A Big Box of Memories Read online

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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

  Dell Yearling

  an imprint of

  Random House Children’s Books

  a division of Random House, Inc.

  1540 Broadway

  New York, New York 10036

  Text copyright © 2000 by Judy Delton

  Illustrations copyright © 2000 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.

  Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  eISBN: 978-0-307-80012-1

  v3.1

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Yearling Books You Will Enjoy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 Old Lady Molly

  2 The Pee Wees in a Tube

  3 Barrettes and Baseball Cards

  4 The Perfect Thing for the Capsule

  5 Emergency!

  6 Second Best

  7 The Hunt

  8 Night Visitors

  9 Jody to the Rescue

  10 Badges and Prizes

  For Dorfee Tucker, with thanks for the

  popcorn balls, cigars, and fireside chats,

  and mostly for our long-going,

  on-going friendliness

  CHAPTER 1

  Old Lady Molly

  “This is an important year,” said Mrs. Peters to the Pee Wee Scouts. “Can any of you tell me why?”

  The Pee Wees all frowned as if they were thinking hard. Molly Duff had found that if she looked as if she were thinking very hard and did not put her hand up, she didn’t get called on. Especially at school in classes she was not good at, like math. She always had her hand up if it was a spelling lesson or reading, no matter how hard the words were.

  But now no one had their hand up to be called on. No one seemed to know why it was an important year.

  “Easter?” said Tim Noon. “Or Memorial Day?”

  “Every year has Easter and Memorial Day,” scoffed Rachel Meyers. “That doesn’t make it a special year. Just an ordinary one.”

  “Was it the coldest year in Minnesota?” asked Mary Beth Kelly, who was Molly’s best friend. “My mom said it was the snowiest winter she could remember.”

  Mrs. Peters frowned. “It may have been,” she said. “But that’s not why this year is important.”

  “Maybe it’ll be the warmest year,” said Tracy Barnes to Molly. “Last summer was so hot we went swimming every day.”

  “It has nothing to do with the temperature,” said their leader mysteriously. “Think harder.”

  The Pee Wees did.

  “I know,” said Tim Noon. “It’s the year my uncle got married!”

  “Pooh,” said Sonny Stone. “My uncle got married too. That’s no big deal. People get married every day.”

  “And divorced,” said Lisa Ronning. “That’s not news.”

  The Pee Wees thought some more. Why didn’t their leader just tell them?

  “I know why the year’s important,” said Rachel. “I really do.”

  Before Rachel could tell everyone, Patty Baker waved her hand. She was Kenny’s twin sister. “It’s election time,” she said. “We elect a new president this fall.”

  Everyone agreed that was important. Even Mrs. Peters.

  “But this news is important to everyone in the world,” she said.

  Now Rachel waved her hand.

  “It’s the first year of this century, Mrs. Peters,” she said importantly.

  “That’s right, Rachel! The twentieth century is over. And this year begins a whole new hundred years! The twenty-first century. Is everyone used to writing the year yet?”

  The Pee Wees laughed.

  “I keep writing 1900,” said Tracy Barnes.

  “It’s a big change,” said their leader.

  Rachel sighed. “It’s the biggest change in a thousand years,” she said. “Now it’s the year 2000. The new millennium.”

  “Good for you, Rachel!” said Mrs. Peters. “One hundred years ago, we went from 1899 to 1900. Now it’s one hundred years later, and 1999 has changed to 2000.”

  “My great-great-grandma was born in 1900,” said Molly. “My mom did our family history. We have a picture of her in a long dress. There were no cars, only horses then.”

  “Good for you, Molly,” said Mrs. Peters. “Lots of changes have taken place in one hundred years. In the year 2100, pictures of our clothes will look as strange to people alive then as the ones of 1900 do to us.”

  Molly tried to picture what people would look like in another hundred years. Would they have long dresses again, and horses? Or would they have antennas coming out of their heads, and little airplanes in their garages instead of cars? She shivered. She wouldn’t even be alive then! Unless she lived for more than a hundred years! She didn’t know anyone who had lived that long!

  If she was 107 in the year 2100, she would be old and wrinkled and walk with a cane. Or not walk at all! Her hair would be gray like her grandma’s. She might even be in a nursing home! Molly’s imagination was wild, her mother said, and she was right. Molly got so lost in being an old, old lady that her arms and legs felt achy. Suddenly Mary Beth said cheerfully, “We’ll all be dead by 2100!”

  “I don’t want to be dead!” cried Sonny Stone, who was a baby about a lot of things. He still had training wheels on his bike, even though he was seven.

  “That’s a long time away,” said Mrs. Peters. “And right now we want to think about being alive this year, at the turn of the century. We want to think about what the Pee Wee Scouts, especially Troop 23, can do to celebrate and mark the occasion. Does anyone have any ideas?”

  CHAPTER 2

  The Pee Wees in a Tube

  “I think we should have a great big party,” said Roger White, “with a lot of good food and noisemakers and stuff. A party that lasts all night!”

  Some of the other Pee Wees cheered and clapped and chanted “Party! Party! Party!”

  Mrs. Peters frowned
. “A party is a good idea,” she said. “But we can have a party anytime. I was thinking of doing something more important. Longer lasting. So that Pee Wee Scouts in the year 2100 will know just what we were like back here in 2000.”

  “We could take a group picture,” said Patty. “That would be the best way.”

  “That’s a good thought!” said Mrs. Peters.

  “A picture would get all ripped and torn and wet in a hundred years,” said Kenny. “It wouldn’t last.”

  “Unless,” said their leader mysteriously, “we put it in a very, very safe place.”

  “Do you mean hide it, Mrs. Peters?” asked Mary Beth.

  “If we hide it, they might never find it,” said Kevin Moe. “And anyway, how do we know they would find it in a hundred years instead of ten years, or two hundred years?”

  “We wouldn’t exactly have to hide it,” said their leader. “We could put it in a very safe place and let people know where it is and when to look at it.”

  Rachel had a big grin on her face. “I know what you mean,” she said. “You’re talking about a time capsule! We put lots of stuff inside a big tube and put the tube in cement somewhere and write on it ‘Open in 2100.’ ”

  “That’s right, Rachel,” said Mrs. Peters. “A time capsule is a perfect Pee Wee Scout project. The city is building a new city hall this year, and it will have a cornerstone. On the outside the cornerstone will have the date, and on the inside there will be room for historical records. That will be just the place to put a Pee Wee Scout time capsule for future generations to see.”

  Now the Pee Wees were getting excited.

  “We’ll go down in history,” said Kevin.

  “People will know how we lived, even after we’re dead!” said Jody George, who was in a wheelchair. Molly liked Jody. He was smart and kind and a lot of fun. He let the Pee Wees ride in his chair once in a while. Molly liked Kevin too. He was very ambitious. He might even become president someday. He had told her so.

  “I’m glad you’re all excited about doing this,” said Mrs. Peters. “Let’s talk about what the children of 2100 would like to know about us. What could each of us leave behind for them to see how we lived?”

  The Pee Wees couldn’t stop talking. They were full of ideas.

  “I’m going to leave my bike!” said Sonny.

  “With the training wheels on it?” roared Roger.

  “You can’t leave something that large,” said Jody. “The stuff has to fit into the time capsule, doesn’t it, Mrs. Peters?”

  Their leader nodded. “Jody is right,” she said.

  Jody is always right, thought Molly.

  “The time capsule is about this big,” said Mrs. Peters, showing them with her hands. “About two feet long, two feet high, and two feet deep. And we aren’t the only ones putting something into it. The city officials and the schools will make contributions too.

  “The Pee Wees will have a little metal box with our names on it,” Mrs. Peters went on. “It will say ‘Troop 23,’ and each of us will put one item inside. We’ll have to think very hard about what to choose, because each of us can put only one small thing. It should say something special about each of us. I’ll start our collection with the Pee Wee pledge and song. And maybe, if there is room, one of each badge that we have earned.”

  The Pee Wees were thinking hard. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, Molly thought. Things like her favorite sweater or her Pee Wee scarf were probably too big to include.

  “If I can’t put my bike in, I’m going to put in a snowball so they can see how much snow we have in Minnesota,” said Sonny.

  “You can’t,” said Roger. “Snow melts. There’d just be a puddle of water in the bottom of the box.”

  “The box would rust,” said Lisa.

  “The water would evaporate,” said Jody. “Then there would be nothing left from you.”

  How smart Jody was! He was so scientific. No wonder I like him, Molly thought. Maybe if she married Jody someday they could both be scientists and discover cures for diseases like head colds. Molly hated to cough and sneeze in the winter.

  “Besides,” said Mary Beth, “they wouldn’t want to see snow. They could see snow themselves if they looked out their windows. Minnesota isn’t going to change that much in one hundred years, is it, Mrs. Peters?”

  “Probably not,” she laughed. “It will probably still snow in Minnesota in 2100. We’ll really have to put on our thinking caps for this one. We want whatever you choose to be about you. We want it to be small and lasting and well chosen. You need to think this over for a while. We’ll have a week or so to decide. When the mayor gives us our box, we’ll put the things into it carefully, all labeled neatly. When we finish, we’ll get our Time Capsule badges!”

  “Yay!” shouted the Pee Wees. It would be fun to fill the box, and it would be more fun to get a badge for it!

  Rat’s knees, thought Molly. Badges are what Pee Wee Scouts are all about!

  CHAPTER 3

  Barrettes and Baseball Cards

  Molly felt nervous about making such an important choice. This badge wasn’t like a baby-sitting badge or a dog-walking badge. This badge was for what her grandma called posterity! Molly wasn’t sure she could think of a perfect item all by herself. But it seemed babyish to ask her family for help. Earning a new badge was a challenge. Molly liked to think she was up to it.

  On their way home, the other Pee Wees didn’t seem to take the job as seriously as Molly.

  “Hey, I’m going to put in my math paper I got a C on,” said Tim Noon.

  “A C!” shouted Rachel. “You should only put an A paper in!”

  “Tim never got an A in his life!” said Lisa.

  “I’m going to put in some cereal,” said Kenny. “Frostibites, my favorite.”

  “They’ll disintegrate,” said Kevin. “Food dries up. I’m going to put in a baseball card. They may not play baseball in 2100. It will be valuable.”

  Molly couldn’t believe how fast her friends had made up their minds. Mrs. Peters had said to take some time. She’d said it was very important. They were reaching into the future. It wasn’t just a badge for making cookies.

  Roger was chasing Sonny down the street. He’d forgotten all about his important decision. He was trying to put a night crawler down Sonny’s shirt.

  Mary Beth was talking to Patty about a movie she had watched on TV.

  Why was Molly the only one who worried so much about these badges? Why did she worry about everything more than the other Pee Wees?

  How could Kenny decide on cereal so fast? It wasn’t a good choice.

  And Kevin’s baseball card. That wasn’t bad, but wouldn’t something else be even better? Molly wanted the very, very best thing of all. The thing that would tell the most about her in 2100. A baseball card said something about Kevin, but not much. It didn’t say how smart he was and how he would be mayor or even president someday.

  “Aren’t you guys worried about what to choose?” asked Molly, stamping her foot on the sidewalk. “Don’t you want to pick the best thing you can think of?”

  Mary Beth and Patty stopped laughing about the movie and looked at her.

  “We’ve got a couple of weeks to think about it,” said Mary Beth.

  “It’s an easy badge,” said Tracy. “The easiest one we ever got. Remember when we had to ski? That was hard.”

  “And when we went to the ranch and had to square-dance,” said Mary Beth. “That was something to worry about. Not as dumb as what to put in a tube. I’ll just put my hair barrette in. That’s small, and it’s pretty.”

  She took the barrette out of her hair and said, “See? I’m all ready.”

  Molly couldn’t believe her ears. Her friends were making a joke of the time capsule!

  When Molly got home, she went to her room to think. She got out her pencil and paper, sat at her desk, and made a list. She felt better with a pencil in her hand. Lists made her feel good. She liked to cross off things she’d do
ne, throw the list away, and start a new one. Her mother said lists were a habit with her. Like brushing her teeth or making her bed.

  Molly picked up her pencil. But what in the world should she write? Well, she’d write the title. “Things to put in the time capsule to remember Molly Duff by in 2100.” Then she put the pencil behind her ear and looked out the window. When the phone rang, she jumped.

  “Hey, this is Roger,” said the voice on the phone. “I was wondering what you’re going to put in the capsule.”

  What a surprise! Roger did care about this badge!

  “I haven’t decided yet,” said Molly. “I’m thinking about it.”

  “Well, when you decide,” said Roger, “will you get two of them?”

  “Two of what?” asked Molly.

  “Two of what you’re going to put in.”

  “Why?” asked Molly.

  “So you can give me one to put in,” said Roger.

  Molly was disgusted. She should have known Roger’s interest was selfish.

  “You need something that’s about you,” said Molly. “Not me!”

  “I don’t care who it’s about,” said Roger. “I just need something, or I won’t get my badge.”

  “Rat’s knees!” said Molly. “Forget it. Do your own work.”

  Roger was taking time away from her work and making her angry while he was at it. She said good-bye and hung up.

  Molly thought and thought till she got tired. “I’ll take a little nap,” she said, stretching out on her bed with a yawn. Badges were hard work.

  And then she fell asleep.

  By the time her dad called her for supper, she had dreamed that she’d finally found just the right thing to put in the capsule. It was a magic ring. When she rubbed it, it showed pictures of everything that had happened in her life. It would show the Pee Wees of 2100 just how she lived. It was perfect!

  But just as she was about to pop it into the capsule, Roger ran up and grabbed it away from her. When she chased him out into the street, he dropped it. It fell down the storm sewer and was gone forever!