An interesting
story about how a boy goes to school with new mittens his mother wants him to
protect. To do so, he cannot join in a snowball fight with his friends with
parents less scrupulous about clothing and the like. The boy ultimately gives
in, gets in trouble with his mother, is made to eat alone, attempts to run
away, but only makes it to their cold shed. He then gathers his forces to leave
for California—wherever that might be. He gets to the street, trudges up in one
direction, and see the butcher’s shop.
Here is a
Winesburg, Ohio, moment: when the boy enters the store, he is lucky that the
store owner, having been a boy himself, sees something is wrong. He listens to
young Horace and takes him back home, where all is forgiven since losing the
son was far worse than the mitten issue. In thanks, and significant for the
times, the mother calls the shopkeeper by his last name, and says, “Won’t you
have a glass of our root beer, Mr. Stickney? We make it ourselves.” Their form
of champagne is shared; the neighbor feeling has worked; the world, or at least
that little piece of it, is back on course. Especially appealing to those who
liked O. Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief.”
Download and start listening now!