Sarah, Plain and Tall

Caleb Whiting and his sister, Anna Whiting, sit near the fire with their dog Lottie as Anna kneads bread. Caleb asks Anna why their father does not sing anymore. Anna explains that Papa quit singing after their mother died. Caleb asks Anna to recount the events of his birth. She obliges but withholds certain details, like how noisy and smelly he was. Anna’s mother’s last words to her were, “Isn’t he beautiful?” (5), but Anna was so distracted by her annoyance with Caleb that she did not say goodnight to her. Anna’s mother died the morning after Caleb’s birth, and it took three days for Anna to decide to love him. Caleb asks about his mother’s singing and says, “Maybe […] if you remember the songs, then I might remember her too” (6).

Papa returns home from visiting town. After dinner, Caleb blurts out his disappointment that his father does not sing anymore. Papa says he has forgotten the words but hopes to remember them. He then announces that he placed an ad in the newspaper for a new wife and has received an answer from a woman named