Sonny's Secret Read online

  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

  YEARLING BOOKS/YOUNG YEARLINGS/YEARLING CLASSICS 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.

  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: 978-0-307-79994-4

  v3.1

  For Baby Mark

  With thanks to his mother

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 Surprise!

  2 Bad Manners to Burp

  3 Please and Thank you

  4 Good-bye, Teeth

  5 An Easy Mistake

  6 The Mock Wedding

  7 The Real Wedding

  8 Roger’s Wife

  CHAPTER

  1

  Surprise!

  “I know something you don’t know,” sang Sonny Betz. All the Pee Wee Scouts were getting on the bus to go to their meeting. It was Tuesday. Tuesday was their meeting day. They met at the home of their leader, Mrs. Peters.

  “Ho, I’ll bet,” said Roger White. “I know everything you know, Betz.”

  “You don’t know this,” said Sonny.

  “You’re getting a new pet,” said Molly Duff.

  Sonny shook his head.

  “New shoes,” said Tim Noon. Tim liked new shoes. He didn’t get new clothes very often.

  “Big deal,” scoffed Rachel Meyers. “New shoes aren’t news.”

  Rachel had all kinds of shoes.

  Black ones and white ones.

  Red ones and blue ones.

  She even had dancing shoes. Tap shoes and little pink satin ballet shoes.

  “My news isn’t shoes,” said Sonny.

  “Tell us!” shouted Tracy Barnes. She jumped up and down in the bus aisle. “It’s not nice to keep secrets.”

  Sonny was enjoying all the attention. He put his fingers to his lips and turned a make-believe key and threw it away. “I know and you don’t,” he said. “I’m not telling.”

  Mary Beth Kelly stamped her foot. “Sonny Betz, you tell us this second,” she said.

  Sonny just sat with his arms folded.

  The other Scouts began to lose interest.

  Kevin Moe took out his penknife and studied it. The Scouts watched him open and shut the little blade.

  “Can I do it?” asked Kenny Baker.

  Kenny and Patty Baker were twins.

  “All right!” shouted Sonny. “I’ll tell one of you.”

  “Me, me, me!” screamed Lisa Ronning. All of the Scouts swarmed around Sonny again.

  Sonny took a long time choosing someone to tell. He pointed his finger at one, then another.

  “I’ll tell … you!” he said finally.

  His finger stopped at Roger.

  “I don’t want to know,” said Roger. “I don’t care what your dumb secret is.”

  Sonny pointed to Molly. He put his mouth to her ear. He was just about to whisper something.

  Suddenly, Rachel said, “I’ll bet your mom is getting married.”

  “How did you know?” Sonny said, looking upset.

  “I just guessed,” said Rachel. “Your mom has been going out with the fire chief ever since we went to the fire station. People get married when they go out. Sometimes.”

  “Who cares?” said Roger.

  Molly felt sorry for Sonny. This was big news for him. Sonny would have a father! He was sort of a mama’s boy. A baby. It would be good for Sonny to have a father.

  “That’s wonderful!” said Molly warmly.

  “Well, they’re engaged,” said Sonny. “He’s getting her this great big diamond ring. It costs a lot.”

  The girls asked some questions.

  The boys went back to taking turns opening Kevin’s penknife.

  “Here we are,” called the bus driver. “All out for Mrs. Peters’s!”

  The Pee Wees tumbled out of the bus. Mrs. Peters was waiting at the door. She was waving and smiling. Tiny and Lucky were barking. Tiny was Mrs. Peters’s dog. Lucky was Troop 23’s mascot. They liked Tuesdays too.

  “Hurry!” called their leader. “We have a lot of things to do today.”

  Everyone followed Mrs. Peters through the house and down into the basement. They all took their places around a big table. They said their Pee Wee Scout pledge and sang their Pee Wee Scout song.

  Then Mrs. Peters asked about good deeds.

  “I ordered Chinese food from the takeout place,” said Rachel, with a toss of her head.

  “What kind of a good deed is that?” said Roger. “It would be a better good deed if you cooked it.”

  “I’m a big help to my mother, smarty-pants,” said Rachel. “I’d like to see you cook Chinese food.”

  Rachel began to pout. Mrs. Peters put her hand up. “Whether you cook it or order it, I’m sure it is a big help to your mother,” she said.

  Rachel stuck out her tongue at Roger.

  Other hands were waving with good deeds to report.

  “I sewed this button on my sweater when it fell off,” said Lisa. She held up her sweater to show the button.

  “How come the thread is green?” asked Tracy. “The other ones are sewn on with red thread.”

  “I didn’t have any red,” said Lisa. “It’s sewed on tight, that’s the important thing.”

  The Scouts clapped for Lisa’s tight button.

  Some more Scouts told about good deeds.

  “I didn’t run over anthills with my bike,” said Tim.

  “I ate my whole lunch at school,” said Kenny. “Even though I hate pears. I didn’t throw anything out.”

  “I took some cough medicine and it tasted icky,” said Mary Beth.

  “How’s that a good deed?” said Kevin. “A good deed to yourself!”

  “My dad said coughing makes people nervous,” said Mary Beth. “So it was a good deed.”

  “And now,” said Mrs. Peters, “we’ll go on to other things. I have lots of news today.
News about a new badge we are all going to earn. And good news about someone we all know.”

  The Pee Wees looked around the table.

  Oh, no, thought Molly. More secrets. I hope we don’t have to guess, she said to herself.

  CHAPTER

  2

  Bad Manners to Burp

  “First, I’ll tell you the wonderful news about someone in this very room,” said Mrs. Peters.

  “Me?” said Roger.

  “It’s Sonny,” said Kevin. “He’s going to get a dad.”

  Mrs. Peters frowned.

  Kevin blabbed her good news, thought Molly.

  But Mrs. Peters plunged ahead as if she had not heard Kevin. “We have a wedding coming up in our group!” she said.

  “We’re too young to get married, Mrs. Peters,” said Tracy.

  Mrs. Peters laughed. “You are,” she said, “but not Sonny’s mother. Mrs. Betz is engaged to be married to Larry, the fire chief, very soon.”

  Sonny stood up at the table, knocking down his chair. He bowed and smiled.

  “Cheese Louise,” said Tim. “We know that already.” Sonny’s mother was named Louise.

  Mrs. Peters began to clap softly, and motioned the Scouts to applaud also. A few hands clapped weakly.

  “Since Mrs. Betz is our assistant troop leader, and a very good friend,” Mrs. Peters went on, “she would like all of the Pee Wees to be in the wedding.”

  “Don’t you mean at the wedding, Mrs. Peters?” said Mary Beth.

  “No, I mean in the wedding,” their leader replied. “She has asked all of Pee Wee Scout Troop 23 to be part of the wedding party, and to walk down the aisle, scattering peony petals along the way.”

  “I was in my cousin’s wedding,” said Rachel. “So I know what to do already.”

  “Good, Rachel, then you can help us,” said Mrs. Peters.

  It was just like Rachel to know all about weddings, thought Molly. She knew all about everything.

  “I’m going to be the ring bear,” said Sonny proudly.

  “What’s a ring bear?” asked Lisa.

  “A ring bearer,” said Mrs. Peters, “is the person who carries the wedding ring down the aisle.

  “The important thing about a wedding,” said Mrs. Peters, “is that we have to have very good manners.”

  The Scouts groaned. They did not like good manners.

  “And that brings me to my second piece of good news,” Mrs. Peters went on. “We are going to earn a brand-new badge this month.”

  “Yeah!” shouted all of the Pee Wees. They loved badges.

  Badges were colorful.

  Red, blue, green, yellow.

  Badges were fun.

  Molly already had many badges.

  A first-aid badge.

  A help-a-pet badge.

  A camping badge.

  A skating badge.

  A team-spirit badge.

  Even a fitness badge.

  The Pee Wees had to work hard to get badges. But it was worth it to sew a new one on your shirt along with all the others.

  “What’s the new badge?” the Scouts shouted, jumping up and down.

  Lucky and Tiny barked at all the excitement. Arf! Arf!

  “The new badge,” said Mrs. Peters, “is a good-manners badge.”

  “Rat’s knees,” said Molly in disgust.

  “I have good manners every day,” said Rachel. “I don’t need a badge for saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ ”

  “There is more to good manners than please and thank you,” said Mrs. Peters.

  The Scouts were getting restless. Molly was wondering if Mrs. Peters had made a treat for them this afternoon. She felt hungry. She wondered if baby Nick was going to wake up from his nap and come and join them. Molly loved Mrs. Peters’s baby. He had one tooth and he made noises that sounded like “Mama” and “Daddy.”

  Mrs. Peters clapped her hands. “Good manners can be fun,” she said, trying to get their attention back.

  “Manners are for girls,” said Roger. “For sissies.”

  Mrs. Peters’s face grew red. She looked like she might stomp her foot and yell at Roger. But Mrs. Peters calmed down. “Manners are for civilized people, Roger,” she said. “Let’s make a list of things that are good manners. And a list of bad manners too.”

  She picked up a piece of chalk and set up a little chalkboard on the table. Hands began to wave.

  “It’s bad manners to burp,” shouted Roger, trying to redeem himself.

  The boys began to burp loudly. All the Pee Wees laughed.

  “We will put that under bad manners, Roger—although it isn’t bad manners, exactly, if it is done quietly. It is bad manners, though, to laugh loudly when someone burps.”

  “It’s bad manners to whistle at the table,” said Kenny Baker. “When you’re eating.”

  Mrs. Peters wrote that under BAD MANNERS.

  “Hitting kids is bad manners,” said Tim.

  “It certainly is,” Mrs. Peters agreed. “Now, what about good manners? That is what we want to practice.”

  “Don’t pick up your soup bowl and drink from it,” said Lisa.

  “Eat soup quietly with a spoon,” wrote Mrs. Peters under GOOD MANNERS. “Good, Lisa,” she said.

  Mrs. Peters put down the chalk and picked up a big piece of paper. She unfolded it. It was a big poster. She held it up.

  “This might help,” she said.

  At the top it said LET’S MIND OUR MANNERS and underneath were pictures of people doing just that.

  There was a boy with a napkin on his lap.

  Another boy was opening a door for an old lady.

  A little curly-headed girl gave her bus seat to a man with a cane.

  A lady took the smallest piece of cake on a plate.

  Mrs. Peters explained all the pictures. “What do you notice about all of these people?” she asked.

  “They’re funny,” said Mary Beth.

  “They are all white,” said Lisa, who was black.

  “They dress weird,” said Kevin.

  Mrs. Peters shook her head. “They are all smiling!” she said. “It is very, very good manners to have a smile on your face, instead of walking around all grumpy and frowning.”

  Mrs. Peters made a grumpy face. Then she gave a big smile.

  “Which one is more pleasant to see?” she asked.

  “A smile!” shouted all the Pee Wee Scouts together.

  “A smile is good manners,” Mrs. Peters said. “No one wants to see people who are mean and grumpy.

  “I want you all to keep a manners diary this month. Every time you see someone with good manners, write down what they have done. Write down things you do to show good manners. We will see who has the longest list of good manners when it comes time for badges.

  “The wedding will be the final wrap-up of our good manners month. It will be our chance to show all the good manners that we have learned. Later we will talk about wedding etiquette and how to behave during the ceremony.”

  “When can we eat?” asked Roger.

  “Now,” said Mrs. Peters. “We will have some chocolate-chip cookies for our treat.”

  The Pee Wee Scouts cheered.

  Mrs. Peters brought the cookies down from the kitchen upstairs. Then she brought down baby Nick. The Scouts played with the baby. Then they played one game of charades, and before long it was time to sing the Pee Wee Scout song and leave for home.

  “See you next week!” called Mrs. Peters. “Remember to keep your diary and look for ways you can show good manners to others.”

  Outside, Mrs. Betz and Larry were there to pick up Sonny in the car.

  “They’re in love,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly, when they saw the car. Mary Beth was Molly’s best friend. “See how they look at each other. I’ll bet they kiss each other on the mouth a lot.”

  It was hard to picture Mrs. Betz kissing Larry on the mouth. But grown-ups could be mushy. Molly knew that. The important thing was that Sonny would have a
father. And maybe then he would grow up too.

  CHAPTER

  3

  Please and

  Thank you

  The next day, after school, Molly bought a new notebook and a new pencil. On the front she wrote MANNERS DIARY. Then she called Mary Beth. “Let’s go look for good manners,” she said.

  Mary Beth came over to Molly’s house. She was carrying a notebook too. “My mom said I have to use my old spelling notebook,” she said.

  The girls each wrote GOOD MANNERS at the top of one page.

  They wrote BAD MANNERS at the top of another page.

  Then they started down the street together. At the corner they waited for a car to pass. The car slowed down and let them cross. Molly opened her notebook and turned to the page that said GOOD MANNERS.

  “Three-thirty P.M.,” she wrote. “A lady slowed down in her car to let us cross the street.”

  Mary Beth wrote it down too.

  In the next block, a woman was coming toward them. She had a poodle on a leash. She had her arms full of groceries. The woman was in the middle of the sidewalk. There wasn’t much room for the girls to pass. They had to walk around her, on the grass.

  Molly turned to BAD MANNERS and wrote down, “Three thirty-five. Lady hogged the sidewalk.”

  “May we help you carry your groceries?” said Mary Beth politely to the woman with bad manners.

  “Why, how kind you are,” the lady replied.

  The girls took the big bags of groceries. They were heavy. It was a long way to the woman’s house. The poodle nipped at their heels as they walked.

  Finally they got there and the lady gave them each a cookie. “You have wonderful manners,” she said.

  “We know,” said Mary Beth. “We are Pee Wee Scouts.”

  When they got outside, the girls wrote, “Carried groceries home for a lady,” under GOOD MANNERS.

  “We’ve got a lot!” said Molly. “We might fill our notebooks by next Tuesday.”

  “Let’s sit in front of the minimall,” said Mary Beth. “Lots of people go by there. I’ll bet some of them have manners.”

  The girls plopped down on a bench and chewed on their pencils.

  Rachel came by with her mother. She held a big package from a dress shop. “I’m going to a birthday party,” she said. “At the Brewsters’.”