Chapter 14

A HAT THAT SCREAMS AND BITES WINTER 1983 - 1984

It wasn’t easyfor Bethany to cope with her growing family. Kids, homework, garden, and farm—everything rested on her shoulders. In addition,she was a shop assistant in a network catering business.

Cliff handledthe household chores labeled "men's work," such as building,machinery, fertilizers, etc. He had a job at the local radio station andattended some classes on a part-time basis, at the college in one of the localcities. 

Domesticdifficulties had been creating tension, especially for the last few months. 

Holidays werelike sparkles of light, breaking through the monotony of everyday boredom. Thefamily prepared with anxious anticipation: guests were invited; gifts wereexchanged; surprises were expected.  

A Christmastree was put up on New Year's Eve. The family enjoyed decorating it with toys,tinsel, garlands, and shiny ornaments.

Deliciousdishes were cooked; kebabs grilled in the yard.
Cozy duskreigned in the house under the magical glow of colored lanterns. The scents ofpine resin, candy, and citrus wafted through the rooms. 

(By the way,did you know that Orthodox New Year comes before Orthodox Christmas—that is on January 7, not on December 25?And yet, Orthodox New Year is considered a much bigger holiday than OrthodoxChristmas.) 

Guests could beseen sculpting a big snowman, dancing around it, and frolicking in the snow.New Year and Christmas was always a happy time, especially for kids. Thoughtsof replenishing their stocks of chocolate, cookies, nuts, apples, oranges,etc., crowded in their dreams. Money too (usually just some pocket change, butfor rural kids in a poor village it seemed like a fortune)—gifts from friendsand relatives of the parents.
 
When Emma wassix-year-old, she wrote a small poem about her favorite winter holidays.

Sometimes, Cliff didpen some rhymes also, such as thesefunny ones:

  

Blizzards howl, snow is falling,

Trees are white along the hedge…

Little Emily is going

To her granny, in a sledge.   

Meanwhile, they arrive at school,

Watching playing birds that chirp,

And uncle Michael Azurpool

Rushing to his place of work. 

 This last verse had been changed from: 

Here they approached school

Frost is giving trouble… Jeez…

Drunken uncle Azurpool

Is creeping slowly, on his knees!

 

Needless to say, it was strictly taboo to recite this version of the masterpiece in front of uncle Azurpool!

   
***** 
...Emma changed her clothing, placing the moist stuff onto the radiators in her bedroom.

Her mother called on the phone, asking to bring into the house and dry Clifford’s’ new trousers she washed in the morning. Therefore, the girl jumped out to the yard, grabbed those pants from the cord stretched between the walnut trees, and hung that piece of her dad’s clothing on the rope, in front of the hot wall heated by the burning coal in the stove behind it. 

She then went to their kitchen to cook something for dinner. Having finished it with preparing the meal—chicken soup and toasts—the girl sat in front of the window drinking creamy cocoa and feasting her eyes to the beauty of winter viburnum, growing in front of the kitchen windows, same as along the lake shore.

Viburnum berries
The smell of something burning had diverted Emily’s attention from her rest-time. 

She came into the room where her dad’s pants were drying and saw a huge hole in the trouser-leg: some part of the cloth was burned off! Must be the fire in the stove was too strong. 

At the same moment, Clifford came in; he just returned from work.

Seeing what a disaster happened, he called Emma a loser and went out to dig in his garage, as it was one of his favorite businesses to do when he was home.

In a minute, Cliff opened the entrance door again, shouting that Emily had to find his black furry hat with ear flaps, to bring it to him right away. 

In the dusky light of the room, the girl noticed a round furry something laying on the carpet near the armchair. 

—That’s where his hat is! —she thought; then she jumped on that carpet and grabbed the fur… 

But the hat screamed, bounced up, and hurtfully bit the girl’s hand with its sharp teeth...

COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIND FREE CHAPTERS HERE
DISCOVER MORE INDIGO DIARIES

 ATTENTION: Gods' Food is NOT a religious book
 GODS' FOOD THE ADVENTURES OF EMILY SMITH AND BILLY FIFER Mystical Occurrences in a Village by the Lake

Emma Smith, a blond girl with dazzling green eyes lives in a village by the lake 

… and her meeting with Mr. Fog will change her life… AND YOURS.

 Edition 2 FOR ADULTS: https://books2read.com/b/3nej95 Edition 3 FOR TEENS: https://books2read.com/b/3GMZOO
WOMEN'S READS   INTERNATIONAL CUISINE   DIETING GUIDES  TRAVELING  MEN'S READS