Here's a Penny (7 page)

"Do you make a lot of money?" asked Penny, his eyes growing very big.

"I do pretty good," said Peter, "counting the presents I get from my customers at Christmas."

Penny's eyes grew even bigger. "You get presents from your customers!" he exclaimed.

"Yep!" said Peter.

Just then the bell rang and the two boys parted.

That night Penny dreamed that he had hundreds of customers and that they were all giving him watches. He had great piles of watches. He was shoveling them into an express wagon when he woke up.

The next day Penny watched for Peter in the school yard. At last he saw him. He went up to Peter and said, "Peter, where is the corner where I could sell newspapers?"

"Well, if you really want to," said Peter, "I'll take you over. When do you want to start?"

"Oh, I can start today," said Penny.

"Okay!" said Peter. "I'll meet you at the front door right after school."

"Okay!" said Penny.

"Don't be late," Peter called after Penny.

Penny could hardly wait for school to be over. At last the bell rang. Penny was the first one out of the door.

Patsy called after him, "Hey, Penny! Wait for me." But Penny didn't even hear her.

He reached the front door of the school just as Peter arrived.

"Come on," said Peter. "We have to get our papers first. How much money have you?"

"Money?" said Penny. "I haven't any money. I'm going to get some, selling papers."

Peter stood stock-still. "Well, you have to buy the papers before you can sell them," he said.

"You have to buy them!" exclaimed Penny, looking very puzzled.

"Sure!" said Peter. "They don't give them to you. You buy them for two cents apiece and sell them for three cents. That way you make a cent on each sale."

"Oh!" said Penny. "Well, I guess I can't sell any, 'cause I haven't any money to buy the papers."

"Well," said Peter, "tell you what we'll do. I'll buy you twelve papers. That will be twenty-four cents. Then, after you sell 'em, you can give me back the twenty-four cents. Okay?"

"Okay," said Penny.

The boys hurried along. Soon they came to a little store. Outside of the store stood a crowd of boys. They were mostly big boys. Just as Peter and Penny joined the group a newspaper truck stopped in front of the crowd. The boys rushed up to the truck.

Peter ran into the store and brought out his express wagon. "I park it here," he said to Penny.

There was a great deal of shouting and laughing as the man on the truck handed the big bundles of newspapers to the boys.

When Peter stepped up to the truck, he said, "Twelve extra tonight."

"Hello, Peter!" said the man. "Who's the little shaver with you?"

"He's a friend of mine," said Peter.

"He's not going to sell, is he?" said the man.

"Sure!" replied Peter.

"Why, that baby can't make change," said the man.

"I'm gonna teach him," said Peter.

The man laughed as he threw the pile of papers into Peter's wagon.

"Come on," said Peter, turning to Penny.

Penny trotted along beside Peter. He had no idea where he was. It was like being in a strange city. They walked several blocks to a corner where a streetcar stopped. "Now, this is the corner," said Peter. "You ought to make out pretty good here."

Peter poked the twelve papers under Penny's arm. "Now," said Peter, "I'll show you how to make change."

Penny looked at Peter with big round eyes.

"If a man gives you a nickel," said Peter, "give him two cents back."

"Oh!" said Penny.

"And if he gives you a dime, you give him a nickel and two cents back."

"Uh-huh!" said Penny.

"If he gives you a quarter..." Peter continued.

"What's a quarter?" asked Penny.

"Don't you know what a quarter is?" asked Peter in surprise.

Penny shook his head. Peter looked at him helplessly. At last he said, "Well, if he gives you a quarter, tell him he'll have to buy it somewhere else; you haven't any change. I gotta hurry now."

In a moment Peter had disappeared.

Penny was all alone now, standing on the corner. He held tightly to his newspapers. He felt that he had been holding them for hours before a man finally came up to him and held out three pennies.

Penny was so pleased that his face got pink and his ears pinker. "Oh, thanks!" he said, as he handed the man the paper.

"You're a little tyke to be selling papers," said the man, patting Penny on the head.

"I'm going to buy my mother a Christmas present," said Penny.

"You are?" said the man. "That being the case I'll buy two papers."

Penny thought this was wonderful. He handed the man another paper and pocketed the three cents. "Thank you," said Penny, grinning from ear to ear.

In a few moments another man came up to Penny. He, too, handed him three cents. Penny gave him a paper and said, "I'm going to buy my mother a Christmas present."

Penny guessed that the man didn't hear him because he walked off without a word.

It was a long time before anyone else came. The newspapers began to feel heavy. Penny shifted them from one arm to the other. It was beginning to get dark. Soon the streetlamps were turned on. Penny began to wonder whether he was ever going to sell another paper.

After a while a man came up to him. He handed Penny a nickel. Penny tried to think what Peter had told him about a nickel. He knew he had to give the man something, so he handed him a penny. As he did so, Penny said, "I'm going to buy a Christmas present for Mother."

"Is that so?" said the man. "Well, that doesn't make a newspaper cost four cents. Where is my other penny?"

Penny reached into his pocket and handed over the other penny.

More and more people were getting off the streetcars now, but no one seemed to want a paper. Penny waited and waited and waited. He grew tired of standing and tired of holding his papers. Every once in a while he rattled the money in his pocket. It made him feel better.

At last a lady stopped in front of him. She opened her bag and fumbled around inside. Then she handed Penny a large coin. Penny didn't know what it was but he knew that it wasn't a nickel or a dime. So he looked up and said in a sad voice, "I haven't any change."

The lady put the coin back in her bag and walked on.

Penny counted his papers. There were eight. They seemed like eight hundred to Penny.

Suddenly Penny felt lost. He had no idea where he was and he had no idea how to get home. All he could do was stand still and hold his papers. He felt a big lump in his throat and tears smarted his eyes. Oh, how he wished that he was home!

And then, out of the legs of the crowd, Peter appeared. Peter with his express wagon. "How are you doing?" asked Peter.

"All right," said Penny, blinking back the tears.

"How many have you got left?" Peter asked.

"Eight," said Penny.

"Eight!" exclaimed Peter. "Say, you should have sold out long ago! Here, give me some of them."

Peter took six of the papers. He spoke to the men who passed. "Paper, sir?" he would say. "Evening paper, Mister?"

Penny watched Peter, openmouthed. In no time at all Peter had sold the six papers. "See, that's the way to do it," he said. "You gotta call 'em out."

Penny went up to the next group of people and called out, "Paper, Mister? Paper?"

In a few minutes he had only one left.

"Now you're doing good," said Peter.

Penny felt quite excited with only one paper left to sell. He ran up to a tall man and called out, "Paper, sir? Evening paper?"

The man stopped and looked down. "Penny!" he cried. "Penny! What are you doing!"

"Why, Daddy!" cried Penny. "I'm selling papers, Daddy."

Daddy stooped down. "Penny," he said, "Mother and I have looked everywhere for you.

Why did you do this, dear? We thought you were lost."

"I've been earning money, Daddy," said Penny. "I'm going to buy Mother a watch for Christmas."

"Goodness gracious!" said Daddy. "How did you get the papers?"

"Peter bought them for me," said Penny, as Peter came up.

"Well, Peter, that was nice of you to help Penny out. How much does he owe you for them?"

"Twenty-four cents," replied Peter.

"Let's see what you have in your pocket, Penny," said Daddy.

Penny pulled all of the change out of his pocket. "It's a lot, isn't it, Daddy?" he said.

"Well, it won't be so much when you pay Peter back," said Daddy, as he picked out twenty-four cents and handed it to Peter.

Penny looked a little crestfallen. "All that, Daddy?" he said.

"Yes," said Daddy, "the rest is yours."

"Is it enough to buy the watch for Mother?" asked Penny.

"Well, no," answered Daddy, "but maybe we can buy it for her together. Come along now. We must hurry home. Mother is still looking for you."

On Christmas morning under the tree there was a pile of packages for Mother. Right on top was a small package. Penny stood by his tall daddy and watched her as she opened it. When she lifted the lid of the box, there was the watch that she had chosen in the jeweler's window. There was a card inside of the box. The card said, "Christmas love to Mother from her two working men."

Penny's home was right on the edge of a park. There was a stream that flowed through the park where Penny and Patsy went wading in the summertime. Across the stream and just beyond the park, there was a meadow where wildflowers grew.

One warm Saturday morning Penny and Patsy decided to go to the meadow and gather buttercups.

"Maybe we could take our lunch and have a picnic," said Patsy.

"Oh, yes! Let's!" cried Penny.

The children went off to ask their mothers if they could take a picnic lunch over to the meadow.

Penny's mother said that he could go. "But you must wear your old overalls," she said.

"Aren't you ever going to buy me any new overalls?" asked Penny, as he put them on.

"Oh, yes," replied Mother. "I'll get you some new ones when those are worn out."

Just then Patsy came in. She was wearing overalls, too. "My mommy says I can go," she said. "My lunch is packed in this basket." Patsy held up a little straw basket.

Soon Penny had a basket packed with lunch, and the children started off.

"Don't go beyond the new houses on the other side of the meadow," Penny's mother called after him. "And when you hear the church clock strike two, come home."

"All right, Mother," said Penny.

Soon the children reached the park. They went down by the stream. The water was clear and shallow. It gurgled over the pebbles and around the smooth stones. There was one place where the children always crossed the stream. The stones were just close enough so that they could step from one to the other. The children followed the stream until they came to this place. Penny led the way. Patsy followed, one stone behind him.

In the middle of the stream Penny stopped. There was a little piece of wood caught in a nearby rock. "Oh, look! There's a boat going down the stream," said Penny, pointing to the piece of wood. "And the whole crew will be shipwrecked against that rock unless I save them. And all the precious cargo of gold and spices will be lost."