Betsy and Billy by Carolyn Haywood Read Free Book Online Page B

Billy pounding along behind the pig. The pig was making straight for Mr. Kilpatrick. The big policeman stooped down and caught it just like a football. Billy was all out of breath when he reached Mr. Kilpatrick.

    "Didn't I tell you not to let this pig get away?" said Mr. Kilpatrick, as he handed the pig to Billy. "Haven't I got enough to do without having to catch runaway pigs?"
    "Oh, gee, Mr. Kilpatrick, I couldn't help it," said Billy, "it slipped."

10. The Wishing Well

    The week before school closed was the busiest week that Betsy had ever known. All of the children were as busy as bees. In every room they hammered and sawed and painted and pasted. Rolls and rolls of brightly colored crepe paper were piled up on tables. The whole school was getting ready for a bazaar.
    At first the children in the second grade didn't know what a bazaar was. Billy said he thought he had seen one at the zoo.
    Miss Grey said, "No, Billy, a bazaar is not an animal."
    Betsy said that she had been to a bazaar once. "They had tables trimmed with pretty colored paper," she said. "And they sold all kinds of things. They sold cakes and dolls and flowers

    and preserves and everything you could think of."
    "When are we going to have the bazaar?" asked Kenny.
    "The last day of school," said Miss Grey.
    "And are we going to sell things?" asked Billy.
    "Yes, Billy," answered Miss Grey.
    "What will we do with all of the money?" said Billy.
    "The money is going to be spent for new things for our school playground," said Miss Grey. "It will buy a new sliding board, some new basketballs, a football, baseballs, and bats. Of course it depends upon how much money we earn."
    "What will the second grade sell?" asked Ellen.
    "I haven't decided yet," said Miss Grey.
    Betsy raised her hand. "Yes, Betsy," said Miss Grey.
    "At the bazaar that I went to, they had a wishing well. You put ten cents in the bucket and when the bucket came up there was a surprise package in it. It was fun. I got my bank in the wishing well."
    "Couldn't we have a wishing well?" asked Kenny.
    "I believe we could, Kenny," said Miss Grey, "but we would have to build it ourselves."
    The children thought it would be wonderful to have a wishing well. Christopher said that his father had a grocery store and that he could get a big sugar barrel to make the wishing well.
    A week before the bazaar Christopher and Billy brought the sugar barrel to school in an express wagon. The children set to work at once. They cut a big piece out of the side of the barrel

    down near the bottom. This made an opening where someone could reach in and put the surprises in the bucket. They covered the rest of the barrel with large sheets of paper. With gray and white and black paint they made the paper look like stones. Across the top of the barrel they fastened a rod with a handle. Billy tied the bucket on the end of a piece of rope. Then he tied the rope to the center of the rod.
    "Now let's turn the handle and see if it works," said Kenny.
    Betsy turned the handle. Down went the bucket to the bottom of the well. She turned it again and the bucket came up.
    "It works, Miss Grey!" the children shouted.
    "Splendid!" said Miss Grey. "You have made a wonderful well. Now I hope we will have a lot of nice surprise packages to put in the bucket."
    The children could hardly wait until the last day of school. It was the day for the bazaar and the day they would be promoted to the third grade.
    When the day came, Miss Grey's desk was piled high with little packages. Just before Mr. Windrim came in to carry the wishing well out to the playground, Miss Grey said, "Now, boys and girls, I have some good news for you."

    All of the children looked at Miss Grey.
    "Every boy and girl in this class is promoted to the third grade," said Miss Grey.
    The children clapped their hands. They were so glad that they were all promoted.
    "Who is promoted number one?" asked Billy.
    "You will have to ask the wishing well," said Miss Grey.