LORI'S COURAGE
This story was the first assignment I completed for the Institute of Children's Literature. K.G.
"Lori! You scaredy-cat."
Lori McBroom, who was darting to the frame house, froze. "I am not a scaredy-cat. I just don't like storms."
She pointed at the darkening clouds. Since it was August, storms occurred frequently on the Oklahoma prairie.
"That means nothing," Jackie McBroom, her cousin, scoffed. "There's no lightning. You're just a fraidy-cat, like always. Now go get that stick and toss it to Scruffy." He glanced at her orange sneakers. "Your shoes are untied."
Lori glared at Jackie. She bent down to tie her sneakers, then fetched the stick and approached their collie. She stared at the grayish-green clouds and shuddered.
Ever since the death of her parents, Lori had lived on her aunt and uncle's farm.
She tossed the stick to Scruffy, who sprang and caught it. He brought it to her. "Good dog, Scruffy!" Lori stroked him and fed him a dog biscuit.
As Lori stood up, she froze. Toward the horizon, a black finger poked through the clouds to the earth. As it touched the ground, clouds of dust began to whirl around it. Lori shouted.
Jackie glared at her and shook his head. "What is it now?"
"Look! A tornado," Lori cried.
Whirling around, Jackie gaped at the approaching cyclone. The two raced to the house. "Mama, Mama," he shouted. "Tornado. Tornado!"
Aunt Wanda hurried out. She stared at the tornado and darted inside. The children followed, and raced upstairs. Lori rushed to her room. She located her box of dog biscuits, and stuffed her pockets with some. This'll calm Scruffy, she thought.
Jackie joined her in the hall and displayed his lasso. "We might need it, if the tornado gets here," he explained. "Come on! We got to get Scruffy."
As Lori and Jackie darted outside, Lori glanced at the tornado. "It's coming right at us!" she cried.
"It won't get us. We'll be in the barn," Jackie said. "There you are, Scruffy!"
Instead of following them, Scruffy froze against the McBroom station wagon and whined. "Scruffy, come on! You can't stay here!" Lori commanded.
"Jackie! Lori!" It was Uncle Elmer.
The children lifted Scruffy and hauled him to the red-brick barn. They saw Uncle Elmer await them at the door. "Hurry up!" he ordered.
The children dropped Scruffy. They raced inside. Leaving the door open, Uncle Elmer joined Aunt Wanda. Jackie and Lori squatted on the hay-covered ground, with Scruffy between them.
Trembling, Lori held onto Scruffy, who fidgeted and whined. "There, there, boy," Lori crooned. She fed him a dog biscuit, then hugged him tightly.
Soon, the tornado's roar was so loud that Lori feared she would go deaf. She clutched Scruffy and shivered.
Scruffy suddenly howled. As Lori loosened her grip to soothe him, he raced out of the barn. Lori and Jackie leaped to their feet, and raced after him.
"Scruffy! Come back here!" Lori screamed. The tornado's roar drowned out her voice.
As she darted outside after Jackie, a gust of wind tried to knock her off her feet. She clutched the barn door and looked around. The tornado was very close now! It loomed just ahead, like a giant monster bent on crushing them, Lori thought.
For an instant, Lori was torn between helping Scruffy and saving herself, till she saw Scruffy cower between the woodpile and the tractor. Next, she raced ahead of Jackie and called to Scruffy. As she grabbed hold of his collar, Jackie caught up. He slipped his lasso around Scruffy's neck and under his front legs. As he pulled the rope, Lori lured Scruffy along with the rest of the dog biscuits.
The tornado was now within a half-mile of the house. The children staggered against the wind, which tried to knock them down. The whole area grew blank. Lori choked on the thick dust, and the roar was so loud that her ears hurt. That tornado's going to kill us, she thought.
At that point, she glanced up and saw the barn door loom just ahead. She and Jackie shoved Scruffy into the barn. They were safe!
They squatted and held onto Scruffy so he wouldn't run out again. Meanwhile, the roar began to die down. As it did, Lori relaxed.
She finally looked up and glanced out the door. The clouds were breaking up.
The family hastened outside and relaxed. Their farm had been spared.
"It must have turned at the last minute," Uncle Elmer remarked. His eyes glistened.
Jackie looked at Lori with respect and admiration. "You sure were brave."
Lori grinned broadly. She was overjoyed that Jackie had called her brave. "Maybe now you'll quit calling me a scaredy-cat!"
THE END
©1994 by Kathryn D. Green
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