Betsy and Billy Read online

  Betsy and Billy

  Carolyn Haywood

  * * *

  BOOKS BY CAROLYN HAYWOOD

  "B" Is for Betsy

  Betsy and Billy

  Back to School with Betsy

  Betsy and the Boys

  Here's a Penny

  Penny and Peter

  Primrose Day

  Two and Two Are Four

  * * *

  Betsy and Billy

  Carolyn Haywood

  Illustrated by the author

  AN ODYSSEY/HARCOURT YOUNG CLASSIC

  HARCOURT, INC.

  Orlando Austin New York San Diego Toronto London

  * * *

  Copyright 1941 by Harcourt, Inc.

  Copyright renewed 1969 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 1941

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Haywood, Carolyn, 1898-

  Betsy and Billy/Carolyn Haywood,

  p. cm.

  "An Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classic."

  Sequel: Back to school with Betsy.

  Sequel to: "B" is for Betsy.

  Summary: Betsy, Billy, and their friends enjoy and learn

  from the many activities in the second grade.

  [1. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H31496Be 2004

  [Fic]—dc22 2003056565

  ISBN 0-15-205104-X ISBN 0-15-205100-7 (pb)

  Printed in the United States of America

  A C E G H F D B

  MV C E C H F D B (pb)

  * * *

  To my mother

  who taught and loved little children

  this book is lovingly dedicated

  * * *

  CONTENTS

  1. BETSY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL [>]

  2. WHAT HAPPENED TO BILLY'S TOOTH [>]

  3. THE HALLOWEEN PARTY [>]

  4. BREAD AND MOLASSES [>]

  5. THE PRESENT THAT BETSY WANTED [>]

  6. CHRISTMAS STAR [>]

  7. VALENTINE HEARTS [>]

  8. THUMPY GOES FOR A RIDE [>]

  9. MAY DAY AND MOTHER GOOSE [>]

  10. THE WISHING WELL [>]

  1. Betsy Goes Back to School

  It was September and vacation days were almost over. Soon it would be time for Betsy to go back to school. She had tried on all of her school dresses that she had worn the year before. Betsy had grown so tall that Mother had to let down all of the hems.

  One day Mother was busy hanging the skirt of one of Betsy's dresses. Betsy was standing on a chair. She turned very slowly while Mother put the pins in the skirt.

  "Betsy, what are you looking so sober about?" asked Mother.

  "I was thinking," replied Betsy.

  "And what were you thinking about?" asked Mother.

  "I was thinking about school," answered Betsy. "Do you know, Mother, I don't know whether I am going to like being in the second grade."

  "Of course you are going to like being in the second grade," said Mother.

  "But, Mother, Miss Grey won't be there," said Betsy. "Miss Grey was such a nice teacher. I don't think I am going to like my new teacher. Her name is Miss Little. She isn't pretty like Miss Grey."

  "Well, dear, everyone can't be as pretty as Miss Grey," said Mother.

  "But Miss Little wears black dresses all the time, Mother," said Betsy. "I used to see her last year and she always had on a black dress. I don't like black dresses. Miss Grey wears pretty dresses, pink ones and green ones and red ones, and once she had a dress that had flowers all over it."

  "It has been a long time since school closed," said Mother; "perhaps Miss Little has bought herself some new clothes."

  "Well, I hope so," said Betsy.

  "Run along now," said Mother, as she helped Betsy down from the chair.

  Betsy ran along, but she kept thinking about Miss Little. She began to feel sorry that she had been promoted. Perhaps I could go back to the first grade, she thought. But she knew that she wouldn't like that either because she wouldn't know anyone in the first grade. All of her friends were in the second grade. There was her best friend, Ellen, and there was Billy Porter. Betsy chuckled when she thought of Billy. He was such a funny little boy, always calling out from his seat and getting into trouble. Then there were Kenny Roberts and Betty Jane and Mary Lou and the twins, Richard and Henry. She would be so glad to see them all. She would even be glad to see Christopher who sometimes pulled her braids. Betsy could see that she could never give up being in the second grade. She would have to be in Miss Little's room and put up with the black dresses. Perhaps she hasn't any money to buy pretty dresses, thought Betsy. And then she began to feel very sorry for Miss Little because she didn't have any money to buy pretty dresses.

  One afternoon, Mother cleaned out her closets. She had decided to give away all of her old dresses that she did not wear any longer. At the end of the afternoon she had a big pile of dresses on the bed. She decided to give them to Milly, the laundress. When Betsy saw the pile of dresses, she said, "Mother, may I have some of these dresses to play 'Dress-up Lady'?"

  "I think you may," said Mother.

  "Oh, Mother," cried Betsy, "may I have this flowered one?" Betsy picked up a flowered silk dress that had been her favorite dress of Mother's.

  "Yes," said Mother, "and you may have the red one with the long train. You will be a very grand lady in that dress."

  Betsy carried her new treasures off to her own room. She tried them on and paraded up and down the hall. Every few minutes she stopped to look in the mirror. This was a lovely new game and for several days she wore Mother's old dresses almost all of the time. When Ellen came to play with her they each put on one of the

  dresses. They played that they lived in separate corners of the playroom and they paid calls on each other, and talked about their children.

  The day before school was to open, Betsy was wearing the red silk dress. All of a sudden, she thought of Miss Little and her black dresses. Then Betsy had an idea. She took off the red dress and laid it on the bed. Then she pulled the flowered silk one out of the bottom drawer of her bureau. She looked at them very carefully. They were a little mussed and a little soiled around the bottom, but Betsy thought they really looked very nice. She tried to smooth out the wrinkles and all the time she had wrinkles in her forehead, for it was very hard to decide which dress she could part with. She loved them both very much, but she had decided to give one of the dresses to Miss Little. First she thought she would give her the flowered one, but she ended by thinking the red one would be best. Miss Little would look nice in the long train. Betsy folded the dress as carefully as she could and put it in her schoolbag.

  The next morning, just as she was leaving for school, Mother said, "Betsy, whatever is in your schoolbag that makes it look so fat?"

  "Oh, that is your red dress," replied Betsy. "I am going to give it to Miss Little so that she will have a pretty dress to wear to school."

  "Betsy, darling!" cried Mother. "You can't give that dress to Miss Little."

  "Why not?" asked Betsy, looking very cres
tfallen. "It's a present for her."

  "You can't give dresses to your teacher, dear," explained Mother. "You can give her flowers or candy or fruit and many other things, but not dresses."

  Betsy looked puzzled but she opened her schoolbag and pulled out the dress. Mother hugged her little girl very tight when she kissed her good-bye.

  Betsy trotted off to school thinking it was very strange that dresses couldn't be presents. Soon she met some of her little friends. They chattered about their summer vacations all the way to school.

  When they reached the big wide street, there was Mr. Kilpatrick, the policeman. When he saw the group of children, he blew his whistle and all of the automobiles stopped. The children ran toward the big policeman, calling, "Hello, Mr. Kilpatrick."

  Mr. Kilpatrick laughed and shouted, "Hello, there, everybody! Hello, Billy. How are you, Teddy? Why, there's Little Red Ribbons!" Mr. Kilpatrick always called Betsy "Little Red Ribbons" because she often wore red ribbons on her braids.

  The children swarmed around the policeman. "Mr. Kilpatrick," shouted Betsy, "I can milk a cow!"

  "You don't say so!" said Mr. Kilpatrick.

  "Our cat has kittens, Mr. Kilpatrick," said Teddy.

  "Look, Mr. Kilpatrick," cried Billy, "I have a loose tooth."

  "Run along, run along," shouted Mr. Kilpatrick, as he hustled the children on.

  When the children reached the school they trooped into the second-grade room. To Betsy's surprise, Miss Little wasn't there. Instead, the school secretary was standing at the front of the room. "Just take your seats quietly, children," she said. "Your teacher will be here in a few minutes. Miss Little is not coming back to school."

  Betsy wondered who her teacher would be. She saw Miss Grey pass the door. She was so glad to see Miss Grey again. It was all she could do to keep from running after her. She began again to wish that she could go back to the first grade with Miss Grey. Betsy could feel a little lump in her throat. She swallowed hard but it didn't do any good. Just as the tears were beginning to come into her eyes, the door opened and in came Miss Grey. "Good morning, boys and girls," said Miss Grey.

  "Good morning, Miss Grey," the children said.

  "I have a surprise for you," said Miss Grey.

  The children's eyes were very wide, for they loved nothing better than surprises.

  "I have been promoted," said Miss Grey. "I am in the second grade, too."

  "Whoopee!" shouted Billy Porter.

  2. What Happened to Billy's Tooth

  Billy Porter was very proud of his loose tooth. No one else in the second grade had a loose tooth so of course this made Billy feel very important indeed. At recess he stood in the center of a circle of friends and wiggled the tooth.

  Betsy thought Billy's loose tooth was wonderful. When she came home from school she said, "Mother, Billy Porter has a loose tooth. Will I have a loose tooth too pretty soon?"

  "I suppose you will, Betsy," replied Mother. "Your baby teeth should be coming out soon."

  "Will all of my teeth come out?" asked Betsy.

  "Yes," answered Mother, "but new ones will come in to take their places."

  Each day Billy's tooth grew looser and every day his little friends gathered round him to see how loose it was.

  Betsy could hardly wait for the day to come when she would have a loose tooth. Every morning, as soon as she woke up, she sat up in bed and felt each of her teeth. One morning when she felt her front teeth, one of them seemed to rock ever so little. Her eyes grew round with

  wonder. She felt it again. Yes, she was certain that it moved a tiny bit. Betsy leaped out of bed and rushed into Mother's room. "Mother, Mother!" she cried. "My tooth is loose. Look, Mother, it's loose!"

  Mother felt Betsy's little tooth. "Yes, I believe it is," she said.

  "Look! Father, look!" cried Betsy. "My tooth is loose!" Father had to stop shaving to look at Betsy's tooth.

  "Well, isn't that something!" said Father. "I wonder if any of mine are loose."

  Betsy laughed at Father while he felt his front teeth, for Betsy knew that none of Father's teeth were loose. They were big and white and strong.

  Then Betsy's face fell. "Oh, dear," she sighed.

  "What's the matter?" said Father, as he went on shaving.

  "I just remembered," said Betsy. "Today is Saturday and I don't go to school today. Now I'll have to wait until Monday to show everybody."

  "Cheer up!" said Father. "It will be looser by Monday. You'll be able to get a bigger crowd around you on Monday."

  Betsy went back to her room a little comforted. While she dressed she thought of Billy Porter. He wasn't the only one with a loose tooth now. How would she ever be able to wait until Monday, she thought. And there was Sunday in between too.

  Betsy found that waiting until Monday was not as bad as she had thought. On Saturday morning the grocer's boy came with the groceries. The milkman came to collect his money for the milk. The gas man came to look at the gas meter and a man came selling brooms. As each one arrived, Betsy said, "I have a loose tooth."

  Betsy thought that the grocer's boy and the gas man and the man selling brooms didn't act as though they thought a loose tooth was very important, but the milkman thought it was wonderful. When she told him about her tooth, he said, "Now that's the best news I've heard all morning. Sure it will be a great day when it comes out."

  On Monday morning the tooth was looser. It really wiggled. Betsy reached school very early. She showed it to Miss Grey and to all of the children as they came into the room. When Billy Porter arrived the children were crowded around Betsy. "Oh, Billy!" they shouted. "Betsy has a loose tooth too."

  "Well, mine will come out first," said Billy, "because mine is looser than yours."

  "Maybe it won't," said Betsy, " 'cause mine is pretty loose."

  "There's not a chance," said Billy, "not a chance."

  When the bell rang for school to begin the children sat down in their seats.

  "Children," said Miss Grey, "I am going to give a brand-new red pencil to the first one who loses a tooth." Miss Grey had red pencils and green pencils, but the red pencils were very special and were always used as first prizes.

  Billy pointed to himself and grinned. "That means me," he said.

  At recess time no one gathered around to look at Billy's tooth. Now that there were two loose teeth in the second grade, Billy's didn't seem so important.

  Betsy was letting Ellen feel hers when Billy came up to her.

  "You think you're smart, don't you," said Billy, "getting a loose tooth. Well, you're just a copycat."

  Billy was so cross that he shoved Betsy very hard. "You old copycat!" he cried.

  Now Betsy had been standing on one foot, and when Billy shoved her she toppled over and her little nose struck the hard cement of the school yard.

  When Billy saw what he had done, he was so scared that he ran away as fast as he could.

  Ellen helped Betsy up. Betsy was crying and there was a little blood on her lip.

  The bell had already rung for the children to return to their classrooms. Ellen put her arm around Betsy. When Miss Grey saw Betsy crying, she said, "Why, Betsy, what has happened?"

  "Billy Porter knocked her down," said Ellen.

  "I didn't mean to knock her down," said Billy. "I just gave her a push and she upset."

  "Billy, I am ashamed of you," said Miss Grey. "I want you to apologize to Betsy and tell her you are sorry."

  Betsy had stopped crying. The tears were still wet on her cheeks but she was smiling a big broad smile. Before Billy could say he was sorry, Betsy called out, "Oh, Miss Grey, I've lost my tooth."

  Miss Grey handed Betsy a new red pencil. "Now, Billy," said Miss Grey, "we are waiting to hear you tell Betsy that you are sorry you knocked her down."

  "I'm sorry I knocked you down," murmured Billy.

  "Oh, that's all right," said Betsy, looking at her new red pencil. "I'm not sorry; I'm glad."

  Then a strange look came o
ver Billy's face. His eyes were big and round and he looked scared.

  "What's the matter, Billy?" asked Miss Grey.

  "I swallowed it," said Billy.

  "What did you swallow?" asked Miss Grey.

  "My tooth," said Billy.

  "Thank goodness!" said Miss Grey. "Now we are rid of those teeth." Then she looked at the class. "How many children think that Billy should have a green pencil?"

  All of the children raised their hands.

  "Thank you," said Billy, as he took the pencil. In a few moments Billy raised his hand.

  "What is it, Billy?" asked Miss Grey.

  "That tooth won't bite me, will it, Miss Grey?" said Billy.

  The children laughed very hard at Billy's question.

  "No, Billy," said Miss Grey, "it won't bite you.

  3. The Halloween Party

  All during the month of October, the children in the second grade were looking forward to Halloween. They could hardly wait for the last day of October to come. One day Miss Grey told them that they could have a Halloween party on that day.

  "Can we come to school dressed up?" Kenny Roberts asked.

  "Well, you can't come to school dressed up," Miss Grey replied, "but you can bring your costumes with you and put them on at lunchtime and we will have a party."

  "Will there be ice cream?" said Billy. "It won't be a party if there isn't any ice cream."

  "I don't know about ice cream," said Miss Grey. "We shall have to see when the time comes."

  When Ellen went to Betsy's house to play, they talked about what they would wear. In the schoolyard they whispered about it because they wanted to surprise the other children. Everybody wanted to surprise everybody else but everybody whispered to somebody about what he was going to wear.

  As the day drew near, funny false-faces appeared in the store windows. There were clowns and Indians, monkeys and donkeys, rabbits and cats. There were old men with great big noses and ladies with bright pink cheeks and fuzzy hair.