MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

By Rosa Worsley

Chapter 1.

The very first memory I have is of what the scenery was, out of all the windows, and doors of my home. How could anyone forget it. Because it just consisted of green meadows, and sheep. I remember later on the shape of the meadows the hedges or fences that surrounded them, the streams shallow or deep; the gates and the stiles, some meadows were flat, most were flat, but one was a bank, and one side finished up in a little wood. It was just the place for children to grow up in. Ideal - we took it all for granted of course, we had never seen anything different. my sister and I loved it in all innocence as we were.

By every bedside was a warm mat made of a sheeps coat. It seemed so right that as there were all those sheep wandering in the meadows out side, that there should be sheep rugs in our bedrooms indoors, you see I was the eighth child in the family. So, mother and father had over the years been able to make these nice white rugs.

When I was nearly two, however, there was an event which was not so simple and pleasant as the homestead. But for any one as young as me, quite disturbing; my Godmother who I knew ever so well, took me to stay with her. It was quite near, about three meadows away, and she told me that while I was with her, mother was going to get us a baby; I thought I was going to feel just as happy as I always had been, but I wasn't. I was pleased to go; But then after the first two days I fretted a lot and each day hoped I could go back. So instead of staying for a fortnight as I was supposed to, it was decided I should go home; as I might be homesick. But alas! When I returned it proved to be more serious, I had measles, such a mystery how I caught it. It was even suggested I got it from a dolly that hadn't been taken out of a drawer since my god-mothers little sister had played with it since she bad measles ten years before. It was bad enough that I had measles at almost two and the baby had it too. But I could just about come through. But it was very dangerous for our new baby (a little brother). At this early time of his life; He didn't die, but it left him a delicate child and when I used to hear mother so often say it was the measles that left him a poor little chap. I felt it was all my fault. All my life I have tried to make up to him. He was named Fredrick Peter.

The first year of his life I saw very little of him. Life with my sister and I continued pleasant and happy, Alice was her name, and while I was staying with my Godmother. She went to stay with our Aunt Alice and didn't catch this deadly measles, because Aunt Alice had her longer until I had got better. Alice was a dainty little girl, with big brown eyes, and flaxen hair, as fine as the down on a young duckling. We knew about ducklings because when they were first hatched and a bit weak on their little webbed feet mother would have them on a big tray on the kitchen table and Alice and I would watch them, and if they stepped over the edge of the tray we would put them back on the tray, or they would fall off the table. We thought we were helping our mother, in a big way especially as we put bread crumbs, mashed boiled egg and chopped onion on the tray for them to peck up.

Sometimes they were baby chicks instead, after that mother would take them away in an old hard hat covered in a piece of old blanket, and put them under the wings of the mother hen. It was always a hen never a mother duck; my sister Alice was good with the live things not nervous, like me. Especially little kittens, one bed time she wanted to take a little kitten to bed, we slept in the same bed, and she wanted me to have one too. But I said I only wanted my rag doll, I was afraid of the live things, any how when mother came to tuck us up, and kiss us goodnight, she told us we mustn't take the kittens away from their mothers at night, and after that we were not to have cats upstairs, only down stairs.

All our animals and chickens were so tame especially one of our hens. It surprised us all. It must have flown up on the front porch, and walked in the open window which opened into the dressing room, where their was clean clothes on shelves, it laid its egg, and then flew away again. Not one of us saw her do it. But there was the egg. To Prove It!!

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