Anna on the Farm by Mary Downing Hahn, Diane de Groat Page A

feet. "Anna isn't going anywhere," she says. "Her mother and father probably can't afford a vacation."
    Anna jumps up. "That's not true, Rosa!"
    But Rosa is already walking down the hill toward her house. "Come on, Beatrice," she says. "Mother has promised to make nice cold lemonade and sugar cookies."
    Beatrice hesitates, but Anna is too mad to care whether Beatrice goes or stays. Turning her back on both girls, she runs into her house and slams the door behind her.
    Mother and Aunt May look up when Anna stamps crossly into the kitchen. They are having their afternoon coffee. Anna cannot imagine drinking something hot on a summer day, but Mother claims it makes you cooler.
    "Your face is red," Aunt May says. "Are you coming down with something?"
    Mother looks worried. "Come here, Anna, and let me feel your forehead," she says. "Just yesterday I saw a scarlet fever quarantine sign on a house on Bentalou Street."
    "I'm not
sick
sick," Anna says, pulling away from Mother's hand. "Just sick of stupid stuck-up Rosa."
    "My, my," Aunt May says, laughing. "So many
s's, meine hübsche Kartoffel.
You sound like a hissing snake."
    "It's not funny." Anna sticks out her lip. She isn't in the mood for Aunt May's little jokes or her funny German words. If her aunt wants to call Anna a smart potato, why can't she say it in English?
    Before Mother can tell her to hush, Anna says, "Rosa's going to stay in a big fancy hotel in Rehoboth Beach, and Beatrice is taking a train to the mountains. But we're not going anywhere! It's not fair!" Anna knows she's speaking too loudly, but she can't help herself. She's so mad she even stamps her foot.
    "Hush, Anna," Mother says. "I will not tolerate such rude talk. You know perfectly well we can't afford a vacation. I don't know where the Schumanns find the money for such foolishness. Vacations are for rich people."
    Aunt May takes a sip of coffee. "Poor Anna," she says. "I know how you feel. I'd love to spend a week at the ocean myself."
    Mother sighs. "I prefer the mountains. The sun is too hot at the ocean. It burns my skin."
    "I don't care where I go," Anna says. "I just want to go somewhere!"
    "Go? Where are you going, Anna?"
    Anna turns and sees Father coming through the front door, home from his job at the newspaper.
    "I want to go on a vacation like Rosa and Beatrice," Anna tells him. "To the ocean, to the mountains—I don't care which."
    "How about Uncle George's farm for a week?" Father asks. "Would that do?"
    Anna stares at Father, too surprised to speak. Mother and Aunt May also stare at Father, just as surprised as Anna.
    "I talked to my sister today," Father tells Mother, smiling at Anna. "Aggie thought Anna might like to get away from the city for a while."
    Anna hugs Father. "Yes, yes, yes!" she shouts, jumping up and down with excitement. She can hardly wait to see Aunt Aggie and Uncle George. "I'd love to go to the farm!"
    Mother looks worried. "But Anna is a city girl," she says. "What will she do on a farm for a whole week? Suppose she falls and hurts herself? Suppose a cow tramples her? She might step on a rusty nail and get lockjaw, she might ruin her looks with freckles, she—"
    Father pats Mother's shoulder. "Don't fret, Lizzie. Neither Aggie nor George will let Anna come to harm."
    Aunt May agrees. "The farm will be good for Anna. Think of the fresh air, Lizzie—fresh milk, fresh eggs, and fresh vegetables, too. All that freshness will put roses in Anna's cheeks and flesh on her skinny little bones."
    "It's not as if Anna is going to the end of the earth," Father puts in. "George's farm is only twenty miles away. We've been there together many times. Now Anna will go without us, but she's nine years old—just the right age for an adventure."
    Mother sighs. With both Father and Aunt May in favor of the farm, she's losing the argument. "I suppose you're right," she says slowly. "Anna is pale and much too thin. Perhaps the farm is just what she needs."
    Although Anna doesn't like