The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary

Author:Beverly Cleary
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780061972256
Publisher: HarperCollins

Chapter 8

When Christmas vacation arrived Shelley was surprised to learn that in California spruce and pines and even hemlocks were used for Christmas trees. She had always thought Christmas trees were Douglas fir or they were not Christmas trees. She was even more surprised at the Michies’ admiration for what was to her the ordinary holly wreath that her mother sent. They hung it on the front door and everyone who entered the house exclaimed, “Real English holly!” as if it were something rare and beautiful.

The days went quickly. There was shopping to do and packages to mail. Shelley helped Katie make a gathered skirt and spent hours watching Mavis at the potter’s wheel in her studio. The spinning clay beneath her fingers was like a living thing. Shelley was fascinated. She experimented with a simple bowl and made up her mind that someday she would have a potter’s wheel too.

There was a wonderful Christmas box from home, full of all the things a girl would like to receive—a new sweater and a matching skirt, pretty scarf, two frilly slips, a bottle of perfume, a purse with a crisp five-dollar bill inside. Shelley could tell that her mother had found a lot of pleasure in packing that box. Christmas afternoon there was a long-distance call from home. Shelley was excited and a little sad to talk to her mother and father so far away.

And then New Year’s Eve came. The Michies celebrated by inviting all the neighbors, young and old, for a buffet supper. Babies were bedded down, toddlers ran around in their sleepers, and grandparents were given the most comfortable chairs. Philip came too. He joined the crowd in making paper hats out of the crepe paper Mavis had supplied because she found paper hats for a crowd cost too much and decided it would be more fun and much less expensive if everyone made his or her own. Philip’s hat looked something like a football helmet and a little like a baby’s bonnet. Shelley thought it was the nicest party she had ever attended.

There was New Year’s Day to be spent picking up after the party, and then vacation was over and it was time for school again. One damp day Shelley and Jeannie were eating their lunches in the study hall. From the window Shelley could see the top of an acacia tree in full bloom, each panicle a burst of fluffy balls of pure yellow. The blossoms were the essence of yellow, and Shelley knew that whenever she thought of the color she would remember this sight—the soft blue-green foliage bending under the weight of raindrops and the sharp, clear yellow of the blossoms that somehow never looked wet no matter how hard it rained.

“Starry-eyed Shelley,” remarked Jeannie.

“Am I starry-eyed?” asked Shelley, surprised.

“All the time,” said Jeannie positively.

“If I am I guess it is because everything is so new and exciting down here,” said Shelley, “but I don’t really think I am starry-eyed.”

“How you can find

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.