"It went very well. We had an interesting discussion about the importance of hard work."
"What about Prudence and Helena?"
"They are both doing fine, dear. Prudence asked to come by later. I think she's worried about you, that darling girl. She has a heart as big as her stomach."
Samantha decided to take this as a compliment about Prudence and not as an insult about her weight. "I'd like to see her," Samantha said. "I wish there was something I could do to make up for what I did to her…and Helena."
"Prudence needs a friend more than anything. I think that's the best thing you could do for her." Miss Brigham shivered then and threw a log into the hearth. "Samantha, be a dear and ask one of the boys to fetch some firewood."
"Yes, Miss Brigham." Samantha went outside and followed the path to the meadow and then down to the woodshed. She found an axe resting against a stump and a bundle of logs waiting to be split, but no boys around to finish the job.
How hard could it be? she thought. She centered a log onto a tree stump and then picked up the axe, stumbling back a step at the weight of it. Her first swing went wide, slicing into the stump instead of the log. Before trying again, she choked up on the handle for better control. This time she split the log right down the middle.
She repeated this for another five logs, splitting each dead center. She got so caught up in the simple rhythm of woodcutting that she forgot about returning the wood to Miss Brigham. She finished off the rest of the logs and then looked around for more. "What are you doing?" a boy's voice shouted.
She turned around and saw Wendell stomping towards her. "Girls can't cut wood!" he said, his voice getting louder.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would mind." She started to pick up some of the logs she'd split to carry back to Miss Brigham, but Wendell ripped them from her hands. "What are you doing? Those are for Miss Brigham."
"Girls can't carry wood either!"
"Why not?"
"Because boys are stronger than girls."
"I'm stronger than you."
"Are not."
"Are so." To prove her point, she reached down and grabbed Wendell by the waist. She hoisted him over her shoulder, ignoring his feeble punches and kicks.
"Put me down!" he wailed.
"Not until you admit I'm stronger than you."
"No!" With this she spun around and around until her head felt like it would float away. Wendell screamed, latching onto one of her braids and tugging as hard as he could. Finally he shouted, "All right, you win! Now put me down!"