CHAPTER III--THANKSGIVING
Miss Snell was not quite sure that she understood Freddie Bobbsey. Shelooked at the little twin, smiled to make him understand that she wasnot cross, and said:
"What did you do to Nick, Freddie?"
"I locked him up," Freddie answered. "In the tool shed. I have the key,too," and, marching up to Miss Snell's desk he laid on it a large key.
"You locked Nick in the tool shed!" repeated the surprised teacher."Why, Freddie Bobbsey! what a strange thing to do. Why did you do it?"
"He pulled my hair," Flossie explained. "I mean Nick did. He pulled ityesterday, too, and I told Freddie and Freddie said he would make Nickstop."
"Yes, go on, please," urged Miss Snell, as Flossie grew silent.
"Well, when he pulled it again to-day," resumed the little girl, "Ihollered for Freddie and we hit Nick and he hit us and we pushed himinto the shed and--and----"
"I locked the door!" finished Freddie. "You can hear him hollerin' toget out," he added. "Listen!"
The windows had been opened to freshen the air in the classroom, and assilence followed Freddie's last remark Miss Snell and the children couldplainly hear, coming from the shed, the voice of someone calling:
"Let me out! Let me out!"
"That's Nick," calmly explained Freddie. "But I'm not going to let himout 'cause he pulled Flossie's hair."
"Well, of course, he shouldn't do that," said Miss Snell. "But youshould not have locked him in, Freddie. I shall have to tell theprincipal and get him to let Nick out."
The eyes of Flossie and Freddie grew big as the teacher said this. Theeyes of the other children opened wide also. To have to tell "theprincipal" anything meant that it was very serious.
"But I am sure you did not mean to do wrong," Miss Snell added, as shesaw that Freddie and Flossie looked rather frightened. "It will be allright, I'll have the principal let Nick out. You may look over yourgeography lesson while I am gone. I want you to tell me, when I comeback, what is a river, a lake, and an island."
"We know about a island," said Flossie in a loud whisper. "Once wecamped on Blueberry Island, didn't we, Freddie?"
"Yep!" he answered. "An' I fell in!"
"Well, you may tell us about that later," and Miss Snell tried not tolaugh. "But don't talk any more in school; and study your lesson while Igo to Mr. Nixon's office."
While Miss Snell was out of the room I do not believe much studying wasdone by Flossie, Freddie or any of their classmates. They all listenedas, through the open window, came the cries of Nick Malone calling:
"Let me out! Let me out!"
"I locked him in--'cause he pulled Flossie's hair!" declared Freddie,and Freddie was looked upon as quite a hero by the boys and girls in hisroom.
By standing up, Flossie, Freddie and the others in their class could seethe tool shed. And the children stood up and looked out as Miss Snelland the principal went to release the locked-up boy. He came out crying,and seemed frightened. But he soon quieted down, and promised neveragain to pull Flossie's hair, while Freddie was made to promise neveragain to lock anyone in the tool shed.
"Tell your teacher, or tell me, when anyone plagues your sister,Freddie," the principal said.
"Yes'm--I mean yes, sir," Freddie answered.
Neither he nor Flossie had any more trouble with the "bad" boy, aboutwhose teasing they had talked on their way to school that morning. Ithink, after being locked up, that Nick was afraid of Freddie. At anyrate, Flossie's hair was not again pulled.
"Our smaller twins are growing up," said Mr. Bobbsey to his wife at homethat night, when the story of what had happened in school had been toldat the supper table.
"Yes," agreed Mrs. Bobbsey. "Our little 'fireman' and our 'fat fairy'will soon be almost as big as Bert and Nan." Fireman and fairy were thepet names for the smaller Bobbsey twins. But they were getting almosttoo old for pet names now.
The weeks passed, and the weather grew colder, though, as yet, no snowhad appeared. Freddie and Flossie, who had gotten out their sleds soonafter coming home from the West, looked at the sky anxiously each day.
"Do you think it will ever snow?" asked Flossie of her mother. "I wantto go coasting."
"So do I, and skating, too," Freddie added.
"Oh, there is still plenty of time for it to snow this winter," saidtheir mother. "Why, it isn't Thanksgiving yet."
"Oh, that's so!" exclaimed Freddie. "Thanksgiving is coming, an' we'llhave cranberry sauce an' turkey!"
"An' pie an' cake!" cried Flossie.
"Thanksgiving is not meant only for feasting," said their mother. "It isa time for being thankful for all your blessings. It is a time, also, tothink of the poor, and to try to help them."
"I wish we could help some poor," said Flossie. "Is it fun, Mother?"
"Well, I don't know that you would call it fun," her mother replied,with a smile, "though it gives more pleasure than many things that youdo call 'fun'. Just try it and see."
Rather thoughtful, Flossie and Freddie went out together. It was theSaturday before Thanksgiving and they did not have to go to school. Theyeach had two cents to spend, and it was while going down the street tothe nearest candy store that they passed the home of Miss AliciaPompret.
"Hello, Bobbsey twins!" called Miss Pompret to Flossie and Freddie.
"Hello!" answered the blue-eyed little boy and girl. They knew MissPompret quite well, since Bert and Nan had, on their trip to Washington,discovered some of the elderly lady's missing valuable china. MissPompret was what some people would call "rich," and she had offered areward for the finding of her rare sugar-bowl and milk-pitcher. It wasthese pieces that Nan had, by chance, seen in a secondhand store window,and Miss Pompret paid the older Bobbsey twins the reward, which theyturned in to charity.
"Are you going to the store for your mother?" asked Miss Pompret ofFlossie and Freddie, as they paused at her door.
"We're going to the store for ourselves," Freddie answered.
"We have two cents apiece," added his sister.
"Oh, I see!" laughed the elderly, maiden lady. "Well, on your way wouldyou mind stopping at the grocer's and telling him he hasn't yet sent thebarrel of flour, the barrel of potatoes, and the ten hams I ordered.Tell him I expect them to-day."
"My! you're gettin' a lot of stuff, Miss Pompret," said Flossie.
"Well, you see, I am going to give a large dinner to a number of poorpeople for Thanksgiving," said Miss Pompret, "and I want some things forthem to take home with them. That's why I'm ordering so much."
"For the poor!" murmured Freddie.
"Yes, dear," went on the lady. "You know Thanksgiving is not meant tosee how much we can eat, but to think of our blessings and help otherpersons to have blessings that they may be thankful for."
"That's what mother said," remarked Flossie. "Yes'm, we'll stop at thegrocery for you."
"Thank you," called Miss Pompret.
Then, as she and Freddie walked on, Flossie turned to her brother andsaid:
"Freddie, didn't we ought to do something for the poor?"
"Maybe we ought," he agreed. "But who is poor?"
"Anybody that has ragged clothes is poor," observed Flossie. "We couldgive 'em some of our clothes, 'cause I've got so many my closet isfull."
"I've two pair of pants," observed Freddie. "I don't need but one, Iguess. But you can't eat clothes, Flossie."
"I know it, but you have to have clothes when it's cold. And it maybewill snow for Thanksgiving. Oh, Freddie! we could give our two cents tosomebody poor for Thanksgiving!" Flossie's eyes were shining withdelight.
"Yes, we could do that," said Freddie, slowly. "But you can't get muchclothes for two cents and not much to eat, I don't guess."
Flossie thought this over for a moment, and then her face lighted up.
"I know what we can do!" she said. "We can look for some poor raggedpeople, and take them to our house for Thanksgiving. Mother or fathercould give them some clothes and they could have some of our turk
ey.Daddy and mother have some dressings, too, like Miss Pompret said."
"She didn't say '_dressings_,'" objected Freddie. "It's '_blessings_,'like you get in Sunday-school."
"Oh," said Flossie. "Well, we could get some for the poor. Let's do it,Freddie."
"All right," agreed the little fellow.
They were just going into the candy store, having stopped at thegrocer's with the message from Miss Pompret, when Flossie and Freddiecaught sight of a ragged boy and girl, about their own age, standingwith their faces close against the glass of the show window of the toyand candy shop.
"Freddie, look!" whispered Flossie.
"They're poor!" whispered Freddie. "Let's take them!"
Flossie nodded in agreement, and then they went up to the raggedchildren who were eagerly gazing in the window, which was partly filledwith Christmas toys.
"Come on with us," said Freddie, tapping the other boy on the shoulder.
Quickly the boy turned, doubled up his fist, and, thrusting the raggedgirl behind him, he exclaimed:
"Now you let us alone! We wasn't doin' nothin'! We was just lookin' inthe winder, an' that's what it's for! You let us alone!"
The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp Page 4