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morning wash, Father was sure to ask her about it.
    Before breakfast the family gathered in the sitting room for their morning prayer. Father sat in his new wicker chair and reached for the small book of prayers that sat on the round table beside him. The others knelt on the floor in front of their own chairs while Father read the prayers. Emily liked to kneel in the bay window and bury her face in the windowseat cushion, but today Father asked her to kneel beside him. Emily knelt and ducked her head under one arm of the wicker chair. She’d much rather be by the window where she could sneak a peek outside now and again. Instead, she snuck a look at Tibby, the cat, who was curled upbehind Father’s chair close to the warmth of the fireplace. Tibby was the only one who looked comfortable.
    As Father prayed, the chair creaked and whispered as if it were trying to pray too.
    Emily whispered a silent prayer of her own. “Please let me have a puppy. I don’t care about its size or shape or color — just as long as it’s a real live dog.”
    When Father finally finished reading and leaned forward to reach for his bookmark, the chair squawked an “Amen” as grand as Father’s. Tibby joined in with a loud meow. Emily smiled to herself. God had heard her prayer for sure.
    â€œOh dear,” said Mother, rising to her feet. “Father’s chair has pinched Tibby’s tail. Take her outside, Emily.”

14
The Birthday Present
    As the thirteenth of December, Emily’s eighth birthday, approached, Emily’s hope for a puppy grew.
    â€œI know something is coming for your birthday,” Dede told her in one of her better moods.
    â€œIs it…?”
    â€œWait and see,” Dede said.
    Emily wiggled with excitement. How could she wait? She needed to know — even just a hint.
    â€œDoes it start with a ‘d’ or maybe with a ‘p’?” she asked.
    â€œI think it does,” Dede said with a smile.
    The day before Emily’s birthday she couldn’t help singing more loudly thanusual as she did her chores after school. She brought the chickens their food and checked for eggs in the hen house. She sang out greetings to the cow who stood near the barn waiting for Bong to come to her for the evening milking.
    Dede appeared on the back porch.
    â€œHush, Emily,” she scolded. “That noise of yours will scare the neighbors!”
    Emily took her excitement away from the house and out to the woodshed. She dug out a wooden box and dusted it off, hoping it would be the right size for her puppy. Then she went to the garbage pile where discarded items waited for the spring bonfire. She poked around until she found an old brush that Alice had thrown away a month ago. It still had a few bristles left and would do for a dog brush.
    Emily carried her supplies back to the house. She waited until no one was around, then quickly smuggled them up to her bedroom and hid them under her bed. She found a knitted blanket that belonged to an old worn doll and placed it in the box underthe bed. Then she braided a collar out of blue and green cord and sewed on some hooks and eyes at varying distances, since she wasn’t sure how big the dog would be. Now she was ready.
    The morning of Emily’s birthday arrived. Morning prayers seemed to take forever. “Hurry! Hurry!” Emily wanted to call out. “I want to see my puppy!” Finally, Father’s chair squeaked its concluding “Amen!” Everyone took turns giving Emily a birthday kiss, and they all filed into the breakfast room. Emily hurried ahead, anxious and excited.
    There on her plate was a flat flat parcel.
    â€œOpen it!” Lizzie and Alice urged her.
    Emily looked around the room, but there was no other present. She began to untie the string of the flat parcel, her hands shaking.
    â€œI’m glad to see, Emily, that you remembered your morning wash even on your