Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

Author:Lois Lenski [Lenski, Lois]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Retail, Ages 8 & Up
ISBN: 9781453241516
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2011-12-02T08:00:00+00:00

One day toward the end of the week, Dovey and Dan came running in. “The Slaters are comin’!” they called. “They’re drivin’ their cattle this-a-way!”

Pa was off on the other side of the farm, but Ma was ready. She told the little children to stay in the house with Dixie. Armed with flour sacks, she and Birdie hurried out to the strawberry field. They sprinkled flour on the strawberry plants in the rows next to the wire fence.

The herd of woods cattle came closer and closer, on through the scrub. They were small, thin and wiry, with protruding hip bones and long horns. They had grown runty from foraging for tough wire grass, from traveling through saw palmetto thickets, sidestepping rattlesnakes, jumping over gopher holes, and withstanding heat, rain, flies and mosquitoes.

The cattle came up to the fence and stopped. They massed in a confused huddle.

Shoestring, riding his cowhorse, pushed his way through the herd. His father, on another horse, made his way up from behind. They had expected to drive the cows right through, but the new fence was in the way.

“Got your pliers, Pa?” called Shoestring. He shouted in a loud bragging tone, so Birdie could hear.

“There ain’t no fence can stop me!” called Slater. “Do Boyer think he can keep me from comin’ through here with my cattle, he’ll soon find out different. He knows we got the right o’ way through here to the lake!”

Mrs. Boyer did not look up or reply. She kept on sprinkling flour.

Slater stared at her and Birdie. Shoestring, beside him, stared too. Wide-eyed, they looked at the suspicious white powder on the strawberry plants.

Slater turned and spoke to Shoestring. He said only one word.

They wheeled their horses sharply and drove the cows off in another direction, skirting the fenced field, taking a longer, roundabout route to the lake. They let the new fence alone.

When Pa heard they’d come and gone without cutting the fence, he asked, “How did that happen?” He poked Ma in the ribs. “Did you use the little ole shotgun?”

“No,” said Ma, “hit wasn’t necessary. I just played a little trick on them. Now maybe we can live peaceable for a while.” She let Birdie explain about the flour sacks.

“Flour!” exclaimed Pa. “Flour on the strawberry plants. What for? What did he think it was? What did he say?”

“‘Poison! ’” said Ma.

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