Moans and Groans and Dinosaur Bones

by Judy Delton

  Mr. Peters shook his head. “We have a lot to do and see today,” he said. “And all those pancakes will slow you down.”

  “That’s disgusting,” said Mary Beth to Molly. “Those pancakes are as big as Frisbees.”

  When everyone had finished breakfast, Troop 23 set off for the museum. This time they went to rooms they had not seen the day before. They saw treasures from a shipwreck, an airplane flown by the Wright brothers (no relation to Betsy, Mr. Duff was sure), Native American ceremonial costumes and jewelry, and even a live baby shark swimming in a big tank.

  The morning flew by, and after lunch in the museum’s cafeteria there was talk about checking out of the hotel and getting to the train station on time.

  On the way out of the museum, the Pee Wees walked past the room with the Egyptian jewelry in it. Tim was heading for the gift shop to get his own rubber spider and seemed to have forgotten all about the missing necklace.

  “Hey,” said Kevin to Molly. “Let’s go in and see if the necklace is back.”

  They walked toward the big case. In the case was the velvet pillow, and on the pillow was the necklace! It looked exactly as it had before—as if it had never gone anywhere.

  “Maybe we did imagine it was gone,” said Molly.

  Kevin shook his head. “It was gone,” he said. “But I guess it wasn’t stolen.”

  A new attendant smiled at Molly and Kevin. “This just got back,” she said, nodding. “It was gone for cleaning and polishing yesterday.”

  Molly felt relieved. There was no thief involved, but it hadn’t been her wild imagination playing tricks on her! The necklace really had been gone for cleaning, just as Betsy had suggested.

  When the Pee Wees got back to the hotel, Mr. Peters suggested they take a little nap while the adults packed, so that no one would be overtired and irritable on the trip home.

  “Like Sonny and Roger,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly. “They’re the only babies that need a nap.”

  Molly couldn’t sleep. Now that the trip was almost over, all she could think about was choosing her favorite thing in the museum to write about. She had so many favorite things! She could write a paper about each one of them.

  “What are you going to write about?” she whispered to Mary Beth, who wasn’t sleeping either.

  “The baby shark, I think,” Mary Beth said. “Probably no one else will choose him. I like his name, Scamper.”

  Soon the Pee Wees had checked out of the hotel and were headed toward the train station. The adults kept a sharp eye on Sonny this time, and they all got on the right train together. There was a lot of conversation about what they had seen on the trip, but Molly curled up on her seat and closed her eyes. She liked to think about good times by herself and remember what she had done and how she had felt. That was even more fun than talking about it.

  And then, before long, the trip was over and the Pee Wees were home.

  “Remember,” said Mrs. Peters as the Pee Wees got off the train and into their parents’ waiting cars, “have your papers and pictures ready by Tuesday! Tuesday is badge day!”

  Molly’s mind was spinning. Maybe she should write about the necklace. But many of the Pee Wees would choose that, she thought. She wanted something different.

  The shark? That was Mary Beth’s choice. She didn’t want to be a copycat.

  The mummies? Too grisly. Dead bodies were no fun.

  In the morning Molly woke up with an idea. Morning ideas were always good. She had a perfect thing to write about. The only problem was, how could she get it all on one sheet of paper? She would have to write very, very small. Perhaps she could use the other side of the paper too. Mrs. Peters had said one sheet of paper. But she hadn’t said they couldn’t use both sides of it!

  At school, all the Pee Wees were talking about their badge project.

  “I’m going to do the dinosaur claw,” said Kenny.

  “I’m going to write about those dishes that were in the shipwreck,” said Rachel. “I don’t think anyone else noticed them.”

  But Molly didn’t talk about her project. She was sure her subject wouldn’t be chosen by anyone else. She wrote before breakfast and after lunch. At school and after school. Her project was too long. Molly took lots of words out. Then it was too short. She put some of the words back in. Then she copied it over in very small writing on both sides of one sheet of paper. It had been so much fun writing it, she was sorry to be finished.

  On Tuesday the Pee Wees gathered in the Peterses’ basement. Mrs. Peters had a pile of badges in front of her.

  “I think we should all read our papers out loud to the group,” she said. “That way we can all enjoy them! And if you drew a picture, you can hold it up when it’s your turn.”

  Sonny held his picture up first. It was the dinosaur claw.

  “Darn!” said Tim. “I drew that too!”

  “It looks like a big wad of chewing gum,” said Tracy. “It doesn’t look like a claw.”

  Tracy was right. Sonny’s picture could have been anything. It must not have taken him more than a minute to draw it. It was black.

  “He only used one crayon,” said Roger.

  “It’s not fair to get a badge for only using one crayon,” said Lisa in disgust.

  Mary Beth read her piece about the baby shark named Scamper. Everyone laughed and clapped.

  “That was good,” said Molly.

  When it was Roger’s turn, he got up and read, “‘There were mummies in the museum, and they were old and they were dead. The end.’”

  Rachel waved her hand. “Mrs. Peters, how can he get a badge for one line? That isn’t fair!”

  “It’s not one line,” shouted Roger, “it’s two!”

  “It’s still too short,” said Patty.

  Molly had to admit to herself that it was unfair. She had spent hours writing and rewriting and copying her paper over. Then she remembered that she’d had a good time doing it. Apparently Roger hadn’t.

  Finally it was Molly’s turn to read her paper. She wondered if it was too long, or if it was boring, or if everyone would boo her.

  But that didn’t happen. The title of Molly’s paper was “The Pee Wees Almost Go to Jail.”

  It was a story about a trip to the Center City museum, a stay in a hotel, a mysterious man who looked like a crook, his girlfriend, and her dog, Roger.

  And it was about a missing necklace from the museum and how the Pee Wees jumped to the conclusion that Mr. Ross was a crook. It had a surprise ending. Of course it wasn’t a surprise to the Pee Wees, because they had been there.

  Everyone was spellbound as they listened. They clapped when Molly was done reading.

  “But that’s not about something in the museum,” Roger piped up.

  “Mr. Ross was in the museum!” said Mary Beth, defending her best friend.

  “He doesn’t live there,” said Sonny, “like a mummy or a shark.”

  “Mummies don’t live there,” said Kenny. “They’re dead.”

  Mrs. Peters held up her hand.

  “Molly has done a very creative project,” she said, “on one sheet of paper. She has used her imagination to make the museum trip into a story. It will be a very good record for all of us to keep of our big adventure. It will remind us of the trip, and of the fact that we should not judge people too quickly. I am going to make copies for all of us to put in our scrapbooks.”

  Most of the Pee Wees applauded again. Some even whistled.

  “That was great,” said Mary Beth. “I wish I could make things into stories like that.”

  “I didn’t have to make it into one,” said Molly. “That’s just what happened.”

  She was pleased that Mrs. Peters had liked her story. For a change, her wild imagination had not let her down. It had been very useful! It even helped to get her a badge. Rat’s knees, writing was fun. And Pee Wee Scouts was fun!

  Mrs. Peters passed out the badges. Sonny lost his before the meeting was over. Roger spilled hot chocolate
on his.

  But Molly felt the badge’s soft, silky stitching and admired its bright colors. Then she put it between two pieces of clean paper in her folder. She put the folder safely into her book bag. This was a badge she’d never forget earning. She was sure it would always be her favorite!

  Be a Pee Wee Scout!

  In Moans and Groans and Dinosaur Bones, the Pee Wee Scouts visit a museum.

  Have you been to a museum? There are many different kinds. Art museums are full of paintings and sculptures. History museums might focus on anything from arrowheads to airplanes. And science museums usually have displays about space, our planet, and animals—including dinosaurs!

  Here are some activities you can try.

  Draw a Picture

  Museums are usually quiet, and that makes them a great place to draw. It’s a fun way to make sure you’ll always remember your visit. So find a spot to sit down, make a drawing of your favorite museum item, and write what you’ve learned about it on the back.

  Be a Cultural Detective

  At many museums, you can learn about people who lived long ago. Imagine what it would have been like to be a caveman or a president or an Indian. What would be different about that life? What would be easier than in your life today? What would be harder?

  Quiz Your Parents

  Write down five interesting facts that you learned at the museum. Then try to stump your parents. They’ll be amazed at how much you found out in a single afternoon.

  Build Your Own Museum

  As you go through the museum, imagine that you’re in charge. What displays would be in your perfect museum? Is there anything you absolutely wouldn’t have? Why or why not?

  Don’t Forget the Internet

  If you can’t make it to a museum in person, you can usually visit online. Ask your parents to help you find a famous museum’s Web site. Then you can see pictures, learn facts, and maybe even watch movies. It’s almost as good as being there!

  About the Author

  Judy Delton was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was the author of more than 200 books for children. She was also successful as a teacher, a speaker, and a class clown. Raising a family of four children, she used the same mix of humor and seriousness that she considered important parts of any good story. She died in St. Paul in 2001.

  About the Illustrator

  Alan Tiegreen has illustrated many books for children, including all the Pee Wee Scouts books. He and his wife currently live in Atlanta, Georgia.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 1997 by Judy Delton

  Illustrations copyright © 1997 by Alan Tiegreen

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Originally published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., in 1997.

  Random House and colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at

  www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

  Delton, Judy.

  Moans and groans and dinosaur bones / by Judy Delton;

  illustrated by Alan Tiegreen.

  p. cm. — (Pee Wee Scouts)

  “A Stepping Stone book.”

  eISBN: 978-0-307-54300-4

  I. Tiegreen, Alan, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.D388MJ 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2007049647

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