Inez Hogan

“ Don’t!” cried Tommy. “I haven’t any pets. Oh, Nappy, I’ll trade you anything I have for that raccoon! Come to my house and you can choose anything I have.”
So they all went to Tommy’s house.
And Nappy looked over the things Tommy had.... There was a ball, and a bat, and some skates, and some stilts, and a wagon, and a drum.
“You mean I can choose anything?” asked Nappy.
“Well,” said Tommy, “anything except the drum.”
“How about the stilts,” said Nappy. “Will you show me how to walk on them?”
“Sure,” said Tommy. “My big brother can make me another pair of stilts. We’ll have fun together.” ”

“ Out of the house came Tommy, beating his drum, and his big brother, playing the harmonica.
As soon as the twins heard the music they dropped the mud pies and began to dance.
“Oh, boy,” cried Nappy, “they can dance!”
“It’s a wonderful act,” said Sister. “Good enough for a show.”
“Let’s have a show!” said Nappy. “We could fix up our barn like a theater and....”
“I’ll make the costumes,” said Sister.
“Swell idea,” said Tommy’s big brother. “I’ll fix up the barn.”
“And I’ll train my raccoon to do tricks,” said Tommy.
“My dog can do tricks,” said Nappy. “We can have lots of acts.” ”

“ He found the Wong boys playing marbles in front of their father’s restaurant.
“Hello,” said Nappy. “How would you boys like to be in a show? You can do your tumbling act. We’re planning a show in our barn now. Will you come and show the other kids how you can tumble?”
“Sure,” said the Wong boys.
And they went back to the barn with Nappy, and did their stunts.
“That’s great!” said Tommy.
“This is going to be the best show ever,” said Nappy.
And it did turn out to be a great show because all of the children worked to get ready for it. They worked hard. They worked together. ”