A/N: Hello! This is a story I wrote in, let me see, fifth grade originally. Then I revised it a little in eighth grade. Hope you enjoy!
A Full Basket
As the sun peeped out from behind the hills, I stopped folding blankets for a moment. From the roof of our house, I watched the light spilling out over the buildings, making the tan bricks shine with a golden glow. A cool breeze was blowing, and I slipped my white head covering off, letting it settle on the shoulders of my robe. People were starting to move, women and girls off to fetch water, other girls like me folding bedding on the rooftops. Shopkeepers were preparing to open their stalls; soon they would be shouting extravagant claims with magnificent gestures. Men and boys were heading out to care for animals or tend crops. Fishermen were returning with the night's catch, and now the odor mingled with the fresh smell of the morning. It was no longer quiet. The sound of conversations, goats, carts, and hurried footsteps blended together in a hum. I sighed; everything seemed perfect this morning as if the day held some delightful secret that it was just bursting to tell.
'Hadassah!' I jumped as my sister's harsh voice sent pieces of my daydream flying in all directions. "Yes?" I answered. "Put your head covering on! Do you want all Bethsaida staring at you?" Leah paused, then added, "Finish rolling up the mats. I'll send Jacob up to help you carry them down."
Quickly, I finished my task, and handed five year old Jacob an armful of blankets as he poked his curly head up over the top of the ladder. I climbed down, and helped Jacob put them away, while he chatted in his small voice. As soon as we were finished, I went toward the back room to help with the breakfast preparations. When I entered, Mother turned and smiled at me. Without a word, she handed me the water pitcher. Hurrying along the busy streets towards the well, I kicked up a little dust with my feet, and instead of watching the crowd, became a part of it.
When I reached the well, only a few other girls were there. I was out of breath, so I didn't talk to anyone, until all the girls started giggling. I turned, and saw one of my best friends, Isaac, standing there, a water jar in tow. His face was very red, and I knew why. It was a girl's not a boy's job to draw water. If a boy had to draw water, it was a great embarrassment.
"Peace be with you" I greeted him. Isaac smiled and answered, "And with you, Hadassah." I lowered my voice and asked, "What did you do now?" Isaac looked embarrassed, but answered anyway. "Father caught me daydreaming again when I was supposed to be feeding the goats. So I had to fetch the water."
"So the morning's secret caught you too." I said, tying the strong ropes to the handles of my water pitcher. "Yes", said Isaac, watching me lower the jar into the well. "But I know what the secret is." He continued, all of the sudden looking very superior.
"Well?" I asked.
"Well what?" Isaac wanted to know.
"What is the secret?!" I said feeling a bit frustrated with him.
"Oh!" Isaac exclaimed, "Well, I heard my parents talking last night, and the Master is going to be at the Sea of Galilee today."
I looked up, nearly dropping the water pitcher in excitement and surprise. "Oh Isaac!" I breathed, "Maybe we could see Him!"
Isaac shrugged. Looking up at the sky he said, "Maybe, but you had better get going." I nodded, and hurried toward home.
Leah met me at the door, a scowl on her pretty face. "We've been waiting for you." She said crossly, pulling me and the water jar inside. The rest of the family was seated at the low table. Leah and I took our seats. Father said the blessing, and we began to pass the food around.
Father looked at me and said sternly, "You were late again today Hadassah." I blushed, and answered timidly, "Yes sir", all my hopes of going to see Jesus fading away. Father and Mother exchanged looks, then Father smiled. My hopes rose again. "Your mother and I heard that the Master will be near the Sea of Galilee today." Father said. He continued, "Isaac and his parents are going, and your mother and I have decided to let you go with them." I jumped up, and hugged them both.
"Thank you!" I cried. Mother laughed. "Sit down, little monkey! You need to eat first!" I sat down thinking how wonderful it was going to be to see Jesus that day. Maybe He would perform a miracle. There had been stories of how He had made sick people well, and the blind see. I wondered if He was the Messiah. Father and his friends had debated such things before. One of Father's friends said that the things Jesus said were against the teachings of the Law and Moses. I wanted so badly to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but how could He be if what He taught went against the Law? "Just when the day seemed to be perfect." I grumbled to my self.
"Hadassah!" Leah's voice sent my thoughts flying everywhere for the second time that morning. Leah looked at me, and laughed gently. "For someone who should be excited, you're awfully quiet, little monkey." She said, using Mother's nickname for me. "Here," she continued, "you need to finish clearing the table so that I can fix you some dinner." She left the room, leaving me with my thoughts, and the dirty dishes.
I cleared the earthenware dishes quickly, looking every few minutes out the window. Finally, there was a knock on the door. I rushed to answer it. There was Isaac, with his lopsided grin, and twinkling eyes. "Mother and father have gone on ahead. We are supposed to catch up with them." he said.
"Mother," I called, "Isaac is here, I'm going." I was about to run out without even waiting for an answer when I felt a tug on my arm. It was Leah.
"Why anyone would want to spend a whole day in the hot sun is beyond me." I was about to answer back when she shoved a basket in my hands. I looked up. "What's this?"
"Some dinner." she said shortly, "I thought it might come in handy." As I looked into her face, I suddenly realized that she really wanted to go too, but Mother could never spare her. "I'll tell you everything." I promised, trying not to notice the tear that had slipped down her cheek.
Isaac looked at the basket and asked, "What have you got there?"
"Why some food of course!, I replied.
"Oh, that's a good idea!" Isaac exclaimed, "I would have thought of it."
I laughed. "Of course not!"
"That's a boy for you!" Leah snipped with mock scorn.
"You'd better hurry if you are going to catch up!" Mother called from inside.
Soon we were on the street, dodging people, animals, and carts. Dust flew everywhere. We kept walking till we were out of the city. The grass looked greener than it had from the roof this morning. The pink flax blossoms and red myrtle flowers poked their heads up, as if to say, "Good Morning!" Olive trees spread their branches, and the sky looked bluer than ever. Isaac and I took a peek in the basket. Five barley loaves and two fishes. I sighed. Couldn't have Leah been more creative and put in a fig or honey cake? Isaac noticed my sigh. "Well, we'll probably be grateful for it later." I could tell from the look on his face that he thought the same thing I did.
Soon, we caught up with the crowd going to see Jesus. There was noise again, and the unpleasant sight of sick people. The crowd walked until it came to a mountainside, near the lake. Thirteen men sat on the hillside, and the one in the middle must have been Jesus, because He stood, and greeted the crowd. First, the sick people were brought to Him, and He healed them. It was amazing seeing people who were sick suddenly get up healthy. Then Jesus began to teach. Hearing Him teaching was like taking a cool drink on a hot day. Isaac and I just sat there until we realized that it was late, and we had not found his parents.
We pushed our way to the front to look for them, but we were stopped by a young man. He turned to Isaac and asked what was in the basket. When Isaac answered, "Five loaves and some fish." the man motioned us to follow him. My heart thumped wildly as he lead us right up to Jesus! All Isaac and I could do was stare. The young man said to Jesus, "Here is a boy with five small loaves, and two fish, but how far will that go among so many?"
Jesus looked at Isaac, and asked him, "May I have your basket?" Isaac hesitated, then glanced at me. I nodded, and Isaac handed the basket over. Jesus smiled and thanked him. Somehow I mustered up the courage to speak.
"Please sir," I squeaked, "may we have the basket back when you are done." Jesus turned to me.
"Of course you may." He said.
Jesus' eyes were so gentle and kind, but something in His glance made me tremble inside. He turned to His followers and gave them instructions to tell the people to sit down. Isaac and I went back to where we had been, and sat down with the rest of the people. Jesus took a loaf and a fish in His hands, and blessed the food. Then He started to break them. He passed them out to His disciples, and they handed them out to the people. But the funny thing was, that even though were so little, Jesus kept breaking the food into pieces, and the disciples kept handing out the pieces. It kept going on until everyone was full. If only Leah could have seen it!
Jesus turned to His disciples and told them to pick up the leftovers, and put them in baskets. Isaac pointed to the sky. "We had better get going. We don't want to be walking in the dark." he said.
I nodded, to amazed to speak. As we were walking away, we heard someone running behind us. We turned, and there was the young man who had taken us to Jesus. In his hands was Leah's basket.
"The Master said to make sure you got this." he said handing it to Isaac. Then he left as quickly as he had come. Isaac opened the basket. It was filled with pieces of bread and fish. We looked at each other.
"Nobody will believe us." said Isaac. But I knew what he was really thinking. How were they going to explain that basket…
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Did you like it? Please let me know! - J.S.