Betsy and the Boys Page 5

  "Oh, Father!" cried Betsy. "Skates! Am I going to learn to skate at the rink?"

  "That's right," said Father.

  "How wonderful!" exclaimed Betsy, as she pulled off her oxfords and tried on her boots. "When may I go skating?"

  "Mother has arranged for you to have a lesson tomorrow afternoon, at four o'clock," said Father.

  "Well-l-l-l," said Betsy, "that's just the time for our football game with the Screech Owls. The Screech Owls are another team in our school. Of course, I suppose they could put someone in my place."

  "No doubt," said Father.

  Betsy took off her skates and put her oxfords on again. She looked at the clock. "I'll just have time to run over to Billy's house before dinner. I want to tell him that I won't be able to play football tomorrow because I'm going to have a skating lesson."

  Betsy opened the front door. Then she closed it again. She looked at the football that Mr. Kilpatrick had given her. She picked it up and tucked it under her arm. Father was sitting by the fire, reading his paper. Betsy went to him and he looked up at her.

  "Well, little one?" he said.

  "I'm going to take Billy a just-for-instance present," said Betsy.

  "That's great!" said Father.

  Betsy ran over to Billy's house. When she arrived, Billy was working on a model airplane.

  "Hi, Betsy!" he said. "What do you know?"

  Betsy held out the football. "It's a present," said Betsy.

  "What do you mean?" asked Billy.

  "It's a present for you," said Betsy. "A just-for-instance present."

  "Golly!" cried Billy, his eyes popping. "You mean you're going to give me that swell football?"

  "Yepper," replied Betsy.

  "Oh, gee, Betsy!" said Billy. "That's swell. Thanks ever so much."

  Then Betsy told Billy of how Mr. Kilpatrick had given her the football. When she finished, Billy said, "Do you know, Betsy, I think we ought to give Mr. Kilpatrick a present."

  "Oh, I do too," said Betsy. "What shall we get for a present for Mr. Kilpatrick?"

  "Well, I don't know," replied Billy. "We'll have to think about it."

  "I have to go now," said Betsy. "I guess my dinner is ready. I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Sure thing," said Billy.

  When Betsy reached the door, she said, "Oh, I almost forgot! I can't play football tomorrow. I'm having a skating lesson. Father brought me a present tonight. Ice skates."

  "Ice skates!" exclaimed Billy. "Boy! That's great! I'm going to ask for a pair for Christmas."

  "Good-bye," said Betsy, as she went out of the door.

  "So long," said Billy. "And thanks again for the football."

  That night Betsy fell asleep thinking about the present for Mr. Kilpatrick.

  The following day Billy came over to Betsy's house.

  "Have you thought of a present for Mr. Kilpatrick?" asked Billy.

  "No," replied Betsy. "I've thought and thought. I think it would be nice to go shopping for it. I like to go shopping. Then you see all kinds of things you never thought of."

  "OK," said Billy. "How much money do you have?"

  "I'll go see," replied Betsy.

  Betsy went upstairs and got her pocketbook. She emptied out the money. It was all small change. When she counted it, it came to thirty-eight cents.

  "I have thirty-eight cents," she said, when she came downstairs.

  "I don't have that much now," said Billy. "But I will have it by Saturday. I can earn that much on Saturday morning, delivering grocery orders.

  Then we can buy the present Saturday afternoon."

  When Saturday afternoon arrived, Betsy and Billy walked into the shopping district of the town. They had seventy-five cents to spend on a just-for-instance present for Mr. Kilpatrick.

  "There's no use going to the pet shop," said Billy, "'cause we couldn't get anything there for seventy-five cents."

  "Well, I don't think Mr. Kilpatrick would want any more pets," said Betsy. "The Queen of Sheba is enough."

  By this time the children had reached a men's shop. Something pink in the window caught Betsy's eye. Pink was Betsy's favorite color.

  "Let's look in this window," said Betsy.

  The children pressed their noses against the glass.

  "Oh," exclaimed Betsy, "look at that beautiful pink necktie." Betsy pointed to a pink satin bow resting in a box. "I think Mr. Kilpatrick would love that."

  "What?" said Billy.

  "That pink necktie," said Betsy. "I think he would just love that."

  "Well, I don't," said Billy. "I think it's skunky, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't wear it to collect garbage."

  "It's beautiful," said Betsy.

  "I won't put a cent to buy a skunky necktie like that," said Billy.

  Then his eye lit upon something. It was a pair of bright red suspenders. "Now, there's something!" cried Billy, pointing to the suspenders. "There's something real!"

  "What is it?" said Betsy.

  "Those red suspenders," said Billy. "That's a present that Mr. Kilpatrick would like. They've got class."

  "Yes," agreed Betsy. "They're awful nice."

  "Nice!" cried Billy. "They're colossal!"

  "OK," said Betsy. And the two children walked into the store.

  They came out with the suspenders, neatly wrapped.

  Billy's face was beaming, but Betsy looked longingly at the pink satin bow tie.

  "How about it if I keep the suspenders until Monday?" asked Billy just before they parted.

  "All right," replied Betsy.

  Now that Betsy was alone she thought more and more about the pink necktie.

  Finally she got her bank and opened it. Inside she found seventy-five cents. She put the money in her pocketbook and trotted back to the men's store. To her great delight the necktie was only seventy-five cents.

  On Sunday she opened the package five or six times, just to look at the shiny pink satin bow.

  When Betsy showed it to her father and mother, Mother said, "Do you think Mr. Kilpatrick will like a pink necktie, dear?"

  And Father said, "Like it! Why, he'll be the hit of the police force in that tie."

  The following morning Betsy stopped for Billy on the way to school. Billy had the box with the red suspenders under his arm, but Betsy had the box with the pink satin necktie in her coat pocket.

  The children could hardly wait to see Mr. Kilpatrick, so they ran all the way.

  When they reached Mr. Kilpatrick, he said, "Sure, and what's all the hurry this morning?"

  "We have a present for you," cried Billy, handing the package to Mr. Kilpatrick.

  "It's a just-for-instance present," said Betsy. And because Mr. Kilpatrick was Irish, he knew what a just-for-instance present is without being told.

  "A just-for-instance present!" shouted Mr. Kilpatrick in his great big voice. "Sure, they're the best presents of all. Here! Wait until I open it."

  The children watched the big policeman as he unwrapped the box. When he lifted the lid, he said, "My! Oh, my! Now did you ever see a more beautiful pair of suspenders! I always wanted a pair of red suspenders to match my red car. I can't thank you enough for such a present."

  The children beamed with happiness. With each word that Mr. Kilpatrick spoke they felt more pleased.

  Finally Betsy and Billy pranced off to school.

  The other package stayed in Betsy's coat pocket all day. When school was over, Billy said, "So long, Betsy! I gotta run. We have a game on for this afternoon."

  "So long!" replied Betsy and started off alone.

  When she reached Mr. Kilpatrick, she said, "Mr. Kilpatrick, I have another present for you."

  "Another present!" cried Mr. Kilpatrick.

  "Yes," said Betsy. "It's just extra."

  "Oh, Little Red Ribbons! You shouldn't have done all this," said Mr. Kilpatrick. "Two presents in one day!"

  Mr. Kilpatrick unwrapped the box and took off the lid. He picked up the pink satin bow. "Well! Well!
" he said. "Now, isn't that magnificent! A magnificent necktie, I call that."

  Betsy was so pleased she beamed. "I knew you would like it," she said as she started for home.

  Several weeks later Father took Betsy and Billy to the movies. The two children were just settled in their seats when they spied Mr. and Mrs. Kilpatrick coming up the aisle.

  "Hiya, Mr. Kilpatrick!" cried Billy.

  "Hello, Mr. Kilpatrick!" said Betsy.

  Mr. Kilpatrick waved his hand. Then he pushed his coat open. Then he put his thumbs under his red suspenders and winked at the children.

  Mrs. Kilpatrick was all dressed up. She was wearing a pink satin bow in her hair.

  8. The Christmas Fairies

  Over the garden wall from Betsy's house was the house where the Jacksons lived. Mr. Jackson had married Betsy's first teacher, Miss Grey. Betsy and her little sister, Star, loved Mr. and Mrs. Jackson very much indeed. They spent many happy hours playing in the Jacksons' house.

  Mrs. Jackson's maid, Clementine, had a little girl named Lillybell. Lillybell was three years old, and Betsy and Star were very fond of her. Star played a great deal with Lillybell while Betsy was in school.

  Lillybell and her mother lived in the apartment that Mr. Jackson had built for them, over his garage. Lillybell had her own bedroom and she had a playroom too. There Lillybell and Star played with their toys. Star could only say words, but Lillybell could say whole sentences and they understood each other perfectly.

  About two weeks before Christmas, Mrs. Jackson told Betsy that she was planning to have a Christmas party.

  "What kind of a Christmas party?" asked Betsy.

  "Oh, I thought it might be nice to invite the fathers and mothers of the children who live around here. You children could have a Christmas play and we can serve sandwiches and cider."

  "And doughnuts maybe?" asked Betsy.

  "Oh, yes!" said Mrs. Jackson. "By all means."

  "I think it sounds wonderful!" exclaimed Betsy. "I love having plays. What will the play be about?"

  "Well, there is a very nice Christmas play," said Mrs. Jackson. "It is about a woodchopper and his wife who lived on the edge of the forest. The woodchopper was a very old man and he was very tired of chopping wood. One day he said to his wife, 'Oh, dear! I wish I had an ax that would chop the wood all by itself.'

  "And his wife said, 'Perhaps the Christmas fairies will bring you such an ax.'

  "'Do you think they would?' asked the woodchopper.

  "'If you believe it is possible, they will,' said his wife.

  "Well," continued Mrs. Jackson, "when the woodchopper saw his friends, he told them about the ax that he had asked the fairies to bring and all of his friends laughed at him and said it wasn't possible.

  "Then the blacksmith spoke up and said, 'Look at me. I would like to have a hammer that would beat the iron without my having to lift it, but would I be so silly as to ask the Christmas fairies to bring one to me?'

  "And all of the people except the woodchopper laughed and said, 'No. The blacksmith wouldn't be so silly.'

  "Then the cobbler spoke up and he said, 'Look at me. I would like to have some scissors that would cut the leather for the shoes, all by itself. But would I be so silly as to ask the Christmas fairies to bring me such scissors?' And all of the people except the woodchopper laughed and shouted, 'No. You wouldn't be so silly. Only the woodchopper is silly.'"

  "And then what?" asked Betsy, as Mrs. Jackson stopped for breath.

  "Well, one after another spoke up and said what he would like to have, and the only one who didn't think it was silly was the woodchopper. Finally Christmas Eve arrived, and as the clock was striking the midnight hour the Christmas fairies arrived; and sure enough, they had with them the ax that the woodchopper had wished that he could have."

  "Oh, Mrs. Jackson!" cried Betsy. "I think that is a lovely play. Let's get everyone together and start rehearsing."

  Mrs. Jackson laughed. "All right," she said. "Suppose you tell the boys and girls to come over tomorrow evening and we will decide who will play the parts."

  The following day Betsy told Billy and Ellen about the Christmas party and the play that Mrs. Jackson was planning.

  Of course they were delighted with the idea, and soon the news had spread among the boys and girls of the neighborhood. When they gathered at the Jacksons' house there were over a dozen boys and girls.

  Mrs. Jackson read the play aloud. The next thing was to decide who was to play the parts. After a great deal of chatter, it was settled that Billy would be the woodchopper and Ellen would be his wife. Christopher was chosen to be the blacksmith and Kenny to be the cobbler. There were so many characters in the play that most of the children had parts. The rest were stage directors, lighting experts, scene painters, and curtain pullers.

  It took the children a long time to decide about the fairies.

  "They ought to be little," said Ellen.

  The children all agreed that the fairies should be little, but no one in the group was little enough. At last Betsy said, "I know! Let's have Star and Lillybell for the fairies."

  "Oh, yes! Let's!" said Ellen.

  "I think that would be lovely," said Mrs. Jackson.

  And so it was settled that Star and Lillybell would be the Christmas fairies.

  Rudy Wilson was the biggest boy, so he was to be dressed as the ax and the little fairies were to bring him in on Christmas Eve.

  The children met at Mrs. Jackson's house in the evenings and practiced the play. The Jacksons had a big living room, and a large doorway led from the living room into the dining room. There, in the doorway, Mr. Jackson built the stage. He and some of the children painted the scenery which divided the stage from the dining room.

  Mrs. Jackson and Betsy's mother spent hours making the children's costumes. The fairies' dresses were a delight to the children. They were made of white gauze with shiny gold spangles sewed all over the skirts. There were white gauze wings that fastened to the little tots' shoulders. Lillybell and Star thought they were wonderful.

  At last the night for the party arrived. The children reached Mrs. Jackson's house at seven o'clock. By the time their parents arrived at eight, the children were dressed in their costumes and everything was ready.

  The guests were seated in the living room and all was quiet. Just as Richard was about to pull the curtain, Mrs. Jackson said, "Where are the fairies? Has anyone seen the fairies?"

  All of the children began looking around for the fairies. They were nowhere in sight.

  "See if they are out in the audience, Betsy," said Mrs. Jackson.

  Betsy left her post as stage manager and went into the living room to look for the fairies.

  "I don't see them anywhere," said Betsy, returning backstage.

  "Well, run upstairs," said Mrs. Jackson. "Perhaps they are upstairs."

  Betsy ran upstairs. She looked through the rooms on the second floor but there were no fairies. Then she went up to the third floor. Outside the bathroom door she found Clementine.

  "Oh, Clementine!" said Betsy. "Do you know where the fairies are?"

  "I know where they are, all right," said Clementine. "They locked themselves in the bathroom and they can't unlock the door."

  "Oh, Clementine!" cried Betsy. "What shall we do? It's time for the play to begin."

  Clementine leaned her head against the door. "Lillybell, honey," she called. "You turn the little knob for your Mommy. You reach up and turn the little knob."

  There was only the sound of a bumping noise on the door.

  "I don't know how she ever reached up that high to lock it," said Clementine. "That child must have grown tall without my noticing."

  "Oh, Clementine! I'll go and get Mr. Jackson," said Betsy. And Betsy rushed down the stairs.

  In a few moments Mr. Jackson arrived.

  "I've been coaxing them for fifteen minutes," said Clementine, "but nothing's happened yet."

  "I'll see if I can take the door off," said
Mr. Jackson.

  Mr. Jackson examined the door. Then he said, "No use. The hinges are on the other side."

  "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" said Clementine. "What a night for this to happen."

  Suddenly Lillybell began to cry, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

  Then Star burst out. They cried so loudly that everyone downstairs heard them. Betsy's father and mother came up and they tried to quiet the fairies. But the fairies just howled.

  "We'll have to get the ladder out of the garage," said Mr. Jackson. "Then I can climb up and get in the window."

  Mr. Jackson and Betsy's father went down to the garage. They brought the ladder out and leaned it against the house beneath the bathroom window. The ladder was not nearly long enough.

  "My goodness!" said Mr. Jackson. "We'll never get up with this ladder."

  The fairies were screaming now and nearly all of the parents were either up in the third floor hall or outside, looking at the ladder that was too short.

  "You will have to call up the fire department," said someone. "They will send the ladder truck over."

  "Guess that is what we will have to do," said Mr. Jackson.

  Mr. Jackson went to the telephone and called the fire department. He told them about the difficulty and the fire department said that they would be right over.

  This was all very exciting and the children put on their coats and gathered on the porch to watch for the fire engines.

  Soon they heard the clang, clang, clang of the fire bell.

  "Here they come! Here they come!" the children cried.

  "Goodness gracious!" said Mr. Jackson. "They don't have to make all that racket just to bring a ladder, do they?"

  Just then the big red hook and ladder swung around the corner. "Clang! Clang! Clang!" went the bell.

  Billy was so excited he kept saying, "Oh, boy! Oh, boy!"

  Then, to the amazement of everyone, before the hook and ladder stopped at the curb the big shiny engine truck careered around the corner and stopped by the fireplug. Sparks shot out of its smokestack, looking in the darkness like giant Fourth of July sparklers. Right behind it was the hose truck, clanging its bell for all it was worth.

  "For mercy sake!" cried Betsy's father. "They've brought out the whole fire department."