What a Pair! (12 page)

Just then Dad called from the living room, “Mattie … Mark … It’s time to read the Bible now.”

“As soon as we wash our hands we’ll be right there,” Mattie said. She’d almost forgotten about the Bible reading time.

When Mattie and Mark entered the living room, Mom and Dad were seated on the sofa with Perry and Ada between them. Calvin, Russell, and Ike had taken seats in the overstuffed chairs, so Mark and Mattie had to sit on the floor.

Dad was just getting ready to read from the Bible, when Calvin pointed to the window. “What’s that on the curtain? Looks like something dark.”

Everyone’s attention went to the window. With only the light from the two gas lanterns in the room, it was kind of hard to see.

“That looks like a bat!” Mom shrieked. “Someone, quick, get a bucket or a box. We need something to catch that critter in!”

“I’ll go out to the porch to get the bucket I’ve used to put fish in,” Russell said.

Dad gave a nod. “That’s a good idea. Now, everyone else, stay put. We don’t want anyone getting bit by the flying rodent because it could carry rabies.”

Russell raced out of the room, and Dad walked over to the other side of the room where the windows were located, then he slowly approached the curtain from the side. So far, the bat didn’t seem to know he was there.

“Be careful, Willard,” Mom warned, while keeping her arms around Ada and Perry.

Mattie held her breath as Dad took the curtain and quickly, but gently, folded it over the bat to hold it in place. When Russell came running back in, Dad shook the bat into the bucket; then hurriedly placed a magazine over the opening so the bat couldn’t fly out.

“Whew, that was too close!” Mattie sighed, expelling air.

“That little brown
genus myotis
was kinda cute,” Mark said as they all watched Russell take the bat out the front door. “He must have flown in the back door when Mattie and I took the garbage out, ‘cause I think we left it open.”

“
Genus myotis
? Does that mean bat?” Calvin asked.

Mark bobbed his head. “Jah. It means ‘mouse-eared bat,’ which is one of the most common bats around. They like to eat moths, wasps, beetles, and mosquitoes, among other things. Oh, and I read once that most bats don’t even have rabies, so we probably could have looked at it closer before Russell took the critter outside.”

Mattie couldn’t believe how much her twin brother knew about bats. Of course, he knew a lot about many things because he liked to read so much.

“Even so, you can’t take any chances when it comes to a wild animal, so it’s better to be safe,” Dad said. “You could get mighty sick if you got bit and contracted rabies, and the treatment for rabies can be pretty painful, too.”

Once the excitement calmed down, everyone settled in and got comfortable again while Dad prepared to read.

“Tonight I’ll be reading from Luke 6:31,” Dad said as he opened the big leather Bible. “‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’”

Mattie thought about the surprise waiting for Mark in his bed. God’s Word said she should do to others as she would have them do to her. She wouldn’t want someone to put something she was afraid of in her bed. She realized now that what she’d done was wrong. Besides, with the bat incident, she thought they’d had enough scaring for one night. Somehow she had to sneak into Mark’s room before he went up there, and get that creepy rubber snake out of his bed.

    C
HAPTER
10    

Mark stepped into his bedroom, yawned, and stretched his arms over his head.
Today had been long and tiring, and he was more than ready for bed. Smelling that skunk, and then the little brown bat in the living room had sure livened things up this evening.

After putting on his pajamas, he knelt on the floor by his bed to say his prayers.

Mark stood, pulled his covers aside, and let out a yelp. There was an ugly-looking snake curled up in his bed!

He dashed across the room, jerked open his bedroom door, and ran into the hall.

“
Schlang!
Schlang!” Mark hollered when he bumped into Mattie, who’d just come up the stairs. “There’s a schlang in my bed!”

Mattie grabbed hold of Mark’s arm and gave it a little shake. “Calm down. It’s not a real snake.”

“It—it sure looks real.” Mark’s heart was beating so fast he could hardly get his breath.

She shook her head. “Well, it’s not. It’s just a rubber snake.”

“H–how do you know that?”

“Because I put it there,” she whispered.

“What was that?”

“I borrowed the snake from Calvin and put it in your bed.”

Mark’s forehead wrinkled. “Why would you do a thing like that?”

“Well, you’re always teasing others, and I wanted to show you that I could tease, too.” Mattie stared at the floor. “After Dad read the Bible verse to us this evening, I realized what I’d done was wrong. So I was heading to your room to get the snake, but you got there first.” She lifted her gaze to look at him. “I’m sorry, Mark. Will you forgive me?”

Mark tapped his bare foot and stared at Mattie. She really did look sorry. “I’ll forgive you, but you’d better never do anything like that again.”

“I promise I won’t.”

Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!

Mark turned and saw Dad coming up the stairs. “I thought you two were getting ready for bed,” he said.

Mark knew if he didn’t think of something quick, he and Mattie would both be in trouble. “Oh, uh … Mattie and I were just talking about something, but we’re ready for bed.” He looked at Mattie again and noticed she wasn’t wearing her nightgown. “Well, at least I’m ready for bed.”

“I’m going to my room right now,” Mattie said.

“All right then. Sleep well, you two.” Dad gave them both a hug and clomped back down the stairs.

Mattie started for her room, but Mark grabbed hold of her arm. “Wait a minute. Isn’t there something you forgot?”

She shook her head. “I can’t think of anything.”

He pointed to his bedroom door. “You’d better get that snake out of my bed or I’m gonna tell Dad what you did.”

“Can’t you take it out yourself? It’s just a rubber one, you know.”

“I don’t care. You’re the one who put it in my bed, so you’re the one who should take it out.” Truth was, even though the snake was only rubber, it looked real, and Mark didn’t want to touch it. He could tolerate a lot of other things, but not creepy snakes—not even a rubber one!

Mattie hesitated a minute, and finally nodded. “Okay. Since Calvin’s already in bed, I’ll put the snake in my laundry basket and give it to him in the morning.”

“I don’t care where you put it, just as long as it’s not in my room!”

When Mattie woke up the next morning she looked at the clock and realized she’d forgotten to set her alarm the night before. If she didn’t move quickly, she’d either miss breakfast or be late for school. She hurried to get dressed, ran down the hall to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, and then raced down the stairs.

“You should have been down here sooner,” Mom scolded when Mattie entered the kitchen. “You’d better hurry and eat your cereal or you’ll be late for school.”

“I know, and I’ll hurry.” Mattie noticed that there was no one else at the table.

“Where is everyone?” she asked.

“The little ones are still in bed, your daed and Ike left for work, and your brothers are on their way to school,” Mom said.

“Even Mark?”

Mom shook her head. “He’s in the barn with Lucky and her busslin, but you’d better hurry and eat so the two of you won’t be late.”

“Okay.” Mattie picked up her spoon. Then, remembering that she needed to pray, she bowed her head.
Dear Lord, help today to be a good day; thank You for this food; keep us all safe, and help the days go quickly until Mark’s and my birthday
.

When Mattie opened her eyes, Mom tapped her shoulder. “I’m going upstairs to gather everyone’s dirty laundry, because I need to wash clothes today. Oh, and Mattie, don’t forget to put Twinkles in her pen before you leave for school.”

“I’ll do it, Mom,” Mattie said around a mouthful of cereal.

Mom left the room and went up the stairs. A few minutes later, Mattie heard a terrible scream. “Schlang! Schlang!”

Oh no!
Mattie gulped. She’d forgotten to put the rubber snake back in Calvin’s room this morning.

Mattie left her seat and raced up the stairs. She found Mom in her bedroom, staring at the snake in the laundry basket and looking pale as a bucket of goat’s milk.

“It’s okay, Mom. It’s not real. It’s just a rubber snake,” Mattie quickly said. It was obvious that Mom didn’t care for snakes any more than Mark did.

“B–but how did it get in your laundry basket?” Mom sputtered.

“Well, I … uh … borrowed it from Calvin.”

Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “How come?”

Mattie wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to lie about it, but wasn’t sure she should tell Mom that she’d put the snake in Mark’s bed. Mom would probably scold her for that.

Mom’s forehead wrinkled as she stared at Mattie with a questioning look. “What’s going on, Mattie? Why did you borrow Calvin’s rubber snake?”

“Well, I … uh …” Tears welled in Mattie’s eyes, then she blurted out the whole story, knowing she would feel much better once she’d told the truth.

“Oh Mattie, you know it’s not right to tease someone like that—especially with something you know they’re afraid of,” Mom said, slowly shaking her head.

Mattie nodded. “I told Mark I was sorry and I was going to put the snake back in Calvin’s room this morning, but I forgot.” She clasped Mom’s hand. “I’m sorry the schlang scared you, and I promise I won’t do anything like that ever again.”

“I’m glad.” Mom bent down and gave Mattie a hug.

When the hug ended, Mattie grabbed the snake, raced across the hall to Calvin’s room, and tossed it inside. Noticing the look of relief on Mom’s face, Mattie bounded happily down the stairs.