Betsy and Billy (10 page)

"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.

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.