Hannah's New Home by Amelia C. Adams

Author:Amelia C. Adams [Adams, Amelia C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-22T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Hannah dreamed she was visiting her cousins out in the country, and they had built a huge bonfire to celebrate the coming of fall. A big pot of apple cider was warming over the flames, and the smell of cinnamon made her mouth water. The smell of the smoke was even stronger, though, and it was starting to hurt her nose.

As she woke up, she remembered that she really had gone to her cousins’ farm, and she wasn’t sure if she’d been dreaming or remembering—maybe some dreams were really remembering while sleeping.

But if that was a dream, why could she still smell smoke?

She jumped out of bed fast when she heard her mother’s voice in the kitchen, sounding upset.

When Hannah opened her bedroom door, the smoky smell got even stronger, and her eyes stung.

“Mama! What’s the matter?”

“It’s the stove,” her mother said. “I did it wrong somehow.”

Hannah ran over to the front door and opened it wide to let some of the smoke out. Mother pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down, shaking her head.

“It looked easy,” she said. “Your father brought in some wood before he left, and I thought I could do it. How hard could it be? So I put the wood in the bottom and struck a match, and everything was fine until there was smoke everywhere.”

She sighed. “I was very spoiled growing up, Hannah. My father had a lot of money, and we always had cooks and maids. I never learned how to do simple things like lighting a stove. Now I wish I had.”

“It’s all right,” Hannah told her. “You’ll learn soon enough. Where did Papa go?”

“To return the rented buggy and get a price on buying a horse. I was hoping to have some coffee ready for him when he comes back, but if I can’t even light the stove . . .”

Hannah put her arms around her mother’s neck. “I love you, Mama, and we’ll figure it out.” She glanced over at the stove, having another memory. “Hmm. I wonder . . .”

“What, sweetheart?” Mother asked.

“Well, I used to watch Cook a lot, and she always slid that little door on the back over to the side when she put something on the stove. One day I asked her why, and she said it was to vent the smoke. What does ‘vent’ mean, Mama?”

Mother shook her head again, a little smile on her face. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it . . . Venting means sending air from one place to another. When you opened the front door just now, you were venting.”

Hannah frowned, a little confused. “So, how does the stove vent the smoke?”

Mother stood up and walked over to the stove. “I think this door, as you call it, controls the smoke going up the stovepipe. See, this pipe is like a chimney, and the smoke needs to know where to go.” She reached out to the back of the stove and pushed the door to the side, and after a moment, the air in the house seemed even better.

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