"Sorensen, Virginia - Plain Girl" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sorensen Virginia)

bitter?

Esther had heard the meaning of that plenty of times: A person cannot be bad and good at the same time. She held her fingers tighter than ever in her lap.
Her heart beat louder and pushed harder at her dress. Would Mother notice? She lifted her hands to cover the place where her heart was beating.

Tomorrow she would tell Mary she could not play jacks any more.

The thought filled her with bitter sorrow at the same time she was glad to be strong. Perhaps one could not be bad and good at once, but one could be both
glad and sorry. Glad to be doing right. But sorry to say, "I can't be your friend."

A new speaker began. Soon Mother beckoned. It was time to pass out the little pies, for children were becoming restless. As usual, fathers were folding
their handkerchiefs into white mice with pointed ears, and into twins-in-a-cradle, to entertain the children on their knees. Esther saw several of them
look relieved when they saw Mother moving toward the kitchen with Ruth following close behind.

Esther was proud to help with such things.

67 SWEET WATER-AND BITTER

After Meeting had ended at last, some of the other girls helped with the table and the food. Sarah was always one of the busiest.

"How is school, Esther?" she asked as they carried plates to the table. "Do you like it?"

Esther swallowed hard, thinking of Mary. Then she said, "No. Not very much!"

"Well," Sarah said, surprised. "I hoped you might. I liked it when I had been there for a little while. Of course, others were going at the same time when
I was there. I remember how much-" She stopped. But Esther knew what she had meant to say if she had not noticed Mother coming. She had meant to say that
she remembered how much Dan liked the school.

People were laughing and talking to Ruth as she moved among them, lightly and happily as if she now owned the world. "It is only a little while now," they
said. "Will your wedding dress be blue or gray?"

"Blue," Ruth answered. She asked all of the women to come to a quilting the first Saturday in October.

A quilting! Esther felt a little better. Even if she could never play jacks, she would always be able to go to a quilting.

68

ESTHER ASKS A QUESTION

Never in all her life had Esther dreaded anything so much as telling Mary she could not play again. Father left her at the schoolhouse early, before even
the teacher came, for he had work to do. Father was always on time for everything, or else ahead of time. He knew a saying, "One who wastes Time wastes
Life itself."

Esther sat alone on the very step where she and Mary could no longer play. The sky was full of plunging gray clouds. Maybe it would rain. Maybe nobody would
be able to go outside today. Then she could wait and tell Mary tomorrow.

The school bus was coming. It was bright orange, very beautiful on the brown road between the green and yellow trees. It was pleasant to watch the big door
swing open and the children come out one by one. They looked gay. Every one had a different color; you couldn't know which color would come out next. One
was blue and one was red. A yellow sweater. Then a