Reuben and the Fire - Hardcover

P. Buckley Moss (Pat) first met the Amish in 1965 when she and her family moved to Waynesboro in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Admiring the family values and work ethic of her new neighbors, Pat began to include the Amish in her paintings. Many of her paintings and etchings of both the Amish and the Old Order Mennonites are displayed at the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, which is open to the public throughout the year.

Reuben knew that Annie was bossy. Oldest sisters often are. Reuben reached for the reins Annie held in her hands as they rounded the corner near Eli Lapp's mailbox. It was just the little pony cart they were in, after all, not the big buggy. There were groceries at their feet, Starshine trotting up ahead, evening coming. "What gives?" Annie snapped, holding the leather lines tightly in her hand. "Datt let's me drive, Annie," he insisted. "Oh, sure." That's what she always said. "Oh, sure." But when one of those ugly green buses tooted its horn and zipped around them with its awful smell, Reuben knew Annie would never give in. Being the only boy with five sisters was just one of Reuben's problems. Trying to sneak across the fields to visit his friends, Ben and Sam, was tricky too. "I'm going to help Mary in the garden," Annie said. "You carry the groceries in and then tie up the pony." "She has a name, Annie." "Oh, sure." That's when Reuben got the idea. But he couldn't let Annie know. Dawdi came over from his porch on the other side of the house. He was walking better and he was talking with excitement. "Hopshine has babies," his grandfather smiled. Reuben couldn't believe it and took off like a hurricane for the old chicken house, Dawdi following as fast as he could. Hopshine was Reuben's favorite rabbit. Reuben gave all of his animals names ending in "shine." His sisters laughed about the names, but he knew they were just jealous. There were eight little baby rabbits. Dawdi loved little animals as much as he did. "We're heading over to visit Gid Beiler," Datt was saying, leaning out from the buggy toward the chicken house door. "How is Gid?" Dawdi asked. Reuben's father shrugged. "He's feeling sick, I guess. Reuben, you get to bed on time if we're not back. We have to get the hay in tomorrow, if it's not too green. Reuben nodded. Datt was ready to lift the reins when Mamm leaned over. "How many this time, Reuben?" "Eight." "Eight's a lot of shining," she smiled. Dawdi laughed as the buggy wheeled away and out the lane. Reuben watched Dawdi walk back to the house. He saw Annie and Mary in the garden, but they were talking like big sisters always do. Quickly, he slipped along the barn to where Starshine was tied. Instead of putting her back in the barn, he was going to let her take him over to Ben and Sam. Unless Annie saw. He sneaked around the back of the barn with Starshine, closing the fence, talking to the pony softly so she'd stay quiet. But just as he got to the back lane, his little sister Sadie stepped from the cornfield, smiling. "I thought you were going to try something sneaky, little brother." She liked acting like she was older than Reuben. "Please don't tell Annie." Too late. "Annie!" Sadie shouted. Reuben threw the reins to his little sister and took off, running down the lane. That would teach her not to tattle. [continued]