The Richest Heart

Chapter 54

Autumn was beginning to fade, but it was still beautiful. The sky above was deep blue and the Tamarack trees looked golden in the sunshine. Emma closed her eyes and listened to the wind in the trees. It sounded like the ocean waves, and for a moment, she thought back on the time she had spent in the city. Her mind had been full of so many dreams about fancy things and fine living then. But, today, she was happy to be a country girl. She had worked hard, and spread love to all of the people around her. She opened her eyes as she heard Storm give an angry sort of sound.

He was nodding his head up and down in a moody way. The straps and bit that kept him bound to a little cart had put him in a bad mood. Feeling very brave, the girl caught his reins in her hand and petted his cheek comfortingly.

"I don't think you like being a work horse, do you, Storm?" she laughed. The stallion hadn't had to pull a cart very often. But that evening, Peter had stopped at the old tool shed near Shawn's house to gather some of the furs he had worked hard to tan. He was far from being finished with his adventure in the woods. He could trap all winter long.

But, he had enough now to take some to Mrs. Hillenbrand. He had made a nice, fluffy pile of them in the back of the wagon.

"That should make me some money!" he said cheerfully, jumping up into the driver's seat and taking the reins from his friend.

"What will you buy with it?" Emma asked. She climbed into the back of the wagon, and lay down on the soft bed of furs, gazing up into the sky as Storm pulled the two forward. Peter could think of a dozen things. But he especially wanted a violin so he could practice the beautiful songs that Shawn had been teaching him.

"Who knows, maybe someday I'll be a real trapper," the boy said. "Then I'd probably be rich!" Emma laughed.

"But then you'd have to walk for miles and miles and you'd starve in the wilderness!"

"I wouldn't," Peter replied. "You can't starve when you're trapping! You'd have plenty of food."

"You'd freeze then!" the girl insisted good-naturedly. Then, building her own dreams for her friend she said, "You're going to stay right here and be a carpenter just like your father." Peter smiled.

"That's probably true. But I can't get rich that way!" he joked. Emiline fingered one of the silky pelts she was lying on and thought for a while. Once the only thing she had ever wanted was to be rich, but she had seen that money didn't always make people happy or nice.

In the city there were all kinds of luxuries, but none of them had filled her heart with the peace she felt right now.

"I don't think I want to be rich," she stated at last. "Not that I want to be poor!" she added quickly. "But I think I'll be happy on my farm forever. I have everything I need there. The cows give me milk and the chickens give me eggs. I'll never go hungry!"

"Then you're richer than some," Peter remarked. "Richer than I was last year." The boy couldn't count the times he had gone without a hearty meal in the past. That was a time that he usually liked to forget. It had been full of unhappiness and worries. Emma looked at him with pity and nodded her head.

"Yes, but you have plenty now!" she mentioned. "That makes you rich too." They laughed about that idea, knowing that no one else would see their simple lives that way. But, even though it was true, they both had a feeling that there was something important that they were forgetting.

The two had a nice ride together. They took their time, making their way into town. When they reached the clothes shop, Emiline had fun looking at the lovely gowns that the seamstress had sewn. Meanwhile, Peter showed Mrs. Hillenbrand the pile of furs and the old woman was studying them in delight.