Betsy and Billy Read online

  Mother made no reply. Betsy looked up. Mother wasn't there. Betsy looked all around her. Mother was nowhere to be seen. There were a great many people but not one of them was Mother. Betsy stood very still. At first she felt terribly frightened, but then she remembered that Mother had told her that if she ever became separated from her, she should stand very still and wait. No matter how long it seemed, she must not take a step because Mother would always come back for her.

  Betsy leaned her little back against the nearest post and waited. She felt surrounded with trouser legs and skirts. They were all walking this way and that way. Ladies' pocketbooks knocked against her head as they pushed past her. Men carrying packages bumped against her hat.

  After a while a pair of bright red legs with high black boots came along. Betsy looked up and there, looking down at her, was another Santa Claus. "Well, little girl," he said, "are you lost?"

  "No, I'm not lost," replied Betsy, "but I'm afraid my mother is."

  "Well," said Santa Claus, "suppose I lift you up and perhaps you will see her. We can't have any lost mothers in Toy-Land."

  Santa Claus lifted Betsy up in his big strong arms. Now she could see over everyone's head. There was Mother coming towards her! When Mother reached her, Betsy said, "I stood still, Mother; I stood still and I wasn't scared." Mother patted Betsy's hand.

  "And now," said Santa Claus, as he put Betsy down, "tell me what you want for Christmas."

  "Well," said Betsy, "I want something very special."

  "Very special?" said Santa Claus.

  "Yes," said Betsy, "I want a baby."

  "You mean a doll-baby that says 'Mamma' and opens and shuts its eyes?" asked Santa Claus.

  "No," said Betsy; "a real one that I can have for a baby sister."

  "Gracious me!" said Santa Claus. "That's a rather large order, but we'll see about it."

  "I would like to have a bicycle too," said Betsy. "But if I can't have both, I want the baby sister."

  "I'll make a note of that," said Santa Claus.

  Betsy took hold of Mother's hand. As they walked towards the elevator, she said, "Do you think I will get a baby sister for Christmas, Mother?"

  "Well, we'll see," said Mother. "Would a baby brother do just as well?"

  "Not quite as well," said Betsy; "but it would be better than none."

  After Betsy had bought a flashlight for Father and a hair ribbon for Ellen and some handkerchiefs for her granddaddy, Mother said, "I think you had better buy some handkerchiefs for Mrs. Beckett. She is coming to spend Christmas with us.

  Mrs. Beckett had been Betsy's nurse when she was a baby and Betsy loved Mrs. Beckett

  very much indeed. Betsy picked out two pretty handkerchiefs for Mrs. Beckett. One was pink and the other one was blue.

  "Father is going with me to buy your present, Mother," said Betsy. "It's a secret. I'll tell you this much, though. It's something to wear on your hands."

  "Oh, my!" said Mother. "Is it a ring?"

  "No," replied Betsy. "It's something that covers your hands all up, but I'm not going to tell you because it's a secret."

  "Something that covers my hands all up?" said Mother. "Well now, what could that be?"

  "It's going to be a surprise," said Betsy, laughing.

  Betsy held her presents on her lap in the train. She was very quiet. After a while she said, "Mother, why are there so many Santa Clauses?"

  "You see," said Mother, "Santa Claus is the love that makes everyone want to give presents."

  "I see," said Betsy. "So there are a lot of Santa Clauses because there is a lot of love."

  "Exactly," replied Mother.

  A few days before Christmas Mrs. Beckett arrived. Betsy was so glad to see her.

  "Do you know what I want for Christmas, Mrs. Beckett?" said Betsy.

  "No, I don't believe I do," said Mrs. Beckett.

  "I want a baby sister," said Betsy. "Do you think I will get a baby sister, Mrs. Beckett?"

  "Well," said Mrs. Beckett, "we'll see."

  "That is what Mother says," replied Betsy.

  At last Christmas Eve arrived. Betsy went to bed early so that Christmas morning would come sooner. Mother heard her say her prayers and tucked her into bed.

  "Mother," said Betsy, as she held her very tight, "do you think I will get a baby sister?"

  "I'm not sure," said Mother, as she kissed her little girl.

  Soon Betsy fell fast asleep. It seemed like no time at all when she was awake again. Betsy knew that it was morning because she could see a little bit of light in the sky. Just then Mrs. Beckett tiptoed into the room. She was dressed in a stiff white dress and she was wearing white shoes.

  "Can I get up now?" whispered Betsy.

  "Yes," said Mrs. Beckett. "Come and see the present that Mother has for you."

  Betsy rubbed her eyes. She put on her woolly bathrobe and her bunny bedroom slippers. Father was waiting for her in the hall. "Be very quiet," said Father, as he opened the door of Mother's room. Mother was in bed. Betsy thought she was asleep.

  Father led Betsy over to the corner of the room. There was the white bassinet that had once been Betsy's. Betsy's eyes were very big as she looked into the bassinet, for there lay a tiny baby, sound asleep.

  "Oh," whispered Betsy, "is it a baby sister?"

  "Yes," whispered Father, "it's a baby sister!"

  Betsy couldn't take her eyes off the baby. As she stood looking at her, she heard some voices far away singing Christmas carols. They were singing a song that Betsy knew.

  "Silent night, holy night.

  All is calm, all is bright

  Round yon Virgin Mother and Child.

  Holy infant so tender and mild,

  Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."

  Betsy tiptoed over to her mother's bed. She leaned over and Mother opened her eyes. She smiled at her little girl.

  "Thank you for my present," said Betsy. "Do you hear 'Holy Night,' Mother?"

  "Yes, darling," said Mother. "Holy Night."

  6. Christmas Star

  Betsy had the happiest Christmas day she had ever known. After she saw her baby sister she went downstairs with Father. The house was still quite dark. When they went into the living room, Father pushed the electric light button. Suddenly the room seemed full of twinkling stars. There stood the Christmas tree covered with colored lights and shining balls. Tinsel dripped from the branches like icicles. On the very tip top there was a shining silver star.

  Betsy stood in the doorway and looked at the Christmas tree. "Oh!" she sighed; "it's beautiful."

  Then she walked over to look at the things that were under the tree. She didn't know what to look at first. Everything seemed to dance before her eyes. She looked around the room to see if there was a bicycle but she didn't see any. There were rollerskates from Aunt Jane, a camera from Granddaddy, a game from Uncle Jim, and a red sweater from Mother, but there wasn't any bicycle. There was a book from Mrs. Beckett.

  "Well," said Father. "Aren't you going to see what is in your stocking?"

  "Oh, I almost forgot about my stocking," said Betsy.

  Betsy went over to the fireplace and Father took down her stocking. It was bulging, and sticking out of the top was a gingerbread boy. Betsy found a lot more presents in her stocking. There were a string of pink beads, a little red pocketbook, a new pencil box, six pencils with her name stamped in gold letters, and a box of

  crayons. There were also candies and nuts and a big orange down near the foot. In the very toe of her stocking Betsy found a little silver thimble. She was delighted with this, for Mother was teaching her to sew.

  Betsy didn't mind a bit about the bicycle. She guessed that a bicycle and a baby sister would have been too much anyway.

  After breakfast Mrs. Beckett let Betsy watch her while she washed and dressed the baby. Betsy wished that she were big enough to wash and dress her. She could hardly keep her hands off her. She loved to touch the baby's cheek, it was so soft.
/>   When the baby was washed and dressed, Mrs. Beckett carried her to her bassinet. "Oh, Mrs. Beckett!" said Betsy, "couldn't I hold her just once:

  "Well, very carefully," said Mrs. Beckett. Betsy held out her arms and Mrs. Beckett put the tiny baby in them. "Oh," said Betsy, "she's the nicest present that ever was. Much nicer than a bicycle."

  "Now hand her over," said Mrs. Beckett, as she took the baby again.

  When Mrs. Beckett had laid her in the bas-

  sinet, she said, "What are you going to name this baby of yours, Betsy?"

  "I don't know," said Betsy, walking over to Mother's bed. "It ought to be a Christmasy name, don't you think so, Mother?"

  "Oh, yes," said Mother, "a nice Christmasy name."

  At dinner Betsy said, "Father, what do you think would be a nice Christmasy name for the baby?"

  "Well," said Father, "you might name her Pudding. She certainly looks like one."

  "Oh, Father!" cried Betsy. "Pudding would be a terrible name for a little girl."

  "Well, you can't call her Turkey because that is the name of a country."

  "I wouldn't want to call her Turkey anyway," laughed Betsy. "Of course we could call her Carol after Christmas carol, but I know a lot of Carols. I want her to have a different name."

  "How about naming her after one of Santa Claus's reindeer?" said Father. "Let's see; there were Dasher and Dancer, I remember, and Donder and Blitzen. Any one of those would be different."

  Betsy laughed so hard she choked on her plum pudding. "Oh, Father, they are awful names for a baby."

  "Well," laughed Father, "you will have to think of a name yourself."

  In the afternoon Billy came to see Betsy's Christmas tree.

  "I have a baby sister," said Betsy the moment she saw Billy.

  "That's nothing," said Billy. "I got a two-wheel bike. It's got red wheels."

  "My baby sister has a lot of brown curly hair," said Betsy.

  "Oh, boy! You ought to see the bell on my bike," said Billy.

  "I don't know what to name her," said Betsy.

  "My bike is named the Flying Arrow," said Billy.

  "I could have had a bicycle," said Betsy, "only I wanted a baby sister."

  "You did?" said Billy. "Gee, you must be crazy."

  Betsy showed Billy all of her presents. They went out of doors and Betsy took some pictures of Billy and Billy took some of Betsy.

  "Say, Betsy," said Billy, "will you take a picture of me on my bike?"

  "Maybe," said Betsy.

  "Maybe I'll let you ride it, if you will take my picture," said Billy.

  The children spent the rest of the afternoon playing a game.

  Father kept going to the front door every once in a while. Finally Betsy said, "What are you looking for, Father?"

  "Just looking to see if Santa Claus dropped anything outside," said Father.

  "Did he?" Betsy asked.

  "I haven't found anything," said Father, "but

  you never can tell. Sometimes things roll off the roof."

  "Oh, Father!" laughed Betsy. "You're just teasing."

  Late in the afternoon there was a loud ring at the front door. Father and Betsy and Billy all rushed to the door. When Father opened it, there stood a delivery man with a shiny two-wheel bicycle.

  Betsy's eyes looked as though they were going to pop right out of her head.

  "Oh, boy!" shouted Billy; "a two-wheeler, just like mine!"

  "Merry Christmas," said the delivery man; "sorry to be so late."

  "Merry Christmas," said Father. "I have been looking for you all day. You should get a sleigh and some reindeer. You would get around faster."

  "Is it for me, Father?" asked Betsy, putting her hand on one of the beautiful red wheels.

  "Yes, Betsy, it is for you," said Father.

  "Oh, Father," said Betsy, "a baby sister and a bike, both! It's wonderful!"

  That evening Betsy was sitting on Father's lap. He was reading her Christmas book out loud. Betsy listened to every word. After a while she looked up at the Christmas tree. She began at the bottom and looked at each branch. At last her eyes rested on the beautiful silver star on the very top. It seemed to twinkle at her.

  "Father," cried Betsy, "I know what I'm going to name the baby."

  "What?" said Father.

  "I'm going to name her Star," said Betsy.

  "Star!" said Father. "Let's go tell Mother."

  7. Valentine Hearts

  "Mother," cried Betsy, as she rushed in from school one day, "I have to take a quarter of a pound of butter to school tomorrow."

  "A quarter of a pound of butter!" said Mother. "What are you going to do with a quarter of a pound of butter?"

  "We're going to make cookies," said Betsy. "A very special kind of cookie, only what kind is a secret."

  "Where are you going to make the cookies?" asked Mother.

  "Oh, in the school kitchen," said Betsy. "All of the children are going to bring something, everything that goes in cookies. Miss Grey said if we each brought a little bit, when we put it all together there would be enough to make a lot of cookies."

  "I see," said Mother. "What are you going to do with so many cookies?"

  "That's a secret," said Betsy, as she danced out of the room.

  Now the secret was that the children were making cookies for their mothers. They were to be Valentine Cookies. Miss Grey was going to bring some cookie cutters shaped like hearts.

  Valentine's Day was just two days off. The children had made paper Valentines for each other. Betsy made a red heart for her baby sister. She pasted gold stars all over the heart.

  Miss Grey had made a make-believe postbox with a great big red heart on the outside. It was so big that it almost covered the box. As the children finished making their Valentines, they dropped them into the box. Betsy hoped that there would be a lot of Valentines for her when Miss Grey opened the box on Valentine's Day.

  When the children had asked Miss Grey if they could make Valentines for their mothers, Miss Grey had said, "How would you like to make Valentine Cookies?" The children were delighted, for they felt that nothing could be nicer than Valentine Cookies.

  The next morning Betsy started off to school with her quarter of a pound of butter. Just before she reached the school she met Billy. Billy had a paper bag filled with flour. His mother had wrapped it up carefully and tied it with a string. Billy was now using the bag of flour for a ball. He was tossing it up in the air and catching it.

  "You better watch out," said Betsy, "or you will drop that flour."

  "Aw, I'm a good catcher," said Billy, tossing the little package higher than ever.

  Just then Billy slipped on some ice on the pavement. Ker-plunk! went Billy and sat down very hard.

  Ker-plunk! went the bag of flour, right on the top of Billy's head. The bag burst and the flour went all over Billy. He looked so funny, sitting in the middle of the pavement covered with flour, that Betsy couldn't help laughing.

  Billy rubbed the flour out of his eyes. "Gee!" he said, "I slipped."

  He scrambled to his feet and tried to brush the flour off of his suit. When he finished, the white flour was smeared all over him. Then he pulled off his hat and the flour got all over his hair.

  When he reached his classroom, Miss Grey said, "Why, Billy, is it snowing outside?"

  "Billy was playing ball with his bag of flour," said Betsy.

  "I slipped and it hit me on the head," said Billy.

  "Oh, Billy!" said Miss Grey, "now you have wasted the flour for the cookies."

  Billy looked down at himself. He was a sight! "Can't I have any of the cookies, Miss Grey?" he asked.

  "Well, you will have to stay after school and wash the pots and pans all by yourself. It was very careless of you to lose the flour," said Miss Grey.

  Toward the end of the morning, Miss Grey took the children up to the school kitchen. It was on the top floor of the school. In the kitchen there was a long table, a stove, a cupboard, an
d a sink. The children had never been in the kitchen before and they thought it was a wonderful place.

  Miss Grey opened the doors of the cupboard. She took out some little bowls and a great big bowl. She took out some flat cookie tins, a flour sifter, and an eggbeater. She laid everything on the table.

  "Have you got the cookie cutters?" asked Betty Jane.

  "Yes," answered Miss Grey, "here they are." Miss Grey handed Betty Jane a paper bag and Betty Jane took six heart-shaped cookie cutters out of the bag.

  Christopher came in with a big bottle of milk that the milkman had left with the janitor.

  Soon everyone was busy. Betty Jane sifted the flour. Ellen beat the eggs. Betsy mixed the butter and sugar together. Christopher and Kenny greased the tins. Billy lit the oven. Mary Lou measured the baking powder and Richard measured the salt. The rest of the children sprinkled a little flour on the long wooden table so that they would be all ready to roll out the dough.

  Everything had to be added to Betsy's bowl of butter and sugar, so she mixed and mixed. She had to make the dough very smooth.

  All of the children crowded around Betsy.

  At last Miss Grey said that the dough was ready to be rolled. She gave each of the children who had floured the table a piece of dough. As there were only three rolling pins, the children had to take turns.

  "Look out there, Billy!" said Miss Grey; "don't roll it too thin."

  "Miss Grey, it's sticking to my rolling pin," said Henry.

  "Can I begin to cut mine?" asked a new little girl named Sally.

  Six of the children began to cut the cookies. Ellen and Christopher lifted the hearts off of the table and placed them on the flat tins. Betsy

  sprinkled a little sugar on them and Kenny put the pans in the oven.

  It didn't take very long for the cookies to bake. Just as soon as one pan had turned a beautiful golden color, another pan was ready to go into the oven. Pan after pan went into the oven and came out to cool on the table. When the cookies were cool, the children helped to take them off of the tins. When they were all laid out on a white cloth, there were over one hundred cookies. Some of the hearts were a little crooked but any mother could tell that they were hearts. Some of them were broken and Miss Grey said that the children could eat the broken pieces. How they gobbled them down!