Molly's Surprise by Valerie Tripp

Author:Valerie Tripp [Tripp, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: American Girl
Published: 2012-12-01T07:00:00+00:00

“The garage. We’ll put it in the storage room above the garage,” said Molly.

Jill took one end of the box and Molly took the other, and they walked to the corner of the house. Molly craned her neck around to look up at Ricky’s windows. They were closed. “The coast is clear,” she said.

Jill made a face. “This box is so heavy my arms are being pulled out of their sockets,” she said. “There must be lots of great presents inside.” Her carefully bobby-pinned curls hung in bedraggled clumps.

The girls waddled across the driveway as quickly as they could. The box pushed against their stomachs, making it hard to breathe. Step, thump! Step, thump! Step, thump! They struggled up the stairs to the room above the garage. Molly pushed the door open with her back. Once inside, they put the box down and collapsed like melted snowmen.

“Phew! That was hard,” said Jill. She leaned back against the door.

Molly was sweating under her snow jacket. Bobbles of snow were frozen on her pajama legs. Her hands inside her mittens were stiff with cold and the weight of the box.

Molly and Jill stared at the box.

“So what do you think is in there?” asked Jill.

“Presents, of course.”

“Yes, but what?” Jill squatted next to the box. She smoothed the wet brown wrapping paper. “Maybe we should open it up, just to be sure nothing is broken or anything.”

“No peeking,” said Molly. “That’s not fair. Dad wants everything about this box to be a surprise.”

Jill looked sheepish. She sat down again. “But Dad doesn’t know how worried we’ve been. He doesn’t know what it’s been like to wait and wait and wait for even a letter. He doesn’t know how much we’ve been hoping for this box.”

Molly smiled. “I thought you were being realistic about Christmas this year. I thought you said it was childish to hope for surprises.”

Jill laughed. “I guess I did. But I guess I really never stopped hoping this box would come. That’s why I think we should tell everybody about it right away. They’re all hoping, too. It would make them so happy.”

“But Dad said to keep it hidden until Christmas Day,” Molly answered. “If we tell everyone now, we’ll ruin his surprise.”

Jill thought a moment. Then she stood up. “Okay. We’d better hide it in the corner, in case someone comes up here.”

Molly and Jill pushed the box into the darkest corner of the room. Molly pulled a dusty old blanket over it, then put two broken tennis rackets on top.

“There!” she said as she backed away. “That ought to do it.”

The box under the blanket looked like a lumpy brown bear sleeping peacefully in a snug corner. “I sort of don’t want to go away and leave it,” said Jill. “I’m afraid it’s a dream and the box will be gone when we come back.”

“I know what you mean,” said Molly. “But we’d better go. Everybody will be getting up for breakfast. We can check on the box later.

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