Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little Read Online Free PDF Page A

Forgives
Her Mother
    “Don’t cry, Mother!” Mrs. Maxwell had her head down. She was pinching the bridge of her nose the way she did when her glasses had been on too long. Now was not the moment to suggest the aquamarine contacts. Moxy just knew this.
    There was a general silence among the audience.
    “What a mess I am!” Moxy said. “Don’t you think I’d better pop into the shower, Mother? It’s almost time for my daisy routine.”
    Slowly, slowly, with no help from anybody, Mrs. Maxwell crawled out of the hammock and stood up. Mrs. Maxwell was quite tall. And even though Moxy had recently had a growth spurt, she still had a few more inches (as she figured it) to go before she and her mother would see eye to eye.
    “I’m going to let you do your daisy routine tonight,” said Mrs. Maxwell. “But do you know why?” It was the sort of question that wasn’t asking for an answer, so Moxy was silent. “Because if you don’t, you will let the other seven petals down. It wouldn’t be fair to them.”
    Moxy could not believe her luck
.
    “But I am
not
going to allow you to go to the party after the show. And do you know why?”
    Moxy had a feeling she did.
    “Because you are going to march home as soon as it is over and go straight to yourroom. And do you know what you’re going to do in your room?”
    “Read
Stuart Little
?” said Moxy. Her voice was a little weak, though you couldn’t call it defeated.

    Here is a photograph Mark took of Mrs. Maxwell from Moxy’s point of view
.
    Mrs. Maxwell did not even nod.
    “But I might be hungry,” said Moxy. “After all that swimming. Do you know how many calories an hour you burn off when …” Moxy’s voice sort of trailed off.
    “You can have a glass of milk when you get back.”
    “And some of the great daisy cake? Please?”
    Mrs. Maxwell shook her head. “And some saltines.”
    “Graham crackers?” suggested Moxy.
    “Graham crackers, and that is it,” said Mrs. Maxwell.
    Moxy knew enough about her mother to know that this was the best deal she was going to get. So she went upstairs and put on her baby blue petal-covered swimsuit with the matching royal blue swim cap.

chapter 41
The Great
Daisy Routine
    I do not have to tell you how spectacularly successful the Great Daisy Routine turned out to be. There were, of course, a few problems. But nothing the average water-ballet fan would notice, unless they happened to be in the business.
    It was complicated: all eight petals had to stand on the diving board with their arms linked together until Coach Marjorie turned the Pink Panther song on over the loudspeaker. Then they dived in. Next,
without coming up for a single breath
, they had to swim underwater until their heads met inthe middle. Then came the tricky part: they had to count to ten and
at exactly the same time
come to the surface with their legs sticking straight out to form the petal parts of the flower.
    Naturally the applause went on and on. It was such a shame that Moxy had to go home.

chapter 42
In Which
Moxy Maxwell
Finally Meets
Stuart Little
    The first thing Moxy did after Ajax drove her home was to have two glasses of milk and seven graham crackers. Then she went up to her room and crossed “Win a Gold Medal for Synchronized Swimming in the 2016 Olympics” from her list of 211 Possible Career Paths. Though she had liked the sparklers and the bright blue petal outfits, she had to admit she hadn’t been fond of the swimming part.
    In fact, as she thought about it, Moxy realized she did not want to spend the next ten years being wet.

    Here is a remarkably sharp photograph Mark took of Moxy’s baby blue petal-covered swimsuit with her royal blue cap after Moxy had hung them up to dry
.
    Moxy needed a clear mind and a dry head as she considered which of the now 210 Possible Career Paths she would choose. She thought about adding “Own a Large Peach Orchard Plantation” to her list, but she decided to wait and see how her