Maura’s Story (or, The girl who hated baths)

Maura O’Leary was a very pretty girl. She had long red curls, bright blue eyes, and eight freckles on each side of her nose. Her parents were very proud of their beautiful daughter. When Maura was young, Mrs. O’Leary was very careful to keep her clean. She bathed Maura three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights. She washed Maura’s curls at every bath, and brushed them every day. She put Maura in clean clothes every morning, and in clean pajamas every night.

As Maura grew older, she began to do more things for herself. She would take her dog, Whiskers, for a walk around the block every morning. She could dress herself in the clothes her mother picked out for her. And one day, Mrs. O’Leary said to her, “Maura, I think you’re old enough to give yourself a bath.”

Unknown to her mother, Maura hated baths. She hated getting soap up her nose when her mother washed her face. Her eyes stung when her mother shampooed her red curls. And she was afraid that too many baths would wash off her freckles. So when her mother told her that she could give herself a bath, Maura thought, “I’ll never have to take a bath again!”

Mrs. O’Leary also told Maura, “I think you’re old enough to choose your clothes every morning and to brush your own hair.”

Maura thought this was great news. Her head hurt from the tangles in her hair that her mother brushed out. And now she could wear her favorite yellow shirt, red pants, red socks, and blue sneakers every day!

“You are also old enough to take more responsibility for Whiskers,” Mrs. O’Leary explained. “From now on, you are to give Whiskers a bath every week.”

For Whiskers, this was very good news indeed. He hated baths as much as Maura did. He hid whenever Mr. O’Leary pulled out the old wash tub and he had to be dragged into the tub once he was found. If Maura was going to be bathing him, he’d never have to take a bath again.

And so it went. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, Maura would put a few inches of water in the tub. She would splash her feet in it so it would sound like she was bathing. Then she would pour some water over her head so it looked like she had washed her hair. She would pull a comb through it once to get out the worst tangles. Then she would put on her favorite clothes and go to bed. As for Whiskers, Maura would dump a bucket of water on him so he looked as if she had given him a bath.

Now every morning as Maura walked Whiskers around the block, she met some of her neighbors walking their dogs. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had a poodle named Remy. Tommy Dorman had a spaniel called Red. And Janine Wilkins had two beagles. One was Spot and the other was Fido. Every morning she and her neighbors would meet and greet each other with a cheery “Good morning!”

After a few weeks of not bathing, Maura noticed something odd. Whiskers was looking pretty dirty. His white fur was now gray with dirt and he smelled pretty bad.

Whiskers noticed that Maura’s hair was now dark and stringy, and her skin was dirty. Her sixteen freckles could no longer be seen on her face. Her favorite clothes were stained and grungy, and she smelled pretty bad.

The neighbors noticed, too. When they met Mr. and Mrs. Brown with Remy, Mr. Brown would say “Good morning, Maura.” But when they passed each other, Mrs. Brown would quietly say to Mr. Brown, “Oh, what a dirty face!”

When they met Tommy Dorman out walking Red, he said “Good morning, Maura.” But when they passed each other, he could be heard muttering, “Whew! What a smell!”

And then along came Janine with Spot and Fido. Janine greeted them with “Good morning, Maura.” But when they passed each other, she whispered, “Ugh! What awful hair!”

This didn’t bother the pair one bit. Maura thought they were talking about Whiskers. Whiskers thought they were talking about Maura.

One day, Whiskers got sick. Mr. O’Leary took him to the veterinarian. Mrs. O’Leary sent a note along with them. The note said “Please give Whiskers a bath.”

When Whiskers came home, he looked entirely different. The veterinarian’s wife was a dog groomer, and not only had she washed Whiskers, but she had also treated him for fleas and ticks, clipped his toenails and brushed his fur until it gleamed. He looked great and smelled even better and he knew it.

But when Maura and Whiskers took their walk the next morning, Mrs. Brown still said to Mr. Brown, “Oh, what a dirty face!”

And Tommy still could be heard muttering, “Whew! What a smell!”

And Janine still whispered, “Ugh! What awful hair!”

Maura couldn’t understand it. Why Whiskers was as clean as clean could be! He looked great and smelled even better! What would make her neighbors say such a thing?

Just then Maura passed a furniture store. In the window was a wide mirror. Maura saw her reflection and gasped! Maura thought, “Who is that girl with the stringy dark hair and the dirty face? It couldn’t be me! Her clothes are so filthy, and she doesn’t have any freckles!”

But the girl in the reflection was walking Whiskers, so Maura realized that she and the reflection were the same girl. She began to cry, and ran home as fast as she could.

When she got home, she flew upstairs to the bathroom and filled the tub with water. Then she got in and scrubbed and scrubbed. It took three bathtubs full of water and a whole bar of soap before she could see her freckles again. She shampooed her hair three times before it returned to its natural red color. Mrs. O’Leary had to help Maura brush her hair free of tangles before it would curl properly. And though Mrs. O’Leary washed Maura’s favorite yellow shirt, red pants, red socks, and blue sneakers three times, neither the stains nor the smell came out completely and they had to be thrown away.

The next morning, Maura put on a red shirt, blue pants, green socks and her new white sneakers. She put Whiskers on his leash and they went for their walk.

When they met Mrs. Brown and Remy, Mr. Brown smiled and said, “Good morning, Maura.” And when they passed each other, Mrs. Brown told her, “You look lovely today!”

They met Tommy Dorman out walking Red, and he smiled and said “Good morning, Maura.” When they passed each other, he exclaimed, “You smell wonderful today!”

And then along came Janine with Spot and Fido. Janine smiled and greeted them with “Good morning, Maura.” And when they passed each other, she said, “Oh! What beautiful hair!”

Maura beamed, and Whiskers held his head up proudly. They knew they were being complimented.

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night you will find Maura in the bathtub. She scrubs herself up and shampoos her curls, then brushes her hair and puts on clean pajamas before going to bed. Every morning she puts on clean clothes and brushes her hair before she leaves for her walk with Whiskers. And every Saturday morning, she and Mr. O’Leary give Whiskers a bath.