"B" Is for Betsy (9 page)

Betsy knew at once what she was going to be. She would bring her Christmas Fairy dress and be the bareback rider. There wouldn't be any white horse but she could stand on a table and bounce up and down on her toes.

The next morning, the children were in school bright and early. Betty Jane and Ellen sliced the lemons and squeezed the juice into a big glass pitcher. Peter sat at his desk and blew up balloons. Miss Grey tied the strings on them. Kenny walked around, looking very important in his father's old felt hat. It was so big it rested
on his ears and made them stand out like the handles on a sugar bowl. He bustled the children into the dressing room, where they put on their costumes.

Just then the Taylor twins, Richard and Henry, came running in. "Miss Grey," cried Richard, "we are going to be 'Jumbo the Trained Elephant.' Mother gave us a sheet to wear and we have made a long trunk out of rags."

"Fine!" said Miss Grey. "You will make a wonderful elephant!" She covered the two little boys with the sheet and pinned it in the front and the back. She led them into the cloakroom and the children all cried, "Oh, look at the elephant!"

"Now," said Miss Grey, as the bell rang, "is the lemonade all ready?"

"Yes, it's ready," said Betty Jane.

"Then the performance can begin," said Miss Grey.

Kenny took his place by the door and began to shout, "Come and see the circus! The world's most wonderful circus! Come and see the circus!"

Miss Foster's children trooped in and squeezed themselves into the tiny first grade desks. Peter

went up and down the aisles, crying, "Buy a balloon! Buy a balloon!"

Kenny came into the room. "You will now see Betsy, the world's greatest bareback rider," he cried. Out came Betsy in her Christmas Fairy dress and her white dancing slippers. She climbed up on top of the table and bounced up and down on her toes. Everyone clapped.

"Now you will see the great juggler," cried Kenny. Christopher appeared with two lemons. He threw them up in the air. He caught one and the other fell on the floor, but everybody clapped because they thought that Christopher had done very well to catch one lemon.

"Now, folks," shouted Kenny, "we have Jumbo the Trained Elephant! He does stunts." Out trotted the twins under the sheet. Richard was the head of the elephant and Henry was the tail end. It was really a wonderful elephant, until Henry got so close to Richard that Jumbo began to cave in the middle. The more he caved in the more he looked like a camel. But everyone kept looking at his long trunk and that helped them to remember that he was an elephant.

"Sit up, Jumbo," shouted Kenny. Henry immediately sat on the floor and Richard climbed
on a little chair. There was a great deal of clapping.

"Dance, Jumbo," shouted Kenny. Jumbo began to dance. He danced so hard that he stepped on his trunk. Richard fell to the floor and Henry came bursting out of the tail end of the elephant.

There lay Richard, all tangled up in Jumbo's skin. The children laughed and laughed at poor Jumbo. Richard was so sorry that he had spoiled Jumbo that he looked as though he were going to cry. Miss Grey said that she thought that Jumbo should have some lemonade, so Richard

and Henry went over to the lemonade table and Betty Jane gave them each a little paper cup full of lemonade.

"Ladies and gentlemen," cried Kenny, "you will now see the trained lions." Billy Porter walked out, followed by three little girls and two little boys. Billy had a whip and he wore a toy revolver in his belt. He cracked the whip and the little boys and girls got up on five boxes and made believe that they were very fierce lions. Billy held a chair in front of him. He had seen the lion tamer in the real circus hold a chair in front of him. Billy cracked his whip again. The lions roared terrible roars.

At that very moment, through the open window, came a real live monkey. He was wearing a little plaid kilt, a bright red jacket, and a red hat.

"Oh, look at the monkey," cried the children. The lions jumped off their boxes and the lion tamer dropped his chair. The clowns came rushing out of the dressing room. With one leap, the monkey landed on the lemonade table and began cracking peanuts. Betty Jane was frightened and ran to Miss Grey.

"There must be an organ-grinder somewhere," said Miss Grey.

The children were so excited that they forgot all about the circus, but the monkey sat quietly eating peanuts as fast as he could.

Miss Grey looked out of the window and, sure enough, there was an organ-grinder, running through the schoolyard gate. He was shouting, "My monkey! My monkey! I lose my monkey!"

"Your monkey is in here," called Miss Grey. "Come in and get him."

The organ-grinder came running into the classroom. He was hot and angry. "Oh," he cried, "you bad, bad monkey! You run-a away, and now you eat-a da peanuts. I'll beat you."

The monkey jumped from the table and hid in the corner.

"Oh, don't let him beat the monkey, Miss Grey," said Betsy.

"Wouldn't you like to have a glass of lemonade?" Miss Grey asked the organ-grinder.

"Lemonade!" said the organ-grinder. "Yes, thank you very much. I like lemonade."

Miss Grey poured out a glass of lemonade and handed it to him. Then she poured some into the monkey's tin cup and he drank every drop.

"He won't beat the monkey, will he, Miss Grey?" Betsy pleaded.

"No," said the organ-grinder, "I no beat-a da
monkey. All same, he very bad monk, to run away." The organ-grinder smiled and showed his white teeth. "You like me to play some music?" he asked.

"Oh, yes!" said the children.

The organ-grinder began to turn the handle on the organ. As he did so, the monkey came out of the corner and began to dance.

How the children shouted and clapped their hands. When the music was over, the monkey tipped his tiny red hat. Ellen gave him some peanuts and he ran up to the organ-grinder's shoulder.

"Good-bye," said the organ-grinder, as he left the room. "Thank you very much for catch my monkey and give me lemonade."

"Good-bye," the children called.

"Well," said Kenny, "I guess the circus is over."

Miss Foster's children passed out of the room, while the first-graders took off their costumes. When they were all in their seats, Billy said, "It was a real circus, wasn't it, Miss Grey?"

"It certainly was," replied Miss Grey.

Peter was still holding his bunch of balloons. "I sold a balloon," he said. "Miss Foster gave me a penny for it."

The last day of school came on a warm day in June. Betsy was promoted, so were Ellen and Billy, Christopher, Betty Jane, and Mary Lou. Kenny was promoted number one of the boys and Betsy was number one of the girls. All the children felt very big, now that they were in the second grade.

Father had promised Betsy a big surprise if
she was promoted. Betsy could hardly wait for Father to come home. At last she heard his key in the front door. Betsy ran to greet him. "Father," she called, "I'm promoted. I was number one of the girls. I'm in the second grade."

Father picked up his little girl and kissed her. "Hurrah for Betsy!" he cried.

"Have you got my surprise?" asked Betsy.

"Yes, indeed!" replied Father, as he set Betsy down.

Betsy looked in Father's pockets, but there was no package. "Where is it?" she asked.

Father laughed. "Oh, this surprise hasn't any shape," said Father. Betsy and Father always called packages shapes. "But it is a very nice surprise," he said. "You will have to wait until tomorrow morning for it."

In the morning, Father and Mother and Betsy were leaving for Grandfather's farm. Father was driving them to the farm, where Betsy and Mother would stay through the long summer. Father would come every Friday and stay until Sunday.

Betsy loved the farm. There was a pony to ride and trees to climb and a great big barn to play in. There was Old Ned, who took her to the village when he went for groceries and feed.

Sometimes he let Betsy drive the horse. Then there was Linda in the kitchen, Linda who made the big ginger cookies that were always in the center of the breakfast table.

There was only one thing that made Betsy feel sorry about going to the farm. That was Ellen. She would miss Ellen so very much. There were no little girls at Grandfather's, just two little boys who lived across the road.

The next morning, Father had everything packed in the car before breakfast. After breakfast, Betsy and Thumpy got in the back of the car and Mother sat beside Father.

"You haven't forgotten my surprise, have you, Father?" asked Betsy.

"No, indeed," said Father as he started the car.

Betsy wondered what the surprise could be. "What do you think it is, Thumpy?" said Betsy. Thumpy was too busy to think about surprises. He was hanging his head out of the window and letting the wind blow his long ears.

Soon Father slowed down and the car stopped. Betsy looked out of the window. They were in front of Ellen's house. Ellen was standing on the front step. She was wearing her best hat and her
coat was over her arm. Beside her was a big traveling bag. "Here they are, Mother," Ellen called through the screen door. Ellen's mother and her brother and her baby sister all came running to the front door. Ellen ran out to the car. Betsy's father got out of the car and picked up the traveling bag.