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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

  Text copyright © 1989 by Judy Delton

  Illustrations copyright © 1989 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: 978-0-307-77882-6

  v3.1

  For Smokeless Dort, a badge for you.

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  Contents

  Cover

  Other Yearling Books You Will Enjoy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 Frostbite and Nosebleeds

  2 Looking for an Emergency

  3 A Boyfriend for Molly

  4 Don’t Smoke in the Tub

  5 Sonny Slides Away

  6 The Big Blue Badge

  7 The Real Valentine

  CHAPTER

  1

  Frostbite and Nosebleeds

  Hearts, hearts, hearts. Mrs. Peters’s dining room was filled with red hearts.

  “Valentines!” shouted Molly Duff.

  You could make valentines. And you could be a valentine.

  Patty Baker was Roger White’s valentine. But Molly didn’t have a valentine. Yet.

  Mrs. Peters smiled. “Soon it will be February. The month for valentines,” she said. “But we won’t make valentines today. Today we will learn how to earn our first-aid badges.”

  Molly sat up to listen. She loved to earn badges. All of the Pee Wee Scouts loved new badges. Even more than valentines!

  Molly wondered what the first-aid badge would look like. Maybe it would have a Band-Aid on it. Molly liked Band-Aids. Especially the ones with pictures of clowns on them.

  Mrs. Peters had a first-aid kit in front of her on the table. She was their troop leader. Their Pee Wee Scout Troop 23 leader.

  “You can make your first-aid kit with some things from home,” she said. “You’ll need a cigar box or a small shoe box.”

  Mrs. Peters passed out papers. The papers said what the Scouts should put into their first-aid kits:

  Band-Aids

  Bandages

  Scissors

  Calamine lotion

  Needles and safety pins

  Adhesive tape

  Clean cloth

  First-aid book

  Soap

  Matches

  Phone numbers and money for calls

  “My mom won’t let me have matches,” said Sonny Betz. “Or a scissors either.”

  Could Sonny be my valentine? Molly wondered. No. Sonny was a baby. Not a boyfriend.

  “This isn’t to play with, Sonny,” said Mrs. Peters. “This is to help people.”

  “We have all this stuff at home,” said Kevin Moe. “I won’t have to buy anything.”

  “We do too,” said Rachel Meyers. “My dad is a dentist.”

  “Ho, ho, Rachel’s dad puts Band-Aids on his teeth!” shouted Roger.

  “He does not,” said Rachel crossly. “He’s just like a doctor. His name is Dr. Meyers. He can fix other things besides teeth.”

  “Cannot,” said Roger.

  “Can too,” said Rachel.

  Mrs. Peters held up her hand for quiet. Then she told Troop 23 what all the things were used for.

  “To get the badge,” she said, “you must make a small kit of your own. And you must give someone emergency help. For instance, if your little sister falls down on the sidewalk, you could wash her knee and put on a Band-Aid. Today we will talk about other emergencies too.”

  “What if we fall down ourselves?” asked Tracy Barnes. “Can we give first aid to ourselves?”

  Mrs. Peters thought about that. “Yes,” she said, “but it is a Scout’s duty to help others. So for this badge you must also give aid to someone else.”

  “I don’t have any brothers or sisters,” said Rachel, pouting.

  “I do,” said Mary Beth Kelly. “My little brothers are always falling down.”

  Molly groaned. Mary Beth would get her first-aid badge fast.

  “There are other emergencies too,” Mrs. Peters went on. “If someone burns himself on something hot, the first thing to do is to put ice on the burn. Then you find an adult to help.”

  Molly tried to think of someone she could help who got burned. Her mother wouldn’t let her use the stove alone. And she never got near any fires.

  This might be a hard badge to earn!

  “Now, if a dog bites someone, and no one is nearby, what would you do?” asked Mrs. Peters.

  “I’d run away fast, so I wouldn’t get bit,” said Tim Noon.

  The Pee Wees laughed.

  “But what would you do to help the victim?” asked Mrs. Peters.

  “Put a Band-Aid on the bite?” said Patty Baker. She was Kenny Baker’s twin sister.

  “That’s close,” said Mrs. Peters. “First you must wash the wound with soap and water. Then rinse it and dry it with a clean towel. Then put on the bandage. And then call an adult so the person can get to the doctor. Dog bites can be dangerous.”

  “Lucky wouldn’t bite anyone,” said Roger, patting Lucky on the head. Lucky was their mascot.

  “Tiny wouldn’t either!” said Tracy. Tiny was Mrs. Peters’s dog. They both came to all the Scout meetings.

  “But some dogs do bite,” said Mrs. Peters. “And some dogs have rabies.”

  “Arf!” said Lucky.

  “He doesn’t have rabies,” said Tim.

  Then Mrs. Peters told the Pee Wees what to do for nosebleeds. “Put the victim’s head back,” she said, “and hold the nose for ten minutes. Then put a cold towel on the nose.”

  All the Scouts held their noses. When they talked their voices sounded funny.

  Mrs. Peters had to hold up her hand again. When they were quiet, she talked about frostbite. And broken bones. She showed them how to make a stretcher out of coats. “Never let a victim walk if a leg is painful or broken,” she said.

  “And if you are at a picnic or barbecue and anyone’s clothes catch fire, the victim should roll on the grass. Or be wrapped in a blanket until the flames go out. Then of course he or she m
ust get to the doctor right away.”

  Lisa Ronning was waving her hand. “Once the meat on our barbecue caught fire,” she said.

  “Did you wrap it in a blanket?” said Roger. He laughed.

  Mrs. Peters frowned. “Barbecues can be very dangerous,” she said. “Especially for small children.”

  “Smarty-pants,” said Lisa to Roger.

  Mrs. Peters passed out little first-aid books to the Scouts for their kits.

  “Read these now,” she said. “And put your first-aid kit together as soon as you can. Then help someone in an emergency. And you will earn your badge.”

  The meeting was almost over. The Pee Wees told one another some good deeds they had done that week. They sang the Pee Wee Scout song. They said the Pee Wee Scout pledge.

  But all Molly could think about was how she would find an emergency. Her mom was a very careful person. She did not leave matches around. And Molly had no little brothers or sisters to scrape their knees, like Tracy and Mary Beth did. It wasn’t fair! Everyone else would get their badges before she did.

  Before the Pee Wees left, Mrs. Peters’s baby Nick woke up. All the Scouts ran to see him. He was just two months old.

  Molly loved him. But even Nick could not interest Molly today. She had to find an emergency. Molly wanted to be the first one to earn a first-aid badge.

  CHAPTER

  2

  Looking for an Emergency

  All week long the Pee Wee Scouts watched for emergencies. Roger and Patty watched together. They were together all the time.

  Everyone had their first-aid kits ready. All the items on the list. But Sonny didn’t have matches in his kit. His mother had said no.

  Every day after school, Molly and Lisa got together to watch for injured people. They carried their kits with them wherever they went.

  “There are no barbecues in winter,” Lisa complained. “How can we roll someone on the grass if it is all covered with snow?”

  “We have to find some winter emergencies,” said Molly. “Like frostbite.”

  The girls watched the people walking by. They had rosy faces. They looked cold.

  “That lady looks like she has frostbite,” whispered Lisa. She pointed.

  Molly shook her head. “Her face is rosy. Mrs. Peters said your skin turns white. And your fingers get numb. Or your toes.”

  A man came by with a cane. He was walking very slowly. Maybe his toes were cold.

  “His face isn’t rosy!” said Lisa. “And he hasn’t got any gloves on. I’ll bet his fingers are frozen.”

  “What do we do?” asked Molly.

  “We say, ‘Pardon me, sir, but are your fingers numb?’ ” said Lisa.

  “He might get mad,” said Molly. “He might hit me with his cane.”

  While the girls wondered what to do, the man walked past them, down the street.

  “This first-aid badge is going to be the hardest one to get.” Lisa sighed.

  “Tracy already bandaged her little sister’s hand,” said Molly. “Tracy said she cut it on a toy and there was real blood. Lots of it.”

  Lisa sighed again.

  Lucky Tracy, thought Molly. She had a big family. Someone was bound to get hurt.

  What Molly needed was a bigger family. Or at least a mom who was careless.

  “Let’s look for dogs that might bite,” said Lisa. “In the park.”

  But all the dogs in the park were on leashes. They looked happy. They didn’t look like they wanted to bite anyone.

  “Cats scratch,” said Lisa. “But I don’t know where there are any.”

  The girls walked around the block looking for speeding cars and children on skateboards. They looked for fires and accidents and someone who might have a nosebleed. But everyone looked very healthy.

  “I’m going home,” said Lisa. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Molly waved and went back to her own house. She sat and read her first-aid book.

  When her mom said, “Ouch!” Molly ran with her kit. But Mrs. Duff had just stubbed her toe.

  When her dad coughed, Molly ran to see if he had choked on the potato chip he was eating. But he had stopped coughing by the time she got there.

  All week Molly listened and watched.

  All week Molly and Lisa could not find a single emergency.

  On Tuesday the Pee Wee Scouts met again.

  “I bandaged my little sister’s knee,” said Tracy as soon as they got there.

  “My dad cut himself shaving,” said Kenny. “I got the alcohol to put on it.”

  Show-offs, thought Molly.

  “My little brother bumped his head on the kitchen table,” said Mary Beth. “I put ice on it and it didn’t swell up.”

  “What good Pee Wees you are in an emergency!” said Mrs. Peters. “I am so proud of you.”

  Not of me, thought Molly. How did those Scouts find all these victims? Molly’s dad never cut himself shaving. Never, ever. Molly felt upset with her family. Would she be the only one without a first-aid badge?

  Mrs. Peters called the Scouts’ names for their badges.

  Boring, thought Molly.

  Boring not to get a badge.

  “Tracy Barnes,” called Mrs. Peters. Tracy walked up to the front of the room, and Mrs. Peters pinned a big round badge right on her blouse! It was light blue, and it said FIRST AID around the edge. In a circle. In the very middle was a bright red cross.

  Molly wanted one of those badges more than anything in the world. She felt like grabbing it off Tracy’s blouse and putting it on her own!

  Mary Beth and Kenny went up for their badges. Molly tried to pretend she didn’t care. She hummed a song and played with Lucky.

  But inside her head, she had a plan. A plan to help her get that blue badge with the red cross soon. And she wasn’t going to tell her plan to anyone. It was a secret plan!

  CHAPTER

  3

  A Boyfriend for Molly

  At the next Scout meeting, Mrs. Peters did not talk about badges. Or first aid. She said, “Today we are going to think about valentines.”

  Molly was glad. That would give her more time to think about her secret plan. She needed time. Her plan wasn’t easy.

  “I love valentines!” said Rachel. “Once in first grade I got candy from a boy who liked me. My mom called him my little Prince Charming.”

  “Valentines usually mean romance,” said Mrs. Peters, smiling.

  The Pee Wees giggled. Romance was funny.

  They all pointed to Roger and Patty. Roger’s face turned red.

  “But hearts are also a part of the body,” Mrs. Peters went on, “and some things are not good for hearts. Do you know what they are?” she asked.

  “Scaring people,” said Sonny. “My mom says I shouldn’t scare my grandma or I’ll give her a heart attack.”

  “Boo!” shouted Roger.

  “Boo yourself!” said Sonny.

  Soon all the Pee Wees were scaring one another.

  “Something else that isn’t good for hearts,” said Mrs. Peters, “is smoking. Mr. Phipps at the bank downtown has asked all the Scouts in town to make valentines to hang in his bank. I thought Troop 23’s valentines could remind people that smoke is bad for the heart. And you can make other valentines for your friends,” she said.

  “My aunt smokes,” said Tim.

  “So does my cousin,” said Kevin.

  “Then you might make valentines for them too,” said Mrs. Peters.

  She passed out some lacy white paper and some red paper. And scissors and crayons and paste.

  “Now, let’s all think before we start,” said Mrs. Peters.

  Molly wanted to start her two valentines right now. She hated to think. She wanted to get right at the lacy paper.

  Cut, cut, cut.

  Fold, fold, fold.

  Molly loved to make things and decorate them. Her mom said she was very creative.

  “Let’s talk about what we will write on our no-smoking valentines,” said
Mrs. Peters.

  The Pee Wees put their chins in their hands and pretended to think.

  Hmmm.

  Think, think, think.

  All of a sudden Rachel waved her hand. “Smoke is no joke,” she said.

  “That’s a very good motto, Rachel,” said Mrs. Peters. “It’s nice and short so people will remember it.”

  Why didn’t I think of that? thought Molly. She had to think of one just as good! But now she couldn’t be first.

  Not first with a motto.

  Not first with first aid.

  “Can we use Rachel’s motto, Mrs. Peters?” asked Lisa.

  “Well, I think each saying should be different,” said Mrs. Peters. “Next week will be almost Valentine’s Day. You can think about it at home this week. Today we will make the valentines. We can write in them later. We will each make one for a friend. And one to hang in the bank.”

  Rat’s knees, thought Molly. Now she had two things to worry about instead of one.

  The Pee Wees cut and pasted valentines the whole rest of the meeting.

  “Roger’s making one for Patty,” whispered Mary Beth. “I saw her name on it.”

  Of course, thought Molly. She was his girlfriend. Molly made her no-smoking valentine first. She left it blank inside.

  Who should be her valentine?

  She didn’t have a boyfriend. She had already made one for her mom and dad, in school. She wished she had someone special. Her own valentine.

  Patty was working hard on a big card in the shape of a baseball. Molly knew it was for Roger.

  Suddenly Molly had an idea. She would make a valentine for Sonny. Even if he was a baby. Molly felt sorry for Sonny. Everyone laughed at him because he was a baby. Poor Sonny. It was no fun to be picked on.

  Molly made up her mind.

  She would be Sonny’s girlfriend!

  CHAPTER

  4

  Don’t Smoke in the Tub

  By the end of the meeting Molly’s valentine was finished. It was beautiful. It had a picture of a dog on it. Sonny liked dogs. And it had lots of hearts and flowers.

  Inside, Molly wrote, Be my valentine. I love you. Molly D. She slipped her valentine into Sonny’s book bag.