1 My name is Harry. I live in a small thatched cottage with my two younger sisters, Mary and Margaret, and my parents. Lord Percy owns our home and the estate on which our home sits. My family and I work for Lord Percy, planting and tending to his crops, and taking care of his livestock. We own a pig, two cows, and several chickens. Our cows graze on land nearby. Our pig lives in a small pen close to our cottage. My sisters named our pig Chancellor in honor of the Lord Chancellor of England. The Lord Chancellor is rich and very powerful. My father said that our pig looks a little like the Lord Chancellor. However, my father spoke in a hushed tone when he uttered those words.
2 When we are not working for Lord Percy, my sisters and I have our own chores to do. We tend to our own crops, feed our livestock, and gather wood for the fire. My sisters are often busy weaving, sewing, and baking, while I learn carpentry skills from my father. Everyone looks after the garden that grows right outside our cottage. In the garden we grow herbs such as fennel, dill, rosemary, cloves, and lemon thyme. My mother uses the herbs for flavoring our food and for medicines. When I injured my eye carving a longbow, she used fennel to ease the wound. When the plague struck, my mother made clove tea, using cloves from our garden. We all survived and my mother said it was because of her tea. Other families were not so fortunate.
3 During the spring, summer, and autumn months, we are usually busy working on the land. We scatter the seeds, tend to the crops as they grow, and help to harvest them when they are ready. There is little time to play, but whenever we can, we do. We have lots of friends and we all like to race each other, play hide and seek, and climb trees.
4 My entire family lives and sleeps in one room. A fire fueled by wood warms our house. My mother and sisters cook stews and soups on the fire. Whenever we can, we eat meat such as rabbit and deer. My mother roasts the meat on a spit in front of the fire. It is my job to turn the spit. The smell of the meat cooking makes my mouth water. Our cows provide us with milk to drink. But we also churn the milk into cream and we make cheese, too. Our chickens Ann, Eleanor, Mabel, and Gertrude provide us with eggs.
5 Holy days are very special. We go to church and we celebrate, or we fast. Our church has beautiful stained-glass windows that show stories from the Bible. When the sun shines through the colorful stained glass, the colors of the rainbow light up the church. It is truly a wonderful sight.
6 My father says that seven generations of my family have worked for Lord Percy or his ancestors. In each generation in our family, there has been a boy named Harry. That’s why my father calls me Harry the Seventh. I expect I will live here all my life, watching the seasons come and go. I am quite happy to do that. But sometimes I dream about becoming a knight and riding off to seek my fortune.
