My friend Phyllis and I usually walked home from school together. I lived up the road about two miles from school. Phyllis lived about one-half mile closer to school than I did and occasionally I stopped at her house before I went on home. Although she was about two years older than me, we had a lot in common. I was about ten years old at that time and Phyllis was about twelve. "Come on slowpoke, I'm freezing!" I want you you to stop at my house" said Phyllis. I said, "Alright, I'm coming."

This was an afternoon in early November, nearing winter time. I was lingering behind enjoying the sun that near wintering time feels better than it would again all year. I pulled my thin coat closer around me and hastened my step. As we entered her house, the warmth of the fire in the fireplace really felt good. The oil lamps on the mantle cast a soft light over the fire that was glowing in the fireplace.

"Make yourself comfortable", Phyllis said, as she went to the back room of the house. I sat down in a big old easy chair in front of the fireplace to wait for her return. In a few minutes she returned with a tiny snow white puppy. "She's yours" she said. At first I didn't know what to say. She was so nice to me, but I knew if I brought a female puppy home my parents would be very upset. I told her since it was a female I knew my parents wouldn't allow me to have it. Mama had already said last week, "No more dogs!" "Please take it she said or my Dad is going to drown it in the river because it is a girl." That was a cruel thing to do, but that's what some people did with their unwanted animals back then. We never had to do that because we kept our female dogs confined during the times they might get with puppies. There were no vets for at least one hundred miles and people couldn't afford them anyway.

Phyllis said, "I'll give you a good warm winter coat and a set of pretty dishes for your Mama." The fact that the poor little puppy might be drowned was already working on me, and the thought of a warm coat was enticing. Maybe if I gave the dishes to Mama before I told her about the puppy, she wouldn't be so mad. I knew that I could win Daddy over.

So I finally said yes, and Phyllis with tears in our eyes gave the puppy to me. I put the coat on and put the puppy in my pocket, that's how small she was. I looked at her, and I said to Phyllis, "She looks like a little ball of snow and that's what I'll name her!" "The name suits her" said Phyllis. I pondered in my mind all the rest of the way home how I was going to tell Mama about the puppy. What would she say, and would she let me keep "Snowball?" Daddy wouldn't be a problem, I could always win him over but Mama would be hard to persuade.

—Detta Davis

Story continued in two weeks...