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  YOUNG YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY:

  The Pee Wee Scout Books by Judy Delton

  COOKIES AND CRUTCHES

  CAMP GHOST-AWAY

  LUCKY DOG DAYS

  BLUE SKIES, FRENCH FRIES

  GRUMPY PUMPKINS

  PEANUT-BUTTER PILGRIMS

  A PEE WEE CHRISTMAS

  THAT MUSHY STUFF

  SPRING SPROUTS

  THE POOPED TROOP

  THE PEE WEE JUBILEE

  BAD, BAD BUNNIES

  ROSY NOSES, FREEZING TOES

  SONNY’S SECRET

  YEARLING BOOKS/YOUNG YEARLINGS/YEARLING CLASSICS are designed especially to entertain and enlighten young people. Patricia Reilly Giff, consultant to this series, received a 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.

  For a complete listing of all Yearling titles, write to

  Dell Readers Service, P.O. Box 1045,

  South Holland, IL 60473.

  Published by

  Dell Publishing

  a division of

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

  666 Fifth Avenue

  New York, New York 10103

  Text copyright © 1991 by Judy Delton

  Illustrations copyright © 1991 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 trademark Yearling® is registered in the U.S. Patent and

  Trademark Office.

  The trademark Dell® is registered in the U.S. Patent and

  Trademark Office.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-79995-1

  v3.1

  For the baby in my life,

  Daniel Jaschke Levy

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 Sonny’s News

  2 Twin Talk

  3 Out of the Sky

  4 The Rented Baby

  5 Molly Tries Again

  6 Back to the Stones’

  7 Molly Saves the Day

  CHAPTER

  1

  Sonny’s News

  “Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!” sang the Pee Wee Scouts. It was the last line of their Scout song. The Tuesday meeting for Troop 23 was over.

  “Next week I’ll have some news for you!” called their leader, Mrs. Peters. “News about a new badge we’ll all earn. And news about Christmas and Hanukkah.”

  “I wonder what badge we get next,” said Molly Duff to her best friend, Mary Beth Kelly, on the way home.

  “Maybe it’s a Christmas badge,” said Mary Beth. “Or a winter badge. We could shovel sidewalks or something.”

  Shoveling sidewalks didn’t sound like a fun thing to do to earn a badge. Molly hoped it would be a more fun badge than that.

  “Maybe it will be a Christmas-shopping badge,” said Molly. “Or a decorating-the-tree badge!”

  Snow was beginning to fall. The sidewalks were getting slippery. It was easy to think about the holidays when it was snowing.

  Roger White came sliding up behind the girls. He slid right into them and fell to the ground.

  “Hey, I know what badge we’re going to get,” he said.

  Roger must have been listening, thought Molly. How would he know, anyway? Mrs. Peters hadn’t told anyone yet.

  “The wrestling badge,” he said. “We all have to wrestle each other.”

  Roger lay on the ground pretending to be a wrestler.

  “I’m not going to wrestle!” said Mary Beth. “No one can make me.”

  “There’s no such thing as a wrestling badge,” said Molly, giving Roger a kick with the toe of her snowboot. “Quit making things up, Roger.”

  Molly didn’t think there was a wrestling badge. But maybe Roger wasn’t kidding. Maybe Mrs. Peters did have wrestling badges.

  “After that we get a judo badge,” Roger went on. “We get black belts so we can defend ourselves.”

  “I’m quitting Pee Wee Scouts,” said Mary Beth. “I don’t like that rough stuff.”

  “Don’t believe him,” said Molly. “He’s making it all up.”

  Roger yelled, “Hi yah! Crash!” and pretended to break a tree branch across his knee.

  “Hey, you guys, wait for me!” called Sonny Stone.

  Sonny’s last name used to be Betz. His mother used to be Mrs. Betz, the assistant Scout leader. But last year she married the fire chief, Larry Stone, and Sonny had a new father. So Sonny had a new name to match the fire chief’s.

  “You know what?” asked Sonny, all out of breath from running. “My mom’s going to get a baby!”

  “She already has a baby,” said Roger. “You’re her baby.”

  “She really is,” said Sonny.

  “I don’t believe you,” said Mary Beth. “Why didn’t you tell us at Pee Wee Scouts?”

  “Because it’s a secret,” said Sonny.

  Molly didn’t think Sonny would lie. Sonny was a baby, Roger was right. He still had training wheels on his bike. But he wasn’t a liar.

  “Hey, is the stork bringing it?” Roger laughed.

  “Of course not,” said Sonny. “I know the stork doesn’t bring babies.”

  “I’ll bet he thinks the doctor brings them in a black bag,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly, giggling.

  “I know where babies come from,” said Sonny. “They come out of the sky. A plane brings them.”

  “Ho, ho, ho!” Roger chortled. “A plane’s as dumb as a stork!”

  “Babies grow in their mother’s stomach,” whispered Molly to Sonny. She hated it when people laughed at Sonny. Why didn’t his parents tell him these things?

  But Sonny shook his head. “They do not. They come from the sky. My mom told me.”

  Molly groaned. Could it be possible that Mrs. Stone didn’t know herself where babies came from? She must. She had Sonny. And Sonny couldn’t have come out of the sky on a plane.

  “A big jet,” Sonny was saying.

  “Sure, sure,” said Roger. “And he’ll wear a seat belt and watch the movie on the way.”

  Roger turned the corner to his house, laughing.

  Sonny turned at the next street. “Just wait and see,” he called to them.

  “He’s never going to grow up,” said Mary Beth. “I thought he’d be different once he had a dad. But he’s still a mama’s boy.”

  “See you in the morning,” said Molly when they came to her house.

  Mary Beth waved.

  The next morning Molly got to school early. She waited for Mrs. Stone to drop Sonny off at the door as she always did.

  “She doesn’t look like she’s going to have a baby,” said Molly to Mary Beth later. “She isn’t fat at all.”

  “Maybe she isn’t having it for a long time,” said Mary Beth.

  At recess Sonny said, “My mom is getting the baby before Christmas.”

  “He is lying,” said Mary Beth. “His mom isn’t fat enough to have a baby by Christmas. My mom was out to here when she had babies.”

  Mary Beth showed Molly with her arms how far out her mom’s stomach had come.

  The next Tuesday at the Pee Wee Scout meeting, Sonny’s mother was there to help. Her stomach was still flat as a pancake.

  “I have loads of good news today,” said Mrs. Peter
s to her troop. “My first good news is that Sonny’s mother is expecting a baby by Christmas. In fact, she is expecting two babies, twins! Sonny is going to have a little brother and sister!”

  The Scouts looked stunned.

  “By Christmas?” asked Rachel Meyers. “Is she sure?”

  “Twins?” said Patty and Kenny Baker together. They were the only twins whom Molly knew.

  Mrs. Peters looked at the puzzled Scouts. Mrs. Stone was pink and beaming.

  “We’re adopting them,” she said. “They are from another country. They are coming before Christmas, and before Hanukkah. They are coming on a plane.”

  “See,” said Sonny, pointing to Roger and Molly and Mary Beth. “I wasn’t making it up. I know where babies come from. They come from the sky, on a plane. That stomach stuff is a lie.”

  CHAPTER

  2

  Twin Talk

  Mrs. Peters brought out the treats of cupcakes and soda pop right away. Even before the Scouts told about their good deeds.

  “To celebrate!” she said. “Two new little Pee Wee Scouts!”

  “It’ll be a long time before they’re old enough to be Pee Wee Scouts,” said Kevin Moe. “Six whole years.”

  “Time goes fast,” Mrs. Peters said, laughing. “Babies grow up fast. Just look at Nick.”

  Nick was Mrs. Peters’s baby. “Goo!” he said, shaking his rattle.

  Molly didn’t think time went fast. It seemed to drag. Especially when everyone else got his or her cupcake first. And it took forever to be Christmas, and summer vacation and her birthday.

  “Well, old baby-face Stone put one over on us, didn’t he?” said Roger to Molly.

  “All babies don’t come on planes,” said Mary Beth. “These babies will, but Sonny thinks that’s where all babies come from.”

  “Even these babies didn’t come out of the sky,” said Tracy Barnes. “They had to come out of some mother, even if they are adopted.”

  “Try and tell Sonny that,” said Rachel, laughing.

  Molly decided she wouldn’t try to tell Sonny anything. Ever again. Every time she did, Sonny had the last word. He was a baby, but he was smart.

  Mrs. Stone told the Scouts the twins were three months old. She held up a picture of them. They had rosy faces and dark hair.

  “Which one is a boy?” asked Tim Noon.

  “This one is Lee,” said Mrs. Stone, pointing. “And this one is Lani.”

  “They look just alike,” said Lisa Ronning.

  “Twins all look alike,” said Kenny.

  “Most twins do,” said Sonny’s mother.

  “We can’t wait to see them, can we?” said Mrs. Peters.

  Everyone cheered. Molly was happy for Sonny and his family. But she was sad for herself. Every one of the Pee Wees seemed to have brothers and sisters except her. Molly was an only child. Rachel was, too, but even she had a baby cousin who lived nearby. All the other Pee Wees had more children in the family. Molly always felt left out when she saw them baking cookies together and playing Monopoly. She didn’t even have a brother to fight with.

  And now Sonny went from having just his mother and himself, to a family of five! Why didn’t her family adopt? Better yet, her mother could go to the hospital like other mothers and get a baby.

  Mrs. Peters tapped a spoon on the table for attention.

  “Now for the rest of our news,” she said. “We are going to talk about our new badge today.”

  The Pee Wees cheered.

  “I hope it’s not wrestling,” said Mary Beth.

  “Or judo,” said Molly.

  “Our new badge,” said Mrs. Peters, “comes just at the right time! It ties in with the new twins, and with the holidays!”

  The Pee Wees cheered again.

  What badge could tie in with new babies and Christmas both?

  “Is it a badge for getting a baby a Christmas present?” asked Tracy. “Because I’m getting our baby a teddy bear.”

  “No, this is something you learn, not something you buy,” said Mrs. Peters mysteriously. “It is a badge for baby-tending. We are going to learn how to help take care of a baby. In an emergency, all of you will know what to do.”

  “A fire is an emergency, Mrs. Peters,” said Rachel. “I already know how to save my little cousin Rhonda if the house burned down. I’d pick her up and run out the door to the neighbors’.”

  “Wrong,” said Kevin. “You should call 911 to report the fire.”

  “Then the baby would burn up, dummy,” said Lisa.

  Mrs. Peters clapped her hands. “It’s a good idea to get the baby out,” she said. “Rachel is right.”

  Rachel stuck her tongue out at Kevin.

  “But Kevin is right too. Then you could call 911 from the neighbors’,” Mrs. Peters went on.

  “Ha,” said Kevin.

  “To get our badge, we are going to learn other things too. We’ll learn how to feed a baby and hold a baby and change a diaper,” their leader said.

  Roger held his nose and made a face. “I’m not changing any old diaper,” he said.

  Some of the other Pee Wees held their noses, too, and Mrs. Peters had to clap her hands again for silence.

  “Most of you have small brothers and sisters or relatives. After we learn how to do these things, you can ask your mothers to let you help with their bath, and feeding and dressing. Then by the holidays we all may be able to give the gift of baby-sitting. You can help watch the baby while your mother cooks dinner or washes clothes. It’s a gift you don’t have to buy. It’s something you can do.”

  “My mom will like that,” said Mary Beth. “She always has a lot of work to do and she has to stop and rock the baby.”

  “My dad takes care of the baby,” said Tracy. “He cooks and washes the clothes too.”

  “I already take care of my cousin Rhonda,” said Rachel. “I gave her a bottle twice.”

  Rat’s knees, thought Molly. It was important that her mother get a baby and get one quick. But how could her mother have a baby by Christmas? She couldn’t even adopt a baby that fast. Who would Molly practice with? Who would she give a baby-sitting present to? Would she be the only one without this badge?

  Mrs. Stone passed out papers. On the paper was a list of things each Scout had to do to get the badge.

  “We will do some of these things today with Nick, and then you can try it with your mother’s help,” said Mrs. Peters.

  Mrs. Peters picked Nick up. She took a bottle of milk out of the refrigerator and heated it. She showed the Scouts how to hold a baby to give it a bottle, and how to test that it wasn’t too hot. Some of the Scouts got to hold Nick and feed him. When Molly held him, he spit up. All over her Scout kerchief. Mrs. Peters sponged her off.

  Roger held his nose.

  Mrs. Stone showed the Scouts how to change a diaper.

  “My aunt uses baby powder,” said Rachel. “It smells real good.”

  “Powder or baby oil is fine,” said Mrs. Peters, “if the mother says so.”

  “Goo,” said Nick. He liked all this attention.

  “Remember to keep babies away from hot stoves, and steps where they could fall,” said Mrs. Stone. “When a baby walks or crawls, you have to watch him every moment. You can’t take your eyes off a baby if you are in charge of him.”

  “I know all that stuff,” whispered Rachel to Molly. “It’s boring.”

  Molly frowned at Rachel to be quiet. She would give anything to have a sister or cousin to powder and bathe. She looked at the list Mrs. Stone had passed out. How would she be able to do these things without a baby? And how would she ever get a badge if she didn’t do them?

  CHAPTER

  3

  Out of the Sky

  “My,” said Mrs. Peters. “The time went so fast today that we don’t have time to tell our good deeds. They’ll have to keep until next time.”

  “Good,” said Roger to Molly. “I won’t have to do any new ones this week.”

  “You should have
twice as many good deeds to report next week,” said their leader. Molly poked Roger.

  The Scouts got into a big circle. They said their Scout pledge. Then they sang their Scout song. Molly loved singing. She loved being a Scout. But where could she find a baby? If she didn’t she might not be able to get this badge. And if she didn’t get badges, she wouldn’t be a Pee Wee Scout. She wouldn’t be able to say the pledge with her friends. She wouldn’t be able to sing the Scout song. Why were her parents so selfish? Her mother could have had a baby by now, from the hospital, or from a plane. And now it was too late.

  On the way home, Molly told Mary Beth her problem.

  “I’ll share my baby,” said Mary Beth generously. “We can both feed Jennifer.”

  “I want a baby of my own,” said Molly. “But thank you.”

  The next morning at school, Sonny got out of Larry’s fire truck yelling, “They’re coming! They’re coming!”

  “Who’s coming, dummy, the Russians?” asked Roger.

  “The twins!” said Sonny. “They are coming this afternoon! I get off school to meet the plane.”

  Everyone gathered around Sonny. No one else had babies who came from the sky. Or who came on a plane. No one had a baby who was adopted.

  Lucky Sonny, thought Molly. He’d get his badge right away. Maybe even tonight.

  The next day Mrs. Peters phoned all of the Pee Wee Scouts. She talked to the mothers too.

  “I thought we should call a special meeting on Saturday,” she said. “It will be a Pee Wee baby shower at my house. All of you can make a pretty card to welcome the babies. We can meet the twins and have a little party to celebrate their arrival.”

  “I’m bringing two silver cups with their names on them,” said Rachel to Molly on the phone. “My mom’s getting them engraved at the jewelry store.”

  Rachel was a show-off, thought Molly.

  “Mrs. Peters said we should bring a card,” said Molly.

  Rachel scoffed. “What’s a baby shower without presents?” she said. “When my little cousin Rhonda was born I gave her a solid-gold locket.”

  On Saturday the parents brought presents. Mrs. Duff brought four little bibs. Mr. Kelly brought two circus toys with giraffes in the middle. Mrs. Ronning brought two sunsuits. “For next summer,” she said.