The day was like a painted picture. The sky was brilliantly shaded in blue while streaming clouds were splashed across the horizon. The hills and the valleys rolled across the dusty pasture land. The summer humid heat floated in the air. Gazing out into the wide land, a little girl, about the age of seven, is astounded by the monstrous view. Her bonnet lightly flapped in the gentle warm wind as her dress hung softly on her frail body. The little girl�s childhood innocence playfully danced on the path as she runs to her Papa.
�Papa! Papa!� She exclaimed dashing down the path. Her eyes lit up when her Papa put the cider barrel down and opened his arms. Swinging the little girl in the air, he listened to his youngest daughter laugh to his heart�s delight. Then placing her down, he tried to return to his work. Blooming with excitement, the little girl inquired, �When will you be done with your work today, Papa?�
He glanced at her and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his wrists. �I don�t know, Darlin�. I�ve got to deliver this here barrel to Mrs. Drutherford. She lives �bout three miles east from here. You know that�s a long journey.�
�But Papa,� the little girl whimpered, �you promised you�d take me and Sarah and Johnny and Roger to the carnival in town today!�
Standing politely with her hands behind her back, the little girl waited as her Papa looked for a place to sit on the cart beside them. His soiled flannel shirt and tightly fitted jeans were covered with a day�s hard work of sweat. His worn wide brim hat shadowed his face from the harsh sun.
�Come here, Darlin�.� As the little girl pranced to his side, her Papa couldn�t help but smile to be taking a break for someone as cute as her. �Now I know I�d promise you that I�d take you and your brothers and sister to the carnival today, but I�m afraid there�s too much work to be done.� A tear of disappointment fell down the little girl�s face. �I�m terribly sorry, Darlin�.� He felt horrible as he wiped away a tear and asked, �How much longer is the carnival going to be in town?�
Sniffling, she answered, �Two days. Then they�ll be gone the mornin� after the �morrow.� Papa stood up and took his hat off to scratch his head in thought. Suddenly, the little girl walked over to the cider barrel with a face of determination. Placing a little bit of spit in her small hands, like she had seen Papa do earlier, she placed them on the barrel and began to push with all her strength. Only moving it half and inch, exhaustion overcomes the little girl fell to the ground. All Papa could do was laugh.
�What are you doing?� He chuckled as he comes over to his daughter to help her up.
�I want to help you with your work, Papa. That way, you could get done with your work faster. Then you can take everyone to the carnival!�
The little girl was about to go back to pushing again when Papa grabbed her and sat her down on top of the barrel. �Don�t you worry your pretty little head, Darlin�. I�ll do extra work today so we can have the whole day the �morrow to go to the carnival. Is that all right with you?�
The little girl giggled as she jumped off the cider barrel and ran. �Hey Darlin�! Where are you going?!� Papa cried in happiness. The little girl didn�t answer; she kept on running farther away. Confused, Papa began to walk. �Darlin�!� Quickly, he began to jog. The little girl was disappearing into the distance. Panic surged through Papa�s heart, knowing that something was wrong. Papa ran hard to try to catch up to his Darlin�. Soon, he found the little girl was no where in sight.
Quickly, he ran back to where the barrel still stood amongst the dust being blown in a sudden gust. Papa unhitched his horse from the cart and fumbled on. Driving his horse hard, the adrenaline rushed through his whole body as the sky was transforming into a dark and dreary sight. Black thunderheads surreptitiously floated in from all directions. A rumble roared as Papa was barely able to control the high speed his horse was running, because his hands were shaking so badly. He flew over the land, praying that he would find his daughter had run home and wouldn�t be caught in the sudden storm.
When he arrived at a worn-out log cabin by the side of a small brook, he threw himself off his horse as it was coming to a halt. Rushing into the door of the cabin, he almost tripped over one of his sons playing on the floor. In the kitchen, Papa�s wife, with her hair tightly pinned up and her apron full of grease and grim, noticed her husband�s nervousness.
�Papa, what�s the matter?� His wife soothingly questioned.
Frantic, Papa replied, �Where�s my little Darlin�? I was talking to her today up in the field. She was so polite to the workers and so good to as to make sure she wasn�t in my way while I worked. I hated to tell her that I might not be able to take her to the carnival today, like I�d promised. Yet, I told her that I�d make sure I�d take everybody tomorrow. Then she ran away from me and wouldn�t come back when I called her. Where is she?�
Tears running down her cheek, Papa�s wife grabbed Papa to embrace him. �Papa, your little Darlin� died last week. Don�t you remember? You took her to the carnival. You took her with everyone. We all had such a good time, but she was sick, Papa. Your little Darlin� was very sick. The doctor said there was something wrong with her heart. The doctor said she was born that way, even though we�d never known it. There was nothing we could do, Papa, remember?
�No,� Papa said in denial, his voice shaking. �I was talking to her today. She was fine.�
�You must�ve been dreaming, Papa. Certainly you must�ve been.� Papa�s wife begged.
�I must�ve been,� Papa glanced to the kitchen table and saw his Darlin�s bonnet.
