Read Online Anna All Year Round by Mary Downing Hahn, Diane de Groat - Free Book Online

again. "I'll give him a whack he won't soon forget"
    If Anna hadn't been so scared she would have laughed. Her aunt is so frail and tiny—how could she give a big fierce burglar a whack?
    Just then Father comes home. "Anna, Lizzie," he says. "What's the trouble? Why are you so upset?"
    "There's a burglar upstairs," Mother sobs. "He's hiding under the bed."
    "There's a burglar under the bed?" Father looks puzzled.
    "He came through the back bedroom window," Anna says. "Great Aunt Emma thought she'd chased him away, but Mother says he's hiding under the bed so he can kill us while we're sleeping."
    Aunt Emma raises the poker over her head. "I suggest we go up there, Ira, and teach the scoundrel a lesson or two!"
    Father follows Aunt Emma to the foot of the steps and takes the poker.
    Mother clings to Father. "Don't go up there, Ira. Call the police!"
    Father is even braver than Great Aunt Emma. Telling Mother not to worry, he goes upstairs. Anna, Mother, and Aunt Emma cower in the hall. They hear him walk into the back bedroom. Suddenly he begins to laugh. From the top of the steps, he looks down at them.
    "Come up here," he says. "I want to show you something."
    "I don't care to see a burglar," Mother says, pressing her hands to her chest.
    "There's no burglar, Lizzie," Father says.
    "I told you I chased him away," Aunt Emma says proudly.
    Anna is the only one who runs upstairs to Father's side. He takes her into the back bedroom. "Do you see what I see?" he asks.
    Anna stares at the window. She expects to see broken glass or a rag from the burglar's clothing caught on a splinter of wood. She sees nothing out of the ordinary.
    Father points at the window shade. Unlike the shade in the other window, it's rolled up tight.
    "Listen closely and tell me if this is what you heard." Father pulls down the shade and lets it go. It flies to the top of the window with a loud bang and wraps itself tightly around the roller.
    Downstairs Mother screams and Aunt Emma calls, "Give the scalawag what for, Ira!"
    Anna giggles. Father is not only brave, he's smart, too. Holding his hand, she leaves the back bedroom. Together she and Father tell Mother and Aunt Emma about the window shade. In a way, Anna is disappointed it wasn't a real burglar. She would have liked to help Father give him what for.

Summer

10. The Trolley Ride
    ONE WARM EVENING IN MAY, FATHER ASKS ANNA IF she'd like to meet him in the city for lunch on Saturday. "You can ride the trolley right to the doorstep of the
Baltimore Sun
Building," he tells her.
    "All by myself?" Anna asks. She's afraid to look at Mother. Surely she'll say no. Anna is only nine, much too young to ride the trolley to Charles Street.
    But Mother surprises her. "You can ride on Uncle Nick's trolley," she says. "Number 573. It stops at the corner at 10:43 on the dot. Nick will look after you."
    Uncle Nick is a conductor on the trolley. Anna knows he'll make sure she gets off at the right stop.
    On Saturday morning, Mother walks Anna to the trolley stop. Charlie tags along. He wishes he could go with Anna, but he's not invited.
    "Maybe Father will ask you to lunch with us someday," Anna tells Charlie, but, as much as she likes Charlie, she's glad she's going alone. She doesn't want to share Father with anybody today, not even Charlie. She wants Father all to herself.
    Anna, Mother, and Charlie wait on the platform with many other people. Anna wonders where they are all going. The women might be planning to shop in the big stores on Charles Street. The men might be heading for work. Anna is sure she's the luckiest one there. No one else is going to have lunch with Father. Just Anna.
    At last Trolley Number 573 comes into sight. It's a summer car. The sides are open and the passengers sit on wooden benches. The motorman stands in front, his hands on the controls. Uncle Nick stands on the running board. He looks handsome in his navy blue uniform and cap.
    Anna waits for the passengers to get off. The men and