Big Decisions by Linda Byler Read Free Book Online

a darling little mouse!
    Lizzie wasn’t afraid of mice. She could never bring herself to kill one, and she hated mousetraps. It was the cruelest thing anyone had ever invented. How would people like it if a huge steel bar snapped them to their death in such a horrible manner? She always pitied the mice, hoping they could somehow escape the house, avoiding Mam’s broom and Dat’s trap.
    Lizzie knew she should be stern and strict and punish Levi, while warning the other boys about doing something that distracted the whole classroom. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Didn’t the way Levi had fed this little mouse show real responsibility and kindness? He even gave it water to drink.
    “Well,” she began, and then her mouth just opened into a smile. She gave up.
    “Isn’t he cute?” she asked.
    Instantly there was bedlam in the classroom as children started giggling, holding their hands over their mouths as they laughed. The students in the lower grades rose in their seats for a better view as Lizzie walked down the aisle to show them, amid oh’s and ah’s of approval. After everyone had properly seen the mouse, she returned it to Levi.
    “Now, why don’t we keep him as a pet for a little while? He’s a fat little country mouse, and I think he would be very happy with plenty of food and some shavings. Does anyone have a small cage?” Immediately a number of hands shot up, and the children bounced in their seats with enthusiasm.
    The rest of the day the entire school was upbeat, except for Levi. Lizzie kept him after school for a serious talk about respect.
    “You lied to me when you said there was nothing in the box,” she said.
    “Well, nothing besides the mouse. Plus, I guess, cookie crumbs and water.”
    “Still, Levi, no matter how you say it, it still really wasn’t the truth. Telling lies, even littler white ones, will land us in a heap of trouble if we’re not careful.”
    He looked at his desktop, avoiding her eyes. Lizzie sighed. Levi had a good heart. He was simply drawn to mischief just as a duck or goose is naturally attracted to water. He thrived on paddling around in his own little pond of schemes and pranks like this one. Harmless, perhaps, but disruptive nevertheless.
    A certain quality in Levi spoke to Lizzie’s own heart. She had been very similar to Levi when she was in school. When she had gotten bored, she could always think of ways to make life more exciting. Then, when she was reprimanded, she was so embarrassed, until she thought of another prank.
    The Valentine’s Day party went off without a hitch, although Lizzie ate so many cookies that her stomach hurt. Stephen gave her a beautiful Valentine and a huge box of chocolates. Lizzie couldn’t help eating just a few, even after all the cookies she had consumed earlier in the day.
    Holiday or not, there was no rest at home. As soon as she sat on the sofa to catch her breath and read the comics in the daily paper, either Mam or Mandy asked her to do something like paint the basement.
    For one thing, painting the basement was ridiculous. She had just painted it a nice coat of glossy white paint the summer before. But, oh, no! It had to be done again in the middle of the winter. It was the same all over the house and barn. No rest for mind or body.
    No one cared what she thought or paid any attention to her. That was why she ended up at the family doctor’s office with a huge infected area on the back of her lower leg.
    A week earlier, the winter temperatures had risen enough so that rain fell instead of snow. The rain froze immediately that night when the temperatures dipped, covering the drifts of snow with a slick coat of ice. It was the perfect mixture for wonderful sledding on the steep hill behind Lizzie’s schoolhouse.
    The children careened wildly down the long, steep hill on sheets of plastic, cardboard, and sleds—anything they could cling to as they raced downward. Lizzie allowed the children an entire hour of extra