Melinda and the Wild West Read online

  “Do they want you to go to school and learn?”

  Jenny’s eyes looked down at the floor and she had a sober look on her face. “Yes, they do.”

  “Jenny, how about if we move your desk next to mine and you can be my helper. What do you think about that? I really need help at times, like passing out papers or books or to have someone write something on the board for me.” Melinda touched Jenny’s hand tenderly and asked, “Would you like to be my inkwell monitor? I can help you until you learn the knack of it. I’ve got a thick old apron for you to wear when you fill the inkwells so you won’t get a stain all over your pretty dress. What do you say?”

  Jenny’s face beamed with a smile and her cheeks warmed to a rosy color. Then she nodded with a sparkle in her eyes. Melinda could see the pleasure in her face as she looked at her. This new assignment would help Jenny feel important and give her self-confidence; and that was needed at this time.

  Quickly, Melinda picked up the desk and moved it next to her desk. “How about this spot, Jenny? Is this all right with you?”

  Jenny nodded with a smile. Then Melinda placed a notebook and yellow pencil on her desk and said, “This is just in case you might want to write something. It’s up to you.” In giving her the freedom of choice, maybe she would not rebel against learning.

  Jenny nodded.

  Melinda called the class in and everyone settled down at their desks.

  One of the students called out, “Why is Jenny sitting there? She’s not supposed to. The other teacher placed her at the back and she’s supposed to be there.”

  Melinda saw how hurt Jenny’s face was at that comment and it infuriated her. She had to stop this sort of treatment immediately.

  She said in a stern tone, “I’m the teacher. Your other teacher is not here and I have replaced him. I have my own set of rules. He has his. But my rules do not agree with his.”

  Then a thought came to her and she decided this was a good time to teach a valuable lesson. “Class, I’m going to teach you something that I learned at a church meeting one day. I can’t remember who said it, but I believe you’ll get the gist of it.” Melinda walked up to the board and wrote in large bold letters, “I will love you even if you spit on me every day. I will love you because you need it.—Anonymous”

  She heard a few chuckles and giggles come from the students as she wrote on the board. Turning to look at the class, she asked them, “What does this mean to you?”

  One student raised his hand. “It means that if someone is mean to you, you should still love him.”

  “You are correct. Everyone needs love. If someone hurts us or spits on us, then maybe he needs more love because he’s hurting inside and we don’t know it. Maybe he’s being rude or mean just to hide his hurt feelings inside. Do you understand?”

  Then she pointed to a young man and asked, “What if you were asked to milk the cows and a cow kicked your bucket over and spilled all the milk? All that hard work was for nothing. Would you be calm about it? I doubt it. Many times when things go wrong, we strike out at the first person we see. And many times we strike out at the ones we love. In other words, those who spit on us need more love instead of more anger. I want you to remember this and I want you to learn to love every one of your classmates. Please take out your pencils and notebooks and copy this statement that I have written on the board. Then memorize it.”

  Melinda walked to her desk and sat down, already feeling discouraged. With her elbows leaning on the desk, she placed her hands over her face so she could relax. Teaching was not as easy as some would think. Could she do some good in this small town and make a difference in someone’s life? As she sat quietly thinking, she heard the scribbling of a pencil next to her. Looking up, she saw Jenny sitting at her desk and actually writing what she had written on the board. Melinda fought back the tears that welled up in her eyes. Jenny really did want to learn.

  Melinda decided not to give a lesson that day, and instead had the children tell the class what they enjoyed doing, and what their favorite books and hobbies were. She wanted to get to know each of the students and maybe they would get to know one another better, too. Before long, Jenny was standing before the class and telling them what she enjoyed doing most on the ranch.

  Jenny said proudly, “I like to go riding on my horse with my pa to round up the cattle.”

  One of the children gasped, “You have your own horse?”

  “Yes, my pa gave her to me. But he makes me brush her down every day and I have to take care of her. He says that when you have an animal, you have to take the responsibility of taking care of him.” Jenny sounded enthusiastic and so grown up as she spoke of her horse and responsibilities.

  Just before Melinda let the students go for the day, she said, “I have learned a lot about each of you. I learned that some of you like to fish, swim in the lake, play ball, and even ride a horse. Now would you like to know my favorite thing to do?”

  The students nodded enthusiastically.

  “All right, then. I absolutely love to sing. I’ve given several concerts in Boston where I’m from. And I just love it.”

  A wide-eyed student asked, “Are you famous?”

  Melinda shook her head and laughed. “No. I just love to entertain people. That’s all. Since my favorite subject in school is music, I’m going to teach you a song every day. Just before we leave today, I want to teach you a song called ‘Clementine.’ Do any of you know this song?”

  Some shook their heads and others nodded.

  Melinda taught the class one verse at a time. As they sang, Jenny listened carefully and watched her teacher but did not participate and sing with the class. After going through the song a couple times, Jenny started to sing. In no time at all, Jenny’s voice rang out with joy and excitement. She was not on key most of the time, but that did not matter to Melinda. She had broken the barrier between them. With joy swelling in her heart, she listened as the class sang.

  Chapter 5

  BILLY’S PRANKS

  The following day, Melinda arrived at school and found Jenny in a fight with Billy. They were squabbling on the ground and the young boy was yelling for help. Melinda eyed Jenny in amazement. Here she was, only eight years old, fighting with a ten-year-old boy. The most shocking part was that Jenny was on top of him, pulling his hair as he screamed in pain. How in the world, Melinda wondered, did this feisty young lady manage to overpower a boy almost twice her size? Jenny was slender and wiry and Billy was a bit chubby and slow of movement, which could have been a factor. But still, the boy had bulk on his side.

  “Jenny!” Melinda called out with her hands on her hips. She was shocked at such behavior. As a new schoolteacher, she felt completely unprepared for what was happening before her very eyes.

  No one paid attention. Annoyed, Melinda tried to pull them apart. As she tugged Jenny away, the young man held his face with his hands while Jenny continued to swing her fists at him.

  “I’ll teach you,” yelled Jenny. The blood was rushing through her veins, making her face red with anger.

  “Jenny!” Melinda said with authority. “Come with me.”

  Taking the feisty little she-cat by her hand, she led her inside the school and sat down at her desk. Jenny looked down at the floor with anger flaming from her eyes.

  Melinda was frustrated but she knew that kindness and tenderness went further than scolding. She took a deep breath to settle herself down. The with tenderness in her voice, she spoke to Jenny.

  “Jenny, what’s wrong?”

  Jenny would not speak.

  Melinda gently held Jenny’s hand in hers and with her other hand she tenderly replaced a blond curl that had come loose from the scuffle and was hanging in her eyes. When she saw the defiance in Jenny’s eyes, Melinda felt discouraged. Everything she had done yesterday had been completely undone by Jenny’s classmate. Taking a deep breath, she sighed. Then, after uttering a silent prayer, she spoke softly.

  “Sweet, sweet Jenny. Wh
at am I going to do with you? Why can’t you talk to me? You know I care about you. Please tell me why you were fighting with that young man.”

  Jenny’s eyes flamed and she spoke with vehemence in her voice. “He called me a name. He always calls me names every day. I hate him.”

  “What name did he call you?”

  “He called me stupid and dummy and I’m not.”

  “Of course you’re not. You’re a very smart young lady with a pretty smile.”

  When Melinda smiled, Jenny’s frown gradually disappeared and her eyes softened.

  “Jenny, you’ve got to control your temper. Ignore what the kids say because none of it is true. Remember, you are above those who call you names if you just turn and walk away.”

  “But I can’t,” said Jenny adamantly.

  Melinda knew that it was easier said than done. After the class settled down, she worried that the children had made their judgments about Jenny simply because of a teacher who announced to the class that she was a troublemaker and had placed her at the back of the class, hidden from the rest of the students. Had he actually said that she was a troublemaker in front of the class? That was what the children had told her. How could she undo every negative word or action the children had learned from their teacher?

  The first two weeks went by quickly. Jenny continued to fight with the boys, but less frequently because she wanted to please her teacher. Each day Melinda would have to give a lecture to the class about respecting one another. Each day she made a conscious effort to build up Jenny’s self-esteem. And Melinda knew that Jenny’s love for her was growing day by day.

  One morning, when all the students were supposed to be reading, one of them made a spit wad and tossed it at Melinda. She knew it was someone trying to be funny and she suspected it was Billy, so she simply ignored it. Then another spit wad was tossed and it hit Melinda’s hair and bounced off onto the floor.

  With all the patience she could muster, she stood and looked at the class and said sternly, “If I feel another spit wad hit me, then you’ll put your books away and you’ll get out your math and do a few pages.”

  Then she sat down and all was silent. No more spit wads were tossed after that. The threat of doing extra math was sufficiently frightening.

  One day, Melinda noticed that Billy was acting quite mischievous and had tried to dunk Peggy’s pigtail in his inkwell. He must have thought his new teacher was dense, she mused. Did most students seem to underestimate their teachers like this? Did he actually believe that she would think it was an accident? When he tried to dunk the braid in the ink, Peggy must have felt him tuck at her hair because she whirled her head around and her pigtail slapped Billy right in the face, swiping his face with blue ink.

  Billy had a blue streak across his face for several days and he swore that he would never do such a thing ever again if Miss Gamble would not punish him. Melinda was frustrated and considered a punishment, but opted not to since his blue face seemed to be humiliating enough.

  Sometime after the ink incident, Peggy found a frog in her lunch pail. After she screamed at the top of her voice, she headed right for Billy and accused him of placing it there. It seemed to be his style and she was convinced that he was getting even because she whipped his face with her hair. Most everyone suspected Billy to be the culprit because he grinned when she accused him of it — but no punishment was executed since there was no proof of it.

  The frustration of being a teacher was high. Was she doing any good or even making a difference in the lives of any of these children? Their behavior was very discouraging. But suddenly one day, things began to turn around as if she were being rewarded for her efforts. The third week of school, Jenny started doing her schoolwork and did not act rebellious about it. Melinda was so impressed with Jenny. She had come a long way and she was very smart. She had warmed up to Melinda and the joy she felt was incredible.

  She wanted the class to get to know Jenny better in an atmosphere other than the classroom, so she decided to plan an excursion that would take the students away from the monotony of the school and hopefully allow them to overcome their prejudices against Jenny.

  “Class, I have decided to take you into the West Mountains to the Paris Springs next Monday. I will show you where the fresh unpolluted water pours out of the mountain and where we get our drinking water. You will need to bring a note from your parents for permission and a sack lunch because we’ll be having a picnic up there. Don’t forget to bring a cup so you can drink the fresh spring water.”

  After Melinda told the class about the little excursion in the mountains and all the fun they would be having, Billy seemed to turn pale and became quite fidgety. He kept glancing up at her as if something was on his mind. He finally stood and slowly walked up to Melinda with a sheepish look on his face.

  He ran his fingers through his brown wavy hair and then he took a deep breath and said, “Miss Gamble, you are making school fun for us and I never had fun at school before. You are much nicer than the other teacher we had. So, I just want to tell you that I’m sorry for all the mischief I’ve been doing.”

  “Thank you, Billy,” said Melinda with surprise. “I appreciate that.”

  “And I’m sorry for what I did today, too.”

  “Sorry? You haven’t done anything today.”

  His dark brown eyes widened. “Oh yes I have, Miss Gamble.”

  She lifted her eyebrows slightly. “What did you do?”

  “Well,” Billy swallowed and nervously wiped his hands on his pants. “I would like it very much if you would just look the other way while I get something from your desk. All right, Miss Gamble?”

  Melinda looked into Billy’s eyes questioningly. “Billy, did you put something in my desk?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Can I peek?”

  “No, ma’am. You wouldn’t like it if you did. Just turn the other way so you won’t get scared.”

  Melinda quietly rose from her seat and backed up to the wall so she could watch at a safe distance. Billy opened her drawer and exposed a nice fat garter snake that was lying upon her papers. Billy slid his hands under it and picked it up, just as Melinda gasped.

  Billy looked up at Melinda and said, “He wouldn’t have hurt you, Miss Gamble. He’s just a garter snake. I play with them all the time. Pa says they eat the bad bugs in our garden.”

  When the girls realized what Billy had in his hands, the classroom became a siren of screaming noises that would have pierced the ears of anyone who entered the room. One girl fainted and another ran outside without permission. The boys laughed until their sides ached, and Melinda wondered if she should give Billy a punishment. Since he had been so honest with her and willingly took the snake outside, she hesitated to do so. Honesty had its merits.

  Chapter 6

  A STUBBORN MAN

  One by one, the permission slips arrived on her desk. By the end of the week, Melinda counted them up and found one note was missing. Jenny had not brought her note from home.

  While the students worked on their math, she took the opportunity to ask Jenny why she did not bring her note. Jenny’s desk still sat next to Melinda’s, for Jenny liked it that way and she seemed to study better when she was near her teacher. It seemed that she lacked confidence and being near Melinda helped assure her of her abilities.

  “Jenny, I need to talk to you.”

  Jenny’s head rose from her work and she smiled at Melinda.

  “Jenny, did you forget to bring a note from home?”

  “No.”

  “But I don’t have a note here saying you can go to the mountains.”

  Jenny lowered her head and looked at her desk. “That’s ’cause my pa won’t let me go.”

  “Why, Jenny?”

  “He says it’s too dangerous.”

  “I wouldn’t let any harm come to you. The other parents have written notes. They seem to think it’s all right.”

  “But my pa doesn’t think so. He says
that I might get hurt.” Jenny looked into Melinda’s eyes and frowned. “The fact is I can’t do much of anything, Miss Gamble, because he worries too much.”

  Jenny looked out the window and spoke as if she were reminiscing about the past. “One time, a neighbor’s cat had kittens and she was giving them away and my pa was too busy to take me to her house to get one because he said he didn’t have the time.” She turned and looked at her teacher with a bit of sadness in her eyes. “When Pa finally had extra time, all the kittens were given away and it was too late. I wanted a kitten so bad.”

  Melinda’s heart went out to Jenny and she wanted to help. She had learned firsthand how a small animal was able to help a child emotionally. The memory of it warmed her soul as she remembered her childhood days, and how her faithful dog had helped her through many a tough time as she poured her feelings out to him. She remembered how this loving animal had licked her tears away and then snuggled up close as if to comfort her. She remembered the softness of his fur against her face and the enormous amount of love she had for this animal. Her dog had been her friend and confidant. Why hadn’t Jenny’s father cared enough to go with her to get a kitten?

  “Jenny, is it all right with you if I talk to your father and ask his permission for you to go on this trip?”

  Jenny looked doubtful that her father would give in, but it was worth a try. “Yes, but it won’t do no good.”

  “You mean that it won’t do ‘any’ good, Jenny.”

  “Yup. That’s what I said.”

  Melinda smiled and let the English lesson go for now.

  The following day was Saturday so Melinda got ready to visit Jenny’s father. She wore an attractive lavender dress that fit perfectly on her slender figure. It had puffed sleeves and was gathered at the waist, hanging gracefully over her hips. As she pulled her hair loosely upon her head, she tried to think of what she should say to Jenny’s father.