What a Pair! by Wanda E Brunstetter Read Free Book Online

a little quieter.”
    “We could go back to your room and play with your dolls,” Stella suggested.
    Mattie shook her head and motioned to Ada, who was now howling like one of Grandpa Miller’s calves when it couldn’t find its mother. “No, remember, I said it’s better if we don’t do that.”
    Stella shrugged. “If you don’t want to play with the dolls, and we can’t watch Twinkles do any more tricks, then what can we do?”
    “Hmmm …” Mattie squinted her eyes and rubbed her chin as she tried to think of something fun to do.
    “I know … Let’s sit on the porch swing and read a
buch
,” Stella suggested.
    Mattie shook her head. “That’d be boring. Besides, we’ll be reading plenty of books when we go back to school. Why don’t we lie in the grass and look at the clouds?”
    “Huh-uh. I’d rather not.”
    Mattie snapped her fingers. “I know! We can make some homemade bubble solution and see if we can get Mark’s cat, Lucky, to chase them.”
    “That’s a good idea. I’m sure Ada would like blowing bubbles, too.” Stella glanced around the yard, and then she looked at Mattie with a worried frown. “Where is Ada?”
    “She’s right here.” Mattie looked down, but Ada was gone. “That makes no sense. She was here a minute ago.”
    “Maybe she went to the barn to find Twinkles,” Stella said.
    “You’re probably right.” Mattie raced into the barn. “Ada, where are you?” she called, looking all around.
    No response; not even a bark or a whine from Twinkles.
    Mattie searched in every part of the barn, but there was no sign of Ada. However, she finally found Twinkles curled up in a ball on top of a bale of hay. She figured Ada had to be playing somewhere in the yard, or maybe she was hiding from them.
    Mattie was almost to the barn door when she collided with Stella.
    “Oops!” Stella rubbed her forehead. “Are you okay, Mattie?”
    “Jah, I’m fine. It’s just a little bump on the head. How are you?”
    “I’ll be okay, too. Did you find Ada?”
    “No. I think she must be somewhere in the yard. Why don’t you go this way, and I’ll go that way.” Mattie pointed to one side of the yard and then the other. “One of us is bound to find her.”
    The girls took off in opposite directions. Mattie shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun. No sign of Ada in the alfalfa pasture. “Ada, where are you?” she called.
    Mattie kept searching and calling for her little sister. If she didn’t find her before Mom got home, she didn’t know what she would do. It would be awful to tell Mom that Ada was missing, and Mattie was sure she’d be in trouble for not keeping a closer eye on her little sister.
    Another thought popped into Mattie’s head.
If Ada wandered off our property and got onto the road, she could get hit by a car!
    Mattie’s heart thumped and her palms grew sweaty. Off in the distance she could see dark clouds forming, which meant rain, so she had to find Ada, and quickly!

    C HAPTER 5    
A Terrible Day
    “How’s it going over there?” Mark’s brother Calvin called to him from the other side of the pond. “Have you caught any fish?”
    Mark cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Nope, not even one. How about you?”
    “Not yet, but I’ve had a few nibbles!”
    Mark pointed at Russell, who sat several feet away. “He has two nice-sized fish in his bucket already.”
    “That’s great! At least one of is having some luck,” Calvin said.
    “Sure wish I’d catch something,” Mark mumbled.
    “You have to be patient,” Russell said. “Or maybe you should move to a different spot.”
    Mark frowned. He’d already moved to several spots, and none of them seemed any better. At this rate, it didn’t look like he’d catch any fish today!
    Bzzz … Bzzz …
Mark slapped at a mosquito that had landed on his arm. It seemed like he’d been slapping at them ever since they’d gotten to the pond. If things didn’t improve soon, the only