Excerpt from Story of My Life

One day I was sitting on the doorstep putting stones in a bucket when Bonnie slammed the door on me. I no sooner opened it than she banged it on my thumb and even locked it. I must have cried for she had to let me in, but I did not complain much, if any, although my thumb was rather painful, as a piece of the skin was loose. I knew where the medicine and other things were kept, so I helped myself to them, and even dried dishes sometimes, and did what I could for my sisters.

My father used to poison or trap wolves, so he skinned some of them, and kept their hides under the bed. I was afraid of them, thinking they were alive, and yet I would run there just for curiosity, so mamma tried to break me of that habit when she got tired of it, but failed. So papa cured me by throwing a sheep skin at me. It scared me nearly to death, and because I was crying so much one of my parents ran at me on purpose to frighten me all the more.

One night mamma and I were standing by the fence watch ing papa milk the cows when one of them fought with her horns right in front of me as if she wanted to hook me. I tore my dress in getting away from the fence just as papa opened the gate, and as we ran to the house I imagined that I felt it bang and that we were being chased by that cow.

Another time some cows came near our house for shade, and I knew it by their odor, so I put several chairs around one of my sisters, and jumped on the bed where mamma was rest ing herself after a hard day's washing. My conscience did not feel good, so I laid her on the bed with us.

I was not afraid of dogs or cats or fowls, but I felt so strangely whenever a turkey or hen snatched my cookie out of my hand in such a mysterious way before I could catch it.

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