AMphy

5. A Cold Fall Evening

After the long, hot summer the family started preparing for the
cold winter. In fall there was plenty to do- harvest the crops, store
the grain in the barn for the livestock, and stack the firewood in the
shed. Part of Alphy’s chores included looking after his younger
siblings while his father worked in the fields and barn.

Alphy remembers one particularly cold fall evening when his
father was working in the fields. The house was very cold, as the
fire had gone out, and Alphy knew it would be late before they
would have supper. Josephine had holes in her socks and buttons
missing on her sweater. Edmond had holes in his shoes, but his
socks were in good shape. They huddled together in the kitchen
trying to stay warm. They knew it would be dark before their father
returned to the house.

Edmond and Alphy decided they would go to gather some
firewood. They went to the woodshed, leaving Josephine in the house
by herself. When they reached the woodshed, neither one of them
was tall enough to reach the hook latch to the shed door. They
decided to scavenge around the woods for tree branches and sticks -
anything they could find to make a fire. Finally they had gathered
enough sticks for their satisfaction, and they returned to the house.
However, instead of piling the sticks in the hearth like their father
usually did, Alphy and Edmond piled the sticks in the middle of the
floor. They searched around the house for matches and found some
in Henri’s tobacco box.

The children gathered around the pile of sticks, ready to light
them, when Henri entered the house. He quickly snatched the
matches from Alphy. He had a serious look on his face. Alphy
thought, “I’m in trouble now”, but Henri did not punish the children.
He told them never to do this again.

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