Rachel Field's Hitty, her first hundred years

When I was young one of the stories I loved best was Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years. As it turned out, Hitty was also a favorite of my friend and colleague, Susan Jeffers. Susan wanted to illustrate it with bright, new, colorful pictures. She asked me if I could shorten the story for a new audience. What I have done with Hitty is much like weeding a beautiful garden. I have cut the length, as I would prune a rose, but the interesting part came as Hitty was about to make her way south just before the Civil War. I said to myself, "What if Ruth had indeed packed Hitty up and sent her behind Confederate lines?" You will have to read the book to find out the answer. - Note to the reader.