Nancy and Plum

by Betty Macdonald

“The doll,” Old Tom said, “is out in the back of my sleigh. I’ll just duck out and get it now.”

  When he came in, Mrs. Campbell said, “Here, give it to me. I’ll hide it in the hall closet.” When she came back she had two little presents for her and Angus from Uncle John. She said, “Here, Angus, let’s open these now. We can’t be the only ones without anything new. And you, too, Tom, you go out and get that big box for you from Nancy and Plum.”

  Uncle John had sent Mr. and Mrs. Campbell each a beautiful wrist watch. A little round gold one with a thin gold bracelet for Mrs. Campbell and a larger gold one with a leather strap for Mr. Campbell. They were the first watches either of them had ever had and they were so thrilled they had tears in their eyes. Then Mr. Campbell looked at the back of his and found engraved on it “To Uncle Angus from Plum and Nancy.” Mrs. Campbell turned hers over and found “To Aunt Mary Ann from Plum and Nancy.” They both kissed Nancy and Plum and then Old Tom opened his present and saw his mackinaw and he kissed them and thanked them and then everybody was laughing and squealing and jumping around until Mrs. Campbell looked at the clock and saw that it was ten minutes after seven.

  “Oh, my goodness,” she said. “We’ve got to hurry. Here, Eunice, this little white fur scarf and muff is for you. Come here and I’ll fix it. Now you look just like a princess except for your hair. Heavens, I forgot your hair. Quick, slip out of your coat while I start unbraiding. Nancy, you do the other braid and, Plum, you hand me the brush.”

  In a few minutes Eunice’s thick brown hair hung down her back in shiny rippling waves. “Now you really do look like a princess,” Nancy said.

  At last they were ready. The angel costumes were laid out flat in a box, carefully wrapped in tissue paper, and stowed in the back of the sleigh. Nancy and Plum and Eunice were resplendent in their new coats, hats and muffs. Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Angus were bundled up in their regular coats and scarves, but wearing their new watches. Old Tom had shed his old dusty jacket and had on his new warm red-plaid wool mackinaw. The sleigh was at the door and Old Horse and Herbert were snorting and stamping in the cold.

  As Mr. Campbell tucked the robes around the children and clucked to the horses, Nancy said, “Remember, Plum, last Christmas when we said that someday we’d be going to the Christmas entertainment in a sleigh?”

  Plum said, “Certainly, I remember. I said I’d be driving.”

  Mr. Campbell handed her the reins. Plum slapped them on the horses’ backs and shouted, “Merry Christmas, Old Horse and Herbert.”

  The horses stepped along smartly, the runners of the sleigh hissed in the snow, the sleigh bells trilled shrilly and Eunice called out, “Merry Christmas, School Program, here we come.”

  Then Nancy, her hand tight in Mrs. Campbell’s warm comforting hand, looked around her and called out, “Merry Christmas, horses. Merry Christmas, Heavenly Valley. Merry Christmas, everybody in the whole world!”

  THE END

  Betty MacDonald was born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard in Boulder, Colorado, in 1908. The daughter of a mining engineer, she spent her early years in some of the mining towns of Idaho, Montana, and Mexico. When she was nine, her father took the family—his wife and five children—to Seattle, where Betty lived until shortly after her marriage.

  Among her books for children are Nancy and Plum, originally published in 1952, and the beloved classics Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm, and Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.

  Mary GrandPré has illustrated thirteen children’s books, including, most recently, Carnival of the Animals and several chapter books. She interrupted her work on picture books to illustrate the American editions of the Harry Potter books. That assignment finished, she welcomed the chance to be involved with Nancy and Plum, and is currently working on more children’s books and exploring personal paintings on a larger scale in the studio. She lives in Florida. You can pay her a visit at marygrandpre.com.

  When Jeanne Birdsall was young, she promised herself she’d be a writer someday—so she could write books for children to discover and enjoy, just as she did in her local library. In fact, she is especially honored to work on Nancy and Plum because she distinctly remembers reading each and every entry in Betty MacDonald’s Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series as a young, impressionable girl.

  Jeanne is the author of The Penderwicks, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and its follow-up, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her husband, three nutty cats, and a dog named Cagney. You can visit Jeanne (and her animal friends) on her website, jeannebirdsall.com.