What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren Read Free Book Online Page B

could STAY!
    The screen door banged, and Pa came out carrying two beat-up tin pans. One was filled with water. The other was filled with food—a few bits of leftover bacon, chunks of bread, and oatmeal. The dog’s nose quivered as he smelled the food. He whimpered.
    â€œCan I give it to him, please, Pa?” Esther begged.
    Pa handed the tins to her. The dog was so excited, he bumped Esther’s arm. A chunk of bread fell. No matter. He snatched it up, swallowed it in one gulp, and dived for the pan, now safely on the ground. In amazement, Esther watched the dog gobble up everything in just a few seconds. He licked the tin until it shined. Then he looked up as if hoping for more.
    â€œHe’s still hungry, Pa,” Esther cried.
    But Pa shook his head. “Too much now would make him sick. You can give him more later.” He patted the dog’s neck. “I think Dobbs called him Mickey,” he said.
    It was not the name Esther would have chosen for her dog. She would have named him Prince, or King, or maybe even Rinty. But the dog’s head had turned. His tail was wagging. It was plain he recognized his name. It would be mean to change it.
    Esther knelt down on the ground. “You’re my dog now, Mickey. What do you think of that?” she asked. Her answer was the slurp of a tongue across half her face and all of one ear. She giggled and hugged her dog tight. The horseshoe had been good luck after all. The very best good luck she’d ever had.
    Esther thought she couldn’t be any happier. But that night, Ma announced that Esther and Violet could go to school the next day. Esther dashed out to the yard to tell Mickey the good news and turn two cartwheels under the stars. When she came back inside a few minutes later, she saw Violet frowning into the parlor mirror.
    â€œWill you trim my hair, please, Ma?” Violet asked. “It’s gotten all straggly.” Violet was very proud of her short bob. It was the latest fashion and didn’t cost a cent.
    Ma was measuring the kitchen window for curtains. She glanced outside before she nodded. “The moon is right. Go get the scissors.”
    Esther crinkled her eyebrows. Here was another example of the moon’s importance. According to Ma, hair should only be cut when the moon was “growing.” This would make the hair grow in thick and healthy. Lucky for Violet, the moon was waxing now. She got her haircut. Esther didn’t want a haircut, but Ma decided to trim her hair, too, since she was barbering.
    Esther had to stand straight and still. She couldn’t fidget at all or Ma would scold. But sometimes the falling hairs tickled. It was impossible not to squirm a little.
“Nu,”
Ma said in exasperation, “how can I cut when you dance and jiggle?”
    When the haircut was finally finished, Esther fled to her room. She was startled to find Violet there crying stormily into her pillow. “Vi! What’s wrong?” Esther hurried to her sister. “Are you hurt? Should I call Ma?”
    â€œNo!” Violet sobbed. “Don’t call anybody. I don’t want anybody to s-see me.”
    â€œWhy? What’s wrong?” Esther demanded.
    For answer, Violet slowly raised her pink-blotched face from the pillow.
    At first all Esther could see were tears. She peered closer. “I don’t see—” Then she gasped. “What happened to your eyelashes?”
    Violet’s face crumpled. “I c-cut them.”
    Esther was astonished. “But
why?
”
    â€œSo they’ll g-grow back thicker and l-longer,” Violet explained between sobs. “Like my hair. But I didn’t know how aw-aw-awful I’d look . . .” She shook her head. “I should have known not to do it. It was a stupid thing to do after breaking a mirror this morning. I’ll probably be ugly for seven years!” Violet flung herself back into her pillow, sobbing even louder