A Whirlwind Vacation Read Online Free PDF

beside her easel.
    â€œOkay, Pierre?” the artist asked Katie in a heavy French accent.
    Well, at least she knew his name. Katie Carew was now Pierre. Unfortunately that was all she knew. She had absolutely no idea how to finish the painting in front of her.
    But if she didn’t finish it, Pierre wouldn’t be able to sell his painting. That was how he made a living. Katie had to try. She owed him at least that much.
    Katie figured Pierre probably had been trying to paint Notre Dame. After all, he’d been staring at the cathedral as he worked. But to Katie, his canvas just looked like a mess of charcoal-pencil triangles, rectangles, and squares.
    Katie decided to begin painting in the shapes. She was pretty sure she could do that. Katie was very good at staying in the lines when she painted. She’d been doing that since first grade.

    She picked up a paintbrush, and looked down at the tubes of paint Pierre had arranged so neatly beside his drawing. Hmmm. Which one should she start with? Finally, she picked up a tube of red paint and squirted a little bit into the center of one of the squares.
    Wow! That was a really bright red. Katie liked it a lot. She began to move the paint around with the brush, filling in the square perfectly.
    Then she picked up another paintbrush and squirted a blob of yellow paint onto the big triangle at the top of the canvas.
    Katie began to relax. Painting was a lot of fun. And as long as her parents and the Bridgemans stayed across the street drinking coffee, Katie didn’t have to worry about being lost or alone in Paris.
    As she colored in a blue square, Katie noticed Annabelle peering out from behind a nearby pole. She obviously didn’t want the artists to see her. She must have felt badly about making fun of Pierre’s painting, just like Katie had.
    The artist sitting next to Katie turned to take a peek at what she was doing on her canvas. Katie leaned back to give him a good look.
    Katie thought her painting was nice. Maybe even better than the ones the real artists had done. Their canvases all were covered with gloomy gray, brown, and black paint. They all looked pretty much the same.
    But Katie’s painting was bright and cheerful—all reds, yellows, greens, and blues. She thought it would make people smile.
    And she was right. The other artists did all smile ... and then they started to laugh. They were making fun of her!
    Katie was really angry. She threw down her paintbrush and jumped up from her chair.
    â€œYou guys are so mean!” she exclaimed.
    The artists all looked at her strangely. They didn’t understand what she was saying. But Annabelle did.
    â€œYou don’t have to get so mad,” she said as she peeked her head out from behind the pole.
    Katie scowled. Annabelle was wrong. She did have a right to be mad. Nobody liked being made fun of.
    But Katie didn’t feel like explaining that to Annabelle right then. All she wanted to do was get out of there. She really needed to be alone.
    Katie stormed off toward the alleyway where she’d hidden before. It smelled just awful. But as far as Katie was concerned, being around stinky cabbages was better than being with Annabelle and the artists!

Chapter 10
    Katie plopped down on a wooden crate and wiped a tear from her cheek. She had a lot to feel awful about. She’d hurt Pierre’s feelings. And the other artists had laughed at her painting. But worst of all, her parents would soon be finished with lunch. They were going to come looking for her any minute.
    Katie was going to be in big trouble. Her parents had told her to stay where they could see her. But now, when they looked for Katie, all they’d see was an artist with paint-stained shoes.
    And Annabelle was probably wondering where she was, too. After all, Katie had just run off without her.
    Katie really wanted to be herself again. Where was the magic wind when she needed it?
    Just then, Katie felt a familiar