The Two and Only Kelly Twins by Johanna Hurwitz Read Free Book Online Page A

blue.”
    “All right, all right,” said Mrs. Kelly. “We’ll buy two blue jackets.”
    “Yippee,” Arlene sang out.
    “Yippee Doodle,” Ilene sang out.
    “Yippee Doodle? Don’t you mean ‘Yankee Doodle’?” asked Arlene.
    “Nope. ‘Yippee Doodle’ means I’m extra happy. I can
wear my
blue jacket, and I can
look
at
your
blue jacket.”
    “Yippee Doodle,” Arlene agreed.
    And that’s how it went when the twins selected new pants, sweaters, shirts, caps, and mittens. Of course not everything was blue. They got brown pants and green pants as well as blue ones. And they got red-and-white-striped sweaters and white shirts with blue polka dots. But all of their clothes matched. And they always liked to wear them on the same day.
    “How will anyone be able to tell you apart?” asked Mrs. Kelly, looking at her matching children.
    “Can you tell us apart?” asked Arlene.
    “Well, of course. I’m your mother,” said Mrs. Kelly. “Your father and I have lived with you every day since you were born. I know that your voices are slightly different and your smiles are slightly different. And your father knows it, too.”
    “Well, if you can tell us apart, everyone else should be able to do it, too,” said Ilene.
    “Wouldn’t it be funny if I woke up one morning and couldn’t remember whether I was Ilene or Arlene?” said Arlene.
    Ilene started laughing. “We could pretend to be each other,” she suggested.
    “No way,” said Arlene. “I like being me. I like being Arlene.”
    “That’s okay,” said Ilene shrugging. “I like being Ilene.”
    “Good. That’s settled,” said Mrs. Kelly.

Just after the twins’ seventh birthday, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly finally agreed that Arlene and Ilene were old enough to have a pet.
    “I want a kitten,” said Arlene.
    “I want a puppy,” said Ilene.
    “A kitten. I said it first,” said Arlene.
    “No. A puppy. I said it louder,” insisted Ilene.
    “We can’t get both,” said their mother. “The animals would probably fight.”
    “No, they wouldn’t,” said Arlene.
    “No, they wouldn’t,” agreed Ilene.
    “I think your mother is right. A cat and a dog in the same house can mean trouble,” said Mr. Kelly.
    “Then let’s get a kitten. Caroline at school has an orange cat that had babies. She said she’d give me one, and I want one that is orange, too,” said Arlene.
    “No fair,” said Ilene. “I want a puppy.”
    “Puppies are lots of work,” Mrs. Kelly said. “They need to be walked several times a day, even in the rain or snow. You’ve seen Joey. He walks his dogs as soon as he comes home from school every day. And he does it after supper, too.”
    “I’d love to walk a puppy,” said Ilene.
    “I wouldn’t,” said Arlene. “If we got a puppy, I’d never, ever walk it.”

    “I don’t care,” said Ilene. “I’d walk the puppy all the time.”
    “No,” said Mr. Kelly. “A puppy grows into a dog, and this house isn’t big enough for two adults, two growing girls, and a dog.”
    “So let’s get a kitten,” said Arlene, smiling at what she was sure was victory. “Even when a kitten grows into a cat, it’s still smaller than a dog.”
    “No. Wait,” Ilene said. “We could get one of those teeny-tiny dogs with the funny name. A Chihuahua. Remember we saw a lady with one when we went to the library last week? It was so little, she had it in a canvas shopping bag with her books.”

    “I don’t want a Chihuahua,” said Arlene.
    “Well, I don’t want a cat,” said Ilene.
    “And I don’t want all this arguing,” said Mrs. Kelly. “Just forget what Dad and I said about getting a pet.”
    “But you promised us,” Ilene reminded her mother.
    “Yes you did,” said Arlene. “You said after we finished first grade, we’d be old enough to have a pet.”
    “How about a tank of fish?” suggested Mr. Kelly.
    “No,” said Arlene and Ilene in unison.
    “Well, I’m glad you girls can agree on some things,” said Mrs.