Excitement on Appleby Street

      Joey walked down the Appleby Street. He thought his tooth. It was about to come out.

Joy wanted it to come out so he could wish on it.

He wanted to wish for some gold fish.

      Just then Joey saw an open manhole.

There was a fence around the hole.

Red flags and a sign were on the fence.

The sign said MEN WORKING.

      Joey looked into the manhole.

Then he sneezed.

His tooth fell out of his mouth.

It fell down into the manhole.

      "My tooth!" cried Joey.

      "I lost my tooth down there!"

       All at once some men inside the manhole started yelling.

"I'll get it," yelled one man.

"Call the police!" cried another man.

      Then a man came out of the manhole. He ran down the street.

"It's just a tooth!" called Joey.

But no one heard him.

       People came out running from all over.

A big fire truck came around the corner.

       Then another truck pulled up. 

Men jumped off it with picks and shovels.

       Joey did not think about his tooth.

All he thought about was the excitement on Appleby Street.

      A road-breaker came next.

It stopped a few feet from the manhole.

It started to make a hole in the street.

        "The water pipe broke!" called a man."Turn off the water!"

Some other men climbed down into the manhole.

And at last the water stopped.

       Joey thought, "This excitement was fun.

But I'll go home now.

I guess the men will bring my tooth to my house later."

Joey went home.

He told his father about his tooth and about all the men looking for it.

       "Oh, Joey!" laughed father.

"The water pipe broke under Appleby Street.

The men were running to help to fix it.

I don't think they were looking for your tooth."

       "The men won't find it!" cried Joey.

"And I won't get my wish! I won't get my gold fish."

      Father said, "sometimes a tooth under the street works fine. Sometimes it works better than a tooth under the pillow!"

      So that night in bed Joey went on his wishing for his goldfish. 

      Morning came.

      Joey woke up and looked around his room. 

Yes, the gold fish were there!

Three tiny gold fish n a little bowl!

       "Dad was right," thought Joey.

       "A tooth under the street works just as well as a tooth under the pillow.

       My gold fish will be as much fun as all the excitement on Appleby Street."

- E N D - 

Source: More Power Book 2 Part 1
Adapted from Excitement in Appleby Street by Eda and Richard Crist.
Published by Childrens Press, Inc., Chicago 

                                                    

Jimmy's Pocket-Aunt

     "Jimmy," said Grandma Jones.

"I'm busy this morning. You take care of your Aunt Alice."

     Aunt Alice was only three year old. 

Jimmy was five years older than aunt Alice.

He did not like to take care of her.

All his friends laughed at him.

They thought it was funny to have such a little aunt.

     Jimmy took aunt Alice out into the yard. 

He began to read, and aunt Alice played.

     Soon Jimmy heard music coming from the park.

But he did not hear Aunt Alice.

He jumped up and look around,

No Aunt Alice!

     Jimmy ran to the park to look for her.

He could not find her anywhere.

     A policeman named Mr. Lee came along.

     "What's your name?" asked Mr. Lee.

"And what's the matter?"

     Jimmy said, "My name is jimmy Jones. My Aunt Alice is lost."

 "What does she look like?" asked Mr. Lee. "Is she young or old?"

     Jimmy told Mr. Lee what she looked like. But he did not want the policeman to know that she was only three.

     So Jimmy said, "I guess you could say that Aunt Alice is young."

     The policeman and Jimmy went into the park building.

     "Will Jimmy Jones' Aunt Alice come to the park building?" called the policeman.

     

     Mr. Lee called four times.

But Jimmy knew Aunt Alice could not find the park building.

     Mr. Lee said, "Just sit there, Jimmy.

Lost boys are always found in this park."

     "I'm not lost!" Jimmy said."My Aunt Alice is lost!" 

Jimmy thought, "Maybe I should tell him Aunt Alice is only three years old."

Just then a policeman walked in.

He said, "Here's another lost child."

     "That's my aunt Alice!" said Jimmy.

     Mr. Lee said, "What a pretty little aunt! I had a little aunt when I was a boy.
I called her my pocket-aunt. I liked her. All the other boys wanted a pocket-aunt like mine."

     Jimmy thanked the two men.
Then he started off to his grandmother's house with Aunt Alice.

     Jimmy said to himself, "Mr. Lee liked his little aunt.
I like mine, too. Who said aunts have to be big?
No one!
I'm glad I have a pocket-aunt!"


                           E N D

Source: More Power Book 2 Part 1

Reprinted from Stories.

Copyright 1960 by W. L. Jenkins.