Shenanigans at Sugar Creek

where there was a teakettle singing like everything, meaning that pretty soon we'd have some sassafras tea. In fact, as soon as the trap-door was down and we were all sitting or standing or

d as the chips themselves and Little Jim's eyes

our house we had already studied the same lesson two or three times, on account of Mom and Pop always started to study next week's lesson a whole week ahead of time, so, as Pop says, "different ideas will come popping into our heads all week long

oodshed out there, and on up the slant of the snow-covered roof, making me think of a great big long darkish worm twisting and squirming and crawling up a stick in the summer-time.... There must have been almost a foot of snow on the roof of that woodshed, I thought, and that reminded

s very warm in the cabin and would be very cold out there, but when Little Jim piped up and said, "Sure, I'll do it," I all of a sudden said the same thing, and Little Jim and I were out there in less than a jiffy, with the old man's empty

mething," and he swished around quick and went back down the path toward the spring, and turned around again and looked up toward the chimney of the old man's cabin. He squinted hi

shed, and there isn't any on the old man's cabin. How come?" Then he socked a stump with his stick,

and then we'd have taken a short cut through the swamp, and if it had been summer-time maybe stopped at the big mulberry tree and climbed up into it and helped ourselves to the biggest, ripest mulberries that grew anywhere along Sugar Creek. But it wasn't summer, so we took the short cut, going thr

the camera, "where have you boys been? I've been phoning all over for you, Leslie"-meaning she had been phoning all over for Poetry, Leslie be

inda round-shaped mom, "Didn't

aying, "We've had company. Mr. Black

eling start cree

d at the same time only in different words, but with probably the same scared feeling inside, a

ch a beautiful big brown saddle horse!" Poetry's mother said. "And such a very beau

ut of my mind, and Poetry's mom said, "Nothing in particular. H

o heavy for the horse," and his mother looked at Poetry who was also hea

e did, and then I said to him all of a sudden, "The sun'll still be shi

ing in through the window on my blackberry pie," and winked at me, and

et his camera, just as I heard his mother say into their telephone, "Why yes, Mrs. Mansfield, we do-cert

eing she would say, "Why yes, Mrs. So-and-So, we have it. I'll send Bill over with it right away-oh, that's all right-no, he won't mind, I'm sure," which I hardly eve

mom called up the stairs to him and said, "Leslie, will you bring down T

sp and call back

ring on it;" then Mrs. Thompson said to me, "Having a new gentleman teacher in the community has made everybody interest

irs, 'cause right that minute it was lying open on two sticks stuck into Mr. Black's stomach at the bottom of Bumblebee hi

ght Mr. Black, who rode a fine horse and wore a brown leather jacket and riding boots and who could smile politely and tip his hat whenever

alled down and said, "Bil

't have any boys, and was more interested in society than any of the gang's moms and was always reading important books

ike voice, "Let's get going, Bill," and made a dive for the door so his mom wouldn't see he didn't

half shut behind us when Poetry's mother said, "Hadn't we better

something before the sun gets too far down. Come on, Bill, hurry up!" Poetry squawked to me, and I hur

ack door and said, "Where are you going? Mr

opped and looke

ere caught, so Poetry said t

to do when I was caught in a trap, I said all o

t-down on Bumblebee hill. We have to go there first to get it," and all of a sudden I felt fine inside, and know that Pop was right. Poetry's mom might not

me. Now I can phone Mrs. Mansfield it will take a little longer for you to get there with the book-and, by the way, if you see Mr. Black tell him abou

cut we could get there before Mr. Black did; and in my mind's eye, I could see Poetry, IF we got there first, making a dive for The Hoosier Schoolmaster on the snow man; and I could see myself, making a leap for the man's head, and knocking it comple

! And Poetry must have been thinking the same thing, 'cause for once in his life, in spite of his being