"B" Is for Betsy Read Online Free PDF

have a Thanksgiving dinner."

    "Oh, yes," cried the children, "let's give it to Grandma Pretzie. May we, Miss Grey?"
    Miss Grey said that she thought it would be lovely to give a Thanksgiving basket to Grandma Pretzie. "You must not tell her," said Miss Grey, "because it must be a surprise." So it was a big secret.
    The children all loved secrets and they loved surprises. They whispered in the schoolyard about Pretzie's basket and what they would put in it. Oh, if they could only have a turkey in the basket! They did wish there could be a turkey.
    At home Betsy chatted with Father and Mother about the Thanksgiving basket.
    "It's so much fun, Father, to make a basket all full of Thanksgiving," said Betsy.
    "It certainly must be," replied Father. "Will there be a turkey in the basket?"
    Betsy shook her head and looked very grave. "No," she said. "Miss Grey says that turkeys cost a great deal. She thinks that Grandma Pretzie would like a chicken almost as much as a turkey. But Billy Porter says that Thanksgiving is the day you eat turkey and there ought to be a turkey in the basket. And I think Billy is right."
    "Of course he is right," said Father.
    "But where can we get a turkey, Father?" asked Betsy.
    "Well," said Father, "I don't know, but turkeys are very fond of secrets and surprises. They have a way of popping up when you are not expecting them."
    "Do you think one will pop up in Grandma Pretzie's basket?" asked Betsy.
    "Now, that I can't say," replied Father, "but I would keep on hoping if I were you. You never can tell about turkeys."
    One evening when Father came home, he had two big turkeys with him. "Oh, Father," cried Betsy, "are we going to have two turkeys for our Thanksgiving dinner?"
    Father just grinned and made a noise like a turkey, "Gobble, gobble, gobble." He carried the turkeys into the kitchen.
    The next morning, when Betsy reached school, she said, "Miss Grey, we have two turkeys at our house. Father brought them home last night."
    "How nice!" said Miss Grey.
    "Oh, boy," shouted Billy, "you're going to eat plenty of turkey at your house!"
    The day before Thanksgiving Miss Grey brought a great big basket to school. It was to hold all

    the good things that the children were bringing for Grandma Pretzie.
    Ellen brought a can of soup and Peter brought cranberries. As each child arrived the pile of good things on Miss Grey's desk grew bigger and bigger. There were nuts, celery, potatoes, apples, and oranges. Everything you could think of for a Thanksgiving basket was there.
    Betsy brought a loaf of bread and a pound of butter. Father drove Betsy to school that morning
because she had so much to carry. Father had a big package all wrapped up in brown paper. "What is in the big package?" asked Betsy.
    "Just something I have to leave at the school," said Father, and his eyes twinkled. Betsy knew it was a secret because Father's eyes always twinkled when he had a secret. When they reached the school, Father gave the package to Mr. Windrim, the janitor. Mr. Windrim carried it down to the basement.
    Betsy carried her loaf of bread and pound of butter into her classroom and added them to the pile on Miss Grey's desk.
    Just before the bell rang, Billy came running in. "Look at Billy's hat," shouted the children.
    Billy was wearing his red and blue knitted cap. It was the kind of cap that hangs down the back, like a sock, and it had a tassel on the end. But now the cap stood up straight and stiff on Billy's head. He looked just like the clown in the circus. There was something wet and yellow trickling down Billy's face. "Miss Grey," cried Billy, "something has happened to the eggs."
    "Where are the eggs, Billy?" said Miss Grey.
    "In my hat," said Billy, pointing to his high cap. "I'm afraid to take it off."

    Miss Grey carefully removed Billy's cap. Inside there was a bag of eggs. One egg had broken and was all over Billy's hair.
    "Why did you put the eggs in your hat, Billy?" asked Miss Grey.
    "I was afraid I would