Calico Illustrated Classics: The Red Badge of Courage

Calico Illustrated Classics: The Red Badge of Courage — page 5
about was too much One night as he lay in bed he knew his fate He got up and went to see his mother Ma I’m going to enlist Henry don’t be a fool his mother replied She then covered her face with her quilt and refused to continue the conversation Nevertheless the next morning Henry had gone into town and enlisted in a company that was forming When he returned home his mother was milking a cow while four others stood waiting Ma I’ve enlisted There was a short silence The Lord’s will be done Henry she finally said before moving on to the next cow As he stood in the doorway with his soldier’s clothes on his back he had seen two tears leaving their trails on his mother’s cheeks He had prepared a beautiful scene for the day he left but her words destroyed those plans 8