Follow the Wind [antikvár]

Like most of Dad's and Mother's ideas, the Family Council was basically sound and, although it verged sometimes on the hysterical, brought results. Family purchasing committees, duly elected, bought the food, clothes, furniture, and athletic equipment. A utilities committee levied one-cent fines on wasters of water and electricity. A projects committee saw that work was completed as scheduled. Allowances were decided by the council, which also meted out rewards and punishment. One purchasing committee found a large department store which gave us wholesale rates on everything from underwear to baseball gloves. Another bought canned goods di- rectly from a manufacturer, in truck-load lots. It was the Council, too, which worked out the system of submitting bids for unusual jobs to be done. When Lill was eight, she submitted a bid of forty-seven cents to paint a long, high fence in the backyard. Of course it was the lowest bid, and she got the job. "She's too young to try to paint the fence all by herself," Mother told Dad. "Don't let her do it." "Nonsense," said Dad. "She's got to learn the value of money and keep agreements. Let her alone." Lill, who was saving for a pair of roller skates and wanted the money, kept insisting she could do it.