Spring Sprouts by Judy Delton Page B

good.
    “Yum,” said Lisa. “I want spaghetti in my book.”
    “You can’t,” said Molly. “What would you put under it, vitamin S?”
    The girls laughed.
    Down the street they saw Roger coming toward them. He was riding on his bike.
    “Hey,” he said when he got close. He dragged his feet and came to a stop. “What’s the difference between a new penny and an old dime?” he asked.
    “You told us last week,” said Mary Beth. “Nine cents.”
    “Oh, yeah. I forgot,” said Roger. “I’ll go tell Patty. She’ll laugh at anything I say.”
    He rode on down the street.
    On Tuesday Mrs. Peters asked, “Is anyone’s garden up yet?”
    Rachel waved her hand. “Mine is, Mrs. Peters! My radishes have little green leaves!”
    “How could yours come up so fast?” asked Molly.
    “My dad started seeds in the house a month ago,” Rachel admitted. “Then we put them outside.”
    “That’s cheating,” whispered Tracy. “She got a head start.”
    “They aren’t even her own radishes,” whispered Lisa.
    “Keep your eyes on your gardens,” said Mrs. Peters. “Water them every day. This hot weather will bring your seeds up fast.”
    Then the Pee Wee Scouts shared their scrapbooks. They held up the pictures of the brightly colored vegetables.
    “I can’t find any beans,” said Patty.
    “I can’t find anything with vitamin C,” said Tim.
    “C is easy,” said Kenny. “Oranges have vitamin C. There are lots of pictures of oranges.”
    Molly tried to remember that. If orange began with a
c
, it would be easier.
    After the scrapbooks were put away, the Pee Wee Scouts told about the good deeds they had done during the past week.
    “I mowed the yard with my dad,” said Roger. “We filled about a zillion garbage bags with grass.”
    “I painted the fence in our yard,” said Patty.
    “Me too,” said Kenny, Patty’s twin brother. “We painted together.”
    It would be fun to be a twin, thought Molly. Molly was an only child.
    Tim was waving his hand.

    “Yes, Tim,” said Mrs. Peters.
    “I picked dandelion leaves for supper,” he said.
    The Scouts snickered. They made gagging noises.
    “Yuck!” said Rachel.
    “Gross,” said Kevin.
    Mrs. Peters held up her hand. “Dandelion greens make a good salad,” she said.“And they can be cooked too. They are loaded with vitamins. Tim did a good deed. And he found a new vegetable for his scrapbook.”
    “I’m going to pick dandelions tonight,” said Rachel.
    “So am I, we’ve got lots,” said Tracy. “I’ll bring some next week.”
    “It’s Tim’s good deed,” said Mrs. Peters. “I think we should let Tim have the dandelion deed.”
    Then Mrs. Peters added, “Next week I have a surprise for you. Be here right on time. Wear jeans. That’s all I’m going to tell you.”
    “Are we going to the zoo?” asked Kevin.
    “Is it another Pee Wee weenie roast?” shouted Roger.
    Mrs. Peters held up her hand. She smiled. “It’s a surprise,” she said.
    They sang their Pee Wee Scout song.
    They said their Pee Wee Scout pledge.
    But all they could think about was the surprise. Molly hoped the week would go fast. She was so curious!
    “Knock, knock,” said Roger as the Scouts left.
    “Knock, knock!” he said more loudly.
    “Who’s there?” said Patty.
    “Ether,” said Roger.
    “Ether who?” said Patty.
    “Ether Bunny!” Roger roared. “It’s an Easter joke, get it? Ether bunny?”
    “Easter is over,” said Rachel.
    “So?” said Roger. “It’s still funny.”
    But the Scouts had other things on their minds. Things like seeds and scrap-books and surprises.
    Mostly surprises!

Talking to Radishes
    A fter school, Wednesday, Molly ran home to check her garden. Nothing yet. She stamped her foot. When would those radishes come up?
    On Thursday Kevin ran all the way to school. Some Pee Wee Scouts were outside talking together.
    “My garden’s up!” he shouted, out of breath. “My carrots are growing.”
    “Great,” said Mary