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  10. How the Sailboat Got Its Name

  Penny was eating his cereal. It was the Monday after he and Peter had been to the baseball game. Over a large spoonful of cereal Penny said, "Are we going to 'dopt Peter today?"

  "Well, dear," said Mother, "Daddy and I have been talking about Peter. We can't decide such an important thing in a hurry, you know. We feel that we want to know Peter better."

  Penny's face began to look very long and sad. "I know him," he said.

  "Now don't feel unhappy," said Mother. "Daddy and I have decided one thing. We are going to take Peter to the seashore with us for the summer."

  "Oh, that's fine!" cried Penny. "Shall I tell him when I see him today?"

  "Peter already knows about it," replied Mother. "Daddy went to see him yesterday. He will go with us as soon as school is over. In the meantime, Penny, don't say anything to Peter about our adopting him. Let's keep that a secret between you and Daddy and me."

  "All right," said Penny. "But someday we'll tell him the secret, won't we?"

  "We'll wait and see, dear," said Mother. "We'll know by the end of the summer."

  A week later school was over and Penny and Peter, Daddy and Mother, Really, Truly, and Minnie, all left for the seashore.

  The little town where Penny lived in the summer was on a small cove. The house stood on a rocky cliff right by the edge of the water. A flight of stone steps led down to the dock.

  The year before, Daddy had bought a beautiful new sailboat. When Daddy wasn't sailing it, the boat was tied to the dock. There it bobbed up and down like a restless pony.

  For a long time the sailboat hadn't any name. Daddy and Mother and Penny all tried to think of a name for the boat but nothing sounded just right. Daddy said that the boat belonged to the three of them and so it should be named for all of them.

  Daddy tried to make a name out of the first letters of each of their names but Mother said it sounded like one of the kittens sneezing.

  At last Mother said that she had a name for the sailboat.

  "What is it?" said Daddy and Penny together.

  "The Threeofus," said Mother.

  "Why, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Daddy. "That's exactly right. Now everyone will know that the Threeofus belongs to the three of us."

  That very day Daddy painted the sailboat's name on her side. All of the neighbors came to look at her and said what a nice name it was.

  Penny loved the Threeofus. Daddy taught him how to sail it. By the end of the summer Penny could handle either the tiller or the sail.

  Peter had never been in a sailboat. The first time Daddy took the two boys out for a sail, Peter said, "Gee! This is almost as wonderful as playing baseball."

  Peter asked a great many questions about the boat. Daddy let Penny answer most of them. After all, Peter had taught Penny how to play baseball. Now Penny could teach Peter how to sail a boat.

  Before the summer was over both Peter and Penny could sail the boat very well indeed. Daddy said that in another year the boys would be able to take the boat out all by themselves.

  "I wish we could take it out alone this year," said Penny. "Just once."

  As the summer drew to a close, everyone talked of the boat race. The race was to be held on Labor Day in the afternoon.

  Everyone who owned a sailboat was certain that his boat would win the race. Peter and Penny and Daddy told each other that they were sure that the Threeofus would be the winner.

  "She's the fastest little sailboat in the cove," Daddy would say.

  "I wish I were big enough to sail her in the race," said Penny.

  "Someday you will," said Daddy.

  "You don't think we're big enough, do you?" said Peter.

  "No," replied Daddy. "I'll have to do it this time."

  "Well, we're going with you, aren't we?" said Penny.

  Daddy didn't answer right away. Then he said, "Yes, I guess so."

  "What do you mean, Daddy, by you guess so?" said Penny.

  "Well, you see," said Daddy, "when you race, it is best to have just one for the crew. But I know that you both want to go, so we'll try it."

  The morning of the race Peter sat on the dock, looking into the water. He was thinking. Penny and Daddy were busy with the sailboat. At last Peter came over to Daddy and said, "I'm not going in the Threeofus when you race her this afternoon."

  "You're not?" said Daddy.

  "No," said Peter. "The Threeofus stands a better chance to win the race if there are only two in her. And I want her to win."

  Daddy threw his arm around Peter. "Peter," he said, "that's wonderful of you! Now, I'm sure she'll win."

  The race was to start at three o'clock at the Yacht Club. The club was about two miles from the Threeofus's dock.

  After lunch Daddy said, "I'm going to drive up to Cooper's Point for some lobsters. I'll be back in plenty of time to take the boat up to the club."

  Daddy went off and the boys went swimming. After their swim they played on the dock. Three o'clock drew nearer and nearer.

  "Daddy ought to be here soon," said Penny.

  "Yes," said Peter. "Let's go see what time it is."

  The boys were climbing the steps to the house when Penny's mother appeared on the porch.

  "Peter!" she called. "Penny! Come quickly!"

  The boys ran up the rest of the steps. "Where's Daddy, Mother?" Penny called.

  "Daddy has a flat tire," said Mother. "He's stuck between here and Cooper's Point. He just telephoned to tell me."

  "Oh, Mother! Are we going to miss the race?" cried Penny.

  "Not if you and Peter can sail the boat down to the Yacht Club. Daddy will meet you there."

  "All by ourselves!" exclaimed Penny.

  "There is nothing else to do," said Mother. "Do you think you can do it?"

  "Sure!" said Peter. "We can do it. We have to do it. The Threeofus is going to win the race."

  The two boys started back to the dock. Penny's mother went with them. She helped them to put up the sail. When they were ready, she untied the rope that held the boat fast. As they set forth, she thought they both looked very little.

  Peter's face was very serious as the wind filled the sail and the boat glided away from the dock.

  He was taking the Threeofus to win the race. It was the most important thing he had ever done.

  Meanwhile Penny's daddy had reached the Yacht Club. He stood on the dock, straining his eyes for the sight of the Threeofus. More and more sailboats arrived. They were like a great flock of birds, resting on the water around the Yacht Club.

  Daddy looked at his watch. Quarter of three and the Threeofus was nowhere to be seen. It looked as though she had lost the race before she started. Then, away off, Daddy saw a sailboat. It was the Threeofus. Slowly, as the minutes passed, she grew larger. At two minutes of three Penny threw the rope to Daddy. Daddy pulled the boat to the dock and jumped in. At the same time Peter jumped out. "You'll win. I know you'll win," was all he had time to say.

  "Thanks, Peter! You're a trump!" Daddy called, as he sailed up to his place on the line.

  Peter never took his eyes off the Threeofus. She seemed to skim over the water. Soon she was leading the race.

  Peter was jumping up and down, yelling with all his might, when Penny and Daddy crossed the line ahead of all the others. "You've won! You've won! You've won!" he cried, as Penny and Daddy stepped out of the boat.

  "Yes," said Daddy, "but we could not have won without you, Peter. So you step up and receive the prize for the Threeofus."

  Peter walked over to the president of the Yacht Club. The president handed Peter a beautiful silver sailboat. "The first prize," he said, "goes to the Threeofus."

  Peter said, "Thank you, sir," while everyone clapped.

  The next morning when Penny and Peter finished their breakfast, they went out to look at the Threeofus. Daddy and Mother were standing by the boat. Daddy had a can of paint in one hand and a brush in the other. On the side of the boat, in fresh paint,
was a new name. It was the Fourofus.

  "What does that mean?" asked Penny.

  Mother put her arm around Peter. "It means that we now have two little boys. We are going to adopt Peter."

  "And the sailboat belongs to the four of us," cried Penny. "And Peter belongs to us and we belong to Peter. Oh, Mummy! I told you he did. Didn't I tell you?"

  Turn the page to see more of Penny's adventures in

  Penny and Peter

  where Penny's wishes really do come true.

  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 boys 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 ba
g 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.