Adeline- A Madeline Inspired (True) Story

When I was a kid, I loved the story of Madeline.   I’m sure that I asked my mother to read it to me hundreds of times, because I can still recite most of the book from memory as a thirty-something.

Since working at the Hope House, I have begun to remember this book more and more frequently.  The similarities between this book and the way these girls live always strike me as so interesting. 

Our girls do everything together.   They eat together, play together, take field trips together, and otherwise spend nearly every waking moment with one another in one way or another.  This has formed a sisterhood and a bond among the girls that I don’t think I can convey with mere words.  

Additionally, the girls themselves all remind me of Madeline herself in one way or another.  They love to explore, care for one another like sisters, and love putting on a good dramatic performance.  They are often fearless in the face of danger.  They are brave, strong, and continually show courage.  They are living, breathing Madelines. 

As you can imagine, the stories that come out of our little home are many.  There are water games, pranks, and silly plays the girls make up.  There are dances and movie nights and family nights with parents, but there are also the not fun nights.  There are those nights where something goes a little bit wrong, and those tend to be my favorite stories, because they are where the girls really shine.  Those moments are where the girls show the most wonderful care for one another, fierce strength, and the most inspiring courage.   

I was reflecting on the night a poisonous snake came into the house as well as an incident last week with a tooth that needed to be pulled, and once again I thought of Madeline.  As I thought about it, I wrote a Madeline inspired version of the tooth story with a little bit of the snake story included.   They didn’t happen on the same night, but I included them both for the sake of staying true to the Madeline story.  (Lion/Appendix = Snake/Loose Tooth)  I hope that if you loved the Madeline story, you will love this one.  And if you didn’t, I hope you still enjoy hearing about our real life Madeline adventure at the Hope House.

*Names have been changed.*

Adeline- A Hope House Story

In a house in Sucua,

Surrounded by vines

Lived 55 girls

In ten straight lines

 In ten straight lines they broke their bread

And rode to school

Then went to bed

 They smiled at the good

And frowned at the bad

They all thanked God for all they had

 They left the house

at half past nine

in ten straight lines

in rain or shine

 The smallest one was Adeline

She was not afraid of heights

She loved rivers, rain, and lights

 And to the snake who tried to hide

Adeline yelled “Go outside!!”

 And no one knew so well

How to frighten Ms. Michelle

Very late one Friday night

Ms. Michelle turned on her light and said,

“Something is not right!”

Little Adeline stood over the faucet

Ms. Michelle ran to the nurse’s closet

With gloves in hand and cotton wool

She said, “We’ve got a tooth to pull.”

All the girls gave a great sigh

And watched intent, with careful eyes

Adeline was quite a sight

But did not show one bit of fright

And as her tooth was pulled right out

This brave girl did not even shout

Adeline got a drink

And washed her mouth out in the sink

Then the girls did settle down,

And Adeline no longer frowned.

“Good night, little girls

Thank the Lord you are well!

And now go to sleep,”

Said Ms. Michelle

And she turned out the light

And closed the door

And that’s all there is

There isn’t any more.