The weekend might not be so easy, though. The next day was Sam’s bake sale. I was going to miss that. And Sunday was Halloween. I was going to miss trick-or-treating. That felt worst of all.
A Happy Halloween
Saturday turned out to be a good day after all. I found out I could go back to school on Tuesday. I finished Emily’s costume and she loved it. And Sam held his bake sale and it was a big success.
“Thanks to you, little sister!” he said. “It would not have been half as good without your help. We made record profits this year. That means we can definitely take our class trip for spring break.”
“Cool!” I said.
Now I had two things to be gigundoly proud of. A great costume for Emily and a great bake sale for Sam. I had done my jobs well, even if I was sick.
Then came Sunday. Halloween. My family kept me busy most of the day. We read Halloween stories and played spooky games. I helped Andrew with his skeleton costume. (He was going trick-or-treating with a school friend and her parents.) I made a few small changes on Emily’s costume. Finally it was time for trick-or-treating.
“Will you help put Emily’s costume on?” asked Nannie.
“Sure,” I replied.
Here is what Emily looked like. She was a fuzzy brown goat with brown leggings and a fuzzy brown sweater. I had made her brown-and-white cardboard horns, a brown pipe-cleaner tail, and a snowy-white cotton beard. I hung a bell around her neck from a red collar. She was the cutest goat I had ever seen.
Emily thought so too. She was so excited that she ran around the house making goat noises. Her costume was every bit as good as my chicken costume.
Daddy looked pretty great too. He was wearing farmer overalls. And he was carrying two trick-or-treat bags.
“Emily will carry one bag for herself, and I will carry the other one for you,” said Daddy.
“Thank you,” I replied.
I felt sad seeing them all dressed up when I could not go. But I did not want to be a meanie-mo.
“Have a good time,” I said.
If I had not been sick, Daddy would have gone trick-or-treating with the Three Musketeers. I was sorry Hannie and Nancy would not get to see him dressed as a farmer. I was even sorrier they would not get to see Emily’s costume.
It was hard watching Daddy and Emily leave. And it was hard hearing trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell when I could not go downstairs and see them.
I climbed into bed with my new spooky joke book. (It was a thank-you present from Sam.) I thought it might cheer me up.
It might have if I had stayed awake. But I fell asleep and did not wake up until I heard Emily call, “Candy, Karen!” She dropped a full trick-or-treat bag on my bed.
“How do you feel?” asked Daddy.
“Not bad,” I replied. “I fell asleep.”
“We met up with Hannie and Nancy,” said Daddy. “They said you should put on your chicken costume even if you cannot go trick-or-treating. I thought that was an excellent idea. I will take pictures of you and Emily.”
Elizabeth came in and helped me put on my costume.
“By the way, I heard the Dager kids had chicken pox. You and Emily played with them a couple of weeks ago, didn’t you?” said Daddy.
“Yes! That must be where we got them!” I said.
So I did not get sick because of Emily. I did not get sick because Daddy would not let me move out. I definitely did not get sick because Hannie’s and Nancy’s plans did not work. I got sick just because I got the same germs Emily did.
I had missed trick-or-treating. But I still had a bagful of treats. I was wearing my costume. And Elizabeth was about to take a picture.
“Smile, everyone,” she said.
“We should sing ‘Old MacDonald,’ ” said Daddy.
He started singing, “Old MacDonald had a farm!”
Emily and I joined in. Then snap! Elizabeth took our picture. E-I-E-I-O!
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.
Copyright © 1999 by Ann M. Martin
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First edition, 1999
e-ISBN 978-1-338-06284-7
Karen's Chicken Pox Page 4