everyday,,
To calm her self before bed and at least do something that reminded her of her home in the Smokey's, she started saving the cast off clothes her cousins were quickly growing out of. They seemed to get bigger every time Cindersue turned around. All the lace and velvet dresses and capes were tossed in the trash just like their old books. . To Cindersue to waste things was a real sin. So she set about making her mama a big o'l quilt top. She called it a crazy quilt. Odd cut shapes of velvet, lace and fancy trim she stitched from the cast off outgrown clothes of her aunt and cousins. Soon she would have one big enough to fit two beds pushed together.Just like they did in the winter for warmth and she would take it home to mama . They could set up the quilt rack like they used to do and invite all the church ladies over for a quilting bee. ..
Stitching the quilt top in all those Pretty colors helped Cindersue escape the toil and hardship of cleaning and cooking for three very picky and messy women. Every day was another mess, another trial to hold her tongue and another day she longed for her mama and her mountain. In the letters she sent home she never told mama how awful things were in Knoxville. She kept all her letters light hearted. She would do anything to keep her mama happy and telling her the real truth about how mean aunt Lucyball and her cousins were to her would only break her mamas heart. She knew her mama sure didn't have any money to send her to come home on and so she thought it best to try and find a way home herself and keep mama happy.
In a very short time she finally found deep love and friendship with ugly dog . She learned in the first few months the tiny dog was as much a prisoner as she was . There only for the pleasure of the cousins. And when they didn't want him around they weren't past kicking the little feller. He took to staying in Cindersue's porch room and she grew to love his loyalty. Saving her meager scraps from meals to share with him. His repayment was millions of kisses and a happy wagging little tail after they went to the porch room for the night. She even trained him to wait until morning to do his business outside. She was faithful in taking him out and he paid her back by no longer messing in the house. Cindersue knew he looked forward to his few minutes in the open air as much as she did. So when her work was done she would sit and piece the quilt top. The little dog would lay in the quilt scraps and sleep. Cindersue learned to love that tiny yapping dog so much and named him Peanut. It was hard to call something you've grown to love ugly. Maybe when she got the money to go home she could take Peanut with her. He surely would love romping in the woods of her mountain home..
The fall of the year Cindersue turned fifteen, she listened one afternoon to her cousins talking about the annual Dogwood Festival in town. They went on and on about what they would wear and how they would win the title of Miss Dogwood Queen. Seemed like all they did talk about for weeks on end. Aunt Lucyball had taken them to the dogwood parade every year, held on Gay street in downtown Knoxville. Cindersue loved the parade and all the lovely dogwoods on the dogwood trail tours they took. To her suprize even the big paved downtown streets had huge colorful Jesus died for me dogwood blooms painted in the middle of the streets along the parade route. It shore was a sight to see. And when the float carry'n the dogwood queen passed by , Cindersue always thought the one who was picked was the most beautiful girl in Knox county..
"It is too the way the queen will be picked this year I heard my teacher miss hardwood telling coach Watson just today" Virginia Amy whined at her sister." All ya got to do is be at the skating rink Sunday before the parade and mayor Dawson and his son Devon are gonna look over all the girls and pick one. Besides being queen, she will get one hundred dollars and get to go on a real dinner date with the mayors son Devon.And sister, you know he the richest guy of amarrin age in town."
"Oh yes" chuckled Anna Loraine. He would be a great catch, if one of us could marry him we could move to the big house over off Clinton hi-way and never have to think about money again." " I know that's right "Virginia Amy agreed with her sister. "Mammy can even come live with us". With that both sisters fell into a heap on the green tatty sofa laughing to beat the band.
"Can anyone go and see if they git picked ?" Cindersue timidly asked her cousins. They stopped laughing and turned their now real fat faces to look at Cindersue.
" Can anyyyyyyyyoneeeeeee go ."" mocked Virginia Amy making a face as she did. This made Anna Loraine laugh louder. " Yea anyone who can afford to buy a new dress can go and so that leaves you out of the picture you big nose retard!" Virginia Amy almost screeched at Cindersue.
Both cousins were aware that while they had been getting bigger and fatter the last few years, their hillbilly cousin Cindersue was turning into a most beautiful girl. Full hips and perky breasts complimented by a tiny waist, long ash blond hair and striking green eyes. All the chores she had been doing had served her well and hardened the muscles of her legs and arms and kept her belly flat as a pancake A far cry from the sloppy chubby butts the two sisters knew they had become. So they took every opportunity to knock her down mentally when they could. Old Mr. Green-eyed jealousy worked over time this day.
" You aint nothing but an old maid Cindersue. Your nose is too big and so is you feet. You ain't even got no shoes to wear . All you is ever gonna be is a barefooted hillbilly who aint fit fer nuttin but sloppin hogs and cleaning up crap" Chimed in Anna Loraine screwing up her face to match her sisters mean look and sticking our her tounge at poor Cindersue. Virginia Amy laughed again and found more ugly names to call Cindersue.
The more her sister put Cindersue down the harder Anna Loraine laughed. The fat rolls on her belly jiggled up and down and threatened to bust the front of her white shirt dress.
Red faced and stinging from her mean o'l cousins words Cindersue went back to her porch room to get away from them. Her face was hot from the tears she was crying and the helplessness she was feeling. Peanut jumped up on her cot and tried to lick away her tears.
"That's ok, Peanut" Cindersue told the little dog. Me and you is gonna get outta here one day I promise we will, and we can go back to the mountain and run in the fields . I'll take you down to the creek and you can watch me catch us a big ol fish fer supper and mama will cook us up a blackberry cobbler ever night and we wont ever have to look at Virginia Amy or Anna Loraine ever again. Not as long as we live I promise you that little fella. I shorely do" . Having Peanut to love her made things a bit more tolerable but Cindersue vowed to find some way to show her old cousins a thing or two. But she just didn't know how, not yet...
One day while Cindersue was cutting some blue and white velvet pieces for her quilt. She noticed something odd in the bottom of her sewing basket.She had never noticed it before. Poking out from between a package of sewing needles was a white paper package. Not too big but tied with string. Cindersue picked it out of the basket and opened the folded paper. Into her lap fell a gold locket on a fine gold chain. Mamas locket! Cindersue shouted in awe. Mamma never took this locket off her neck not long as Cindersue could remember. . It had been given to her by Cindersue's daddy on their wedding day. The note her mama had wrote made Cindersue tear up with love fer her mama.
It read, Dear baby girl, I don't have money to send with you on your trip but I do have this locket. It is solid gold and so is the chain . Your poor daddy gave it to me on our wedding day. I've wore it round my neck ever since to remind me of the love he gave me whilst he was on this earth. Now I give it to you babygirl. With all my love inside,and iffin you should want to sell it to come home you do it . It's all I got and I want you to remember I love you more than anything in this big old world and I want the very best for you and I pray with all my heart this trip will make you happy as you can be , love your. mama.
Inside the locket was a tiny yellow mustard seed. Her mama always told Cindersue the story of the mustard seed. She had loved the story so much she had named her yellow cull dog Mustard. Now in her mind she could hear her mamas voice repeating the story as she sat on the cot in the stuffy porch room in Knoxville. She closed her misty eyes, thought of home and quick as a wink she was back in her cabin with a cozy fire warming her. Peanut in her lap and listenin to her mama tell the mustard seed story........
The coal oil lamp mama had lit at dark, gave the small cabin a warm glow. The crackling fire in the fire place soothed away the days hard work and cindersues mama gave in to her begging and agreed to tell her one more time about the story of the mustard seed. Sitting back in her rocking chair cindersues mama closed her eyes and began to speak softly. " Now this here story comes right from the good book. The bible. The pure truth from God in heaven. Now God says in Matthew 13:31-32 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. You understand what this means babygirl?" Cindersue did understand but always said she didn't .It was how her and her mamma always talked when mamma did her story telling . Cindersue would act like it was the first time she ever heard it and her mama would go on to explain. Well now let me jest tell ya about somethin called faith. We all got to have faith child . It helps us keep on living when things seem worst. Like the year uncle pop had to go to Ohio to work a spell. Thought it would make him better off making money in the factory up north. All it did was show him in the long run he belonged on the mountain like we all do. Well that year uncle pop planned to make it back home to hunt meat to put up fer us an hisen like he always did. Well, wouldn't ya know the most hardest snow and ice storm to hit Ohio fell the night he was agoing to catch the bus back home. Not one car truck or anything was a moving on the roads. But uncle pop being the mountain man he was, decided he could just walk and lest ways get closer to home. Then figured he could hitch a ride on in the farther south he got and he could still make it home at the time he had wrote he was a comin. Now Ohio is a far ways from this here place and uncle pop couldn't have even started walking iffin he didn't have faith he could do it. So one step at a time he walked toward home.Each small step was like the tiny mustard seed. He didn't see much progress at the end of ever day but he had faith that he was a getting closer with each step he took. And that faith held him on his course child. Yes praise the good Lord it did. You see babygirl, this tiny mustard seed is the smallest little seed they is, Why it don't look like it would grow knee high to a gnat , But God knows big things start small. Then once it takes root in the good dirt, it will grow tall as a tree mind you. Same way with faith. A tiny bit of faith in Gods word and his promises planted in a mans heart will one day grow into the most important thing ever set upon his soul. God tells us in Matthew 17:20 "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. And so it was with uncle pop.His faith in God helping him walk all that way in the snow and ice was his truth. And when he finally straggled in two weeks later his poor feet was close to ruint. Tips of his poor toes was almost aturning black I tell ya. But he never complained . He rested only a day or two with warming rocks in bed by his feet and drinking hot rooster soup and stewed ramps. Then he picked his self up outta bed and went ahuntin same as he always did. Yes baby girl, we had meat to keep us from starving that year all because of uncle pops faith of a mustard seed. Now you keep this story in your heart child. Faith is a powerful thing and it is a belief in things yet unseen. It's trusting in God even when you may not get your answers right away. It's knowing God aint fergot what you need and he will take care of you in his loving way." So I wear this locket with the mustard seed to always remind me of Gods promises..
Cindersue's mamas voice faded away and she had fell into a restful sleep on the cot clutching the gold locket to her heart and with Peanut beside her ever watching his new friends peaceful sleeping face...
The next morning before Cindersue started her long day of cleaning and cooking and ironing she took the gold locket and put it around her neck, next to her heart and said a prayer." Dear God, I know you love me and sent your only son to die for me. And I know my mamma loves me too. I pray to you to always keep my mama safe and please God help me find a way to one day get enough money to go back home to mama and my mountain home. I got the faith of this here mustard seed around my neck and the Bible says that's all I need to have. Please help me Lord and please keep my dear mama in good health and happiness until I can git back home with her where I really belong.In Jesus Holy name amen ..
Later in the day as she was finishing up the pile of ironing that never seemed to end, Cindersue decided since old aunt Lucy was gone to her library club meeting and her cousins were not back from school she would turn on the radio to lift her spirits whists she finished the chores and started supper. She tuned it in to her favorite country station and heard the announcer say " Now heres a little tune from miss Dolly Pardon, she wrote this song her own self. It's called "Coat Of Many Colors" I hope yall like it as much as I do"
Cindersue loved Dolly Pardon and the grand old opry show. It reminded her of the mountains she longed to return to one day. So when the song started she listened close. Dollys sweet voice filled the kitchen and porch room and Cindersue thought it was the purddiest song she ever heard.. Dolly sang and Cindersue listened in awe. This is what she heard;
Back through the years
I go wonderin once again
Back to the seasons of my youth
I recall a box of rags that someone gave us
And how my momma put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors
Every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat
And it was way down in the fall
Momma sewed the rags together
Sewin every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors
That I was so proud of
As she sewed, she told a story
From the bible, she had read
About a coat of many colors
Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you
Good luck and happiness
And I just couldn't wait to wear it
And momma blessed it with a kiss

My coat of many colors
That my momma made for me
Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money
I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me

So with patches on my britches
Holes in both my shoes
In my coat of many colors
I hurried off to school
Just to find the others laughing
And making fun of me
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me

And oh I couldn't understand it
For I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love
My momma sewed in every stitch
And I told em all the story
Momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors
Was worth more than all their clothes

But they didn't understand it
And I tried to make them see
That one is only poor
Only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money
But I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me
Made just for me..........
When the song ended Cindersue was in tears. That song had touched her heart something powerful. She already heard the bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors and how his daddy had loved him the best and had made him that purddy colorful coat, seeins how he was the baby of the family. And how his brothers was jealousy of him over the coat. How they had sold him into slavery and put blood on the coat to make his daddy think he been killed. But she had never heard anything like Dolly's song. It seemed to Cindersue that the song brought the story closer to home. Talking about a mammy's love for her child. And it also gave Cindersue an idea as to how she could get into the choosing of the dogwood queen herself. Her colorful crazy quilt top, could be turned into a dress of many colors.
She knew how to sew really good and the thought of the hundred dollar prize would be plenty money to get her and Peanut back home with money to spare to give her mama. So she right then and there started to think on how her dress of many colors could be made...
For the next three weeks Cindersue finished her chores as fast as she could. Right after supper was eaten and she had washed up the dishes she went quick as she could to her porch room to work on her dress . She stitched and cut and assembled her dress of many colors. She dare not let aunt Lucyball or her cousins know what she was planning . As mean as they were she wouldn't put it past them to rip her efforts to pieces. Of course she had to hear about how they were looking in all the fine downtown stores for just the right dresses to impress the mayor and his son.And ever night she watched them try on and discard pretty dresses that just didn't seem to fit their expanded bodies . She heard all about their appointments with the hair dressers and the nail fixers until she thought she would puke. Why even o'l aunt Lucyball was afixing to get all dolled up fer the judgin even though she was too old to be picked for dogwood queen she did so love the attention. Cindersue figured the thought of one of her girls amarrin the mayors son surely had crossed her mind. Oh miss high and mighty would love to be a sittin up on mayors hill in a nice fine house with servants to boot. She figured even if aunt Lucyball couldn't win she would go all out to see one of her youngans wrote up in the news paper and riddin on the queen float. .Somethin else fer Lucyball to write mama and brag about. Cindersue never let on to mama how much she hated living in Knoxville. She hadn't yet told mamma she wasn't getting a fine city school education either. Why she knew mamma would sell ever thing she had, which weren't much, to bring her home if she knew. Cindersue sure didn't want to make life any harder fer her mamma. Goodness knows life on the mountain was hard enough. Cindersue had seen her cousins toss out more food after one meal that her mamma could scrape together in a day. Sinful it was just sinful. " Well now, she told Peanut as she took up the hem of her many colored dress. "You cross all your little fingers and toes honeypot and maybe just maybe it won't be long till me and you can go home to the mountains . I may not have the best dress and it may not be store boughten but by golly Peanut its gonna shore stand out in a crowd!" She smiled to her self and ruffled the little dogs head. He whined and wagged his curly tail and seemed to say, yes mam it shore will!.
She bit the thread off the hem after making her final adjustments and hung the finished garment on a nail behind her cot. Looking at her dress of many colors, Cindersue thought it was beautiful . All the scraps of velvet fit together like a puzzle. Gold , green , red, black , yellow and purple mingled in with lovely pieces of fancy lace. Tight fitted at the waist to show off her tiny figure and scooped low in the front to highlight her budding breasts, and show off mammas gold locket she planned to wear. The full skirt and lace edged hem went right to the floor and Cindersue thought she had never seen such a fine dress even if she did make it ever stitch her own self. With some leftover black velvet and white lacey trim she fashioned her self some Indian moccasins like her mamma taught her to do when she was only 6. Then she cut the yellow ribbon her mamma had so lovingly tied in her hair that day she left and made two tiny yellow bows to dress up her new hand made shoes. "Yes, its a fine dress Peanut a really fine one." Sighing she took the dress down from the nail and hid it back in her cardboard suitcase. It's finally finished! she thought and jest in time . Tomorrow night she would have to find a way to get her self to the skating rink with out her relatives knowing what she was up too. She fairly knew they wouldn't have liked it not one single bit. But Cindersue had put her determined self back on, and nothing was a gonna stop her from at least trying to win. She wanted that humdred dolars because it was her only escape. Her only way home. She didn't care a fiddlers fart about being in the parade or agoing to eat with the mayors son even if he was the cutest boy she ever did see. All she wanted to do was go home to her mamma and her mountain cabin. Where ever thing was clean and smelled like cedar. She said an extra prayer that night and told Peanut to pray too.
She was quite sure God heard little animals prayers being such a soft hearted God as he was. So she figured it couldn't hurt. After all Peanut was gonna go home with her no mater what. She had grown to love him so very much.She slept peacefully that night and dreamed about the coming day...
end of part 3