Just Grace Goes Green by Charise Mericle Harper Read Free Book Online Page A

it's a lucky jar. It just looks like an old mayonnaise jar that should be thrown into the recycling bin!"
    "Then I'll make a sign or something," said Sammy. I could have stood there all day and argued with him about his junk, but I was more excited to set up all my good, amazing, and not-junk things on my table. Sammy would understand everything when my cash box was full of money and his was still empty.

    SETTING UP THE YARD SALE
    I set up all the big things in the back and all the small things in the front, and that way Gwen would not be able to miss the most important thing of all. That way Gwen would see it for sure. She was helping Mimi set up her five things on the little card table next to me.
    MIMI'S TABLE

    Mimi kept rearranging everything to make it look like more stuff, but five things look like only five things no matter how you set them up.
    MY TABLE

    I was pretty excited about my table. It was like the excellent sandwich filling in between Sammy's junk table and Mimi's tiny table. For sure customers were going to walk straight over to me and buy up all my stuff.
    Just as soon as I had finished putting on the last price tag, Mom walked over with her coffee. She spent a lot more time looking at Sammy's table than I would have thought, but that was mostly because she was reading all the notes he was writing to put on his junk. Finally I just had to get her attention away by asking her what she thought of my table.
    Instead of saying something like, "Oh, Grace, what a great table," or "What a wonderful and thoughtful display," Mom said, "I can't believe you are selling Wee Tiny Mee Mee! Don't you remember how you used to carry her around with you everywhere you went? We weren't even allowed to leave the house without her. She went everywhere with us.
    "Do you remember that one time you left her at the pumpkin patch? You were so upset, just crying and crying. So we just had to drive all the way back to the pumpkin farm to get her. By the time we got there it was dark, but the farmer was very nice and gave us flashlights so we could look for her. Do you remember how excited you were when Daddy found Wee Tiny Mee Mee sitting up on a little pumpkin? It was a beautiful, warm, starry night. I'll never forget it."
    "Wee Tiny Mee Mee?" said Sammy, and I could tell he was making fun of me. Mom has absolutely no clue how embarrassing she can be. I grabbed Wee Tiny Mee Mee from Mom and shoved her under my table. "Okay, I won't sell her. Happy?" Now I could tell that she knew I was feeling bad because she said, "I'm sorry, honey. Seeing Wee Tiny Mee Mee reminded me of that story. I haven't thought of that night in ages. It reminded me of when you were little. It's a sweet story."
    I had to stop Mom before she 100 percent embarrassed me with gushiness, so I said, "It's okay, Mom. I'll keep Wee Tiny Mee Mee. Can we not talk about it anymore?"
    I was glad when Gwen interrupted us by saying, "Oh my gosh, it's so cute!" And I knew right away, without even looking, that she was pointing at Owly.

    MY BIG PLAN
Gwen sees Owly.
Gwen buys Owly.
Gwen forgets about Willoughby.
Mimi gets Willoughby back.
Everybody is happy.
    WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BIG PLAN
    "How come you're selling this?" said Gwen. She was holding Owly, and I could see that Mimi was smiling. I hadn't told Mimi my big
plan, but I could tell that she had figured it out and was 100 percent understanding it.
    "I have too many stuffed animals," I said. Owly really wasn't even one of my favorites. I think Dad won him at a carnival or something. He wasn't that special to me, but I didn't say that because I wanted Gwen to think he was super special. "He's only two dollars," I said.
    "I don't have any money," said Gwen. "I left all my money at my real house."
    "Are you sure?" I asked. I couldn't believe my big plan was going to fail all because of two dollars.
    "I'll buy it for you," said Mimi. "You could pay me back when you get home." I could tell she was desperate.
    "No, it's