Work Text:
On Sundays, John might play quietly with his wooden train, or hold his ragdoll, Mattie, nicely, but he could not sew new clothes for her. Not even with pins, for no work could be done on Sunday.
He could listen to Dutch read stories from the Bible, or look at the pictures in Dutch's big art book. But he must be quiet. He could not run around or shout.
One Sunday, he was sat on the ground listening to Dutch read his stupid Bible stories. All he could think about was how he wished it were Monday.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He screwed his face up and said "Would you just shut up already?" Dutch stopped his reading and looked at Hosea, who was looking at John. "Excuse me?" Dutch asked incredulously.
"I hate Sundays."
Arthur almost laughed but caught himself at Dutch's glare. After a moment of silence, Hosea said sternly, "Come here, John."
John grumbled and dragged his feet because he knew he deserved the spanking that he was surely about to get. But Hosea only said "I'm going to tell you about Grandpa and the pig."
John wasn't sure what to make of that, but he sat on the ground by Hosea's feet where he was sitting on a big wooden box and asked "Your Grandpa?"
"No," said Hosea, "Your Grandpa. My father."
John smiled. He knew of his Grandpa, he lived in a big house in the east and raised cattle. "What about him?"
"Well," Hosea began, "Back when Grandpa was a boy, Sundays did not begin on Sunday mornings as they do now, but rather on Saturday night at sundown. His father would say a long prayer before they ate a solemn, silent supper. They would wake up extra early and eat a cold breakfast that they made the day before, for they could not cook on Sunday. Then, they'd walk to church. They had to walk to church because in order to drive, they would have to hitch up the horses, and that was considered work. On the walk, they must not speak, or laugh, or even smile. At church, they must give the preacher their undivided attention. They must keep their eyes straight and their body still. They dared not fidget or swing their feet. They dared not look at the floor or the wall or each other."
Hosea paused there, waiting for John to react. John, however, thought that this was incredibly stupid. Who cares how hard Sunday was for Grandpa? John gave Hosea an impatient look, urging him to go on.
"Well, Grandpa had two brothers, Charles and George. Once, they had been building a sled. They spent every minute of their play time building it. It was long enough to fit all three of them, one in front of the other. Well, they just finished building it right at dusk on a Saturday. They could not try it out until Sunday was over."
"Their Pa wouldn't let them try it just once?"
"No, that would be breaking the Sabbath. But all day, all they could think about was that sled. When their Pa said his long prayer before supper, they were thinking about the sled. On the walk to church, they thought about the sled. During the sermon, they could not focus. All they could think about was that sled.
That evening, when their Pa was reading from his big Bible, they were thinkin' about the sled. But then they heard a snore. Their Pa had fallen asleep while reading to them. When Charles looked up, he saw that their Pa was asleep. Charles looked at George, then snuck off past their Pa. George looked at Grandpa, and followed behind Charles. Then grandpa looked at his Pa, and against his better judgement, he followed his brothers outside.
They meant only to try the sled once, then put it back and sneak back in."
Hosea raised an eyebrow and smirked at John and Arthur, implying that this is something that they would do. John stared blankly and Arthur gave an overdramatic scoff. Hosea continued.
"They got on the sled, Charles, then George, then Grandpa in the front, because he was the littlest. They had to be very quiet and not laugh as they slid down the hill, so as not to wake their Pa. Well, for whatever reason, there was a pig about, and they did not see it until it was right in front of them. The sled was going too fast for the pig to move out of the way, so it just got scooped up onto the sled with them! The pig could not get off! It squealed, 'SQUEEEEEE,
SQUEEEEEEE' "
Hosea actually made the noise, at which John cringed and Arthur laughed.
"While they were stuck in this position, they saw their Pa. He was standing in the open doorway looking very angry. They reached the foot of the hill, put away the sled, and walked shamefully into the house, where their father sat reading his big Bible aloud. He didn't acknowledge them, not one bit. They could not be beat today, but the next day, he took them out to the shed and he tanned their jackets."
John stared at Hosea and Hosea stared back at him with an expectant smile. When John realized he was supposed to say something, he only said "Grandpa sounds stupid."
Hosea was not amused.
"You're lucky you were born in this time. Go listen to Dutch read. And be quiet."
Reluctantly, John complied.