“Yes,” I said, brightening. “I cannot wait to tell them all about Jon Wayne, the king of the cowboys. And Annie Hancock, who was a pioneer all her life. And about riding the range, and shooting arrows, and square-dancing at the hoedown, and —”
Mommy laughed. “You certainly do have a lot to tell.”
“And the haunted mine!” I finished. “That was the best thing of all, I think. It was so spooky! And hey, that reminds me — Halloween is coming up. And I know just what I am going to dress up as.”
“What will you be, Karen?” Mommy asked.
“I will dress up as Annie Hancock. Not the mine-haunting, ghostly Annie, but the arrow-shooting, ranch-running Annie. No one in Stoneybrook will know who she was, but that is okay. I will look like a cowgirl, and that is a good costume. But I will know that I am not just any cowgirl. I will be Annie Hancock, Queen of the Cowgirls.”
“That is a wonderful idea, Karen,” said Mommy. “And Andrew, do you know what you will dress up as?”
“A wolf!” he replied. “Listen to my howl: Ooh-ooh-arroooooo!”
Just then a flight attendant passed by. “Goodness!” she said. “I believe there is a wolf on this plane.”
Andrew laughed. “No, it was only me! Do not be scared. Wolves are endangered, you know. And they are related to dogs.”
I smiled. I felt better. We were flying back to our home and friends in Connecticut. I had a whole stack of finished worksheets to give to Ms. Colman, as well as my almost-filled-up travel diary. Hannie and Nancy were waiting for me. I hoped that someday I would return to the Arrow-A. But I knew that even if I never got to Colorado again I would always remember the Arrow-A: the things I learned, the friends I made, the land I saw.
I joined Andrew in a loud wolf howl.
And nobody even told us to use our indoor voices.
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.
Copyright © 2000 by Ann M. Martin
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First edition, 2000
e-ISBN 978-1-338-06300-4
Karen's Cowboy Page 5