Penny and Peter Read online

  Penny and Peter

  Carolyn Haywood

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Contents

  1. Crabs, Crabs, Beautiful Crabs

  2. How to Paint a Floor

  3. Tootsie

  4. There's a Dog in My Chair

  5. Tootsie's Second Night

  6. The Cabin in the Woods

  7. It's a Wolf

  8. Exploring the Stream

  9. Peter the Worker

  10. Now It Is Christmas

  Preview of Primrose Day

  1. Merry Leaves for America

  About the Author

  Illustrated by the author

  AN ODYSSEY/HARCOURT YOUNG CLASSIC

  HARCOURT, INC.

  Orlando Austin New York San Diego Toronto London

  Copyright © 1946 by Harcourt, Inc.

  Copyright renewed 1974 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 Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classics edition 2005

  First published 1946

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Haywood, Carolyn, 1898–1990.

  Penny and Peter/written and illustrated by Carolyn Haywood,

  p. cm.

  "An Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classic."

  Summary: Whenever Penny and his adopted brother

  Peter decide to help their parents, they usually end up in trouble.

  [1. Brothers—Fiction. 2. Family life—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H31496Pe 2005

  [Fic]—dc22 2004059914

  ISBN 0-15-205232-1 ISBN 0-15-205226-7 (pb)

  Text set in Bodoni Classico

  Designed by Kaelin Chappell

  Printed in the United States of America

  A C E G H F D B

  A C E G H F D B (pb)

  To

  Blanche Ferry Hooker

  and

  Queene Ferry Coonley

  Contents

  1. CRABS, CRABS, BEAUTIFUL CRABS [>]

  2. HOW TO PAINT A FLOOR [>]

  3. TOOTSIE [>]

  4. THERE'S A DOG IN MY CHAIR [>]

  5. TOOTSIE'S SECOND NIGHT [>]

  6. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS [>]

  7. IT'S A WOLF [>]

  8. EXPLORING THE STREAM [>]

  9. PETER THE WORKER [>]

  10. NOW IT IS CHRISTMAS [>]

  1. Crabs, Crabs, Beautiful Crabs

  Penny's father and mother had adopted Penny when he was a tiny baby. They had waited for him a long time but when they found Penny, he was exactly what they wanted. They named him William but they called him Penny because his curly hair was just the color of a brand-new copper penny.

  When Penny was six years old, he started to go to school. There he met Peter who was eight. He was the best baseball player in the school. Peter lived in a children's orphanage because he didn't have any father or mother. The two boys were so fond of each other that Penny's father and mother took Peter to the seashore with them for the summer. At the end of the summer, they decided to adopt Peter. So, when the summer vacation was over and it was time to return home, the two little boys knew that they were going to be really truly brothers.

  "Really truly brothers for ever and ever," said Penny.

  Mother and Daddy had decided to leave the seashore the week after Labor Day but Daddy had to make an unexpected business trip so he had to leave the day after Labor Day.

  Before he left, he put the sailboat away for the winter. Then he packed the car full of things that Mother said had to go back to town. When he finally drove off, there was nothing left for Mother and the boys to bring home on the train, along with Minnie, the cook, but one suitcase and the little traveling bag in which Really and Truly traveled. Really and Truly were Penny's kittens but by this time they had grown into two very handsome cats.

  "It's a great relief to have Daddy drive all of those things home," said Mother. "I would much rather go in the train. It is more comfortable than riding in the car with my feet in a pail and the floor mop hitting me on the head every time we turn a corner."

  "Do you remember last year," asked Penny, "when Daddy stopped suddenly and the basket of tomatoes upset just as I slid off the seat?"

  "I certainly do," said Mother. "And you landed right on top of those beautiful tomatoes. And was I angry!"

  "And did we have tomato juice!" cried Penny. "It was all over everything, wasn't it, Mother?"

  "It certainly was," said Mother. "But mostly all over you and the floor of the car."

  Penny laughed as he recalled the mess he had suddenly found himself in, with all those tomatoes.

  "We can laugh about it now," said Mother, "but it didn't seem very funny when it happened. This year, there will be nothing like that. We'll have a nice, quiet, peaceful trip home on the train."

  "When are we leaving?" asked Peter.

  "Next Monday," replied Mother. "We will go up on the two o'clock train. That will get us home before the rush hour."

  Monday morning, after the boys had had their breakfast, they wandered around the house. They didn't seem to know what to do with themselves.

  "Seems funny not to have the sailboat, doesn't it?" said Peter, as the boys sat on the dock swinging their feet.

  "Seems 'though we ought to go out in a boat the very last day," said Penny.

  "We could go out in the rowboat," said Peter.

  "All right, let's!" said Penny. "And let's catch some crabs and surprise Minnie. It would be nice to take some crabs home with us. Don't you think so, Peter?"

  "Yes," said Peter. "I love crabs. And we won't get any more until next summer."

  "Well then, we'll have to catch a fish for bait," said Penny.

  Penny ran to the garage to get their fishing tackle, while Peter hunted for a clam to use for fish bait.

  In a short time, the boys were settled on the end of the dock each with his line in the water. They were as quiet as two statues.

  Then Peter began to pull his line. He didn't jerk it but pulled it in carefully.

  "I've got one," he whispered to Penny.

  Penny looked down into the water. Sure enough, there on the end of Peter's line was a good-sized fish. It was fighting hard but Peter knew how to handle his line and he landed the fish, flip-flapping, onto the dock.

  Ten minutes later, Peter and Penny were out in the rowboat with half of the fish fastened to Penny's line and the other half fastened to Peter's. They sat motionless a long time, staring into the water.

  "Don't seem to be any crabs this morning," said Penny.

  "Sometimes they come along all at once," said Peter.

  "I know," said Penny. "But sometimes you have to go someplace else."

  "Well, let's wait a little longer," said Peter. They sat waiting.

  All of a sudden, Peter picked up the net and scooped down into the water.

  "Got one!" he said, as he lifted the net. "A great big one."

  "Me, too!" said Penny. "Quick, Peter, get it."

  Peter emptied his crab out of the net into the basket that the boy
s had placed in the center of the rowboat. Then he scooped up the crab that was busy nibbling away at the fish on the end of Penny's line.

  Suddenly, the water around the boat was full of crabs. Peter scooped them up, one after another, as fast as he could. In no time at all, the boys had caught about fifty crabs.

  "Aren't they beauts!" cried Peter.

  "They're the biggest crabs I have ever seen," said Penny.

  Peter looked across the water toward the house on the cliff. Then he said, "Lunch is ready. Minnie has put the signal out."

  At mealtimes, Minnie always hung an old red sweater on the clothesline. This was the signal to come home.

  "Well, we made a good haul," said Penny, as Peter began pulling on the oars.

  When the boat was secured to the dock, the boys lifted the basket of crabs out of the boat.

  "They're lively critters, aren't they?" said Peter, watching the big green crabs.

  "They sure are the biggest crabs we've caught all summer. They must all be granddaddies," said Penny.

  The boys carried the basket between them to the back door.

  "Look, Minnie!" cried Penny. "Look at the beautiful crabs we caught."

  "Crabs!" cried Minnie. "What made you catch crabs? What are we going to do with crabs when we're going home on the two o'clock train?" Minnie came to open the screen door to let the boys in.

  "Goodness!" she cried. "All those crabs! How many have you got there?"

  "About fifty," said Peter.

  "Fifty crabs!" cried Minnie. "Fifty crabs, and we're going home on the two o'clock train."

  "But they're beautiful crabs, Minnie," said Penny. "You never saw such beautiful crabs. Look how big they are."

  "I'm looking at them," said Minnie. "But what I want to know is what you're going to do with them."

  Just then, Mother came into the kitchen.

  "Look, Mother!" cried Penny. "Look at the beautiful crabs we caught."

  "But what are we going to do with them?" asked Mother.

  "That's just what I want to know," said Minnie.

  "We can take them home with us," said Peter. "They will be all right in this basket. We can put more seaweed over them. They'll be all right in the train. And I love crabs."

  "So do I," said Penny.

  Minnie grunted. Then she said, "Come along. Lunch is getting cold. Never know what you boys will bring into the house."

  "Well, the boys will have to carry the basket of crabs," said Mother. "In fact, they will have to take full charge of them. Minnie and I have enough to take care of."

  "Okay!" said Penny. "We'll take care of them, won't we, Peter?"

  "Sure!" said Peter.

  Mother had the one remaining suitcase packed and Minnie had a large black leather bag and a shopping bag. In the shopping bag she had odds and ends. It was filled with half-empty packages of flour, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, and raisins—things that Minnie would use up when they got back home. Also, into the shopping bag went Minnie's favorite gadgets, such as the can opener, knife sharpener, and apple corer. Sticking out of the bag were the long handles of the pancake turner and the soup ladle. The bag was sitting on the kitchen chair when Mother came out into the kitchen after lunch.

  "Why are you taking the pancake turner and the soup ladle, Minnie? We have others at home," said Mother.

  "Well, I just got awful fond of them," said Minnie. "Somehow, I think I'm going to need them. The pancake turner's nice and limber and the soup ladle's not too big."

  Finally, the taxi was at the door to take them to the train.

  Penny put Really and Truly into their traveling bag. There was a great deal of mewing as Penny placed the bag in the taxi. Then Peter and Penny carried the basket of crabs out and put it in the taxi.

  "You boys are sure there is plenty of seaweed in the basket with the crabs, aren't you?" asked Mother.

  "Oh! Sure, sure!" said Peter. "We put in a lot of seaweed, and the crabs are very quiet."

  "Well, that's good," said Mother, as she climbed into the taxi. "Here's hoping they keep quiet!"

  Minnie, with her bags, climbed in beside the taxi driver.

  "I've traveled with lots of things in my day," said Minnie, "but this is the first time I've traveled with fifty crabs."

  "But they're beautiful crabs, Minnie," said Penny.

  "Oh, sure, sure! They're beautiful crabs," said Minnie. "I just hope they take a nice long nap on the train and don't get into trouble."

  "What trouble could they get into?" asked Peter. "They're so quiet you wouldn't know they were in the basket." And then, as a shuffling sound came from the basket, Peter added, "Almost."

  "Well, I just hope for the best," said Minnie. "I just hope for the best."

  This made Mother laugh and she said, "Oh, Minnie! Don't be so gloomy about the crabs. They are quite all right in the basket."

  Minnie sighed. "I just hope for the best," she said.

  When they reached the station, the train was rapidly filling with passengers. Mother carried the suitcase in one hand and Really and Truly in the other. The boys carried the basket of crabs between them and Minnie brought up the rear with her black bag and the shopping bag.

  Carrying the basket of crabs up the steep steps of the car was not easy, but the boys managed it slowly.

  Mother led the way to four vacant seats that faced each other in the center of the car. The suitcase she stowed away on the rack overhead. The bag containing Really and Truly she placed on the floor.

  "Now, boys," she said, "you will have to put the basket of crabs between the seats and do the best you can with your feet and legs. After all, the crabs were your idea."

  "Okay!" said Peter, as the boys reached the seat. "Put it down, Penny."

  Penny dropped his end of the basket so suddenly that it startled Peter, and before you could say "Boo!" the basket of crabs had tipped over and nearly all the crabs and the seaweed lay sprawling in the aisle.

  The excited crabs began scrambling in all directions. Women and children, nearby, jumped up on the seats to get out of the way of the pinching crabs. The children yelled and squealed. The aisle was blocked and people couldn't get through. When they saw the crabs scurrying around in the aisle and under the seats, they fled out of the doors of the car.

  Minnie started to cry, "Goodness! Goodness!"

  Peter righted the basket while Penny jumped up and down and cried, "Oh, Mummy! Oh, Mummy! Oh, Mummy!"

  "Be quiet, Penny. Minnie, stop yelling and do something," said Mother. "Here, give me the pancake turner."

  Mother pulled the pancake turner out of the shopping bag and went after a nearby crab. She scooped for it but it slid right off. Meanwhile, the other crabs were getting farther and farther away. Everyone in the car was either kneeling or standing on the seats and they were all watching the crabs.

  "Oh, dear!" said Mother. "This will never do. Here, give me the soup ladle."

  Minnie handed over the soup ladle. With the pancake turner under the crab and the soup ladle pinning it down on top, Mother was able to lift one crab back into the basket. And then, the crabs in the basket started such a commotion as their fellow crab returned. Mother went after another.

  By this time, most of the crabs had hidden under the seats. They could be heard scratching their claws on the floor.

  "I think I can get them, Mother," said Peter. "I can get under the seats more easily."

  Meanwhile, Minnie had gathered up the seaweed. She kept muttering over and over, "I never did trust crabs. They're just plain wicked."

  The aisle was now cleared of everything but Peter and Penny, who went crawling up and down looking for crabs. Peter had the pancake turner in one hand and the soup ladle in the other. Every once in a while he would chase a crab out from under a seat, put the pancake turner under it, the soup ladle on top of it, and drop it into the basket. Many a time he dropped the crab and had to begin over again, but by the time the train had gone halfway home, all of the wandering crabs had been caught and we
re safely back in the basket. They had settled down under the seaweed.

  Once, Penny looked down at the basket and said, "I'm glad we didn't lose the crabs, aren't you, Mummy?"

  "Well," replied Mother, "it would have been better to have left them in the ocean."

  "Oh, but Mother," said Penny, "they are such beautiful crabs!"

  "Beautiful crabs!" muttered Minnie. "Just full of meanness, that's what. Nothing beautiful about them."

  At the end of the journey, Mother asked the conductor if he would lift the basket off the train. Peter and Penny carried it safely to a taxicab.

  At last they reached home and Mother and Minnie breathed a sigh of relief.

  "I won't trust those crabs until I get them in the pot," said Minnie. And without taking off her hat, she put a big kettle of water on the stove.

  When the water was boiling, she threw the crabs in one by one. As she did so, she muttered to herself, "Beautiful crabs! I just hope I never travel again with crabs. The most awful good-for-nothing nuisance in the world is a crab."

  When they were done, Minnie laid the big fat crabs out on the kitchen table. Penny came into the kitchen. Minnie stood back and admired the crabs. Then a broad grin spread over her face. "My! Oh, my, Penny!" she said. "Aren't they beautiful crabs?"

  2. How to Paint a Floor

  Peter's bedroom was next to Penny's room. Before Peter came to live at Penny's house, it had been the guest room. As it didn't look very much like a boy's room, Daddy decided to do the whole room over.

  "I saw a wonderful red, white, and blue wallpaper the other day," said Daddy. "And we will paint the floor a nice shade of blue."

  "And we can use a red bedspread and white curtains," said Mother.

  So, in no time at all, Daddy had moved everything out of the room. Peter was to sleep on the daybed in the upstairs study until the room was finished.

  The paper hangers came and hung the red, white, and blue wallpaper and Daddy bought the blue paint to paint the floor.

  A few days before school opened, Mother went into town to do some shopping. It was Minnie's day out and the two boys were left alone.