Greedy Groundhogs

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  YEARLING BOOKS are designed especially to entertain and enlighten young people. Patricia Reilly Giff, consultant to this series, received her bachelor’s degree from Marymount College and a master’s degree in history from St. John’s University. She holds a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University. She was a teacher and reading consultant for many years, and is the author of numerous books for young readers.

  Published by

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers

  a division of

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

  1540 Broadway

  New York, New York 10036

  Copyright © 1994 by Judy Delton

  Illustrations copyright © 1994 by Alan Tiegreen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

  The trademarks Yearling® and Dell® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-80001-5

  v3.1

  For Karen Carlson, in Hastings, Minnesota,

  who keeps children reading and authors writing

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by this Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 A Furry Badge

  2 The Badgeless Badge

  3 Soap Talk

  4 No Groundhog Yet

  5 Bigger than a Basement

  6 Close Enough

  7 Seven Letters Meaning Fun

  CHAPTER 1

  A Furry Badge

  “What keeps a house warm?” asked Tracy Barnes.

  “The sun,” said Tim Noon.

  “Fire,” said Sonny Stone.

  “Dummy,” said Roger White. “Fire would warm your house all right. It would burn it down to the ground!”

  “Would not,” said Sonny.

  “Would too,” said Roger.

  “How many letters does it have?” asked Rachel Meyers.

  Tracy counted the little boxes in her crossword puzzle. “Seven,” she said.

  “What letters do you have?” asked Kevin Moe.

  “Just the first one,” said Tracy. “It’s an F.”

  “Fireplace!” shouted Sonny. “I told you so!”

  “Fireplace has nine letters, not seven,” said Kenny Baker.

  “It’s simple,” said Tim Noon. “Furnace.”

  “Rat’s knees!” said Molly Duff. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Molly was seven years old. She was in second grade. And she was a Pee Wee Scout. Troop 23 met in their leader’s basement on Tuesday afternoons. Their leader’s name was Mrs. Peters.

  Molly was glad it was Tim who had known the answer. He was quiet and usually didn’t say much. Kevin was the one who knew the most answers. Molly liked Kevin. She wanted to marry him when she grew up. Kevin had lots of ambition. He wanted to be mayor of their town someday.

  Tracy wrote E R N A S E in the blank spaces following the F.

  “That’s wrong,” said Kevin, looking over her shoulder.

  He erased the first E and put in a U.

  Then he erased the S and put in a C.

  On the cover of Tracy’s book it said 101 Easy Crossword Puzzles.

  “I don’t think these are easy,” said Tracy. “My aunt gave me this book. She said if I did all these puzzles it would help me with my spelling.”

  “Spelling,” said baby Nick. He repeated things the Pee Wees said. He was Mrs. Peters’s baby.

  Mrs. Peters passed out big pieces of paper. She passed out some crayons.

  “Today,” she said, “we are going to talk about the new badges we are going to earn this month. It is only late January but spring is coming.”

  “Spring!” shouted Nick. “Spring, spring, spring!”

  “In February the groundhog, who has been hibernating all winter, comes out of his hole.”

  “What’s ‘hibernating’?” asked Tim.

  “Who can answer Tim’s question?” asked Mrs. Peters.

  “Why doesn’t she answer it?” whispered Mary Beth Kelly to Molly. Mary Beth was Molly’s best friend.

  Molly often thought it would save a lot of time if teachers and scout leaders would answer those hard questions themselves instead of asking children who did not know.

  “I think they learn that in scout leaders’ school,” Molly whispered back. “They must tell them not to answer questions. They must say ‘Ask the Pee Wees first.’ ”

  Hands were waving.

  “It means cooking,” shouted Patty Baker. She was Kenny’s twin sister. “It’s like barbecuing. Groundhogs cook in the winter. And the stove keeps them warm too,” she added.

  Roger burst into laughter. “Ho, ho, ho,” he said. “That’s a good one. ‘Hibernating’ doesn’t mean cooking. It means digging. Groundhogs dig deeper holes in winter.”

  Mrs. Peters frowned. “Not exactly,” she said politely. “They may do that, but it is not what ‘hibernating’ means.”

  More hands waved.

  “It means thinking,” said Kenny Baker. “Groundhogs think in winter because there’s nothing else for them to do.”

  Tracy looked disgusted. “ ‘Hibernating’ means they have babies,” she said. “I should know, my aunt is hibernating all the time and she had four babies.”

  Tracy and Kenny began to argue over who was right. Lisa Ronning said, “ ‘Hibernating’ means eating too much. Groundhogs eat all the nuts they collect in fall.”

  “It’s squirrels that gather nuts in fall,” said Mary Beth. “Not groundhogs!”

  Finally Mrs. Peters raised her hands in the air and said, “Quiet, please! ‘Hibernate’ means to spend the winter in a sleeplike state. Groundhogs sleep all winter long.”

  “I knew that,” said Rachel.

  “So did I,” said Kevin.

  “Mrs. Peters sounds mad,” said Mary Beth.

  “She should answer her questions herself,” said Molly.

  Mrs. Peters drew a picture of a groundhog on the blackboard. She drew his hole beside him. Then, underneath the picture, below the earth, she drew many tunnels.

  “The groundhog digs lots and lots of tunnels. At the end of one of them he or she builds a nest of grass. When winter comes, the groundhog crawls into the nest and stays there until spring.”

  “What’s this got to do with our badge?” shouted Sonny.

  “Just wait,” said Mrs. Peters, “and I’ll tell you.

  “As I said, when winter is almost over the groundhog comes out of his hole and looks around. Legend has it that if it is sunny when he comes out in February and he sees his shadow, he’s frightened and crawls back into his nest to sleep some more and we have six more weeks of winter. If it is a cloudy day and he can’t see his shadow, the groundhog comes out of his hole, signalin
g that spring is on the way.”

  Mrs. Peters erased the tunnels on the blackboard and wrote down some things that groundhogs like to eat.

  “Groundhogs are members of the marmot family. They love to eat grass and clover and corn from farmers’ fields,” she said. “And they eat nuts and other growing things, but they do not eat other animals. They are vegetarians.”

  “So is my uncle!” shouted Lisa.

  But Mrs. Peters was not finished talking about groundhogs.

  “Their tunnels can be as long as this room,” she said. “And they can be as deep in the ground as the height of a person.”

  The Pee Wees looked around the room.

  Roger whistled a long, low whistle. “That’s a lot for one fuzzball to dig,” he said.

  Mrs. Peters nodded. “Just one groundhog can move a million tons of dirt in his lifetime.”

  The Pee Wees stopped to think about that.

  “No way,” said Roger.

  No one else doubted their leader’s words. “How does he know?” whispered Molly to Mary Beth. “He thinks he’s so smart.”

  “In May the groundhog has babies, but they are very often killed by cars or hunters or the red fox,” said Mrs. Peters. “Groundhog meat is supposed to taste good, although few people know that.”

  “Yuck!” said Rachel, holding on to her throat. “Who could eat such a cute little furry thing?”

  Now all the Pee Wees were making choking noises, and pretending to be sick.

  Mrs. Peters had to hold up her hand again.

  “Another name for the groundhog is ‘woodchuck.’ The word ‘woodchuck’ comes from the Cree Indian word ‘wuchak,’ ” she said.

  Kevin asked some questions about wood-chucks. So did Rachel.

  “I know more than I want to know about groundhogs now,” said Sonny. “Who cares?”

  “I think nature is very interesting,” said Rachel. “I may be a scientist and study marmots. Or at least I’ll be a veterinarian.”

  “Now, on your papers,” said Mrs. Peters, “I want you to draw a picture of a groundhog.”

  The Pee Wees all picked up their crayons.

  “They are fairly small animals,” said their leader, “with a bushy tail and short legs. They are usually a brown color.”

  Molly got out her brown crayon.

  “I’m going to put mine up in a tree,” said Tim.

  “They can’t climb trees, dummy,” said Roger. “Can they, Mrs. Peters?”

  “Yes, they can climb,” said their leader. “And they can also swim. They keep busy playing in rocks and fields all day and sleeping at night, just like you do.”

  The Pee Wees laughed. Tim held up his picture. “Here’s mine in a tree,” he said. Rachel drew her groundhog in a real bed instead of a nest of grass. Sonny drew his groundhog with a red swimsuit on.

  “So what do we have to do for this badge?” demanded Roger. “Do we have to go hunting for a groundhog and make soup out of him?”

  “Do we have to trap one?” asked Kenny.

  “Do we have to dig one up?” asked Sonny.

  “I’m not going to touch one,” said Rachel. “They must be full of dirt after digging a tunnel as long as this room.”

  “And fleas,” added Patty.

  “You don’t have to do any of those things,” said Mrs. Peters, laughing. “I’ll tell you what to do as soon as all of you finish your pictures.”

  CHAPTER 2

  The Badgeless Badge

  After all the pictures were finished, Mrs. Peters held up a badge. It had a furry brown animal on it, made of fuzzy fabric. He had tiny ears and whiskers. He looked soft to pet. Molly wanted that badge. She didn’t care what she had to do to earn it! (Except, of course, if she had to eat fried groundhog. But Mrs. Peters would never ask the Pee Wees to do that!)

  “What I want you to do for this badge is go to the library and find out as much as you can about groundhogs. Keep a little notebook and write down their food, their habits, and other things that are interesting.”

  “That’s easy,” said Mary Beth.

  “It’s a snap,” said Molly. “This will be the easiest badge we ever got!” Molly could picture it on her blouse already!

  “I’m not finished,” said their leader. “The other thing I want you to do is watch for the groundhog to come out of his hole and look for his shadow. See if you can spot a groundhog, and follow it and see if he casts a shadow or not. If he does not cast a shadow we will know that spring is on the way.”

  “I think it would be a lot easier just to wait till the tulips and crocuses come up to know it is spring,” said Rachel. “Or just look at the calendar. It won’t be easy to find a groundhog hole if it snows.”

  “Their holes are about one foot across the top,” said Mrs. Peters. “So they will be easy to see.”

  Rachel was right, thought Molly. How could all the Pee Wees be in the right place when the groundhog decided to stick his head out of his tunnel?

  What if it was early in the morning on a Saturday or Sunday, before they were out of bed?

  What if it was late at night when it was dark, or when they were in school or eating dinner or at the dentist’s?

  Tulips seemed a much better sign of spring. They stayed around longer and didn’t pop back into the ground if they saw their shadows.

  “February second is Groundhog Day,” said Mrs. Peters. “But you can start watching for him anytime.”

  “Do we have to actually see a groundhog in order to get the badge?” asked Rachel.

  “That would be the best way to get the badge,” said their leader.

  She didn’t say what the worst way was, thought Molly. In fact she didn’t say any other way except the library books.

  While the Pee Wees were thinking about this, Sonny’s mother, Mrs. Stone, brought down hot chocolate with marshmallows in it. She was the assistant scout leader.

  Sonny was still drawing. He was putting a red beach jacket on his groundhog to match its swimsuit. Lisa was putting nail polish on her groundhog’s tiny toenails.

  After the cocoa and some homemade cookies the scouts sang their Pee Wee Scout song and said their Pee Wee pledge. Then they did some indoor exercises and told about some good deeds.

  “Now,” said Mrs. Peters, “I want to tell you what else we are going to do this month. It isn’t something we’ll get a badge for, but it’s something to keep us busy during long winter days.”

  The Pee Wees groaned. Activities with no badge were no fun.

  “We don’t do things just for badges,” said Mrs. Peters, reading their minds. “We do things because they make us better people and better citizens and because they help others.”

  The Pee Wees groaned again. Being better people did not sound like fun.

  “These long winter days give us lots of time to do things. And one of the things it would be fun to do is something to improve our homes.”

  “My home doesn’t need improvement, Mrs. Peters,” said Tracy. “It’s brand new.”

  “Every home can use something to make it more comfortable,” said their leader. “Maybe you could make a book rack for your room with a few milk cartons. Or you could help your dad paint the walls in your room.”

  “I don’t have any dad, Mrs. Peters,” shouted Tim.

  “I don’t either,” called out Lisa. “My dad left us last year.”

  “I don’t have my own room,” said Mary Beth. “My sister wouldn’t let me paint my half of the room.”

  “You can help your mom paint too,” said Mrs. Peters.

  More hands waved.

  “Or your sister, or your aunt or uncle.”

  The hands went down.

  “Tonight you can think about something simple you can do that will be a nice winter project.”

  “Can’t we get a groundhog badge and a winter project badge?” asked Kevin. Two badges! Molly liked that idea. “Now, let’s not be greedy,” said Mrs. Peters, smiling.

  “We need another bedroom in our hous
e,” said Lisa. “Maybe I can put one on.”

  All the scouts laughed.

  They all pretended to hammer and saw and put up a new wall in Mrs. Peters’s basement.

  “You need blueprints and levels and shingles and all that stuff,” said Kevin. “You can’t put a room on your house alone.”

  “That is very thoughtful,” said Mrs. Peters, “but you will have to try something a little easier. Earning the groundhog badge and improving your home will be a good thing to think about while we wait for spring.”

  After the meeting there was lots of talk about the projects. Molly did not know where to find a groundhog or what she could do for her house.

  “I’m going to plant seeds in milk cartons and when they grow it will be spring and I can put the plants in our garden,” said Rachel. “I’m going to plant tomatoes, and my mom can make salads and she can preserve some that are left over.”

  Molly looked at Rachel. How could she have everything planned already? Right down to the tomato salads. Molly wished she could plan that fast. And think of something that good to do. There was no room in her yard for tomatoes.

  “I’m going to think of something better than any of you guys,” said Tim.

  Molly felt sorry for Tim. His family was poor and sometimes they didn’t have enough food. Molly hoped he would make something they needed. Both Tim and Sonny often had big ideas that did not work out. Sonny was a baby and the others laughed at him. Molly felt as if she had to protect Sonny and Tim and help them with projects that failed.

  “I think looking for groundhogs is more important than doing that unbadge thing,” said Tracy. “We get a badge for groundhogs. I don’t want to work hard for nothing.”

  Molly hated to admit she felt the same way. If she was going to work hard she wanted a badge for it. But Mrs. Peters had warned them about doing things for badges instead of for people.

  “Maybe this is a test,” said Mary Beth. “To see if we can do something for nothing!”

  “I’m going to spend more time on the home thing than on the groundhogs,” said Lisa. “Groundhogs aren’t that important.”

  “Well, I want that badge,” said Molly.