A story from Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Betsey Fretz was a dreamy, wishful girl of ten. Her days were filled with the routine tasks that belonged to a girl in 1803. She and her five lively sisters helped their mother around the house and their father in the flax fields.

Secure in the love and guidance of her godly parents, Betsey knew that she was blessed. All the same, when she compared her life with others, it was hard to be content. Betsey had many wishes, but her greatest longing was to have a new dress of her very own, one that had not been passed down to her from an older sister.

But dresses began as tiny flaxseeds sown into the fresh April soil. Months of labor must pass before the women can even begin to spin the silky, soft flax fibers into linen thread. New dresses were hard-won treasures, made only for those who needed them.

Contents

• The Family of Martin and Anna (Kratz) Fretz

• 1. The New Plow
• 2. The Limekiln
• 3. Betsey and the Harrow
• 4. Straining the Milk
• 5. An Unexpected Trip
• 6. Grandfather's Funeral
• 7. Sunday at Deep Run
• 8. Trouble in the Flax Field
• 9. One Summer Day
• 10. Sharing Gladly
• 11. The New Songbook
• 12. Chickens in the Meadow
• 13. Treasure in the Ditch
• 14. Face Problems
• 15. Nancy's Mishap
• 16. Betsey Knows How
• 17. One Snowy Day
• 18. The Little Bundle
• 19. An Afternoon With Father
• 20. The Day at Uncle Isaac's
• 21. Bleaching the Thread
• 22. Aunt Elizabeth's Example
• 23. Indigo Blue
• 24. The New Clothes
• 25. Betsey's Answer

• Afterword