Back to School with Betsy Read online

  Back to School with Betsy

  Carolyn Haywood

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  ...

  ...

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Contents

  1. The Other Side of the Garden Wall

  2. Thumpy and the Whitewash

  3. The Wedding Present

  4. How Mr. Kilpatrick Blew His Whistle

  5. Jimmy and Chummy

  6. The Tale of the Blackboard Picture

  7. Father's Funny Dream

  8. The Christmas Sleigh Ride

  9. Exactly What Betsy Wanted

  10. The Easter Chick

  Preview of Betsy and the Boys

  1. Pancakes and Cream Puffs

  About the Author

  Illustrated by the author

  AN ODYSSEY/HARCOURT YOUNG CLASSIC

  HARCOURT, INC.

  Orlando Austin New York San Diego Toronto London

  Copyright 1943 by Harcourt, Inc.

  Copyright renewed 1971 by Carolyn Haywood

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

  or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

  including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and

  retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work

  should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department,

  Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

  www.HarcourtBooks.com

  First Harcourt Young Classics edition 2004

  First Odyssey Classics edition 1990

  First published 1943

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Haywood, Carolyn, 1898–

  Back to school with Betsy/Carolyn Haywood,

  p. cm.

  "An Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classic."

  Sequel: Betsy and the boys.

  Sequel to: Betsy and Billy.

  Summary: Third grader Betsy and her friend Billy seem to be

  always getting into scrapes both inside and outside of school.

  [1. Schools—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H31496Bac 2004

  [Fic]—dc22 2003056560

  ISBN 0-15-205105-8 ISBN 0-15-205101-5 (pb)

  Printed in the United States of America

  A C E G H F D B

  MV CEGHFDB (pb)

  To my brother

  George

  Contents

  1. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GARDEN WALL [>]

  2. THUMPY AND THE WHITEWASH [>]

  3. THE WEDDING PRESENT [>]

  4. HOW MR. KILPATRICK BLEW HIS WHISTLE [>]

  5. JIMMY AND CHUMMY [>]

  6. THE TALE OF THE BLACKBOARD PICTURE [>]

  7. FATHER'S FUNNY DREAM [>]

  8. THE CHRISTMAS SLEIGH RIDE [>]

  9. EXACTLY WHAT BETSY WANTED [>]

  10. THE EASTER CHICK [>]

  1. The Other Side of the Garden Wall

  It was a warm evening in August. Betsy was sitting on the top of the wall that ran back of the garden. Mother's garden was lovely. There were roses and spotted lilies, asters and zinnias. The flower beds had neat borders of tiny fuzzy purple flowers.

  Betsy looked down on the other side of the wall. A long time ago there had been a garden there; long, long before Betsy had learned to climb up and sit on the wall. Now there was just a wild mass of weeds and brambles and tall grass. Betsy never climbed over the wall. She didn't like anything on the other side. She didn't like the stone house that stood in the midst of the weeds and the tall grass. No one had lived in the house as long as Betsy could remember.

  Sometimes Betsy would walk around the block and look up at the front of the house. It had a big porch that was covered with vines and cobwebs. Some of the windows had been broken and the chimney had fallen down. Betsy thought it was the spookiest house she had ever seen. She never told anyone, but when it was dark she was afraid to pass the house. Betsy didn't know exactly why she was afraid, but the house just made her feel creepy.

  As Betsy sat on the wall, she looked across the weeds and tall grass. She could see the back of the house. She didn't know which looked worse, the back of the house or the front of the house.

  Just then Betsy's mother came out into the garden. "Why, Betsy!" said Mother. "What are you looking so sober about?"

  "I was just thinking," replied Betsy. "Do you

  suppose that anyone will ever live in that old house, Mother?"

  "I wish someone would come to live in it," said Mother. "The 'For Sale' sign has been hanging on it as long as we have lived here."

  "Maybe if someone lived in it there would be a nice garden," said Betsy.

  "Wouldn't that be lovely?" replied Mother. "Then there would be flowers on both sides of the wall."

  "Well, I wouldn't want to live in it," said Betsy. "It's too dark and spooky."

  "Why, Betsy! How silly of you!" said Mother.

  Betsy got down off the wall and began to help Mother pull up some weeds.

  "When does school begin, Mother?" asked Betsy.

  "In a few weeks," replied Mother.

  "I wonder if Miss Grey will be my teacher again?" said Betsy. "I love Miss Grey."

  "Oh, Betsy!" cried Mother. "I forgot to tell you. I met Miss Grey on the street the other day. She told me that she's going to be married. She isn't going to teach anymore."

  Betsy straightened up and looked at Mother. "Miss Grey isn't going to be at school at all anymore?" she asked.

  "That's right," replied Mother.

  "You mean I won't see her anymore at all?" asked Betsy.

  Mother looked up from the flower bed. When she saw Betsy's troubled face, she said, "Why, Betsy darling! Of course you will see Miss Grey again."

  "No, I won't," said Betsy, beginning to cry. "I won't see Miss Grey anymore if she isn't going to be at school. I won't ever see her."

  "Yes, you will, dear," said Mother. "I'll invite her to tea."

  "But that won't be like school. In school I saw her every day," said Betsy.

  That night when Betsy went to bed she felt very unhappy. She didn't see why Miss Grey had to get married and spoil everything.

  The next morning Betsy's friend, Ellen, came to play at Betsy's house. Betsy told Ellen about Miss Grey.

  Ellen felt sorry too when she heard that Miss Grey wouldn't be at school.

  "I wish we could go to the wedding," said Ellen.

  "I don't want to go to any old wedding," said Betsy. "I think Miss Grey is just a meanie to get married."

  "I guess you never saw a wedding cake," said Ellen, "or you would want to go. You get a piece in a box to take home."

  Just then Billy Porter arrived. Billy was in the same room in school as Betsy and Ellen.

  "Hi!" shouted Billy. "What do you know?"

  "Plenty," said Betsy. "Miss Grey isn't coming back to school. She's getting married and we'll never see her again."

  "Married!" shouted Billy. "What does she want to get married for? She must be crazy!"

  "Ellen wants to go to the wedding," said Betsy.

  Billy looked at Ellen. "You must be crazy too," he said. "I'd like to see anybody drag me to a wedding."

  "I guess you've never been to a wedding," said Ellen. "You never got any wedding cake to take home in a box."

  "What did you say?" asked Billy.

  "I said, I guess you never got any wedding cake to take home in a box," replied Ellen.

  The children sat quietly thinking. After a whil
e Betsy said, "Maybe we ought to give Miss Grey a wedding present."

  "Well," said Billy, "maybe so."

  "I think it would be nice," said Ellen.

  "You're sure about the cake, aren't you, Ellen?" asked Billy.

  "Of course I'm sure," replied Ellen. "I've been to two weddings and I can show you the boxes the cake was in."

  "Well, I haven't any money to buy a wedding present," said Billy.

  "I haven't any money either," said Ellen.

  "And I just spent my last fifty cents for a birthday present for Father," said Betsy.

  "We'll all have to earn some money," said Billy.

  "Yes," said Betsy. "There is no use deciding on a present until we see how much money we have to spend."

  "I can earn some if I deliver orders for Mr. Watson, the grocer," said Billy.

  "I can earn some minding Mrs. Plummer's twins," said Ellen.

  "Well," said Betsy, "I'll have to find a way to earn some too."

  When Billy and Ellen left, Betsy went into the garden. She climbed up on the garden wall. She sat wondering how she could earn some money for Miss Grey's wedding present.

  Soon she saw a tall man coming through the weeds and the grass on the other side of the wall. Betsy was so surprised she nearly fell off the wall. She had never seen anyone there before.

  The man smiled at Betsy and said, "Hello, there! I am Mr. Jackson. What's your name?"

  "My name is Betsy," replied Betsy.

  "Well, Betsy, I'm glad to meet you because you are going to be my nearest neighbor. I've just bought this house," said Mr. Jackson, waving his hand toward the old house.

  "You have?" said Betsy, in great surprise. "And will there be a garden on the other side of the wall?"

  "Yes, indeed," said Mr. Jackson. "Someday there will be a garden but just now I have to fix up the house. It's a sight."

  "It certainly is," said Betsy.

  "And now," said Mr. Jackson, "I'll tell you why I came over to speak to you. Do you happen to have an older brother?"

  "No," replied Betsy, "but I have a baby sister."

  Mr. Jackson laughed. "I'm afraid your baby sister won't be able to help me out," he said.

  "You see," he went on, "there will be workmen in the house and I would like to find a boy who would be willing to go over to the house every day, after the workmen are gone. I want him to make sure that the front door and the back door have been locked. Do you know any boy around here who would do that for me? I'll pay him five cents a day."

  Betsy looked up at the old house that gave her the creeps. Five cents a day, she thought. How she would love to make five cents a day! But would she have the courage to go up to the doors of the old house? She wondered about that.

  Mr. Jackson stood waiting for Betsy to answer.

  After thinking a few moments longer, Betsy said, "Do you think I could do it?"

  "Why, of course you could do it," said Mr. Jackson.

  "All right," said Betsy. "I'll do it. When do you want me to begin?"

  "Tomorrow," said Mr. Jackson. "The workmen leave at five o'clock. You try the doors about quarter past five. And thank you very much indeed. I'll be back next week to pay you."

  "You're welcome," said Betsy, as Mr. Jackson walked away.

  Betsy scrambled down off the wall and rushed into the house to find Mother.

  "Mother! Mother!" she cried. "What do you think! Somebody has bought the old house! His name is Mr. Jackson and there are going to be workmen fixing the house and Mr. Jackson is going to pay me five cents a day for seeing that the workmen leave the front door and the back door locked." Betsy ran out of breath when she got this far.

  "Well, that is good news," said Mother.

  "And maybe I'll earn enough money to buy Miss Grey's wedding present," said Betsy.

  The next day Betsy could hear the hammers and saws of the workmen. She could see men on the roof and a man fixing the chimney. Betsy thought the house looked more cheerful now that the workmen were in it. But at five o'clock, when the workmen left, it looked just as gloomy as ever. Betsy felt that her courage was running right out of her fingers and toes. By quarter past five she wondered how she could ever have enough courage to go over and try the doors.

  The thought came to her to ask Mother to do it. But that wouldn't be earning the five cents, thought Betsy. And I don't want Mother to think that I'm a fraidie-cat.

  Betsy climbed up on the wall. Then she scrambled down the other side. The tall grass came up to her waist. Brambles scratched her bare legs. Soon she reached the old stone path that led to the back of the house. The stones were almost covered with the grass that had grown up between them. Suddenly a little snake wriggled its way across the path. Betsy jumped. She didn't like snakes.

  Betsy ran the rest of the way to the house. She ran up the steps that led to the back door. She tried the knob. The door was locked. Then she ran around to the front of the house. She went up the old broken-down steps to the porch. She noticed that the vines had been cut away and the cobwebs were gone. She took hold of the doorknob. The front door was locked too.

  Betsy noticed that the windows on each side of the door were clean and new. She peeked through. She could see into the hall. The carpenters had begun to build new stairs. The hall was full of clean new boards. Betsy went to another window. It too had new glass. She looked inside. She guessed this was the living room. New bricks were piled beside the fireplace. Just then, the rays of the setting sun came through the back window. They filled the room with a golden light.

  Why, it isn't a creepy house at all, thought Betsy. It's a nice house.

  Betsy walked across the porch and down the steps. As she turned the corner of the house, she saw Mother looking over the garden wall. She waved her hand to Betsy. Betsy waved too. She forgot all about the little snake as she ran along the stone path and through the tangled weeds and grass.

  "Mother!" shouted Betsy. "It isn't a creepy house at all! There wasn't anything to be afraid of!"

  Mother laughed as she helped Betsy down off

  the wall. "Is it going to be nice?" asked Mother.

  "It's going to be lovely," replied Betsy. "Do you suppose there is a Mrs. Jackson, too?"

  "I don't know," said Mother. "We'll have to wait and see."

  That night, after Mother heard Betsy say her prayers, Betsy said, "Mother, were you standing at the garden wall all the time?"

  "Yes, Betsy," replied Mother, "all the time."

  "And were you watching me all the time?" asked Betsy.

  "Yes, dear," said Mother, "all the time."

  Betsy thought for a moment. Then she said, "That's just the way God watches me, isn't it?"

  Mother leaned over and kissed her little girl. "Yes, my precious, that is just the way God watches you."

  2. Thumpy and the Whitewash

  Every day at quarter past five Betsy climbed over the garden wall to see if Mr. Jackson's doors were locked. Once she found the front door unlocked, but she knew how to drop the latch and lock it. Betsy wished that she could go in and look all through the house, but she thought it would be more polite to wait until Mr. Jackson invited her.

  One evening Mr. Jackson returned. A week had gone by and he had come back to see how the work on the house was coming along. Betsy, Ellen, and Billy were playing in Betsy's garden. When Mr. Jackson saw Betsy, he paid her thirty-five cents and asked her if she would take care of the doors for another week. Betsy was delighted, for that meant she would have seventy cents by the end of the next week.

  Betsy introduced her friends to Mr. Jackson. Mr. Jackson shook hands with Billy and Ellen. Then he said, "How do you think the house looks now, Betsy?"

  "I think it looks nice," replied Betsy. "Of course, I've only seen the outside and peeks through the windows."

  "Would you like to see the inside?" asked Mr. Jackson.

  "Yes, I would," answered Betsy.

  "Well, come along, all of you," said Mr. Jackson.

  The children climb
ed over the garden wall and walked beside big, tall Mr. Jackson. Thumpy, Betsy's cocker spaniel, trotted at their heels.

  "Is there a Mrs. Jackson, too?" asked Betsy.

  "Not yet," replied Mr. Jackson, "but there will be soon. I'm going to be married next month."

  "Oh!" said Betsy. "We are all going to a wedding next month. Our teacher is going to be married. I'm going to use the money I am earning to buy her a wedding present. Billy and Ellen and I are going to buy it together."

  "Well, that's great!" said Mr. Jackson. "I'm sure it will be a lovely present."

  "I wish she wasn't going to get married, though," said Betsy; "because I won't see her anymore."

  "But Ellen says you get wedding cake to take home in a box," said Billy.

  "That's right," said Mr. Jackson.

  Mr. Jackson took the children all through the house. Betsy thought it was beautiful. All of the woodwork had been painted and the walls were being covered with pretty paper. Thumpy sniffed here, there, and everywhere.

  Mr. Jackson even took them up to the attic. The children thought the attic stairs were wonderful. They didn't know anyone else who could pull attic stairs right out of the ceiling. Their eyes were very wide as they watched Mr. Jackson pull the rope and bring the stairs down to the floor, just like a big ladder. At the same time a trapdoor opened in the ceiling.

  The children climbed up the ladder and went through the trapdoor. Thumpy scampered up after them. Thumpy thought he smelled a mouse. He sniffed all around the floor, close to the walls. Soon he came upon a little hole in the wall. It smelled very mousy indeed. Thumpy lay down with his nose touching the hole.

  "This is the biggest attic I ever saw," said Billy.

  "Yes," said Mr. Jackson, "someday we will have rooms up here too."

  In a few minutes, Mr. Jackson and the children trooped down the attic stairs.

  Mr. Jackson pulled the rope. The attic stairs moved up and the trapdoor closed.

  "You would have a hard time getting out of the attic if anyone ever shut you in, wouldn't you?" said Billy.

  "You certainly would," replied Mr. Jackson.