Read Online Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary - Free Book Online

beside her. How could she smile? A babyish nursery-school girl, who was wearing new red boots, was rocking joyously on the shoe store’s rocking horse while her mother paid for the boots.
    â€œWell, we’ll see what we can do for you,” said the salesman briskly, as he pulled off Ramona’s shoes and made her stand withher foot on the measuring stick. Finding the right pair of oxfords for her did not take him long.
    â€œNow try on the boots,” said Mrs. Quimby in her no-nonsense voice, when Ramona had walked across the shoe store and back in her new shoes.
    For a moment, as Ramona sat down on the floor and grasped one of the hated boots, she considered pretending she could not get it on. However, she knew she could not get away with this trick, because the shoe-store man understood both children and shoes. She pulled and yanked and tugged and managed to get her foot most of the way in. When she stood up she was on tiptoe inside the boot. Her mother tugged some more, and her shoe went all the way into the boot.
    â€œThere,” said Mrs. Quimby. Ramona sighed.
    The babyish nursery-school girl stoppedrocking long enough to announce to the world, “I have new boots.”
    â€œTell me, Petunia,” said the shoe man. “How many boys and girls in your kindergarten?”
    â€œTwenty-nine,” said Ramona with a long face. Twenty-nine, most of them with new boots. The happy booted nursery-school baby climbed off the rocking horse, collected her free balloon, and left with her mother.
    The shoe man spoke to Mrs. Quimby. “Kindergarten teachers like boots to fit loosely so the children can manage by themselves. I doubt if Petunia’s teacher has time to help with fifty-eight boots.”
    â€œI hadn’t thought of that,” said Mrs. Quimby. “Perhaps we had better look at boots after all.”
    â€œI’ll bet Petunia here would like red boots,” said the shoe man. When Ramonabeamed, he added, “I had a hunch that would get a smile out of you.”

    When Ramona left the shoe store with her beautiful red boots, girls’ boots, in a box, which she carried herself, she was so filledwith joy she set her balloon free just to watch it sail over the parking lot and up, up into the sky until it was a tiny red dot against the gray clouds. The stiff soles of her new shoes made such a pleasant noise on the pavement that she began to prance. She was a pony. No, she was one of the three Billy Goats Gruff, the littlest one, trip-trapping over the bridge that the troll was hiding under. Ramona trip-trapped joyfully all the way to the parked car, and when she reached home she trip-trapped up and down the hall and all around the house.
    â€œFor goodness’ sake, Ramona,” said Mrs. Quimby, while she was marking Ramona’s name in the new boots, “can’t you just walk?”
    â€œNot when I’m the littlest Billy Goat Gruff,” answered Ramona, and trip-trapped down the hall to her room.
    Unfortunately, there was no rain the next morning so Ramona left her new boots athome and trip-trapped to school, where she did not have much chance of catching Davy because he could run faster than she could trip-trap in her stiff new shoes. She trip-trapped to her seat, and later, because she was art monitor who got to pass out drawing paper, she trip-trapped to the supply cupboard and trip-trapped up and down the aisles passing out paper.
    â€œRamona, I would like it if you walked quietly,” said Miss Binney.
    â€œI am the littlest Billy Goat Gruff,” explained Ramona. “I have to trip-trap.”
    â€œYou may trip-trap when we go outdoors.” Miss Binney’s voice was firm. “You may not trip-trap in the classroom.”
    At playtime the whole class turned into Billy Goats Gruff and trip-trapped around the playground, but none so joyfully or so noisily as Ramona. The gathering clouds, Ramona noticed, were dark and threatening.Sure