"Miss Gulch had a reason why she loved the red slippers so much. It was because they had belonged to Nina, and Nina... well, Nina was gone, and it was all because of Henry."
Almira Gulch is the richest woman in the county, after all, she owns half...
The reason why Almira didn't like the three farmhands, was that she hadn't known they were orphans until it was too late to do anything about it.
Hunk had only just turned eighteen when the Gales let the news slip that their farmhands had no family. They had kept it a relative secret for the very reason that Miss Gulch would have seized the chance to bring a case against them in a court of law. They had no idea how punishable the offense was of harboring orphans, but they didn't want to take the chance. As a result, Almira was furious she had missed such a chance.
As Miss Gulch rode up to the gate, she caught sight of Dorothy's auburn-colored head peeking out from a window of the house.
Dorothy had moved in with her aunt and uncle a year before the farm hands had arrived. That made her two years old when they came. Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke had unofficially adopted her as their little sister. That was another reason why Almira hated them all.
The farmhands at that moment were loitering about after putting the hogs in their pens. Hunk was skipping about preforming gravity-defying leaps that would have turned Emily pale to see. Zeke was doubled over laughing but Hickory stopped his friend's crazy dancing.
"Oh Hunk!" He reprimanded, "don't do those leaps again! Do you remember when you tried to jump from the loft and almost broke your leg! I still can't believe you didn't! One would think you was made of straw or somethin'. Mrs. Gale'll have your hide if she sees you doin' that again! She said you weren't t' do it anymore."
Hunk looked comically sulky but stopped his capering. "Well, how can I be a real hoofer iffen I can't practice?"
Zeke smiled and clapped him on the back. "Oh you'll be a dancer alright, just don't practice here. Hickory's right about Mrs. Gale. C'mon, we'd best get back t' work."
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They moved away, and Miss Gulch shook her head in disapproval. She leaned her bike against the fence and limped exaggeratedly through the gate.
"Mr. Gale! Mr. Gale!"
Henry came out from behind the barn with his hands in his pocket and a piece of hay dangling from his mouth.
Almira continued in an indignant tone. "I want to speak to you and your wife right away. It's about Dorothy!"
Henry took the hay from his mouth.
"Dorothy? Well, what had Dorothy done?"
"What has she done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!"
"You mean she bit you?"
This man was a dolt.
"No! Her dog!"
"Oh, she bit her dog, eh?"
"No!"
Almira couldn't deal with such a nincompoop any longer. "Where's your wife?" She asked, "I want to speak with you both inside!"
