Betsy and Billy Read online

  Two days before the first of May the expressman drove up to Betsy's door and left two wooden crates. Inside of the crates were the little white lamb and the little pink pig.

  Betsy's father had fenced off a part of the yard with chicken wire. There Betsy put the lamb and the pig. Betsy loved the little lamb. It was so gentle and it sounded a little bit sad when it said "Baa." She petted it and pulled up handfuls of grass for it to eat.

  Billy spent all of his time at Betsy's looking at his pig. It was a little bit hard to hold and it squealed most of the time, but Billy was very gentle with it.

  At last May Day arrived. Betsy was up bright and early and Billy arrived long before breakfast. They were both wearing their costumes. Billy wore a Scottish kilt and Betsy wore a long pink dress with a hoop skirt and ruffled pantalettes.

  Betsy's father put the pig and the lamb into the crates. Then he put the crates in the automobile. Billy and Betsy and Betsy's mother got in the car and they all drove to the school.

  It was a beautiful day and the maypole looked very gay with the bright ribbons blowing in the breeze. Mr. Windrim had put the pole in the center of the playground across the street from the school. Near the pole he had built a platform. Then he had made a throne for the May Queen. When all of the fathers and mothers were seated on the chairs around the platform, Ellen walked out and took her seat on the throne. Sally put a wreath of flowers on her head while all of the children sang a Spring Song. Then the children took hold of the ribbons and danced around the maypole.

  After the maypole dance was over the children gave their Mother Goose performance. When Betsy's turn came, she lifted the lamb out of the crate. She put it down on the ground and coaxed it very softly. The little lamb said, "Baa!" and wandered off. Betsy went after it. "Come, come, Baby," she coaxed, but the lamb wouldn't follow Betsy.

  Everyone was waiting for Betsy to appear, but the lamb would not budge a step. "You will have to carry it," said Miss Grey.

  Betsy picked up the lamb and carried it out onto the platform. As she held it in her arms, she said,

  "Mary had a little lamb

  With fleece as white as snow,

  And everywhere that Mary went

  The lamb was sure to go."

  Just then the lamb began to go, for it slipped lower and lower in Betsy's arms.

  Betsy went on:

  "It followed her to school one day,

  That was against the rule;

  It made the children laugh and play

  To see a lamb at school."

  "Baa! Baa!" said the lamb. Betsy took a deep breath.

  "And so the teacher turned it out,

  But still it lingered near,

  And waited patiently about

  Till Mary did appear."

  By this time the lamb had slipped so low that Betsy decided to put it down. She thought it would be better if she sat down too, so she squatted down beside the lamb and finished her piece.

  " 'Why does the lamb love Mary so?'

  The eager children cry.

  'Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know!'

  The teacher did reply."

  Everyone clapped as Betsy led the lamb away.

  Then it was Billy's turn. Billy picked up his pig and tucked it under his arm. He ran out on the platform and said in a very loud voice,

  "Tom, Tom, the piper's son,

  Stole a pig and away he run."

  Just then the pig slipped from under Billy's arm. It dropped to the ground and away it ran as fast as it could go. Billy jumped down from the platform and raced after the pig. It flew across the green grass and down the street. Billy sped after it.

  Mr. Kilpatrick was standing in the center of the big wide street. Just as he blew his whistle, he looked up the street. He saw the little pig coming towards him and Billy pounding along behind the pig. The pig was making straight for Mr. Kilpatrick. The big policeman stooped down and caught it just like a football. Billy was all out of breath when he reached Mr. Kilpatrick.

  "Didn't I tell you not to let this pig get away?" said Mr. Kilpatrick, as he handed the pig to Billy. "Haven't I got enough to do without having to catch runaway pigs?"

  "Oh, gee, Mr. Kilpatrick, I couldn't help it," said Billy, "it slipped."

  10. The Wishing Well

  The week before school closed was the busiest week that Betsy had ever known. All of the children were as busy as bees. In every room they hammered and sawed and painted and pasted. Rolls and rolls of brightly colored crepe paper were piled up on tables. The whole school was getting ready for a bazaar.

  At first the children in the second grade didn't know what a bazaar was. Billy said he thought he had seen one at the zoo.

  Miss Grey said, "No, Billy, a bazaar is not an animal."

  Betsy said that she had been to a bazaar once. "They had tables trimmed with pretty colored paper," she said. "And they sold all kinds of things. They sold cakes and dolls and flowers

  and preserves and everything you could think of."

  "When are we going to have the bazaar?" asked Kenny.

  "The last day of school," said Miss Grey.

  "And are we going to sell things?" asked Billy.

  "Yes, Billy," answered Miss Grey.

  "What will we do with all of the money?" said Billy.

  "The money is going to be spent for new things for our school playground," said Miss Grey. "It will buy a new sliding board, some new basketballs, a football, baseballs, and bats. Of course it depends upon how much money we earn."

  "What will the second grade sell?" asked Ellen.

  "I haven't decided yet," said Miss Grey.

  Betsy raised her hand. "Yes, Betsy," said Miss Grey.

  "At the bazaar that I went to, they had a wishing well. You put ten cents in the bucket and when the bucket came up there was a surprise package in it. It was fun. I got my bank in the wishing well."

  "Couldn't we have a wishing well?" asked Kenny.

  "I believe we could, Kenny," said Miss Grey, "but we would have to build it ourselves."

  The children thought it would be wonderful to have a wishing well. Christopher said that his father had a grocery store and that he could get a big sugar barrel to make the wishing well.

  A week before the bazaar Christopher and Billy brought the sugar barrel to school in an express wagon. The children set to work at once. They cut a big piece out of the side of the barrel

  down near the bottom. This made an opening where someone could reach in and put the surprises in the bucket. They covered the rest of the barrel with large sheets of paper. With gray and white and black paint they made the paper look like stones. Across the top of the barrel they fastened a rod with a handle. Billy tied the bucket on the end of a piece of rope. Then he tied the rope to the center of the rod.

  "Now let's turn the handle and see if it works," said Kenny.

  Betsy turned the handle. Down went the bucket to the bottom of the well. She turned it again and the bucket came up.

  "It works, Miss Grey!" the children shouted.

  "Splendid!" said Miss Grey. "You have made a wonderful well. Now I hope we will have a lot of nice surprise packages to put in the bucket."

  The children could hardly wait until the last day of school. It was the day for the bazaar and the day they would be promoted to the third grade.

  When the day came, Miss Grey's desk was piled high with little packages. Just before Mr. Windrim came in to carry the wishing well out to the playground, Miss Grey said, "Now, boys and girls, I have some good news for you."

  All of the children looked at Miss Grey.

  "Every boy and girl in this class is promoted to the third grade," said Miss Grey.

  The children clapped their hands. They were so glad that they were all promoted.

  "Who is promoted number one?" asked Billy.

  "You will have to ask the wishing well," said Miss Grey. "Christopher, will you come and grind up the bucket? The name of the number one child is in the bucket."


  The children were very still as Christopher walked to the front of the room. Betsy could feel her heart beat just a little bit faster. She was sure that her name was in the bucket. She had been promoted number one from the first grade. Of course I will be number one again, thought Betsy.

  Christopher was standing by the wishing well now. He turned the handle very slowly. In a few moments the bucket appeared. Christopher put his hand in the bucket and pulled out a piece of paper. He looked at the paper. Betsy stared straight at Christopher and her eyes were big and round.

  "Will you read it, Christopher?" said Miss Grey.

  This is what Christopher read: "Ellen is promoted number one."

  Betsy could hardly believe her ears. She had been so sure that Christopher would read her name. But he hadn't. Ellen was promoted number one. Betsy looked at Ellen. Her face was

  shining, she was so happy. A big lump came up in Betsy's throat. She bit her lip and blinked her eyes to keep back the tears.

  Miss Grey looked at Betsy and said, "Betsy, would you like to take charge of the wishing well this afternoon?"

  Betsy shook her head. "No," she whispered. Betsy was so disappointed that she didn't even care about the bazaar.

  "Well then, I'll do it," said Miss Grey. "Perhaps you will come and help me." Betsy just shook her head.

  "Billy and Kenny are going to put the packages in the bucket," said Miss Grey.

  Mr. Windrim came in and carried the wishing well out to the playground. He put it in front of some bushes. Billy and Kenny put all of the packages in the bottom of the well. Then they sat down under the bushes to wait for customers.

  The playground looked very gay. Each class had a table. The tables were covered with different colored papers. The third grade had made a little house called a Jelly House. They had tiny jars of jelly to sell.

  Betsy was feeling so unhappy that she didn't see how pretty the bazaar was. She wished that she could go home but she had promised to meet Mother at the flagpole. She wondered what Mother and Father would say when they heard that she was not promoted number one. She guessed that they would be disappointed in her.

  Betsy stood by the flagpole looking very sad. After a while she saw Mother coming towards her. Betsy ran to meet her. She flung her arms around her mother's waist. "Mother, Mother," she cried, "I didn't get promoted number one."

  Mother stooped down and put her arms around Betsy. "Come," said Mother, "let's sit down on this bench." Betsy sat down beside Mother. She put her head on Mother's shoulder and cried very hard. "I didn't get promoted number one," she sobbed. "Ellen was promoted number one. I don't like Ellen anymore."

  "Now, Betsy," said Mother, "it is not like you to say that and I know that you don't mean it."

  Betsy reached for Mother's handkerchief.

  "You were promoted, weren't you, Betsy?" said Mother.

  "Yes, but I wanted to be first," said Betsy, "just like last year."

  Mother patted her little girl's shoulder. "You did the very best you could," she said. "That makes Father and me very happy. It doesn't matter if you were not first. You see, darling, if you were promoted number one all of the time, no one else would know how nice it is to be number one. You like sharing your toys with Ellen and now you are sharing this happiness with her."

  Betsy sat up and wiped her eyes. She was beginning to feel a little better. "Then it doesn't matter, does it, Mother?" she said.

  "It doesn't matter at all," said Mother. "Shall we take Ellen with us to Grandfather's for the summer?"

  "Oh, yes," said Betsy, as she wiped the last tear away. "You will have three little girls this summer, won't you, Mother? You will have Ellen and Star and me."

  "Yes," said Mother; "it will be lovely to have three little girls."

  Betsy got down off of the bench. "Well now, I have to help Miss Grey with the wishing well," she said.

  Betsy and Mother walked over to the wishing well. "I'll help you, Miss Grey," said Betsy.

  "Oh, thank you, Betsy," said Miss Grey. "You are just the one I need. Billy and Kenny are

  having such a good time putting the packages in the bucket."

  Betsy looked down into the well. She could see Billy's bright face peeping up through the opening in the side of the barrel. "We're making a lot of money," said Billy.

  "Mother," said Betsy, "I want to whisper something to you."

  Mother leaned over and Betsy stood on her tiptoes. "Mother," she said, "wouldn't you like to have a little boy too?"

  "A little boy?" said Mother.

  "Yes," said Betsy, "couldn't we take Billy too? There is plenty of room at Granddaddy's."

  "Perhaps we can," whispered Mother. "We'll see."

  * * *

  Turn the page for a peek at Betsy's adventures in

  Back to School

  with Betsy

  when Betsy and Billy and their friends

  enter third grade.

  * * *

  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 t
o 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 while 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."