Alice Can't Do That!

Alice Can’t Do That!

         Mindy stormed out of her house crying. “I hate sisters!” she yelled as she ran into the woods bordering her backyard. “Who cares if I’m not supposed to be here alone, nobody cares about me anyway,” she complained to a squirrel as it scampered up a tree out of her way.
         Angrily, Mindy ran deep into the woods. She jumped over fallen logs and ducked under low branches until, out of breath, she stopped to rest on a large rock near a stream. Why does Alice get to do everything? Just because she’s older don’t mean she’s better than me. She heard a noise behind her and turned to see two rabbits hopping away from the water. “Lucky you, you don’t have bratty big sisters to tell you what to do,” Mindy grumped about Alice, who was 13 and got to do lots of stuff.

         She got to stay up late, go to parties, have more computer time, everything. “Just because I’m eight doesn’t mean I’m a stupid baby. I’ll show em, I’ll be better than Alice!” Mindy dried her face, and tried to think of something she could do that Alice couldn’t.

         I know! I’ll build a bridge across the stream, Alice can’t do that. Her plan set, Mindy started gathering up sticks and rocks. She built a pile of rocks packed with mud on her side of the stream, right across from a fallen log. “This will make the bridge higher,” she said laying long branches between the log and rock pile.
Happy with her work, she walked over her new bridge. About halfway across though, the branches split apart and she fell through, soaking her new sneakers. “Aww man, that didn’t work. I need something to keep the branches together.” Taking off her wet sneakers, she realized the laces would be perfect.
After tying the branches, Mindy walked slowly across and hopped off the other end. “Great, it works!” she yelled and ran back across. She walked across a few times to make sure it stayed up. It did, and made her think of the tree house Alice helped her build, showing her how to make sure everything was even and nailed tightly together.

         I gotta show Mom, Alice will be so jealous of me! Mindy turned around and ran towards home. After a few minutes, the path split into two different directions. “Uh-oh, which way do I go? What if I pick the wrong path?” Mindy wasn’t sure what to do. She thought about camping with Alice, and what she learned about getting lost in the woods.



         “Okay, moss grows on the north side of a tree. I can get home by finding moss.” She looked around until she found soft green moss on one side of a tree. Oh-no, I don’t know which way is home, the moss won’t help me now. She sat down and started to cry. “I’m supposed to stay where I am until someone finds me…but nobody knows where I went. That won’t help.”

         Crickets started singing and Mindy noticed how much darker it was. A loud snap scared her and she bolted up with a scream. “Probably just a rabbit or a deer,” Mindy said tearfully looking around her at the shadows. But what if it’s a monster?

         There’s no such thing as monsters, Dummy, she scolded herself, but dark woods are scary. I wish Alice was here, she’s never scared. Mindy tried to imagine Alice lost, and what she would do.

         Maybe I can find my footprints. Then I’ll know which way I came. Mindy started looking for her prints, but didn’t see any on the left path. She tried the right path and after a few steps, she found a shoe print in the mud; it had a funny shape in the middle. Mindy picked up her shoe and looked at the bottom. Sure enough; there was a small butterfly in the middle. Great now I know which way to go.

         Along the path, the shadows grew longer and sometimes she couldn’t see the path very well. “Ouch!” something scraped against her leg. It was a blackberry bush! This is where me and Alice pick blackberries for Mommy’s pies! Mindy realized. Suddenly she missed her sister and the fun they had picking berries, and she remembered how to get home from here. She hurried along the path, sure of herself now.


         A voice called out and she saw a light through the trees ahead. Alice was coming towards her.
         “Oh Mindy, you’re O.K.! We were so worried!” Alice hugged her and yelled for their mother.
         At home, Mindy told everyone about her bridge. “I made a bridge so people don’t get wet crossing the stream, and to show you that I’m not a baby, but then I got lost.”
         “You’re not a baby. That was pretty great, finding your way home. I would’ve been too scared,” Alice said. “You don’t need a bridge to show us how special you are…we already know it, silly.”
         “Besides, it’s not always fun being the big sister. I have more chores, and I have to buy my own clothes with my babysitting money. You get to goof off, and I have more responsibilities.”
         “I guess so, but it seems like you get more fun,” Mindy said.
         “I do sometimes, but I’d trade places with you anytime and you can be the big sister if you want. Then you can do the dishes and laundry while I play in the tree house,” Alice said laughing.
         “Um…that’s OK,” Mindy replied looking at the pile of unfolded clothes. Mindy didn’t complain about her earlier bedtime that night, especially when Alice came in to read her a story. There were some good things about having a big sister and being a little sister, after all.