by Lois Lenski
“Please, mister,” begged Felix, “would you mind walking on the other side of the street, so I can catch my dog?”
“I’ll catch him for you—by the tail!” said the man, chasing the dog. The dog ran in circles and barked still more.
When the dog barked, it frightened Felix. The dog made such a loud noise, and Felix did not know how to stop it. He was afraid a policeman might come and take the dog away from him, thinking he did not know how to care for it properly.
A young man came along, carrying a tray of food on his head. He came from the restaurant down the street and was delivering a hot meal to somebody’s apartment. The dog barked again, but this time Felix held him tight in his arms and he soon stopped.
Just then Mei Gwen came to the front door and called. Felix went over to her. “He’s coming,” she said.
“Who?” asked Felix.
“The owner,” said Mei Gwen. “The man said, ‘Wait half an hour and I’ll be there.’”
“Did you tell him where we live?” asked Felix.
“Yes,” said Mei Gwen.
“Oh, why did you do that?” groaned Felix.
“So he can come and get his dog,” said Mei Gwen. “The dog’s name is Rusty, he said.”
“‘Rusty’—I like that name,” said Felix. “Did he sound like a nice man—like a kind man?”
“He was O.K.,” said Mei Gwen.
“Where does he live?” asked Felix unhappily.
“Up on Nob Hill,” said Mei Gwen. “The man said that when he took his car out of the garage this morning, he forgot to close the door, so the dog ran away.”
“The dog was happy,” said Felix, “because he was free. Maybe he felt like Frankie and Freddie when they run away. They don’t like to be cooped up in a little crowded apartment. The dog did not like to be locked in the man’s garage. That is why he ran away. To run away does not always mean that one is bad. Maybe it just means a person is unhappy. A dog could be unhappy, too. Maybe the man does not treat him well.”
Mei Gwen and Felix sat in the doorway and talked. The dog lay contentedly in Felix’ arms. Sandra Sung, the girl from the second-floor apartment, came out and stood on the sidewalk. She looked shabby, but she had put on a clean dress.
“Oh, you’ve got a dog,” she said.
It seemed no time at all before a taxi pulled up and an American man stepped out. He called, “Here, Rusty!” The dog heard it and jumped up and down, he was so glad to see his master. He barked a little, too—happy barks, not angry barks. The man wanted the dog back. There was no use Felix asking if he could keep him. The man talked to the children, but Felix did not hear a word he said. Mei Gwen answered all the man’s questions. She was not afraid of Americans and strangers.
The man put a leash on the dog’s collar. The dog stood still and let him snap it on. That settled the matter. The dog was willing to go back to his master.
Felix and Mei Gwen said goodbye to the dog. Felix’ voice was shaking. He hated to see the dog go away. The man got into the taxi and the dog jumped in after him. The taxi drove off down the street and turned the corner. The dog was gone.
Standing there, Felix looked down and saw that he held a dollar bill in his hand.
“Where did I get this?” he asked, astonished.
“The man gave it to you, Elder Brother,” said Mei Gwen. “He said it was your reward.”
“Did he?” asked Felix.
What was it—the motto in the Fortune cookie? Better to keep a friend than to have a dollar. In his mind, Felix changed it: Better to keep a dog than to have a dollar. No amount of money could make up for the loss of the dog.
“Here, Younger Sister,” said Felix. “You can have the dollar.”
“Oh, thank you,” said Mei Gwen.
She took the money and ran up the stairs.
CHAPTER VI
A Day for Growing Up
“Today is an important day,” said Mei Gwen.
Grandmother Yee, who had come early that morning, said, “Each day is important if we make it so.”
“But today is my birthday,” said Mei Gwen. “I am ten years old.”
“I hope you are also ten years wise,” said Grandmother. “You will have to help me get things ready for tonight.”
“It is to be a party?” asked Mei Gwen.
“All the family are coming,” said Grandmother, “and you may ask some of the neighbors. There will be much to do before Mother comes home from the factory.”
“I will help all I can,” said Mei Gwen.
Grandmother ordered the chicken on the telephone. Then she said, “Take this shopping bag and go to the Sang Sang Poultry Shop and get the chicken. Uncle Ed will have it ready for you. I ordered a nice plump one, four and a half pounds. I will fix it in a special way for tonight.”
“But I don’t like to go,” said Mei Gwen.
“No?” said Grandmother. “Why not?”
“I am scared of chickens,” said Mei Gwen. “They have sharp things for a mouth. They bite you. They say gyp-gyp-gyp all the time.”
Grandmother laughed. “You talk like a city girl.”
“I have been to the country and I know,” said Mei Gwen. “I have seen them alive. I know how they breathe up and down and I have heard all the noise they make. Father took us with Uncle Ed to his brother’s chicken ranch. Uncle Ed brings them all alive to his poultry shop. He has them all over the sidewalk and piled up in boxes inside. I do not like to go there.”
“No?” said Grandmother. “That is too bad. Without a chicken we cannot have a nice birthday for you.”
Mei Gwen became silent, thinking fast.
“The chicken will be all ready?” she asked. “Are you sure?”
Grandmother nodded. “So he said.”
“Uncle Ed will just have to put it in my shopping bag—that is all?” asked Mei Gwen.
“That is all,” said Grandmother, smiling.
“Maybe that won’t be so bad,” said the girl.
“To be a good housewife,” said Grandmother, “you must always buy your chickens fresh. Uncle Ed brings them in from the country alive, so his customers can be sure to get them freshly killed. A fresh chicken always tastes better and is more nourishing, too. It makes people strong and healthy.”
Grandmother put a small package in the girl’s hands.
“I have saved all our left-over cooked rice and dried it,” she said. “Take it to our friend, Ed Leong, to feed to his ducks and chickens.”
“But Grandmother, nobody else does that,” said Mei Gwen. “Nobody else saves rice to feed somebody’s old fat chickens.”
“Rice is so hard to come by, we must not waste a single grain,” said Grandmother. “Some one had to work hard to grow that rice. Don’t ever waste food. The Creator gives each person only so much food. If you waste it or use up your share too quickly, you will be sure to starve.”
Mei Gwen put the rice in her shopping bag and got ready to go.
“I must pass the Yet Sang Fish Shop,” she said to herself. “So I will wear my old yellow sweater.” She put it on over her blue blouse. She fastened her change purse to her belt. She made sure she was wearing her necklace with her door key and identification tag.
“Stop at the Fung Wo grocery for the greens and vegetables,” said Grandmother. “Mr. Sue will have them ready for you.”
Mei Gwen felt very important to do the day’s shopping alone, without Grandmother. She felt like a real housewife. On the street she saw several Chinese grandmothers with shopping bags. They were shopping for their married daughters, who were working at jobs in the factories or were kept at home with small children. Each week, under Grandmother’s careful guidance, Mei Gwen was learning more and more about housekeeping. She knew which vegetables were fresh and which a day old. She knew the names of the dried seafoods in all the many baskets across the front of the Fung Wo Grocery.
When she got there, Mr. Sue had everything ready. He put her vegetables in a paper bag and handed it to her.
He spoke in a businesslike way and called her by name. Mei Gwen liked buying vegetables for Grandmother, but there was one thing she did not like. That was buying a live chicken.
But she told herself, this time it would be easy. Uncle Ed would have it ready, it would be all wrapped in paper so she need not even look at it. He could pop it into her shopping bag and off she would go. That was all there was to it. She marched along confidently.
She stopped in front of the Yet Sang Fish Shop to look at the turtles and the frogs. The turtles were fast asleep, but the frogs were jumping. Not one of them sat still to stare at a little girl passing by. Not one of them noticed her old yellow sweater. She felt a little cheated, somehow.
Mei Gwen could tell when she was coming near the poultry shop. She heard the squawks of the chickens while she was still half a block away. There was Uncle Ed Leong on the back of the truck unloading crates. One crate fell down, the door came open and out came the chickens, very much alive. They ran and jumped and flew in all directions. Boys and men on the sidewalk ran after the chickens. They caught them and put them back in the crate. One young rooster led them a merry chase. It came toward Mei Gwen and she drew back hastily. It flew up on the awning of the Yet Sang Fish Shop and roosted there. Mr. Lum, the fish man, came out with a fish net on a long pole, crept up quickly and caught the rooster. He gave it to Uncle Leong, who took it inside.
“Oh dear!” said Mei Gwen. “I hope Uncle Ed will not keep me waiting. I want to get away from here quickly. I do not like this neighborhood.”
The poultry truck moved away and the sidewalk grew calm. Mei Gwen approached cautiously. Seeing no stray chickens, she walked up to the shop and went in.
Uncle Ed Leong sat at a very neat desk at the back of the room. On one side a counter was piled high with fifty-pound sacks of Texas rice for sale. Along the other side was a long counter with chicken crates below it. Across the top were hooks from which dressed chickens were hanging. Nearby was a large scale for weighing. A loose end of string hung down from a large ball fastened to the wall. A pile of newspapers lay beside the cash register.
In the open rooms beyond, Mei Gwen could see three men working busily. She could also hear all the noise the chickens were making. She was glad they were all in cages. The crates and cages lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Some chickens were saying gyp-gyp-gyp and some were going cluck, cluck, cluck, and some were making a loud squawking. Mei Gwen wanted to put her hands over her ears, but she had to hold her nose because she did not like the smell.
She went up to Mr. Leong at his desk. He had an abacus in his hand and was busy counting. The abacus was a beautifully made oblong wooden frame, with wires stretched up and down, on which were strung rows of wooden beads. It was an age-old adding machine for doing accounts. Mr. Leong moved the beads up and down, making soft sounds with his lips. On the desk in front of him, in a neat pile, lay his Chinese account books. A small tray held his writing brush, ink box and seals. Sometimes he stopped and wrote in his books.
Mei Gwen waited patiently until he looked up at her.
“Ah! the little girl of my friend, Frank Fong!” said Uncle Ed. “I am glad to see you this beautiful morning.”
Mei Gwen took the small package from her shopping bag. “My Grandmother Yee sends you this dried rice, Uncle Ed, to feed your chickens,” she said. “My Grandmother Yee saves all the left-over rice at our house and dries it.”
Mr. Leong took the package and thanked the girl. “Your honorable Grandmother is a thrifty woman,” he said. “It is very kind of her to remember my unworthy chickens.”
“My chicken—is it ready?” asked Mei Gwen timidly.
“Your chicken?” asked Mr. Leong.
“It is for my birthday,” said Mei Gwen modestly. “My Grandmother Yee ordered it over the telephone. You said it would be ready for me to take home when I came.”
Mr. Leong became businesslike at once. “The hen will be ready in a minute, young lady,” he said. “I will take care of it myself to see that the daughter of my friend, Frank Fong, is properly served.” He went to the back of the room where most of the crates were. “How many pounds does she want—four? five?”
“But my chicken is all ready, Uncle Ed,” said Mei Gwen. “You do not need to kill another one. My Grandmother told me not to wait.”
Mr. Leong came forward again. He placed a chair in front of his desk. He brought copies of Life and Look magazines.
“Come, sit down and be comfortable, young lady,” he said. “Why should you be in a hurry? You have all the time there is. You do not want to rush around madly as these Americans do. Go slow, take your time, meditate more and you will live longer—that is the Chinese philosophy. I want the little daughter of my good friend, Frank Fong, to suffer no inconvenience. You like to read, eh? You are a smart girl in the public school, eh? And in Chinese evening school, too? You get the highest marks in the class?”
Mei Gwen did not look up at him. She sat down on the chair. She took the magazines on her lap, but she did not open them. How could she bear to live through it? How could she keep from running away? What did it matter whether she had a chicken for her birthday or not? She hated chickens and never wanted to see one again. The chicken was not ready at all.
But she sat there on her chair and did not move. She knew what was going on, although she never once looked up.
Mr. Leong picked a plump live chicken from the cage and weighed it on the scales. He grabbed the chicken by its legs, twisted the legs so it could not get away, then he made a sharp cut in its neck. As the chicken fluttered, he stuck it into a large garbage can and put the cover down tight. Quickly Mei Gwen put her hands over her ears, so she would not hear it say gubble-gubble-gub. She did not want to hear it jumping inside the can. This was the worst part and she was glad when it was over.
Mr. Leong pulled his sleeves up and took the chicken out of the can. He dipped it into a large open tank filled with boiling water. He pressed a pedal with his foot and held it up to a machine that pulled the feathers off. The machine was run by electricity. It was a revolving drum with rubber spikes on it. It was like a wild wind and made a roaring noise. It pulled the feathers off and they fell in a box on the floor.
The chicken was now ready to be dressed. Uncle Ed washed it carefully at the sink, cleaned all the pin feathers off, and chopped it into small pieces, discarding the entrails. Finally, after what seemed a long time to a small girl, he plopped a heavy newspaper-wrapped package into Mei Gwen’s shopping bag. He kept her waiting still longer by the door, as he inquired after all the members of the Fong family, and listened while Mei Gwen reported them well and happy.
When Mei Gwen came out of the poultry store, she saw three girls playing Shake, shake, shake on the sidewalk. Gaily they chanted:
“Shake, shake, shake,
Oh playmate,
Come out and play with me
And bring your dolly sweet
And eat your apple treat.”
They joined hands and shook three times. Then they clapped, hitting opposing hands, and with a light tap on the leg, whirled around. Two of the girls were classmates at school, Linda Lee and Ethel Wong. The third, an American, Mei Gwen had not seen before.
“Now we’ll teach you a Chinese game,” they said. Linda and Ethel began:
“Chong chong dō,
High go show,
To my row,
Chong chong go.”
They explained the gestures which ended the verse. “Two fingers means scissors,” said Linda. “The closed fist means a rock, and the open hand means paper.”
“When two players make the same gesture,” said Ethel, “that means the other one is out.”
They started playing again, but the new girl did not seem to understand the game.
“I can explain it better than you can,” said Mei Gwen.
“Who do you think you are?” said Ethel.
“Nobody asked you to play,” said Linda.
They looked Mei Gwen up
and down. Then Ethel took Linda by the arm and they walked off down the street. The American girl was left alone with Mei Gwen, who asked her her name.
“Dina Costelli,” said the girl.
In a few minutes, Mei Gwen learned all about her. Her father ran the Italian Market down the street in the next block. She lived in Little Italy, not far from Chinatown. She said she liked Chinese girls. She walked all the way home with Mei Gwen, so she could see where she lived. Before they parted, Dina had promised to be Mei Gwen’s girl-friend and to come to her birthday party that evening.
Grandmother Yee said nothing when Mei Gwen came in, but started to prepare the chicken at once. Mei Gwen ran down the steps of the apartment house to knock at the doors and invite her neighbors. She invited Lester Yang on the third floor and Mrs. Ping and her baby. The Quans on the second floor were not at home, but Sandra Sung, the untidy little girl, was sitting on the steps as usual, and her little brother and sister were crying inside. Mei Gwen passed her without speaking. Down on the first floor, she invited old Mr. Wong. He said he would come and bring his Chinese butterfly harp.
Upstairs again, she invited Mrs. Yick and Ellen and Elaine, the five-year-old twins across the hall. The twins came over and helped Mei Gwen set the table. Soon Mother returned from the factory with the younger boys and little Susie. Mother was surprised to see how much had been done. Things began to happen quickly after that.
Mother brought large boxes with her, and when Mei Gwen opened them, she had a grand surprise. There were a new blue birthday dress, new shoes and socks and new ribbons for Mei Gwen’s hair. Mother said she could put them on and wear them. So a pretty Mei Gwen opened the door each time the doorbell rang.
“Is she coming? Is she coming?” Mei Gwen kept asking. She was thinking of her new friend, Dina Costelli.
The first time she went to the door it was Aunty Rose Jong with her children, Paul, Dorinda and Jean. The next time it was Father, home early from the restaurant. He had stopped at a bakery and bought a large birthday cake. He decorated it with candles and set it in the middle of the table. The other relatives and the neighbors from downstairs came in one after the other. Old Mr. Wong brought his butterfly harp, sat in the corner and played Chinese music. Two friends of Father’s came and sang Chinese songs. It was nearly eight when Felix got back from Chinese school. Mei Gwen was glad to see everybody, but she felt a little sad that Dina Costelli, her new-found friend, did not appear.