From 8-year old Hilda’s diary:

Today I tried to be brave but I couldn’t be. Sancha told me that whenever I walk past a Chinese laundry I must shut my mouth tight or one of the owners would throw a bucket of soap suds into it. Grandmother and I passed one this afternoon and I wanted to keep my mouth wide open, even if I wasn’t talking just to show how brave I was but I just couldn’t do it. I snapped it shut right in the middle of talking. Grandmother asked me what was the matter but I was afraid to tell her.

As we have seen in earlier posts, Hilda’s grandfather tries to teach her to respect and not fear people who are different from her. This is a learning process, and unfortunately not all the people who guide her share her grandfather’s world view. Happily, Sancha is no longer in Hilda’s life.