Pee Wees on First Read online

  “We have to apologize,” whispered Molly to Mary Beth. She knew Roger would never say he was sorry. It was up to the girls.

  “It was our fault,” said Mary Beth. “We thought you were someone else.”

  “We’re sorry we made you late,” added Molly.

  Roland patted Molly on the head and muttered that it was all right. He looked like he just wanted to get away from the Pee Wees as fast as he could. He walked off down the street to his insurance meeting. The Pee Wees started for home, feeling rather low.

  “What a waste of time,” said Sonny. “I still think he tricked us.”

  When Molly got home, the phone was ringing. Sonny had told his mother about Roland, and she had called Mrs. Peters. Mrs. Peters told the Duffs the story.

  “You know,” said Molly’s dad, “you children should not have talked to strangers.”

  “That’s right,” said Molly’s mother. “Roland could have been a criminal and had a weapon,” she went on, “and kidnapped you or Sonny.”

  “Who’d want Sonny?” muttered Molly. “And we needed to meet Brett and talk to him.”

  Molly wasn’t sure she knew the difference between being a good Scout getting information for her badge, and being a careless Scout, talking to strangers and being kidnapped.

  The story got back to all the Scouts, and Rachel called Molly, and then Ashley called her. After that Jody called.

  “I’m glad you’re safe,” he said. “You could have been kidnapped!”

  Jody liked her! He was glad she was safe! But maybe he would have been glad for any of the Pee Wees. Maybe he had called Mary Beth, too! Jody was a nice person. He liked everyone, not just Molly. Still, it was nice of him to be glad she was safe.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Real

  Brett Brady

  (And the Real

  Baby Ruth)

  At the next Pee Wee meeting, some of the Scouts brought their scrapbooks. Kevin’s was big, but not as big as Molly’s.

  Molly’s was the biggest. It had the most pictures and the most facts, and it was the only one with real stories in it. Mrs. Peters held it up for the class.

  “This is a fine job!” said Mrs. Peters. “It looks like Molly has half her badge already.”

  Rat’s knees. Half a badge. It sounded like even a fat notebook would not be enough. She would have to hit a ball.

  “Hey, I’ve got as much stuff as Molly does,” said Roger. “I’ll bet she doesn’t know what home plate is made out of.”

  “I do too,” said Molly. “Rubber.”

  “Well, I’ll bet you don’t know how much a baseball weighs,” he said.

  “Five ounces is regulation,” said Molly.

  All the Pee Wees clapped. Roger looked as red as Roland the insurance man had looked.

  Then there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Stone went upstairs to answer it. When she came down, she said, “Boys and girls, this is Brett Brady!”

  A man who was not tall and dark walked into the room.

  His hair was not curly. And not black. It was gray and white.

  “Hi,” he said to Troop 23. “I’m Brett Brady and I hear you thought I was an insurance salesman!”

  Some of the Pee Wees looked embarrassed. Molly jumped to her feet.

  “We didn’t think you were Roland,” she said. “We thought Roland was you. I mean …”

  Brett laughed. “I was just joking,” he said.

  Molly sat down. She had not said that right. But Brett Brady didn’t seem upset. He told them about his days on the team. He told about the home runs he had hit. He told them funny stories about the players and the fans. And he answered their questions.

  “Hey, who was the fastest pitcher ever?” shouted Roger.

  “That was Nolan Ryan,” said Brett. “He pitched a ball recorded at one hundred miles an hour in 1974 for the California Angels.”

  “I knew that,” said Molly. “It’s in my scrapbook!”

  Brett answered more questions. He told them that baseball’s longest game was 33 innings, and had to be continued at a later date. He told them that one famous ballplayer for St. Louis named Pete Gray only had one arm.

  Tim put one arm behind his back and pretended to swing a bat with the other. Soon all the Pee Wees were playing one-armed baseball. Mrs. Peters had to tell them to be quiet and sit down.

  Molly wanted to ask Brett about Baby Ruth, but she didn’t get a chance. The meeting was over, and everyone followed Brett outside to hit balls for him and try to get on his team. The boys were knocking each other over to be first in line. Brett showed them all how to hold a bat the professional way. And how to hit the ball. But he didn’t sign Roger up for his team, or any of the other Pee Wees.

  After Brett had left, Mrs. Peters talked a little more about baseball, and said, “On Saturday we will have our big game in the park. The parents will play Troop 23. It will be a chance for you all to hit the ball and get your badge.”

  There it was again. Hitting the ball. It was getting close to badge time, and without a fat bat Molly was doomed.

  When she got home, her dad seemed to read her mind. “Let’s go out in the yard and hit some balls,” he said after dinner. “Let me show you how the old Ace can hit a home run.”

  “Not through our kitchen window,” warned Molly’s mother.

  Mr. Duff looked shocked. “Of course not!” he said.

  In the yard, he set up three bases with some rocks. Skippy watched him.

  “Now when I hit the ball, I run to first base, then second, then third, then home,” he explained.

  Molly threw him the ball. He didn’t hit it.

  She threw it again. This time he hit it and it went over their garage. Her dad dashed around all three bases. Skippy ran after him.

  “Go, Skippy!” Molly cried. Maybe her dad would forget about teaching her baseball.

  “Now usually there would be players on the bases or in the field to catch the ball and put me out,” he said. “But if they didn’t, I’d make a home run.”

  Now it was Molly’s turn. “Keep your eye on the ball,” he said.

  Molly did. But it didn’t help. She missed the ball. Then she missed it again.

  Then her dad moved up closer so she would be sure to hit it. But it flew by Molly and rolled across the lawn. Skippy caught it and brought it over to Molly.

  “Good dog,” she said. Skippy dropped the ball on her foot.

  Her dad was a good pitcher, Molly thought, and a good teacher, so it must be Molly who was a bad student. All she could hope was that by Saturday it would rain. Hard. And they wouldn’t be able to play.

  “Chin up!” said her dad. “There are worse things in the world than not being a good ballplayer.”

  He might be right, but Molly wanted that badge. If only she could find a fatter bat!

  And then she saw it! When she hung her sweater up in the closet, there was something lying on the shelf she had not noticed before! It was like a bat, but it was fatter than a bat! It looked like the answer to her problem! She took it down and put it into a bag.

  On Saturday the sun was shining brightly. The Pee Wees gathered in the park. Molly had her bag with her.

  Sonny was the only one with a baseball uniform on. It said DODGERS on the back of it. It was too big for Sonny.

  “Hey, what are you going to dodge, Stone?” yelled Roger.

  Mr. Peters put an old pie pan where home plate was. Then he put a sandbag on each base.

  “Now nine of us will play nine of you,” he said.

  There were more than nine parents there. And more than nine Pee Wees. There were thirteen Pee Wees! Thirteen minus nine left four! Maybe Molly could be one of the four who did not have to get up to bat! But if she did, it wouldn’t matter, she thought. With her fat bat she would have better luck.

  “All of you will get a turn,” said Mr. Peters. “We will alternate.”

  “Rat’s knees,” said Molly.

  “Just keep your eye on the ball,” said Jody.
“And you won’t have any trouble.”

  “That’s what my dad said!” said Molly. “But it didn’t help.”

  First Roger got up to bat. He swung the bat with every pitch. But the bat did not hit the ball. He struck out. He ran to first base, but Mr. Peters made him go back.

  “Your dad is a bad pitcher,” Roger muttered to Molly.

  “He is not!” shouted Molly. “He played in college, he’s a pro.”

  Roger looked like he might cry.

  “Roger always has to be the best at stuff,” said Mary Beth. “Or he acts awful.”

  Next Rachel got up to bat and hit a home run. She sailed around the bases like she did it every day. Even though her dad didn’t like sports.

  Some of the other Pee Wees got up to bat and missed. It did not look good. So far Rachel was the only one to score.

  The other team got up to bat, and Mrs. Baker hit a home run and tied the game. The parents cheered! Then Lisa’s mother hit a home run and the parents’ team was ahead!

  “Yea team!” shouted Tim’s uncle and Mr. White.

  When it was the Pee Wees’ turn, Sonny got up to bat. “Yea Stone!” chanted the Pee Wees.

  Sonny actually hit the ball, but as he ran to first base he tripped on his too-long pants and fell. Mrs. Kelly threw the ball to first base and Sonny was out. The Pee Wees booed, and Sonny began to cry.

  “I told you that uniform would get in your way,” said his mother.

  Jody was up next and swung from his wheelchair. His dad stood behind him to push the wheelchair around the bases, if Jody hit the ball. The Pee Wees cheered for Jody, but he hit a foul ball and was out. Molly was surprised that her hero could let them down! Well, even her dad wasn’t perfect at everything. She knew because her mom said he couldn’t change a flat tire on the car if his life depended on it.

  Things did not look good for Molly’s team.

  In the next inning, Tim got to first base. Then Lisa got a hit. Then Tracy got a hit. The three bases were loaded! And now Molly was up to bat!

  “Yea Duff!” shouted the Pee Wees.

  “Rat’s knees,” said Molly. If she missed the ball and struck out, they would lose the game. If she hit a home run, four players would score! It was up to her to save the day.

  CHAPTER 8

  The Fat Bat to the

  Rescue

  Molly took her bag and walked to home plate.

  “Keep your eye on the ball!” called Jody. He held up his hand. He had his fingers crossed for luck.

  “Hey, what’s in the sack, Duff? Your lunch?” yelled Roger.

  The Pee Wees laughed.

  “I brought my own bat,” said Molly. “The others are too thin.”

  Molly reached into her bag. She took out her fat bat. She grabbed it by the handle and swung it back and forth, ready for the pitch. The team was counting on her, and now just maybe she could do it!

  The Pee Wees stared at her bat.

  Mr. Duff, the pitcher, stared.

  The other parents stared.

  “That’s a tennis racket!” shouted Rachel. “You can’t use a tennis racket to hit a baseball!”

  “Why not?” asked Molly. “It’s just like a baseball bat only fatter.”

  Roger hee-hawed like a donkey. “It’s not legal! Hey, she’s out!” he shouted. “Get her out of the game.”

  “She’s on our team, and she can use what she wants!” said Ashley, stamping her foot. “You can’t hit the ball,” she reminded Roger. “You ought to be glad if Molly can.”

  “I never read in any rules that it was illegal to use a tennis racket to hit the ball,” said Jody. “Have you, Mr. Peters?”

  Mr. Peters had to admit he had not read that you could not use a tennis racket.

  No one had. Mr. Duff finally threw the ball, and Molly hit it with her fat bat! The first time she tried! It went high and it went far! It flew over the trees and out of the park! Molly threw down her fat bat and ran around the bases.

  Tim scored and Lisa scored and Tracy scored! Then Molly ran across home plate, and the Pee Wees had won the game!

  “Molly, Molly, she’s our man!” chanted the Pee Wees.

  Jody’s dad boosted Molly up on his shoulders and carried her off the field while everyone whistled and shouted and clapped.

  “You won the game for us!” said Jody. “That was really good thinking.”

  Jody was such a good friend! He had helped her win. It didn’t matter as much to her, now that she wasn’t handicapped too. She didn’t need a wheelchair to get attention. She was a hero without wheels! It felt good.

  Even Roger acted pleased, thought Molly. But he did remind her that he still thought it was illegal.

  “I think Molly ought to get a tennis badge, as well as a baseball badge!” said Jody, laughing.

  Dear Jody! What a good friend!

  Everyone went back to Mrs. Peters’s house. She and Mr. Peters and the Stones served coffee and milk and fruit juice and snacks to everyone there. Then Mrs. Peters rapped on the table and held up the badges.

  “I think every one of the Pee Wees deserves a badge. Everyone has a scrapbook and most of you hit the ball.”

  When there was some booing, she added, “You all did as well as you could. And the Pee Wees definitely won the game.”

  Mrs. Peters called the names of each Pee Wee, and pinned the baseball badge on each of their shirts. It was red, and it had a thin bat on it. Beside the bat was a ball.

  “There’s yarn in that ball,” said Molly when she got her badge.

  The Pee Wees laughed. Except Jody.

  “She’s right,” he said. “Baseballs are filled with yarn, and covered with real leather.”

  “Molly and Jody have really done a lot of work,” said Mrs. Peters. “They both know a lot about baseball!”

  Molly felt warm and good all over. She had hit the ball. Even if it was with a fat bat instead of a thin bat. Jody was her friend. And she had the biggest scrapbook of all the Pee Wees.

  There was only one thing that still bothered her. And that was Baby Ruth. Molly had to find out how a little baby girl named after a candy bar could hit 714 home runs!

  She waved her hand to ask Mrs. Peters. As she was waving it, Brett Brady came up to her. She had not even known he was there!

  “Congratulations,” he said to her. “You were a regular Babe Ruth out there today. You know, he was a hero too. He played with the New York Yankees for fifteen years!”

  He? thought Molly. Brett called Baby Ruth he! How could a man be called Ruth?

  “There won’t be another like the old Babe,” Brett went on. “But you were close. Maybe we should name a candy bar after you! The Babe-Duff bar!”

  “Molly?” said Mrs. Peters. “Did you have a question?”

  Molly didn’t realize her hand was still up!

  “No,” she said. “Not anymore.”

  So Ruth wasn’t a baby after all. And she wasn’t a girl and she wasn’t named after a candy bar! The candy bar was named after her!

  Rat’s knees! You learned something new every single day when you were a Pee Wee Scout!

  Pee Wee Scout Song

  (to the tune of

  “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”)

  Scouts are helpers, Scouts have fun,

  Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!

  We sing and play when work is done,

  Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!

  With a good deed here,

  And an errand there,

  Here a hand, there a hand,

  Everywhere a good hand.

  Scouts are helpers, Scouts have fun,

  Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!

  Pee Wee Scout Pledge

  We love our country

  And our home,

  Our school and neighbors too.

  As Pee Wee Scouts

  We pledge our best

  In everything we do.

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