Drop by Drop: ‘Uncle Richard’s New Year’s Dinner’

Kindness makes food taste better in L.M. Montgomery's short story. Dean Drobot/Shutterstock

With “Happy New Year” ringing in our ears, panic, anxiety, expectation, excitement, and determination flow through our minds in an instant. Despite these warring and conflicting feelings, we must face the new horizon with courage, kindness, and resolve. For though the new year is rather daunting, it can be full of surprises if we are only brave enough to face them.

In her short story, “Uncle Richard’s New Year’s Dinner,” L.M. Montgomery encourages us to have an adventurous and kind attitude as we head into the new year. While following Prissy Baker as she makes her Uncle Richard’s New Year’s dinner, Montgomery demonstrates that people can surprise us and kindness can do wonders.

A New Year

Prissy Baker walks into Oscar Miller’s store on New Year’s morning to buy some matches. While still in the store, her uncle, Richard Baker, arrives. However, he completely ignores her, for Uncle Richard and Prissy’s father, Irving Baker, have not been on speaking terms for nine years due to a quarrel over some land.

While Uncle Richard is in the store, Prissy hears him tell Mr. Miller that he is journeying down to Navarre to sell his pigs, and then go home to eat a New Year’s dinner. Uncle Richard tells Miller that, unfortunately, his housekeeper is away, so he will be eating a cold dinner.

Walking home, Prissy contemplates her day. She originally planned to spend a whole, lazy day reading a new book, but now a new inspiration hits her. She will sneak over to Uncle Richard’s house and cook him a nice, warm New Year’s dinner, then leave before he gets back from Navarre.

After brief consideration and planning, she hurries the half mile to her uncle’s house. Fortunately, she is able to sneak through the unfastened woodshed door into the house. Once inside, she stokes the fire and finds the dinner all ready for cooking.

Drop by Drop

Prissy gets the kitchen glowing and singing with the delicious smells and sights of a delightful meal, enjoying herself all the while. She makes a raisin pudding (one of Uncle Richard’s favorites), roasted pork, potatoes, cabbage, and turnips. She calculates that, by the time she finishes the meal, she can depart before her uncle finds her.

Alas! As she begins peppering the turnips, she hears a voice behind her: “Well, well, what does this mean?” Extremely frightened, Prissy turns and freezes as she stares at Uncle Richard in the doorway. She barely stammers out her reason for her intrusion: “I -- I -- came up to cook your dinner for you, Uncle Richard.”

In this sweet story, Montgomery demonstrates to us what courage, kindness, and determination can do. Courage allows us to fight fear, kindness can thaw a hard heart, and determination can carry us to the finish line.

When we practice these attributes and virtues, we will be surprised by the outcome. Just as Ray Bradbury says in “Fahrenheit 451”: “We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.”

As this New Year dawns and grows, let us cast aside fear, doubt, anxiety, and look forward with excited, courageous, kind, and determined eyes. For with these special gifts, we can uncover our special destinies drop by drop.

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