all your fault.” But as she spoke these words, three burrs blew onto Peter’s pant leg.
“You started it,” Peter said, not caring that two more burrs stuck onto Celeste.
“What does it matter? The path is so thick with burr bushes, we can’t go any farther.”
“We can keep on.”
“Just because you are thick-skinned—”
“What do you mean?” Peter said. “Just because I don’t cry at the smallest bit of pain?”
Celeste was already feeling sorry for herself. When he said this, she stopped. She couldn’t sit because her backside was covered with burrs, so she just stood, arms and legs apart, and tried to think what she should do. “Look at us —” she said. “We’re both covered with burrs. We have to find a way to get them off. Will any of our gifts help us?”
“We weren’t given tweezers,” Peter said.
Celeste tried to pull the burrs off herself, but they clung as ifthey were fastened on with glue.
Peter started to walk on, but Celeste refused. “I’m not going any farther until we find how to get these off. They are not just pinching me, they are digging in like they have teeth.” She pulled up her sleeve and showed Peter the marks the burrs had made.
He felt a twinge of sympathy. “Let’s look in the guidebook. Maybe it talks about a remedy for burrs.”
They searched the guidebook and came to the passage Lady Sophia had read to them about speaking to encourage other. Then they read, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another.”
Peter closed the book. He thought about how free he had felt when his chains of debt had been cut with the knife of grace.
Finally Celeste said, “I’m sorry, Peter. I shouldn’t have been cross.” As soon as she said this, a burr fell off him.
“Oh, I was wrong too,” he said, and a burr fell off her.
“Look, that’s how to do it,” Celeste said. “Every time I speak a kind word, a burr comes off you. You are such a good walker, strong and steadfast.” Another fistful dropped from Peter.
“And you remind me to enjoy the world, not just work,” Peter said, and a handful detached from Celeste. “It’s amazing. The power of words—I had no idea.”
They laughed and turned it into a game to see who could say the nicest words and get the burrs off the other person first. Finally they managed to free themselves.
“Whew. That was unpleasant. Let’s not do that again,” Celeste said.
“And it’s not very efficient either. We wasted an entire morning.”
“But we learned how to avoid getting burrs.”
Later that day, they came upon a couple covered with burrs. “So you got trapped in the burr patch too,” Peter said.
“Yes, sticky business,” the husband said.
“But you still are covered with burrs,” Celeste said. “How did you get out?”
“It wasn’t easy,” the wife said. “We finally just closed our eyes and pushed ahead.”
“Didn’t it hurt?” Celeste said.
“Of course,” the husband said. He turned to Peter and whispered, “Women are so soft sometimes. My wife complained at first, but I told her she just had to buck up and get through it.”
Peter noticed streaks of blood coming through the woman’s sleeves. “But she’s bleeding.”
“Just a flesh wound. On this journey, you have to take a little bit of pain. Can’t worry about every little burr that sticks to you.”
“But they’re still on you. Your backs are covered with them. What happens when you lie down?”
“We sleep on our stomachs.”
“Isn’t that rather uncomfortable?”
“Better than feeling the sharp pain when we lie on our backs.”
“You know,” Peter said, “if you spoke kind words to each other, they would fall off. That’s how we removed our burrs.”
The man shook his head. “I
“You started it,” Peter said, not caring that two more burrs stuck onto Celeste.
“What does it matter? The path is so thick with burr bushes, we can’t go any farther.”
“We can keep on.”
“Just because you are thick-skinned—”
“What do you mean?” Peter said. “Just because I don’t cry at the smallest bit of pain?”
Celeste was already feeling sorry for herself. When he said this, she stopped. She couldn’t sit because her backside was covered with burrs, so she just stood, arms and legs apart, and tried to think what she should do. “Look at us —” she said. “We’re both covered with burrs. We have to find a way to get them off. Will any of our gifts help us?”
“We weren’t given tweezers,” Peter said.
Celeste tried to pull the burrs off herself, but they clung as ifthey were fastened on with glue.
Peter started to walk on, but Celeste refused. “I’m not going any farther until we find how to get these off. They are not just pinching me, they are digging in like they have teeth.” She pulled up her sleeve and showed Peter the marks the burrs had made.
He felt a twinge of sympathy. “Let’s look in the guidebook. Maybe it talks about a remedy for burrs.”
They searched the guidebook and came to the passage Lady Sophia had read to them about speaking to encourage other. Then they read, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another.”
Peter closed the book. He thought about how free he had felt when his chains of debt had been cut with the knife of grace.
Finally Celeste said, “I’m sorry, Peter. I shouldn’t have been cross.” As soon as she said this, a burr fell off him.
“Oh, I was wrong too,” he said, and a burr fell off her.
“Look, that’s how to do it,” Celeste said. “Every time I speak a kind word, a burr comes off you. You are such a good walker, strong and steadfast.” Another fistful dropped from Peter.
“And you remind me to enjoy the world, not just work,” Peter said, and a handful detached from Celeste. “It’s amazing. The power of words—I had no idea.”
They laughed and turned it into a game to see who could say the nicest words and get the burrs off the other person first. Finally they managed to free themselves.
“Whew. That was unpleasant. Let’s not do that again,” Celeste said.
“And it’s not very efficient either. We wasted an entire morning.”
“But we learned how to avoid getting burrs.”
Later that day, they came upon a couple covered with burrs. “So you got trapped in the burr patch too,” Peter said.
“Yes, sticky business,” the husband said.
“But you still are covered with burrs,” Celeste said. “How did you get out?”
“It wasn’t easy,” the wife said. “We finally just closed our eyes and pushed ahead.”
“Didn’t it hurt?” Celeste said.
“Of course,” the husband said. He turned to Peter and whispered, “Women are so soft sometimes. My wife complained at first, but I told her she just had to buck up and get through it.”
Peter noticed streaks of blood coming through the woman’s sleeves. “But she’s bleeding.”
“Just a flesh wound. On this journey, you have to take a little bit of pain. Can’t worry about every little burr that sticks to you.”
“But they’re still on you. Your backs are covered with them. What happens when you lie down?”
“We sleep on our stomachs.”
“Isn’t that rather uncomfortable?”
“Better than feeling the sharp pain when we lie on our backs.”
“You know,” Peter said, “if you spoke kind words to each other, they would fall off. That’s how we removed our burrs.”
The man shook his head. “I
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