“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Tia climbed onto her bicycle. We started to cry. “Good-bye!” we called. “I’ll miss you!”
And I added, “Invention Sisters forever!”
Then I turned and ran inside. I telephoned Mommy. I was still crying. “I don’t want to come home!” I wailed. But of course Mommy said I had to.
Karen’s Gifts
“Oof.” I was lugging another basket of vegetables into the house. It was time for me to make my last salad.
I decided the salad should look fancy. So Granny showed me how to make carrot curls. She showed me a special tool that makes radishes look like flowers. Then she helped me slice up an egg and a tomato. I arranged the carrot curls, the radish flowers, the egg slices, and the tomato slices in a pattern. They looked like a swirl on top of the salad.
“This is the prettiest salad I have ever seen,” said Grandad as we were starting dinner.
“Thank you,” I replied. I took a bite. I chewed it carefully. I swallowed. “You know what’s funny?” I said.
“What?” asked Granny and Grandad.
“When I first came here, I wanted to go home. Now that it is time to go home, I wish I could stay.”
Grandad smiled. “You were very grownup to stay when you were so scared.”
“I feel like I have grown up. Like maybe I am ten or eleven.” I thought for a moment. “What would you have done if I had really, really, REALLY wanted to leave?”
“We would have let you go home,” Grandad answered.
“But we would have missed you,” added Granny.
I nodded. “Well, I am glad I stayed. I like the state of Nebraska.”
* * *
After dinner, Granny and Grandad and I sat in the living room.
“Guess what. I have presents for you,” I announced. (Granny and Grandad looked surprised.) “They are in my room,” I went on. “I’ll go get them.” I ran upstairs. I pulled two things out from under my bed. I brought them back to the living room. “This one is for you,” I said to Granny.
Granny took the package from me. “Karen, did you make the wrapping paper?”
“Yes,” I said proudly. “I potato-printed it. Tia showed me how. I made the present, too.”
Granny opened the box. Inside was the pink-and-purple scarf. I had finished it just in time.
“Honey, it’s lovely!” Granny gave me a big hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for teaching me how to knit. And garden. And bake. And make salads.”
“Where’s my present?” asked Grandad.
I giggled. “Right here.” I gave him a very flat package. It was also wrapped in potato-print paper.
Grandad opened the package. He pulled out a piece of paper. “ ‘The Farm,’ ” he read. “ ‘A poem by Karen Brewer.’ ” He stopped to adjust his glasses. Then he went on, “ ‘My Granny and Grandad live on a farm. They’re as nice as they can be. They work hard and take care of their animals, which is very important, you see.’ ”
The poem was quite long. I had written seven stanzas after that first one. The poem told about Grandad, Granny, and their farm. When Grandad finished reading it, his eyes looked a little wet. “This is one of the nicest presents I have ever been given,” he said. Grandad gave me a hug.
Later, I was getting ready for bed when I thought of something. I had not given Tia my address. She needed my address if we were going to be pen pals. So I telephoned her. I told her my address, and she told me hers. Then we said good-bye again. We hung up.
“Granny? Grandad?” I said. They were tucking me in bed for my last night on the farm. “Can I come visit you again?”
“You better,” said Grandad. “We need someone to feed the chickens.”
“Oh, don’t pay attention to him,” said Granny. “Of course we want you to visit again. We will miss you when you leave.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” I said.
The Champion Flier of the World
The truck rattled into the parking lot at the airport.
“Here we are,” said Granny.
“Boo,” I replied.
“Are you scared about flying alone?” asked Grandad.
“No,” I said. “Not at all. I am a champion flier now. The champion flier of the world. I just do not want to say good-bye. That’s all.”
But of course we had to say good-bye. Granny and Grandad walked me onto the plane. I had a new personal stewardess. Her name was Joan.
“Karen,” said Joan, “this is your tray, and here is your reading light —”
“I know,” I said. “I know all about flying.” I buckled my seat belt.
Joan smiled. “I guess you do.”
“Joan? I need to tell you something,” I said. Joan leaned over. I whispered, “I need to say good-bye to my grandparents. In private.”
“Oh. I’ll leave you alone then,” Joan whispered back. She tiptoed away.
I looked at Granny and Grandad. “I guess this is it,” I said. “Thank you very much for everything. Thank you for driving me to town, and for letting me play with Pearl and Sheppy, and for giving me a chick.”
I was trying to be brave, but I could not help it: I began to cry.
Granny gave me a hug. “It’s hard to say good-bye, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s gigundo hard.”
In the end, we did not say good-bye. We hugged. I said thank you again. Then Granny and Grandad left the plane.
By the time I was finished crying, other people were finding their seats on the plane. A man sat next to me. He looked sort of like Daddy. He did not open a book. He did not open his briefcase. So I said, “Hi. I am Karen. I’m seven. I am flying alone. This is not the first time. Are you busy?”
“No,” said the man. “My name is Lewis. I’m glad to meet you, Karen.”
“I have my own personal stewardess. Her name is Joan. If I press that yellow button up there, Joan will come. Maybe she will get us Cokes or something.”
“Thank you. That’s a nice offer,” replied Lewis. “But I think I’ll wait until after the plane has taken off.”
“Oh. Then I will, too,” I said. (I did not want to be rude.) I reached under the seat for the Fun Bag. “Here is all my stuff. We could play games. Or we could just talk. Where are you going? I’m going home. I live in Connecticut. I have been visiting my grandparents. They live on a farm.”
“I’m going home, too,” Lewis said. “I cannot wait to see my family again.”
“Do you have a big family?” I asked. “Because I do. I have parents and stepparents and a brother and stepbrothers and a stepsister and even an adopted sister. I have four grandmothers and …”
The plane took off. Lewis and I talked and talked. Joan came by. She asked if I would like to go to the cockpit. I could visit the pilot and the co-pilot, she said. I thought about my compass. I almost said yes. Instead I said, “No, thank you. I will stay here and talk to Lewis. There’s a lot I haven’t told him yet.”
So Lewis and I talked. Then we played Tic-Tac-Toe and Battleships and Hangman. After that, Joan and the other flight attendants served lunch.
“Do you like this lunch?” I asked Lewis.
“Do you?” he said.
“Not really.”
“Neither do I.”
Lewis and I smiled at each other. Then we talked some more.
Welcome Home, Karen!
I did not fall asleep on the plane. I had to entertain Lewis. If I did not do that, he would have been very bored.
We were both working in my activity books when the plane began to land. (I was finishing a maze. Lewis was filling in a crossword puzzle.) “We are almost home!” I exclaimed. “Mommy and Seth and Andrew are going to meet me at the airport.”
Whoosh. The plane was on the ground. It was racing along the runway. When it stopped, I took the Fun Bag and my purse from under the seat.
Joan came by. “Ready to meet your family?” she asked.
I said, “Yes. Can Lewis come with us?”
“Of course,” replied Joan.
Joan and Lewis and I walked off the plane. (I tried to run, but Joan told me to slow down, please.)
Guess who were the very first people I saw in the airport. Mommy and Andrew and Seth! Lewis walked right up to them. He said, “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Engle. And this must be Andrew.”
My little-house family looked quite surprised. “Yes …” said Mommy.
“Karen told me all about you. Well, have a good trip back to Stoneybrook. Nice meeting you, Karen!” Lewis walked off.
I grinned. “I’m home!” I threw my arms around Mommy and Seth. I even hugged Andrew. Then I said, “Don’t worry, Mommy. I usually don’t talk to strangers. But I didn’t think I could sit next to Lewis all that time and not talk to him. How are you guys?”
“Karen!” exclaimed Mommy. She was laughing. “How was the farm? How are Granny and Grandad? What have you been doing for the last two weeks? We missed you.”
“How is your homesickness?” Andrew wanted to know.
“It’s all gone! I liked the farm. I liked the state of Nebraska. Oh, by the way, I made a new friend. Her name is Tia. I have a chick named Tia, too. I watched her hatch out of an egg.”
We had walked to the baggage claim. We were waiting for my suitcase.
“You have a chick?” said Andrew. “Where? Can I see it?”
I shook my head. “She’s on the farm. She needs to grow up with her brothers and sisters…. Hey, there’s my suitcase!”
Mommy picked up my suitcase. We walked outside to our car.
“How come you’re wearing overalls?” asked Andrew.
“Oh, everyone I met wore overalls. I have a straw hat, too. It’s smushed into my suitcase. Hey, Andrew, Tia taught me how to make board games. Now we won’t have to buy them anymore. We made lots. We made On the Farm and Going to Hollywood and Going to School and Save Our Planet.”
Seth had unlocked the car. We climbed inside. We buckled our seat belts. We began to drive home.
“So what did you do while I was gone?” I asked Andrew.
“Mmm. Played with my trucks. Went swimming. Did you meet Pearl?”
“Yes. And Sheppy. I rode on a tractor and I played in the hayloft. Granny let me take care of her vegetable garden. And she taught me how to make salads. I bet we could grow a vegetable garden…. Hey, you know what, Mommy? You know what, Seth? This morning I did not want to leave Nebraska. But now I am glad to be home.”
“It’s good to have you home, honey,” said Seth.
“Thank you. Andrew, when you are older maybe you can come to Nebraska with me.”
“I would like that,” said Andrew.
Soon we were driving through Stoneybrook. Then we were driving down our street. And finally, there was the little house.
“Hello, little house,” I said. “I’m home again.”
Fun With Karen Activity Pages!
Are you going on a long trip like Karen? Or are you stuck inside on a rainy day with nothing to do? These fun activities and puzzles will keep you busy, whether you’re far away or close to home!
All Packed and Ready to Go!
If you’re getting ready to take a trip, here’s a list of things you won’t want to leave behind!
toothbrush
toothpaste
hairbrush
stamps
stationery
pens
camera
film
sunglasses
a spare pair of glasses (if you’re like Karen and you need glasses to see)
shampoo
books to read
stuffed animal
easy-to-carry games to play on the plane
Packing Play!
Here’s a fun packing game you can play with your friends. It’s called I Packed My Grandmother’s Trunk. You will need at least one other player for the game. Here’s how you play:
1. This is an alphabet game. The first player starts by saying, “I packed my grandmother’s trunk. I packed an ___.” The first player must say the name of an object that begins with the letter A. Let’s suppose the first player must say the name of an object that begins with the letter packed an apple.
2. Now it is the second player’s turn. He or she says, “I packed my grandmother’s trunk. I packed an apple and a ball” (or anything else that begins with the letter B).
3. Continue taking turns, listing all the objects that came before and adding an object that begins with the next letter in the alphabet. Any player who forgets an object or says one that begins with the wrong letter is out. The last player left in the game wins!
4. For a gigundo-tough twist on this game, start with the letter Z and work your way backwards!
The Amazing Alphabet Game
Even though Karen would never ever admit it, she’s a little nervous about going on an airplane all by herself. So to keep herself busy she teaches Andrew to play the Alphabet Game. You can play, too. Here’s how.
For every letter of the alphabet, you have to think of a girl’s name, a boy’s name, a place, and a thing. You use them to fill in the blanks of a poem. The poem for the letter A goes like this:
A, my name is Anna and my husband’s name is Alex. We come from Alabama, and we sell apples.
Now it is the next player’s turn.
B, my name is Barbara and my husband’s name is Bill. We come from Buffalo and we sell books.
Each player takes a letter of the alphabet in turn. Any player who can’t think of a word to fill in a blank is out. The last player left is the winner.
Beware! This game gets tough with letters like Q and X. Here are some fill-ins you can try!
Q:
Queenie (girl’s name)
Quincy (boy’s name)
Queens (a place in New York City)
Quills (a kind of pen made from a feather)
X:
Xanthe (girl’s name)
Xavier (boy’s name)
Xochimilco (a place near a lake in Mexico)
Xylophone (an instrument)
The License Plate Look-Out Game!
The next time your family takes a long drive, you and your brothers and sisters can keep yourselves busy with this crazy car game. All you need to play is a piece of paper and a pencil for each player.
Here’s how you play:
1. Set a 30-minute time limit. Have Mom or Dad keep the time.
2. Now start looking out the window. Check out the license plates on the cars that pass by. Write down the different states listed on the license plates. Write down each state only once.
3. At the end of the 30 minutes, the player with the most states listed wins!
4. If you’re playing by yourself, set lots of shorter time limits. See how many states you can find each time.
Fun Facts About the United States!
Amaze your friends with these fun facts about some of our states.
1. Did you know that Arkansas is the only state to pass a resolution on how to pronounce its name? The correct way to say Arkansas is Ark-an-saw.
2. Did you know that California’s bristlecone pines are the oldest living things on earth? They are believed to be 4,600 years old!
3. Did you know that Karen’s home state of Connecticut is the leading maker of helicopters?
4. Did you know that the first Coca-Cola was served in an Atlanta, Georgia, drugstore in 1887?
5. Did you know that Michigan is the only one of the fifty states to be touched by four of the five Great Lakes? They are: Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Superior. It is not touched by Lake Ontario.
6. Did you know the first ice cream cone was served in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904?
7. Did you know that Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country? It covers only 1,212 square miles.
Silly Salad Jokes!
These silly fruit and vegetable jokes make Tia and Karen laugh. They’re guaranteed to give you the
giggles, too!
Q: What’s green and black and blue?
A: A bruised pickle!
Q: Why did the cornstalk get mad at the farmer?
A: He kept pulling its ears!
Q: If a carrot and a cabbage had a race, who would win?
A: The cabbage, because it is a-head!
Growing, Growing, Grown!
Some of Karen’s garden vegetables grow into beautiful plants. Here’s how you can grow plants from vegetables you find around your house. Remember, plants take a long time to grow, so be patient!
Carrots
1. Cut off the tops of two carrots.
2. Fill a saucer with warm water.
3. Place the carrot tops cut-side down in the water. Make sure the tops are out of the water.
4. Put the bowl on a windowsill where it will get sunlight.
5. When the leaves start to grow and the roots sprout, plant the carrots in a flowerpot.
Dry Lima Beans
1. Fill a glass three quarters of the way to the top with warm water.
2. Lay some moist cotton across the top of the glass.
3. Put the dry lima beans on the cotton.
4. Soon the leaves will appear and the roots will grow all the way down into the water. When that happens, plant your lima bean plants in a flowerpot.
Sweet Potatoes
1. Fill a glass three quarters of the way to the top with warm water.
2. Place the fat end of a sweet potato in the glass. Make sure the other end is out of the water.
3. When the roots begin to grow and the leaves start to sprout, plant the sweet potato in a flowerpot.
All Dressed Up!
Karen loves making salad dressing to pour on her very own vegetables. Here are two of her favorite recipes. They taste so, so good!