Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow

"You sold my clothes?" Solly's voice came out in a strangled squeak. "They wasn't strictly your clothes, Son," said Pa. "You was a babby. They was too big for you." "Still! They were in my basket. My clothes. My basket. Wasn't there anything else there? Any sort of clue to my identity? A note? An embroidered hankie? Didn't you even make inquiries?" "No, Son. Brutally speakin', you was just plain dumped," said his father. "And we took you in, out of the kindness of our 'earts." "And because you needed the basket." "Well, yes, there was that." "There must have been something," insisted Solly. "It was snowing. Wasn't I wrapped in a shawl or anything?" "Nope. Just the cloth." "Cloth? What cloth?" "That bit of old cloth you drag around with you. It was newer then, o' course." "I was wrapped in my crumb-catching cloth?" "Aye." Well, well. It was all coming out now. Solly snatched up his cloth, which had fallen to the floor. He stood turning it over in his hands. Just a plain, blank square, fraying a little on one edge, with a couple of stubborn grease stains that wouldn't come out. No clues there. "How old was I at the time?" he demanded. "Well, we don't know, do we?" sniffed his mother. "I do know you was teethin', because you had the spoon in yer mouth " She stopped and clapped her hand to her mouth again. "Spoon?" said Solly. "What spoon?" "Now see," muttered Pa Scubbins to his wife. "That's another can o' worms you've opened up." "Oh, he might as well know it all," cried Ma Scubbins. She raised her sodden face to Solly. "There was a spoon, Son. A fancy silver spoon. You was suckin' on it." I can't believe this, thought Solly. Revelation after revelation! Doorstep, snow, basket, fancy clothes - and now a spoon? ________ THE SILVER SPOON OF SOLOMON SNOW by Kaye Umansky. Copyright (c) 2005 by Kaye Umansky. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA.Umansky, Kaye is the author of 'Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow ', published 2005 under ISBN 9780763627928 and ISBN 0763627925.