Horseflies by Bonnie Bryant Page A

him all my good jokes. We came over here to cheer him up, anyway. Now we can cheer him up and let you get some rest at the same time.”
    Mrs. Bacon blinked. “Would you girls really be willing to do that?”
    “Sure!” Lisa and Carole said together.
    “Well, I’m certainly not going to turn down such a wonderful offer.” Mrs. Bacon smiled in gratitude. “Let’s see … Lisa, you know where things are in the kitchen, and where the telephone is if someone calls.” She shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “You’ve got a deal!”
    Mrs. Bacon turned to lead them down the hall, then stopped. “Oh, just one thing,” she said. “All of you have had chicken pox, haven’t you?”
    “Oh, yes,” the girls reassured her. “We all had it years ago.”
    “Perfect,” Mrs. Bacon said. “Then follow me.” She led them to Jamie’s room and tapped softly on the door.
    “Come in,” a small, woeful voice responded.
    “Hi, Jamie.” Mrs. Bacon peeked in the room. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Look who’s here!”
    She opened the door wider to reveal Carole, Lisa, and Stevie standing there. “Hi, Jamie!” they greeted the sick little boy.
    “I’ll leave all of you to have a nice visit,” Mrs. Bacon whispered, hurrying down the hall to her own room. “See you in a couple of hours!”
    “Hi, everybody.” Jamie smiled as the girls sat down on the foot of his bed. His face and neck were covered in red, blotchy pox.
    “How are you feeling?” Lisa asked softly. “We haven’t seen you since Wednesday.”
    “Pretty itchy,” he replied with a sigh. “But I haven’t thrown up anymore.”
    “That’s good,” said Carole. “As I remember, we ate some pretty weird stuff Wednesday.”
    “Yeah.” Jamie smiled. “But it sure tasted good. And the rides were great. Did they ever fix the merry-go-round?”
    “Nope,” Stevie reported. “I was there until late Wednesday night, and the merry-go-round hadn’t turned an inch. You didn’t miss a thing.”
    “Gosh, Jamie, you’ve got some neat books over here.” Lisa bent over and looked at the books beside his bed. “Would you like us to read you one?”
    Jamie nodded.
    “Let’s see.” Lisa ran her finger along the titles. “How about
Where the Wild Things Are
?”
    “Okay.”
    Lisa plumped up Jamie’s pillows and sat beside him to read. Carole and Stevie relaxed on the end of the bed, listening as Lisa read the words and Jamie studied the pictures. When Lisa finished, he looked up and smiled.
    “That’s one of my favorite stories,” he said softly. “Sometimes at night I think there are wild things under my bed.”
    “Shall I check for you, just to be sure?” Stevie asked, leaning upside down over the bed till her head touched the floor. She lifted up the bed skirt and peeked underneath. “Nothing wild down here,” she reported. “But look what I found!” She held up a game of Candy Land. “Want to play?”
    “Sure,” Jamie said.
    Lisa put a pillow on Jamie’s lap, and Stevie set up the game. Stevie and Jamie played while Lisa and Carole watched. Around and around the board they went, until Jamie finally won.
    “Yay!” he said. Again his voice was soft.
    “Want to play again?” asked Stevie. “And let me avenge my honor?”
    Jamie shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
    “Want to read another book?” Lisa asked.
    “No thanks.”
    “Want me to show you how to make an origami goldfish?” Carole offered.
    “No thanks,” Jamie replied again, beginning to scratch at a chicken pox on his neck.
    “Then what would you like to do, Jamie?” Lisa asked.
    “I don’t know.” Jamie sighed. “Sometimes I run out of fun stuff to do.”
    “Would you like me to tell you a story, Jamie?” Carole sat up and looked at him, her dark brown eyes bright. “A story about a wonderful, magical horse that could fly?”
    “You mean the one you were reading about at the stable?” Jamie asked, suddenly smiling.
    “That’s the one. Just lie back