Back to School with Betsy (10 page)

"I found her," said Betsy. "She's for us to 'dopt."

"But, Betsy," said Mother, "her mother is probably looking everywhere for her. Where did you find her?"

"I found her on my way home from school," said Betsy. "And I asked her where she lived and she didn't say anything. She just cried awful hard. And I asked her if she didn't have any father or mother and she didn't say anything. She just cried and cried."

"Well, I guess she can't talk yet," said Mother. "I'll have to telephone to the police and tell them that we have found a lost child."

"I don't want you to telephone to the police," said Betsy, beginning to cry. "I want to keep her. She's just exactly what I want."

"Now, Betsy darling," said Mother, "you can't have everything you want and you certainly can't have someone else's child."

"Father would let me keep her, I know he would," sobbed Betsy.

"Father would do no such thing," said Mother. "People who steal other people's children get arrested. You don't want to get arrested, do you?"

"But I didn't steal her," sobbed Betsy. "I found her."

"Well, suppose your own little sister, Star,

got lost. Wouldn't you want the person who found her to bring her back to us?" asked Mother. "You wouldn't want them to keep her, would you?"

"No," said Betsy, gulping, "I wouldn't."

"Well, this little girl's mother is worried about her," said Mother, as she picked up the telephone.

Betsy sat down on a chair. She took the baby on her lap. The baby went on sucking her lollipop.

Betsy listened to Mother while she gave her name and address to the policeman. Then she heard Mother say, "Do you know of anyone who has lost a little black girl? She is about two years old."

Betsy could hear the policeman's voice buzzing on the other end of the telephone. She couldn't tell what he was saying.

She heard Mother say, "Why, you don't say so! Well, I am so glad Betsy found her. We'll take her right over. What did you say her name is?"

When Mother hung up the receiver, she said, "Well, what do you think, Betsy! She belongs to the lady who has moved into the Jacksons' new apartment. The baby's name is Lillybell. Lillybell wandered off while they were busy with the moving van. Her mother has been looking everywhere for her. Mrs. Jackson telephoned the police an hour ago."

Betsy put Lillybell down and slid out of the chair. "Oh, Mother," she cried, "then Lillybell is going to live right on the other side of the garden wall, too!"

"That's right, " said Mother.

"Then I can play with her, just as though she was 'dopted, can't I?" said Betsy.

"That will be nice for you," replied Mother.

Mother and Betsy each took hold of one of Lillybell's little hands. Lillybell's lollipop was all gone now. They walked around to the Jacksons' house. Lillybell's mother and Mrs. Jackson were at the front gate when they arrived.

Lillybell's mother ran toward them and picked up Lillybell. The tears were running down her face. "Oh, Lillybell!" she cried. "My little Lillybell! Why'd you run away?"

Lillybell patted her mother's cheek and said, in a very tiny voice, "Mommy!"

"Mother," cried Betsy, "Lillybell can talk. She just said 'Mommy'!"

Lillybell's mother thanked Betsy and her mother for bringing Lillybell back to her.

"I'm glad I found her," said Betsy. "If she hadn't had any mother or father, I guess we would have 'dopted her. She's just what I wanted."

At Easter time Billy brought a little chick to school.

It was a round fuzzy ball of cream-color fluff. He brought it in a box with holes poked in the lid. The little chick said "Peep, peep, peep" all the way to school.

Miss Ross was never surprised at anything Billy brought to school and so she wasn't surprised at the Easter chick.

"She's for you, Miss Ross," said Billy. "Her name is Daisy."

"Thank you very much, Billy," said Miss Ross. "I am afraid I won't have anyplace to keep her in my apartment, so I guess we will have to keep her here at school. You will all have to help me raise Daisy."

The children were delighted to know that they were going to have a little chicken to raise. Billy was as pleased as could be, for he had been very fond of the chick ever since he had first laid eyes on it.

"Where will we keep it?" asked Betsy.

"You children will have to make a place in which to keep it," said Miss Ross. "What kind of place will the little chicken need?"

"I know," said Peter, raising his hand.

"Well, you tell us, Peter," said Miss Ross.

"It will need a little wooden house with a roost in it and a nice box for a nest," said Peter.

"I know something else it will need," said Betsy.

"And what is that?" asked Miss Ross.

"It will need a place to run where it can scratch up little worms and bugs and gravel," said Betsy.

"Peep, peep, peep," came from the box.

"That's right," said Miss Ross. "So where will we have to build the house for the chicken?"

"Outside," said Ellen.

"Then we will have to get some chicken wire," said Kenny, "so that it won't get lost."

"Yes," said Miss Ross. "Can anyone think of anything else that we will need?"

The children sat thinking for a moment. Then Christopher's face lit up. "I know," he said; "some straw for the nest."

"Yes," said Miss Ross, "straw for the nest."

"How soon will she begin to lay eggs?" asked Sally.

"Oh, not for quite some time," said Miss Ross. "Probably not for several months."

"Oh, Miss Ross," said Betsy, "maybe our class could sell the eggs and make some money for the school fund."

"Maybe so," said Miss Ross.

"Peep, peep, peep," said Daisy.

"But some day Daisy will have little chickens and they will lay a lot of eggs," said Ellen.

"We have some empty cardboard boxes for eggs at home," said Mary Lou. "I can bring them to put the eggs in."

"Now before you begin to prepare for the eggs,"

said Miss Ross, "let's get Daisy's house built."

"Her house and her yard," said Billy.

"Peep, peep, peep," went the chick.

"She will have to have a bigger box right away," said Miss Ross. "I'm afraid she isn't very happy in this small one."

"Maybe we can get one from Mr. Windrim," said Kenny.

"You and Billy can go see," said Miss Ross.

Kenny and Billy started off to find Mr. Windrim. Soon they returned with a wooden box about two feet long and a foot wide. It wasn't very deep but the sides of the box were a little higher than the chick.

"Oh, that is very nice," said Miss Ross.

Billy put the chick in the box and sprinkled some gravel over the bottom.

"What are we going to feed Daisy?" asked Peter. "She ought to have some food."

"Peepy peep, peep," said Daisy.

"Oh, I forgot," cried Billy. "I brought some cornmeal to school."

Billy went to the cloakroom and brought out a little bag of cornmeal. He put some in a dish and moistened it with water. Then he put the dish in the box. He also put a dish of water in. The box was placed in a corner of the room.

Daisy seemed happier now. She didn't peep quite so often and the children went on with the day's work.

The next morning the children in the third grade came to school loaded down.

Kenny came in with a large wooden box. "Look what I brought to make a house for Daisy," said Kenny. "Isn't it a dandy?"

In a few moments Peter came in with a great big box. "Won't this make a fine house for Daisy?" he said.

Right behind him was Teddy. He, too, had a big box. "This is for a house for Daisy," he said.

"Goodness!" said Miss Ross, as two more boys came in with boxes. "Daisy will have a whole apartment house to live in if we use all of those boxes."

When the twins arrived they had their express wagon with them. In the express wagon was a big roll of chicken wire. "Here's the chicken wire," they said. "Our daddy had it in the cellar."

When Betsy arrived she was carrying a big paper bag filled with straw. "This is for Daisy's nest," she said.

Mary Lou came in with a pile of empty egg boxes. They were piled up so high she could hardly see over them.

"Gracious me!" cried Miss Ross. "Daisy will be kept very busy if she has to fill all of those boxes."

Then Christopher appeared, dragging a sack of cracked corn. "I got it from the feed store," said Christopher. "I told the man who keeps the store that we were going to raise chickens at our school and he gave me all this. It was so heavy I grew tired of carrying it."

By nine o'clock the whole front of the room was filled with things for Daisy. No baby chick ever had more things than Daisy. About the only thing the children hadn't brought were the worms and bugs.

Everyone was so much interested in all of the things that had been brought for Daisy that no one thought to look for her until after the bell rang. Then Billy went to her box to give her some fresh water. What did he find but an empty box! There was no little chick.

"Daisy's gone!" cried Billy. "She isn't here."

"Not there!" said Miss Ross.

All of the children crowded around the box. Daisy was certainly not there.

"Well, she must be in the room somewhere," said Miss Ross.

The children began to search the room. They looked in the corners and under Miss Ross's desk, but there was no little chick. They looked in the cloakroom and even in the wastepaper basket. The chick could not be found.

They searched everywhere. Finally Miss Ross said they would have to get on with their day's work.

"She will turn up by and by," said Miss Ross. "She can't be very far away."

The children tried hard to keep their minds on spelling and reading and numbers, but they kept thinking about Daisy.

"Daisy peeped all day yesterday," said Billy, "and now she won't peep at all. It's just as though she hid on purpose."

In the middle of the morning some petals dropped from some flowers on Miss Ross's desk. Betsy went to the back of the room and got the dustpan and brush. The dustpan was one that was partly covered by a little tin roof. Betsy put the pan down on the floor. Just as she was about to sweep up the petals out walked the little round ball of a chick.