The story of old Mrs. Brubeck and How She Looked For Trouble and Where She Found Him.

Old Mrs. Brubeck was a nervous person. She stacked her plates and hung her cups in rows the better to keep her eye out for trouble: Who can tell what might come leaping out from behind anything?
Old Mrs. Brubeck looked out of the door “Walk, Dearheart, don’t run, you’ll fall and hurt yourself,” she called to her grandbaby, little Beatrix, a nice stout child with a brown braid down the middle of her back. Then Mrs. Brubeck went to bed. She spread the sheet and smoothed the eiderdown because you never know what might be inside a fold or underneath a lump. And it came to Mrs. Brubeck : What if the ground lumps suddenly underfoot and little Beatrix trips and hurts herself? Old Mrs. Brubeck ran to the window and saw Beatrix perfectly alright, digging a hole with a stick. Then it came to Mrs. Brubeck. Haven’t I known trouble all my life? Don’t I know the moment I look for a bump on the ground tripping up my darling, she might be rolling down a hole! And Mrs. Brubeck ran to the door but the grandbaby was perfectly fine, truing a somersault. Old Mrs. Brubeck was walking back in the door when it came to her: What if trouble tricked me keeping me looking for a bump or a hole in the ground, and all the time he’s creeping up behind my darling to push her over? Old Mrs. Brubeck quickly truned and ran out of the door and saw Beatrix sitting in the grass and eating a strawberry and quite all right.

The old woman was turning to go when came to her: May be that very moment while I looked for him in a bump or a hole or creeping behind my darling, trouble was getting ready to drop on her head? “But I know a trick or two!” said Mrs. Brubeck. She made as if to go in the door, humming a song and turned suddenly and Beatrix was perfectly fine, standing on her head. “Just in the nick of time” said the old woman. “You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to fool Grandmother Brubeck! I know what I’m going to do”, said she “I am going to hide myself behind the door, and I’m going to keep my eye out for trouble from a hole or a bump or creeping up from behind or dropping down on Beatrix. Trouble won’t have a moment in which he will come bothering my darling!” By evening the poor woman was so tired she said, “There’s got to be an end! I’m too old for trouble. Another minute and I’m going after him!” She took the grandbaby by the hand and said, “Come Dearheart,” and led her in the door. She gave her bread and milk for supper. Then she stacked on its hook and when the grandbaby was safe asleep, Old Mrs. Brubeck set out for trouble “I’m going to find you too”, she said “After the life you’ve led me, if it’s the last thing I do”

Old Mrs. Brubeck looked in the corner behind the stove, under the cupboard and in every fold of every curtain. “Don’t I know your ways?” she said “The moment I come looking where you are , you’ve come off to where I have finished being. The truth is I’m worn out and I’m going to bed.”, said Mrs. Brubeck and that is when she saw him lying right under her eiderdown and she said “Isn’t that just like you to be where I’m not looking the moment I’ve forgotten all about you! Is this where you have been all this while, waiting for me?” She gave him a long look and she said “Nasty aren’t you! Why are you worse than I ever thought? But its blessed relief knowing where you are, after the chase you’ve led me all life long. Now, where’d you think you are going? Oh no you don’t!” said Mrs. Brubeck, and she climbed in to the bed and laid herself right next to trouble. She put her arm around him and she said, “So long as I’ve got you, I know that you can’t be troubling my darling and I’m going to keep my eye on you as long as I live” She pulled the blanket to cover the both of them. But Mrs. Brubeck was tired; her eyes began to close. No sooner had her arm loosened from around his neck than trouble snuck out of that bed and left the house and did’nt bother Mrs. Brubeck ever again.
By Lore Segal