by Judy Delton
When Molly arrived at the barn, Mr. Roscoe was just arranging some of the Pee Wees into squares. There were only a few Scouts there—Lisa and Jody and Kevin and Ashley. Ashley was busy trying to get Andy to be her partner. Where were the other Pee Wees?
Just as Molly was about to tell Mrs. Peters how sorry she was that she had to miss out on the dancing, Mary Beth came through the door with a cane! She was leaning on it, and she seemed to be crying. “I’ve got a sore foot. A horse stepped on it,” she said.
Mary Beth had not told Molly, her best friend, about this! It must have just happened!
Mary Beth sat down, and the door opened again. Tracy came in with red dots all over her face. “I’ve got an allergy,” she said. “I can’t dance because I’m itching.”
Poor Tracy! Was she allergic to some weed that grew on the ranch?
The next Pee Wees to come in were Roger and Sonny. They had black patches over their eyes.
“I can’t see!” said Sonny, walking around with his hands out, bumping into things. “I can’t dance. I’m blind!”
“So am I,” said Roger, bumping into Sonny and falling onto the floor.
Rat’s knees, thought Molly. What is going on? Why was everyone in some kind of trouble?
Mrs. Peters suddenly began to laugh.
“All right!” she said. “You aren’t fooling me! Not one of you!”
“I do itch!” shouted Tracy.
“And I’m blind,” said Sonny.
Molly didn’t say anything. Everyone had ruined her plan. They each had a plan of their own that was the same as hers! Had they copied her?
“I think we should talk about this,” said Mrs. Peters.
“Well, I don’t want to dance,” said Roger, pulling off his eye patch. “I’m not dancing with Molly, I’ll tell you that.”
What a surprise! Roger did not want to dance with her! She wouldn’t have to worry about dancing with him. Or Sonny, for that matter.
It seemed that everyone had the same problem. The girls didn’t want a boy partner. (Especially Sonny or Roger.) And the boys didn’t want girl partners.
“How about,” said their leader, “having the girls be partners with girls at first, and the boys with boys? Will that make you feel better?”
The Pee Wees thought about it. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do for now.
“I don’t like dancing, period,” said Tim.
“You guys are so … dull!” said Rachel. “You don’t like any new stuff!”
The Pee Wees reluctantly lined up. Mary Beth was Molly’s partner, and that wasn’t bad. It almost felt like fun.
Mr. Roscoe went through the steps again. The Pee Wees followed him in slow motion. “We’ll play the music very slowly at first,” he said, “so you can get the feel of it.”
The music began. The Pee Wees paid close attention to Mr. Roscoe’s words. They tried to do what he said. Most of the time they ended up backward or in another square or bumping into one another.
“Mr. Roscoe, Sonny is stepping on my feet!” yelled Tim.
“He stepped on mine too!” said Kenny. “I don’t want to dance with him!”
“That’s all right,” said Mr. Roscoe. “That happens at first. By tonight, you’ll be old pros.”
The fiddler played and Mr. Roscoe sang. “Grab your sweetheart, give her a swing. Now promenade around that ring!”
“Isn’t it fun when you do it right?” cried Mary Beth.
It was. The Pee Wees were all out of breath, but they were having fun! It was more like a game than it was like dancing. You had to think hard to do the right step at the right time. And by the end of the afternoon, the boys had girls for partners and no one minded. Not even Molly!
But of course her partner turned out to be Kenny. She liked Kenny, and he could dance. He remembered the steps. Rat’s knees, the Wild West was fun!
CHAPTER 9
The Big Hoedown
“You guys stole my idea,” said Roger on the way back to the dining hall.
“What idea? Your dumb idea to be blind?” asked Tracy.
“It was my own idea to have a sprained ankle,” said Molly. “I didn’t steal it from anyone. Anyway, my ankle really hurt.”
“All’s well that ends well,” said Patty. “That’s what my grandma says. And it did end well. We had lots of fun learning to dance.”
All the Pee Wees had to admit Patty was right.
“I wonder who will win the prize for best dancer,” said Rachel. “I’ve been taking lessons for years, you know.”
“Not in square dancing, you haven’t,” said Kenny. “Square dancing isn’t like tap or ballet.”
Rachel sighed. “A dancer is a dancer,” she said. “If you have natural talent and grace you can do any dance.”
Molly privately believed that square dancing took more listening and following directions than it did talent and grace. And Molly knew how to listen and follow directions. But of course she could never win anything after having just one lesson.
The Pee Wees were hungry after all their exercise. They had a big dinner in the dining hall. Then they went to the bunkhouse to get ready for the big dance. Mr. Peters was ironing the wrinkles out of the dance skirts and shirts. Mrs. Peters was braiding the girls’ hair. She tied matching ribbons on ponytails that would bounce up and down while they danced.
When everyone was ready, they raced over to the big barn where the dance was to be held. Mr. Roscoe was there playing his fiddle. Colored lights were strung everywhere, and Chinese lanterns swung from the rafters. Chairs were set up all around the sides for people who did not want to dance.
But all the Pee Wees wanted to dance! They quickly got into their places when Mr. Roscoe called “Square up!” They prepared to do the steps as he called them out.
“Grab your partner, give her a whirl. Let’s all do the California twirl!”
Molly listened very carefully to Mr. Roscoe. She found she had to really think hard to move so fast in the right direction. Roger and Sonny were laughing and punching each other and stepping on each other’s feet on purpose. When Mr. Roscoe called “Do-si-do,” they walked the wrong way—right into the next square. They brought the whole dance to a stop.
“Let’s all listen carefully to the calls,” said Mr. Peters with a frown. “I think there’s a little too much horseplay going on here.”
Molly’s partner was Kenny. He was a good listener. There was no horseplay in their square.
When the evening was half over, Molly’s square was the only one that had made no mistakes.
But Molly was getting tired. Square dancing was very hard work. Especially when you were just learning. She didn’t care about winning, she just wanted to do it right. It felt good to do something well!
There was a nice long break for refreshments. The Pee Wees tumbled into chairs and drank some pink punch.
“Maybe when we get home, we can square-dance at our meetings. Right in your basement, Mrs. Peters,” said Lisa.
“That’s a good idea!” said their leader.
And then the break was over. Mr. Roscoe called, “Honor your partner, give her a swing. Allemande left, and weave that ring!”
“What a hoedown this is!” cried Andy. “Look at those Pee Wees dance!”
“Weave the ring, and Texas star. Half sashay just where you are,” called Mr. Roscoe.
“Sides face! Grand square!” came next.
The grand square was hard! Molly knew she had to count her steps carefully. Kenny knew too. They carefully counted one, two, three as they moved. They turned on count four. One, two, three, four!
Sonny turned on count two. Ashley turned on count three. But Molly and Kenny did it right.
Soon Mr. Roscoe called, “Promenade that partner home,” and the dance was over. Molly noticed that her square was the only one still in place!
Rachel was graceful, but not fast.
Roger and Sonny were fast, but they didn’t listen to directions.
Mary Beth’s
square was not square anymore. Tim had gotten his left side and right side mixed up. He had walked smack into Sonny, who had wandered across the room and into the wrong square. The two of them had landed in a pile on the floor.
But Kenny and Molly had promenaded home while everyone seated around the barn floor clapped and cheered.
Molly was very glad it was over! Her legs felt weak. Rat’s knees, square dancing was good exercise!
“I’m really a ballerina,” said Rachel, sitting down beside Molly. “Ballet is an art, you know.”
“I’d have won if Sonny hadn’t walked into me,” said Tim.
“Hey! You walked into me!” shouted Sonny.
Mrs. Peters raised her hand. “I know you all worked hard tonight, and we all had a good time. But we have to give the prize to Molly and Kenny.” She laughed. “They were the only ones left on the floor when it came time to promenade! They showed us how important it is to listen.”
Most of the audience cheered, but a few Pee Wees booed. No one liked to lose. Molly and Kenny went up to get their prize. They each got a tiny fiddle to pin on their shirts. Molly couldn’t wait to show her mom and dad!
“Now,” said Cowboy Andy, “since it’s our last night, it’s time for the big sing-along!” He led the Pee Wees out of the barn. They walked down a path through the woods to a big clearing. In the clearing was the biggest bonfire Molly had ever seen! Bing was sitting near the fire, softly playing his guitar. As the Pee Wees sat down around the fire, the Moes and Bakers and Peterses brought them hot dogs and marshmallows on sticks to roast. Some of the Pee Wees dropped them into the fire by mistake and had to get new ones. Eventually everyone had their treats.
As they ate, Chip and Bing led them in song. Western songs and rounds and short songs and long songs. Everyone joined in. Even the Pee Wees who sang off-key. It was dark as could be in the woods. The only light was from the fire. It made flickering shadows on the Pee Wees’ faces. Instead of being scary, thought Molly, it was peaceful. The Scouts’ smiles, the crackling branches snapping in the fire, and the guitar music all made her feel warm and secure. Molly wished it would last forever! But of course, it couldn’t.
After all the excitement, it was hard to get to sleep that night. But finally the bunkhouse was quiet.
No one heard the coyotes howling in the distance.
No horseplay went on in the boys’ bunkroom.
And there were no ghosts or other scary sounds in the night.
In the morning, it was time to say good-bye to the ranch and to Cowboy Andy. Good-bye to Chip. Good-bye to cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats.
“Come back again, you hear?” called Chip.
“We will!” called the Pee Wees, waving from inside their cars. They drove down the long driveway, past the Lazy T sign, and turned toward home.
“Andy said he’d write to me,” said Ashley.
Mary Beth rolled her eyes at Molly. “I’ll bet,” she said. “I think she made that up.”
“I think I’ll ask for cowboy boots for Christmas,” said Tracy.
Molly didn’t want cowboy boots. She just wanted to keep her good memories, and her little fiddle, to remind her of the fun. And when they got back, she’d get a brand-new badge!
Rat’s knees, Pee Wee Scouts was fun!
Scouts are helpers, Scouts have fun
Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!
We sing and play when work is done,
Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!
With a good deed here,
And an errand there,
Here a hand, there a hand,
Everywhere a good hand.
Scouts are helpers, Scouts have fun,
Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!
We love our country
And our home,
Our school and neighbors too.
As Pee Wee Scouts
We pledge our best
In everything we do.