Abigail Faulkner

Abigail Faulkner is the ten-year-old protagonist of "The Sacrifice." She lives with her family in Andover, Massachusetts, in the late seventeenth century. She is a high-spirited and opinionated little girl and is much like her mother. The story opens with Abigail locked in a stockade for committing the egregious crime of participating in a foot race. Girls were not allowed to run in the first place. More important, when Abigail ran she pulled her skirt up a few inches so she wouldn't trip. But it was a sin for a girl to pull her skirt up even if it was only enough to reveal her ankles.

Abby dreads going to the meetinghouse the next day following her punishment. Her grandfather is the minister and she is certain that he will center his sermon on her terrible sin. However, she is wrong and is surprised that Grandpappy instead...