Read Online Bubble Troubles by Colleen Madden - Free Book Online Page A

Mattie had made several bath foam shapes for Ada and Perry. The ones for Ada she’d cut to look like flowers, and Perry’s were shaped like fish. She was sure they would enjoy playing with them whenever they took a bath.
    Mattie still had to finish gifts for Mark and her schoolteacher, Anna Ruth, but thankfully, she didn’t have to decide what to make for her best friend, Stella. During the early days of autumn, Mattie had collected some pods that had fallen from a sweet gum tree along the route to school. With those, she’d created a little mouse, and it had turned out really cute. When making the mouse, Mattie had used a small acorn for the head, gluing it to the pod, which was the body for the mouse. She’d then applied different seeds she had found, using them for the eyes and ears. Luckily, the pod had a stem attached, and that was perfect for the tail. She had used some pine needles for whiskers and finished it off by gluing the mouse to a small piece of wood. It wasn’t that hard to make and didn’t take her long at all. It was a good thing she’d gathered all the materials, even though at the time she’d had no idea what she would use them for.
    For her teacher, Mattie planned to make a felt and ribbon bookmark, using scraps of pink felt, red ribbon, and white buttons. She hoped everyone would like the gifts she’d made for them.
    Mattie had just taken a seat at her desk to begin working on Mark’s secret gift when someone knocked on her bedroom door.
    “Who is it?” Mattie called.
    “It’s me, Mark.”
    “You can’t come in right now,” Mattie said loudly. “I’m busy making Christmas gifts, and I don’t want you to see what I’m working on for you.”
    Mark rapped on the door again. “If I can’t come in, then would ya please come out in the hallway?”
    “I’ll be right there.” Mattie set aside the aluminum pie pan and pile of rocks she’d placed on her desk, which she was going to use for Mark’s garden plaque, and opened her bedroom door. When she stepped into the hallway, she was careful to block the door so her brother couldn’t see in.
    Mark held a small cellophane sack with a pine cone inside. “Take a whiff of this,” he said, lifting it up to Mattie’s nose. “I made this for Grandma Troyer. Do ya think she’ll like it?”
    Mattie sniffed deeply. “Umm … That smells appeditlich. What’s in there to make it smell so delicious?”
    “A pine cone, two cinnamon sticks, and a dried-out orange slice.” He grinned, looking quite pleased with himself. “I made one for Grandma Miller, too.”
    “I’m sure they’ll both like ’em to hang in the house, and it’ll make whatever room they put it in smell real nice,” Mattie said.
    “Sure hope so.” Mark put his hand on the knob of Mattie’s bedroom door. “What are you makin’ in there?”
    She wagged her finger back and forth. “You’ll have to wait till Christmas to find out.”
    “Aw, Mattie, can’t ya at least give me a hint?”
    She shook her head. “It’s supposed to be a surprise. Now please step away from my door. Don’t you want to be surprised on Christmas?”
    Mark’s only reply was a quick shrug.
    “It’s no fun knowing ahead of time if you see what I’m going to give you.”
    He frowned. “You’re no fun.”
    “I’m not tryin’ to be fun. I’m busy.”
    “Wanna play a game?” he asked.
    “Not right now.”
    “How about hide-and-seek?”
    “No!” Mattie stepped back into her room and quickly shut the door. She figured if she played the game and hid from Mark, he’d sneak into her room and see what she was making for him, and it would spoil the surprise. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Mattie knew her twin brother well, so as soon as she finished making his gift, she would hide it in the back of her closet, along with all the other gifts she had made.

    Mark snickered as he made his way down the hall to his room. Mattie could sure get riled easily. He’d only been teasing when