Describe the story’s resolution. Add a comment to explain how the resolution of

Question

the plot affects the characters. [Setting: A pioneer kitchen in the 1820s. Mother is kneading bread dough while two children
play on the floor by the fire. A baby is in a cradle.]
(2) [John comes bursting into the room from outside and slams the door behind him.]
(3) John: Oh, Mother, Father has been hurt! A log fell on his leg when he was trying to help the
horse get it out of the mud, and he can’t get up. We need your help!
(4) [The children stand up suddenly and run to their mother. They cry in dismay. Mother closes
her eyes, presses her hands against the counter, and takes a deep breath.]
(5) Mother: May heaven help us! Mary, you cover this bread dough with a damp cloth so it
doesn’t ruin. Then you mind the baby. And no getting distracted! [She takes the girl’s face in
her hands and looks in her eyes.] Can you be a big girl? I need you to help.
(6) Mary: Yes, Mother. I’ll mind the baby.
(7) Mother: [pulling off her apron as she speaks] And you, Jacob, you mind your sister.
Promise now!
(8) Jacob: Yes, Mother.
(9) [Mother pulls on her boots and coat, which the older boy, John, is holding open for her.]
(10) Mother: What tools can we take from the barn to help, John?
(11) John: [as he closes the door behind them] We already have all the tools by the creek, in the
wagon.
(12) [Mother pops her head in one last time, surveying the children, who look frightened, and
have not moved.]
(13) Mother: Be good, children. We will be back soon.
Prissy Baker was in Oscar Miller’s store New Year’s morning, buying matches—for New
Year’s was not kept as a business holiday in Quincy—when her uncle, Richard Baker, came
in. He did not look at Prissy, nor did she wish him a happy New Year’s—she would not have
dared. Uncle Richard had not been on speaking terms with her or her father, his only
brother, for eight years.
(2) While in the store, Prissy overhears her uncle Richard explain that he is on his way to a
neighboring town, Navarre, and that he has no one to make his New Year’s dinner. Prissy
decides to go to his house, make a surprise dinner for him, and leave before he returns. She
acts on her plan, cooking a dinner at his house. As she prepares to dish it out, she suddenly
hears a voice behind her.
(3) “Well, well, what does this mean?”
(4) Prissy whirled around as if she had been shot, and there stood Uncle Richard in the
woodshed door!
(5) Poor Prissy! She could not have looked or felt more guilty if Uncle Richard had caught her
robbing his desk. She did not drop the turnips for a wonder; but she was too confused to set
them down, so she stood there holding them, her face crimson, her heart thumping, and a
horrible choking in her throat.
(6) “I— I— came up to cook your dinner for you, Uncle Richard,” she stammered. “I heard you
say—in the store—that Mrs. Janeway had gone home and that you had nobody to cook your
New Year’s dinner for you. So I thought I’d come and do it, but I meant to slip away before
you came home.”
(7) Poor Prissy felt that she would never get to the end of her explanation. Would Uncle Richard
be angry? Would he order her from the house?
GRADE 7 • UNIT 3 TEST
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(8) “It was very kind of you,” said Uncle Richard dryly. “It’s a wonder your father let you come.”
(9) “Father was not home, but I am sure he would not have prevented me if he had been. Father
has no hard feelings against you, Uncle Richard.”
(10) “Humph!” said Uncle Richard. “Well, since you’ve cooked the dinner you must stop and help
me eat it. It smells good, I must say. Mrs. Janeway always burns pork when she roasts it. Sit
down, Prissy. I’m hungry.”
(11) They sat down. Prissy felt quite giddy and breathless, and could hardly eat for excitement;
but Uncle Richard had evidently brought home a good appetite from Navarre, and he did full
justice to his New Year’s dinner. He talked to Prissy too, quite kindly and politely, and when
the meal was over he said slowly:
(12) “I’m much obliged to you, Prissy, and I don’t mind owning to you that I’m sorry for my share
in the quarrel, and have wanted for a long time to be friends with your father again, but I was
too ashamed and proud to make the first advance. You can tell him so for me, if you like.
And if he’s willing to let bygones be bygones, tell him I’d like him to come up here with you
tonight when he gets home and spend the evening with me.”
(13) “Oh, he will come, I know!” cried Prissy joyfully. “He has felt so badly about not being friendly
with you, Uncle Richard. I’m as glad as can be.”
(14) Prissy ran impulsively around the table and kissed Uncle Richard. He looked up at his tall,
girlish niece with a smile of pleasure.
(15) “You’re a good girl, Prissy, and a kind-hearted one too, or you’d never have come up here to
cook a dinner for a crabbed old uncle who deserved to eat cold dinners for his stubbornness.
It made me cross today when folks wished me a happy New Year. It seemed like mockery
when I hadn’t a soul belonging to me to make it happy. But it has brought me happiness
already, and I believe it will be a happy year all the way through.”
(16) “Indeed it will!” laughed Prissy. “I’m so happy now I could sing. I believe it was an
inspiration—my idea of coming up here to cook your dinner for you.”
(17) “You must promise to come and cook my New Year’s dinner for me every New Year we live
near enough together,” said Uncle Richard.
(18) And Prissy promised

Answer 1

The resolution of the story centers around a newfound reconciliation between Prissy Baker and her Uncle Richard, as well as the restoration of familial bonds after years of estrangement. When Prissy impulsively decides to cook dinner for her uncle, she confronts her fears of rejection head-on, only to find him unexpectedly receptive to her gesture. As they share the meal, Uncle Richard opens up about his regrets regarding the quarrel with Prissy's father and expresses a desire to mend their relationship. The story concludes with Prissy agreeing to continue her annual tradition of cooking for her uncle, symbolizing a hopeful new beginning for their family.

This resolution profoundly affects both characters: for Prissy, it instills a sense of joy and purpose, as she feels she has successfully bridged a gap that had caused her family pain. It also empowers her, as she navigates a potentially awkward situation with bravery and kindness. For Uncle Richard, the resolution brings a sense of relief and renewed happiness, as he reflects on his past stubbornness and recognizes the importance of family connections. His willingness to extend an olive branch and the warmth he shows in inviting Prissy's father over suggests that he has turned a corner in his relationship with them. Overall, the resolution highlights themes of forgiveness, the importance of family, and the capacity for change, ultimately leading to a more unified and supportive family dynamic.