Chapter 8 Daydreams Lead to Trouble Rebecca worked very hard both at home and in school.
Slowly her Aunt Miranda began to see improvements.
After that fateful day, when she almost ran away, Rebecca never forgot to close the screen door and always remembered to go up the back stairs.
As a reward for being such a good girl, Aunt Miranda gave Rebecca permission to visit with the cops.
Dressed in her very best, Rebecca made her way to the Cobb's house to have tea with him.
As she was crossing the bridge, she was suddenly struck by the beauty of the river.
She leaned well over the new railing to look at the water splashing down the falls.
Resting her elbows on the wooden slat, she stood there daydreaming.
Suddenly, a strange smell caught her nose.
Why?
Why?
It's paint, she cried, and it's all over my best dress.
What will Aunt Miranda say?
With tears running down her face, Rebecca ran to the Cobbs.
She hoped they could help her.
Mrs. Cobb took one look at the dress and said, Don't you worry, I'm sure I can get those stains out.
She handed Rebecca an old blue calico house dress to wear in the meantime.
They started by soaking the dress in turpentine.
If this doesn't work, Mrs. Cobb said, we can always try chalk.
It works well on stains.
Rebecca's face was so sad.
Do you think we can save the dress?
Aunt Miranda is going to be so angry with me.
Mrs. Cobb replied, yes, I do.
Even if the chalk doesn't work, we can still try scrubbing it hard with the suds.
She put a hand on Rebecca's shoulder and squeezed.
Now, don't let this ruin your appetite.
I've got some good cream biscuit and honey for you.
Go on and sit down at the table.
She sat down beside Mr. Cobb, who handed her a plate with biscuits.
There's just one thing I don't understand, Mr. Cobb said plainly.
How'd you get it all over yourself?
There are signs all over the bridge telling people about the wet paint.
I didn't notice any signs, Rebecca said with a sigh.
I was looking at the falls and daydreaming about my new poem.
After supper, Rebecca insisted on doing the dishes as Mrs Cobb tried to get the paint out of her dress.
You must have lain right on the bridge, dear.
There's paint everywhere.
Where?
Mrs. Cobb said as she scrubbed.
It was coming out, though, and that made Rebecca feel better.
"'Do you have a piece of paper, Uncle Jeremiah?' she asked.
"'I'd like to copy out my new poem.'
When she was done, she read it out loud to the Cobbs, who enjoyed it immensely.
"'How in the world do you do it?'
Mr. Cobb exclaimed.
Oh, it's easy, Rebecca replied.
I love words and how they sound together.
It all just comes into my head.
Mrs. Cobb smiled and asked if they could have a copy of the poem for their family Bible.
Yes, indeed, Rebecca said.
I'll do a pretty version with violet ink and a fine pen.
But now I must see how my dress is doing.
The elderly couple followed Rebecca into the kitchen.
The dress was dry but ruined.
The colors had run with all the washing and the paint had stained.
Mrs. Cobb ironed it out and Rebecca put it back on.
The spot still showed and Rebecca was very sad.
I must get home, she said as she took her hat off the nail by the door.
If I'm going to get in trouble, I'd like it to be over quickly.
And there was a considerable amount of trouble when she got home.
Aunt Miranda was upset about the ruined dress and told the girl that she could not go to Alice Robinson's birthday party.
Rebecca was a brave girl and listened to her aunt with respect.
Once she was upstairs in her room, Rebecca thought of ways to teach herself a lesson for being so careless.
She decided that she must give something up.
She looked around her room, trying to figure out what to pick.
Finally, her eyes fell upon her precious parasol.
That was it.
But what should she do now?
She couldn't hide it in the attic, for she knew she would climb upstairs to rescue it in a moment of weakness.
She looked out her window at the apple trees and thought for a moment about putting her parasol up in one.
But that would be too dangerous.
Her eyes looked around the yard and stopped on the well.
That would do. she would fling her dearest possession down into the water.
Rebecca slowly and quietly made her way downstairs.
Once outside by the well, she looked down into the darkness and bravely threw her parasol inside.
There, she thought, I shall be a much better girl for it.
The next morning, Rebecca woke up with a light heart and went off to school.
What she didn't know was that there was some trouble with the well.
When Miranda had difficulty drawing water up, she called a friend to help.
He lifted up the well cover and saw the trouble.
The ivory hook of the parasol had caught in the gear, stopping it in its tracks.
The parasol had opened up, gotten tangled in some roots, and jammed up the works.
It took quite an effort to get it out.
When Rebecca got home from school that afternoon, she ended up in even more trouble.
But when Aunt Miranda heard that she was simply trying to be a better girl, she said If you think we haven't punished you enough, you just let me know and I'll think of something.
There's no sense in punishing the whole family by making us drink ivory dust from broken parasols.
