Summary “Meadow Harp”
When Collin Fenwick turned eleven, he became a round orphan. Shortly after the death of his mother, the father gets into a car accident. He was never saved. Care for the boy was undertaken by the cousins of Father Collina, Virena and Dolly Talbo. Virena is very rich: she is the mistress of a pharmacy, a ready-made laundry store, a gas station. She also owns a grocery store. While she was settling in society, she acquired a far from affectionate nature.
Dolly is the opposite of her sister – timid and quiet. Despite the fact that she is older than Virena, she looks like the same adoptive woman as Colleen. Of the servants of the sisters, only the Negro Catherine Creek. She grew up with the girls. All three made very good friends. Virena never invites to visit and does not arrange receptions – she is embarrassed by her family members. There are rumors in the city that Dolly is mentally retarded and burdens heavily on her sister’s shoulders. In fact, Dolly,
If you pass through the field with Indian grass, on the edge of the forest you will see a platan with a split barrel. Between its trunks and is a house, which is essentially a flooring of the boards. The outgrowths on the bark of the tree are used as stairs, and the nature itself created railing from the bosom of wild grapes. They hid food on a tree and each went their separate way to get more food. Having collected full bags, they met in the house, ate the chicken and drank tea with jam and cake, amused by fortune-telling on flowers. It seemed to them that this house is a kind of raft that carries them through the waves of the day. They merged with nature and wood, becoming part of its deciduous crown.
Once they considered how much profit the drug sale brings. Virena immediately pricked up –
When Collina turned sixteen, Virena returned from Chicago, accompanied by a certain Maurice Ritz – a doctor in a bright suit, with a blue complexion and burr eyes. In the city immediately began to gossip about the connection between Virena and the Chicago Jew. Shame, he is twenty years younger than her. On Sunday Maurice was invited to dinner. Dolly wanted to retire in the kitchen, but Virena forced her to be present at the table, saying that this dinner was given in her honor. Dolly dropped the crystal cup into the sauce, staining the doctor. At dinner, Virena said that she bought an old canning factory, and Maurice Ritz will see to it that Dolly’s medicines begin to be produced commercially. Then, Dolly suddenly rebelled: she categorically refuses to tell the recipe, saying that this is the only thing that she has her own. In the evening between the sisters for the first time a big quarrel took place: Virena accuses Dolly that she lived all her life as Christ in her bosom, while she, Virena, was hunchbacked in several works. Dolly mumbles that while Wyrena was at work, she and Katherine worked hard to equip the house, making it clean and cozy. Dolly says that if she is not welcome here, she will leave. “Where will you go!” – Virena mockingly answers. At night Dolly and Katherine, taking Collin with them, go into the house on a tree, taking with them only a warm blanket, food and their savings – forty-seven dollars. Dolly says that if she is not welcome here, she will leave. “Where will you go!” – Virena mockingly answers. At night Dolly and Katherine, taking Collin with them, go into the house on a tree, taking with them only a warm blanket, food and their savings – forty-seven dollars. Dolly says that if she is not welcome here, she will leave. “Where will you go!” – Virena mockingly answers. At night Dolly and Katherine, taking Collin with them, go into the house on a tree, taking with them only a warm blanket, food and their savings – forty-seven dollars.
Soon they are found by the hunter for proteins, Riley Henderson. When he was fifteen, he lost his parents – his father was killed in China, and his mother went crazy, learning that her husband was killed. Two younger sisters were left with Riley. The guardian tried to take away their inheritance from the children. Riley did not let him do this, having personally disposed of the household: he bought a car, on which every day he drove all the whores of the district, and kept the sisters in strictness. This outsider really enjoyed living on the tree.
Virena, learning that Dolly has disappeared, declares the fugitives wanted. She printed and hung hundreds of ads with their photos, while the fugitives were not found – very near the house. The sheriff, the family of the pastor, and the old judge Kul went to the house on the tree. They threatened to kill the fugitives by force if they did not voluntarily return home. But the judge unexpectedly intercedes for the inhabitants of the house – after all, no one owns this tree, and it means that the law is not violated. There is a scuffle, and in the end everyone returns with empty hands, and Kul remains in the house.
The old judge was already seventy. He was a Harvard graduate, lived in Europe for some time, got married, had a taste in clothes and invariably shoved the flower into the buttonhole. In the city he was not loved. When his wife fell ill, he had to leave the post of judge and go with her to Europe. There she died. Returning home, he was out of work. Both his sons were already married. Having conferred, they allowed the old man to live a month from one, a month from another. Now it became clear why Kulu liked it so much in the tree house…
Riley returns in the evening. He apologizes that he set fugitives against his own will. He brings food and tells what is happening in the city: Virena signed a warrant for their arrest, accusing them of kidnapping her property. Sheriff is going to take Kul under arrest for the fact that he violated the public order.
In the morning, the black woman Catherine sheriff puts in jail. Colleen fled, and Dolly and Kul hid in the foliage of the tree. The sheriff did not look very carefully for the fugitives, for he had a new business: Dr. Ritz robbed Viren, taking $ 12,700 from the safe. After the agitation was over, Virena fell ill with the disease.
On Saturday in the town a van with an inscription on the side is announced: “Give the baby Homer to lasso your soul for our Lord.” The van was owned by Sister Aida. Together with her, fifteen children came, all from different fathers. The large family has found a response among the townspeople, and Sister Aida has collected a huge amount of donations. Upon learning of this, Pastor Baster grew green with envy. He slandered Sister Virene about the fact that Sister Aida calls Dolly Talbot the devil’s offspring, forcing her to make a denunciation to the sheriff. Renovationists were expelled from the town, and the monk left the money of the children at home. Aida starts looking for Dolly to help them with the situation – the family did not have any money or gasoline, and they had nothing to eat.
Dolly was furious that the children had been deprived of food, under the cover of her name. She invites all the children and their mother to her house. While the children are eating, Dolly gives Aide all her savings: forty-seven dollars and Kula’s gold watch. At this moment they are surrounded by Wiiren, pastor and sheriff’s spies, armed to the teeth. The children climb onto a tree and from there fire at the pursuers with stones. While shooting, one of the subordinate sheriffs gets to Riley. Thunder rumbles and a thunderstorm begins.
In the rain Dolly and Wien are met. Virena sees how her sister changed: she was offered by Kul, she accuses her that the name of Talbo is tarnished by the fact that under this name imprison innocent people and deprive children of a piece of bread. In Virene, something breaks down inside, and she instantly grows old. Now she asks Dolly to go home: she does not want to die alone.
Life after the escape becomes somewhat different. The judge now lives in a boarding house, leaving his sons alone. Taking care of the bleeding Viren and Collin, Dolly herself became ill with pneumonia. Not yet fully recovered, she dies from a blow while she makes Collin’s costume for All Saints Day. A year later, Colleen leaves the city, before leaving, visiting a house on a tree. There, frozen in front of a field of Indian grass, he recalls Dolly’s words: “The harp is ringing grass, it collects all our stories, day and night she tells them, this harp, sounding on different voices…”.
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