Read Online Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Betty MacDonald
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Nancy said, “I feel just like an angel flying around and looking down at the earth.”
Plum said, “Let’s live up here. Let’s pitch a tent right here and live on nuts and berries like pioneers.”
Nancy said, “Let’s eat our lunch right now. I’m starving.”
Plum said, “Look, hard-boiled eggs, peanut-butter sandwiches and apples. Katie must have fixed the lunches.”
Nancy said, “Oh, Plum, see! A little squirrel. Look, there below the wall. Here, little squirrel, here’s a tiny peanut-butter sandwich.” Nancy broke off a piece of her sandwichand tossed it down to the squirrel. He picked it up in his paws, stuffed it in his mouth and ran off.
Plum said, “I wonder if Miss Gronk has started home yet.”
Nancy said, “I wouldn’t doubt it. She probably made the children line up on tombstones, choke down their lunch and then start right back. I wonder what she brought in her lunch. It was an awfully big bag.”
Plum said, “The bag was probably filled with medicines. I’m glad we don’t have to watch old Marybelle eating her special lunch with fried chicken and little cupcakes. I hope Miss Gronk’s liniment smelled so awful it made Marybelle sick. Say, I bet if we ran all the way down from here we can be at the path before they get there.”
Nancy said, “We’d better, otherwise Miss Gronk will go right over and tell Mrs. Monday.”
Plum said, “Let’s feed the squirrels a few more sandwiches, fill our eyes with the view so we can never forget it and then run.”
Nancy said, “The way to remember how it looks up here is to look, then close your eyes and see if you can still see it. If you can’t, then keep looking until you can.”
Side by side they stood by the stone parapet, staring at the view, closing their eyes tight, then staring again. When at last they thought they could remember everything, they turned and started down the path. Going down was so easy they fairly flew. Sometimes they ran, sometimes they took big jumps and slid on the slick pine needles and sometimes in the steepest places they sat down and slid. When they got to the turnoffthey were quite breathless. They decided to rest before starting for Miss Gronk’s house.
Plum lay on her back, arms folded under her head, looking up into a tall pine tree. She said, “I think I’ll be a tramp when I grow up. I love to be outdoors and tramps have a lot of fun.”
Nancy said, “I’m going to get married and have twelve children and every single day in the week I’ll give them a party, or a taffy pull, or a real picnic, or a …”
Plum said, “Hush, be quiet a minute. I think I hear Miss Gronk and the children. Let’s pretend that we’ve been waiting here for them.”
Nancy said, “We’ll pretend we couldn’t find them.”
Plum said, “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s hide behind the sign until they get past, then tag along at the end of the line as though we had been there all the time. I’ll bet old Miss Gronk won’t even know.”
“I’ll bet Marybelle will though,” Nancy said.
Plum said, “Let’s try it anyway.”
So when Miss Gronk and the sad little Sunday Schoolers filed past, Nancy and Plum waited a minute, then got into line behind Nipper.
Eunice, who was the last in line, said, “Where were you kids, I waited and waited for you.”
Plum said, “Don’t tell anybody but we went up to Lookout Hill.”
Eunice said, “It was awful in the cemetery. Miss Gronk drank soup out of her thermos bottle and then took a nap. I wandered around reading the tombstones and smelling theflowers but it was awfully dreary. The other kids started a game of hide and seek but Miss Gronk said it wasn’t respectful to the dead. What is it like at Lookout?”
Nancy and Plum told her and Eunice said that it sounded just like the time she rode in the Ferris wheel and could see for miles and miles. She said that Miss Waverly had told her that they might go up to Lookout on the school picnic.
Plum said,
Nancy said, “I feel just like an angel flying around and looking down at the earth.”
Plum said, “Let’s live up here. Let’s pitch a tent right here and live on nuts and berries like pioneers.”
Nancy said, “Let’s eat our lunch right now. I’m starving.”
Plum said, “Look, hard-boiled eggs, peanut-butter sandwiches and apples. Katie must have fixed the lunches.”
Nancy said, “Oh, Plum, see! A little squirrel. Look, there below the wall. Here, little squirrel, here’s a tiny peanut-butter sandwich.” Nancy broke off a piece of her sandwichand tossed it down to the squirrel. He picked it up in his paws, stuffed it in his mouth and ran off.
Plum said, “I wonder if Miss Gronk has started home yet.”
Nancy said, “I wouldn’t doubt it. She probably made the children line up on tombstones, choke down their lunch and then start right back. I wonder what she brought in her lunch. It was an awfully big bag.”
Plum said, “The bag was probably filled with medicines. I’m glad we don’t have to watch old Marybelle eating her special lunch with fried chicken and little cupcakes. I hope Miss Gronk’s liniment smelled so awful it made Marybelle sick. Say, I bet if we ran all the way down from here we can be at the path before they get there.”
Nancy said, “We’d better, otherwise Miss Gronk will go right over and tell Mrs. Monday.”
Plum said, “Let’s feed the squirrels a few more sandwiches, fill our eyes with the view so we can never forget it and then run.”
Nancy said, “The way to remember how it looks up here is to look, then close your eyes and see if you can still see it. If you can’t, then keep looking until you can.”
Side by side they stood by the stone parapet, staring at the view, closing their eyes tight, then staring again. When at last they thought they could remember everything, they turned and started down the path. Going down was so easy they fairly flew. Sometimes they ran, sometimes they took big jumps and slid on the slick pine needles and sometimes in the steepest places they sat down and slid. When they got to the turnoffthey were quite breathless. They decided to rest before starting for Miss Gronk’s house.
Plum lay on her back, arms folded under her head, looking up into a tall pine tree. She said, “I think I’ll be a tramp when I grow up. I love to be outdoors and tramps have a lot of fun.”
Nancy said, “I’m going to get married and have twelve children and every single day in the week I’ll give them a party, or a taffy pull, or a real picnic, or a …”
Plum said, “Hush, be quiet a minute. I think I hear Miss Gronk and the children. Let’s pretend that we’ve been waiting here for them.”
Nancy said, “We’ll pretend we couldn’t find them.”
Plum said, “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s hide behind the sign until they get past, then tag along at the end of the line as though we had been there all the time. I’ll bet old Miss Gronk won’t even know.”
“I’ll bet Marybelle will though,” Nancy said.
Plum said, “Let’s try it anyway.”
So when Miss Gronk and the sad little Sunday Schoolers filed past, Nancy and Plum waited a minute, then got into line behind Nipper.
Eunice, who was the last in line, said, “Where were you kids, I waited and waited for you.”
Plum said, “Don’t tell anybody but we went up to Lookout Hill.”
Eunice said, “It was awful in the cemetery. Miss Gronk drank soup out of her thermos bottle and then took a nap. I wandered around reading the tombstones and smelling theflowers but it was awfully dreary. The other kids started a game of hide and seek but Miss Gronk said it wasn’t respectful to the dead. What is it like at Lookout?”
Nancy and Plum told her and Eunice said that it sounded just like the time she rode in the Ferris wheel and could see for miles and miles. She said that Miss Waverly had told her that they might go up to Lookout on the school picnic.
Plum said,
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