Well, he hops down the trail and comes upon a Wildcat just sitting there. He looks down and sees that the cat has no claws. He decides to tease him about it.
“Let’s play a game of scratch,” Rabbit says to the Wildcat.
Wildcat smiled. “Very well.”
“I will make the first scratch,” Rabbit insisted. With a wide flourish of his front leg, Wildcat bowed and held still.
Rabbit hopped close to Wildcat and scratched him as hard as he could then glanced down at his claws, expecting to see the cat’s hair, but there wasn’t any. His claws were clean.
Rabbit hopped back, sure the Wildcat couldn’t harm him because he had no claws. “Now, it’s your turn.”
The Wildcat reached out with his front foot and grabbed Rabbit’s back and jerked the skin right from his body.”
Mia sat back in her chair, one hand holding her stomach. “Well, that was unexpected. What do you think it means?”
Billy shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a story.”
“Is it?” Mia asked, her gaze slowly moving from Billy to Elias then finally to Summer. “What do you think, Summer?”
The girl turned her gaze toward the window overlooking the trees out back as she thought. “I think it means people aren’t always the way they seem on the outside. That inside, they might be different.”
“That’s exactly what I think it means, too,” Mia agreed. “I do sort of feel sorry for the poor rabbit.”
Summer shook her head. “You shouldn’t. Misjudging someone can be deadly.” She slumped down a couple of inches into the cushions. “I suppose it’s my turn?”
Mia nodded.
“The only story I remember was one my father told me when I was really little. He used to pick me up and carry me on his shoulders and walk through the woods early in the morning. This was my favorite story—don’t really remember why though.” She cleared her throat. “The men married women outside of their clan. After the children were born, the mothers of these classless children were sad to see they weren’t accepted. For many days the women prayed to the Creator, who heard their prayers and saw the sincerity in their hearts.
“He told the women to go to the place of soft ground and black waters and search for a plant that would cry out to them from under the ground. The women were to do what the plant instructed and they would not only find a clan name for their children but also be able to feed their people forever. After many hardships and prayers, the women finally found the plant and it told them how to grow it, giving the clanless children the name of the White Potato Clan.”
The girl’s story was short, but it had the most meaning of all three stories. Mia’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Summer, that’s a beautiful tale and so fitting to your real life story.” She swiped the tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “I want to go into town and fix something special for our dinner. Would you like that? Here’s my idea. We will each think of something from our childhood, and if we can’t think of something, then we can ask questions in town from some of the older people who may know a few recipes we can try. I want the three of you to be as comfortable in this home as I am, which means we need to blend our cultures. I want to know more about your cultures, and I hope, you can learn a bit more about mine.”
“What about Josiah’s?” Billy asked. “What is his culture?”
Mia smiled. “He is mixed. His father was Choctaw and his mother was White and Creek.”
Billy’s eyes widened. “He’s part Creek like me?”
“He is. So, do you like the idea of fixing different dishes from each of our cultures?” The three children nodded. “Good, then let’s go and hitch up the wagon and visit the mercantile.”
The trip to town took no time at all. Mia’s plan took root and excitement built until all three children were practically bouncing inside the wagon as they rolled down the main street. She pulled to a stop in front of the mercantile and set the brake as the children jumped to the sidewalk.
“Let’s get what we need without spending too much time. I don’t know how much time we’ll need for preparation." Inside the store, she sent the children for their required ingredients. They met at the sales counter where she quickly paid, including a penny candy for each of them. Once everything was wrapped up and loaded, they headed back to the house.
Mia pulled the wagon up to the front of the barn. “Summer, would you mind taking care of the horse this time while the boys carry in the food? Elias, please hand Billy the lighter parcels and carry everything into the kitchen, and I’ll be inside in a moment.” She watched them, making sure they were careful as they made their way inside, and then turned to Summer. “I promised Josiah I would have you double check what they do with the horses. They’re so young. He knows you understand the importance of cleaning the stalls and making sure they’re taken care of. Can you do that for me?”
Summer nodded. “I don’t mind. I like being with the horses, too.”
“Thank you.”
Mia helped unhitch the horse from the wagon, then grabbed her pelisse from underneath the bench and walked to the house. She let the screen door lightly slam behind her as she mentally checked over the list in her head and tried to figure the cooking times for everything they planned for their multi-cultural dinner.
She set her pelisse on the table, but jerked to a stop when something hard jabbed into her side and a filthy hand covered her mouth.
“Now don’t you go screamin’ on me, you hear? I can’t stand it when women scream and wail.”
Mia’s eyes widened when she saw Billy and Elias sitting on the floor, back to back. She tried to get to them, but the strange man’s grip on her arm was too strong and she couldn’t move.