Nothing Scares Big Sis UFLI Foundations Lesson 110

My big sis is the best sis ever. She was way up high on a tall tree branch. One arm hung down, swinging back and forth. She hummed a happy song, like she did not have one worry. I grabbed the low branch with both hands and my legs kicked at the sky. 'How do you do that?' I yelled up at her.

Big Sis stood right up on that branch, like it was a path and not a long way up in the sky. She held her toy plane up and squinted at it. 'Watch this,' she said. 'Best launch ever!' I watched from the bottom of the tree, and I said to myself, one day I will be just like her.

The plane went up, up, up... then sideways... then way, way down to the ground. Crash! It hit the dirt and red bits went flying all around. And right in the middle of the mess sat our dog, Rex. He looked dizzy and dazed, like he did not know what hit him.

Rex was angry. He jumped up and barked his biggest, loudest bark, the kind that says, I will remember this! I grabbed the tree tighter and my knees went shaky. But Big Sis just leaned on the trunk with her arms crossed. 'Hush, Rex,' she said. 'It did not hurt you.' Nothing scares Big Sis.

'I need wood and glue and string,' Big Sis said. She got on her knees and dug in the dirt with a little spade. I sat next to her and watched. I did not know what to dig for. Behind us, Rex found a rope and jumped up high, shaking it like crazy. No one ever tells Rex to stop.

On the way back, Big Sis stopped to pat Rex on the head. 'No hard feelings, right?' Rex wagged his tail happily, so hard his back end shook. I held on to Big Sis's arm, but Rex's mouth was very big, very wet, and very close to my face. 'He likes you,' Big Sis said. 'He likes eating me,' I whispered.

Then Big Sis caught her foot on a root and... whoops! Down she went, and because I was holding her arm, down I went too. We rolled in the dirt while Rex stood there watching us like we were the silliest kids ever. But Big Sis did not cry, not even one tiny bit.

She got right back up, brushed off her dress, and picked up the broken plane. She squinted at the cracked wing and tapped it twice. 'We can fix this,' she said. 'Wood, glue, good as new.' I had a scratch on my elbow and a leaf in my ear, and I wanted to cry just a little bit. But if Big Sis was not crying, then I was not crying.

Mom was not home yet, and my tummy was rumbling like a stormy sky. 'I will cook,' Big Sis said, pulling a big book off the shelf and slapping it open on the counter. 'Mom's stew. So easy.' I sat at my little table and watched her, thinking that Big Sis can do it all: climb trees, fix planes, cook stew, even fight a dragon.

I put one foot on the stool and peeked over the counter. Then I saw something that could not be real: Big Sis had wet eyes, and drops rolled down her face! My mouth fell open. My big sis, the bravest kid ever, was crying?

It made no sense, so I put my thinking finger on my chin. Big Sis did not cry when she was way up on that high branch. Big Sis did not cry when Rex barked his noisiest bark. Big Sis did not even cry when she fell flat on her face in the dirt! So why would Big Sis cry now?

I crept closer... closer... closer. Big Sis looked down, grinned, and held up half an onion. 'Onions,' she said with a shrug. I laughed so hard I almost fell off the stool. Big Sis does not cry, not if she fell off a hill, not if a dragon bit her toe, not even if the moon came crashing down. Big Sis never cries!