by Judy Delton
A girl named Suzie started to make a candle holder. When she finished she said, “I changed my mind. I made a dogfood dish instead.”
Molly knew what she wanted to make. A sugar bowl for her mother. A beautiful sugar bowl that could sit on the table all day. Everyone would see it. Her mother would say, Molly made this all by herself at the Jubilee.
Molly would put her name in the wet clay on the bottom so that everyone would know she had made it. It would last forever.
Finally it was Molly’s turn. Everyone watched her. She placed her clay on the center of the wheel. She pressed her hands on it and shaped it as it went around. It felt so smooth.
The wheel turned and turned. Molly dipped her hands in a bowl of water. Then she held the clay. Round and round. The wheel hummed. Molly felt like humming too. She pressed the pedal more to make the wheel go faster.
“I think you have it!” said Mrs. Morgan. Molly took her foot off the wheel. She hated to let go of the smooth clay. But her sugar bowl was finished.
“It’s lovely,” said Mrs. Morgan. “You have a real gift, Molly. You are an artist.”
Molly put a blue glaze on her sugar bowl and put it into the kiln with the soap dish and the dogfood dish. One Scout made a cup without a handle and another made a pencil holder that leaned to one side.
“Now,” said Mrs. Morgan. “We have to wait for a while. You may have lunch and then go to one of the other activities. At the end of the day come back here and get your work.”
Mrs. Morgan held up the sheet of paper with the activities on it. She looked at her watch. “You can go run in a race,” she read, “or take a bus ride into Atlanta to see Peachtree Plaza, or take a boat ride on the lake.”
Molly didn’t want to see Peachtree Plaza. It was probably just a shopping mall. And she didn’t want to run in a race. She just wanted to stay in the cool pottery tent and wait for her sugar bowl to finish baking.
But Molly ate lunch anyway. Then she went for a boat ride on the lake. She watched some Pee Wee Scouts play Capture the Flag. Then she dashed back to the pottery tent to see if her sugar bowl was ready.
Mrs. Morgan was just taking things out of the oven. “You are just in time, Molly.”
She held up the sugar bowl for Molly.
It was light blue.
It was shiny.
It was the most beautiful sugar bowl Molly had ever seen.
Mrs. Morgan wrapped paper around the bowl. Then she put it in a little bag. She handed it to Molly with a smile. “I hope you make more nice things,” she said.
Molly carried the bag carefully. She couldn’t wait to get back to the tent to show the Kellys. Hop, skip, jump. Molly ran down the path between the tents.
All she could think about was clay. The things she could make now. Jars. Mugs. Vases. Toothbrush holders. Little animals.
Suddenly Molly noticed that all of the tents looked alike. Where was she? The flags in front of tents had big numbers on them. 104. 56. 88. But no 23.
She stopped to look around. The flags flapped in the breeze. She saw rows of tents on her right. Rows of tents on her left. But where was Troop 23? Where was her tent with the Kellys?
Molly ran up one row and down another. “What a big place this is,” she said out loud. Her stomach felt funny. She had a scary feeling. A feeling like she was lost. Tears came into her eyes. She felt a lump in her throat. Oh, no.
Molly walked on. She came to a path in the woods. Then she came to the lake. But it was a different part of the lake. Not the part where she went on the boat ride.
“Maybe I’ll have to eat berries to stay alive!” she said. It seemed chilly outside. Would it be dark soon? Where were the Kellys? Where was the dining hall with Mr. Reed? And all those Scouts?
All of a sudden it was very quiet.
“Help, help!” called Molly. “I’m lost!”
No one answered. She sat down under a tree to rest. She held on to her sugar bowl tightly. What should she do?
She closed her eyes. She decided not to open them until she thought of what to do next.
“Hi,” she heard someone say.
She opened her eyes.
A Scout with a round face looked at her. He had on glasses. Around his neck was a bright yellow scarf.
“Hi,” he said again. “My name’s Buddy. I’m in Troop 88. We’re from Hollywood. Who are you?”
Hollywood?
Movie stars lived in Hollywood!
Molly jumped to her feet. “I’m Molly,” she said. “I’m in Troop 23. And I can’t find my tent.”
“I’ll show you my tent,” said Buddy. “Follow me.”
They hiked back to the long rows of tents. “I want to see what time supper is,” he said.
Buddy looks like he likes to eat, thought Molly. His face was round. He was round all over.
“I know where the dining hall is,” he added. “Do you know your way from the dining hall?”
Molly nodded. “If I saw the dining hall, I could run right to my tent,” she said.
“Follow me,” said Buddy again.
As Molly followed him, Buddy said, “See this belt?” He pointed to his waist. “I made it this morning. In weaving.”
“It’s nice,” said Molly. “I made this.”
Molly unwrapped her sugar bowl. She held it carefully while she walked.
“Wow!” said Buddy. “You made that yourself?”
Molly nodded.
“It’s real good,” he said. “Do you want to see my scrapbook? Our troop keeps scrapbooks.”
“Sure,” said Molly. “Are you a movie star?”
“Nope,” said Buddy. “But my dad is a cameraman.”
“Neat,” said Molly.
Buddy went up one row of tents and down another. He turned a corner by a patch of dogwood, and there was the dining hall.
“Want to eat supper with my troop?” Buddy offered.
“I have to go back to my tent,” said Molly. “But I’ll see you afterward.”
Molly waved to Buddy and ran toward her tent. The Troop 23 flag waved in front of it.
CHAPTER
7
Hold, Hold, Hold
My Hand
“It’s beautiful!” said Mary Beth when Molly showed her the sugar bowl.
“What a lovely color,” said Mrs. Kelly. “You have a real eye for color, Molly.”
Mrs. Kelly put the sugar bowl on a table where they all could admire it.
“We were worried about you,” she said. “The pottery class was over and you didn’t come back.”
“I was lost,” said Molly. “But a boy from Troop 88 showed me the way back.” Molly told them about Buddy.
When Molly got to the dining hall, Buddy was there with his scrapbook. “Our whole troop makes these,” he said.
“What a good idea,” said Mrs. Kelly. “We will have to tell Mrs. Peters about them.”
As Molly was looking at pictures of Troop 88 selling Christmas wreaths, Sonny came by. He squeezed in between Molly and Buddy and the scrapbook.
“Look at those palm trees!” he said. “Hey, where do you live, Hawaii?”
“It’s Hollywood,” said Molly proudly. “This is Buddy. My friend.”
“Hey, do you know any movie stars?” asked Sonny.
“I met Benji once,” said Buddy. “When my dad shot him.”
“Your dad shot Benji?” yelled Sonny. “How could he shoot Benji?”
“With a camera,” explained Buddy. “That’s his job.”
“Do you live by the ocean?” Sonny asked.
“No, but we’ve got a swimming pool,” said Buddy. “A great big one.”
“Wow!” said Sonny, putting his arm around Buddy. “I never knew anyone with his own swimming pool.”
“My aunt’s got a pool,” said Rachel, who was across the table.
Mr. Reed was banging on a pan. “Your attention, please! Tomorrow we will choose the Pee Wee Scout of the Year! Please be thinking of who you will vote for.”
“Did you hear that?” shouted Roger. “I think I should be Pee Wee Scout of the year. I have lots of badges.”
“I’ve got more,” said Kevin. “I’ll bet I win.”
“You two had better campaign, then,” said Roger’s dad. “The way you win is to advertise. You need slogans too.”
Roger went off to his tent. Kevin left too.
After supper, when Molly went with the Kellys to the big bonfire, the trees along the way had signs hanging on them.
KEVIN MOE IS THE WAY TO GO!
VOTE FOR WHITE, HE’S ALL RIGHT!
Molly laughed.
Buddy came walking up to her.
“Do you want to be Pee Wee Scout of the Year?” she asked him.
“Naw,” he said. “I don’t like politics.”
Buddy offered Molly half of his ice cream sandwich.
Scouts were coming out of all the tents for the big bonfire. Waves and waves of Scouts. They wore their kerchiefs and badges.
“This is going to be a big bonfire,” said Mr. Baker. “It will take lots and lots of wood.”
The Scouts gathered wood. They piled it high. Mr. Reed lit the fire, and soon it blazed brightly.
Then everyone gathered around in a circle. It was getting dark. The stars were shining in the evening sky overhead. Molly could hear the wind whistling in the trees.
There were Pee Wee Scouts everywhere she looked.
The Kellys sat down in a soft patch of grass. Molly sat between Mary Beth and Mr. Kelly. Buddy sat next to them, with his mother. Sonny and Mrs. Betz sat right behind the Kellys.
“I want a swimming pool,” Sonny was saying to his mother.
“I don’t think so,” said Mrs. Betz. “It is too cold where we live to have a pool.”
“We could have one inside,” Sonny argued. “Please, Mom?”
Mary Beth and Molly giggled. The fire crackled and popped. It made them warm.
“Now,” said Mr. Reed. “I have a surprise. We have a new song to sing tonight. A special song for the Pee Wee Jubilee.”
He passed papers out to the large group. The Scouts had to read them by firelight. First the leaders sang the song out loud. They sang it twice. Then the Pee Wees joined in.
Come, come, come and join
Our big family.
From west, from east, we hurry to meet at
The Pee Wee Jubilee.
Pee Wee Scouts are here
To sing and work and play.
Meet new Scouts, find out about
The Pee Wee Jubilee.
Hold, hold, hold my hand,
Tell a story to me.
Soon it will end, but I made a new friend
At the Pee Wee Jubilee.
It was beautiful. They sang the song in a round, over and over.
Mr. Kelly put one arm around Mary Beth and one arm around Molly. The fire flickered and snapped. Rat’s knees, Molly felt good.
Soon everyone in the big circle was holding hands and swaying back and forth like the branches of a tree. Molly felt like grabbing everyone and hugging them. She felt bigger and older now.
“ ‘Soon it will end, but I made a new friend at the Pee Wee Jubilee,’ ” she sang.
It might end, but Molly would remember this night and all her friends around the bonfire forever.
CHAPTER
8
The Pee Wee Scout Spirit
The next morning some banging noise woke Molly up. It sounded like a drum.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
When she got up and looked out of the tent she saw Kevin beating on an old pan. On his back was a sign saying VOTE MOE!
After breakfast the Scouts voted. Mr. Reed passed out little pieces of paper and little pencils. The mothers and leaders helped the Scouts spell names. They each wrote down one name. A girl named Lucy did cartwheels around the dining hall to get people to notice her. She reminded Molly of Rachel.
Buddy said, “I’m going to vote for Ted. He’s in our troop.”
Mary Beth said, “I don’t know whether to vote for Roger or Kevin.”
“They both think they are going to win.” Molly laughed. She remembered back to February. Kevin had sent her a secret valentine. And he was cute.
She voted for Kevin. “Let’s go, Moe!” she shouted.
Kevin smiled at her.
While the votes were being counted, some of the Scouts played volleyball. Some entered a quick sack race.
“Will you write to me?” Molly asked Buddy.
“Sure,” said Buddy. The jelly from his donut was running down his wrist. “I don’t know how to write too well, but I can print. We don’t do cursive yet.”
“Will you write to me?” demanded Sonny.
Buddy nodded. “I might even call you on the telephone, you guys,” he said.
“We can visit each other!” said Sonny. “I can swim in your pool until I get one myself.” He looked at his mother.
“Maybe our troops can be pen pals,” said Molly. “I think there’s a badge for writing to a pen pal.”
Mrs. Peters called Troop 23 back to the dining hall.
“The votes are counted,” she said.
“I bet I win,” said Kevin.
“No way,” said Roger. “I ran a good campaign.”
“There were a lot of popular Pee Wees,” said Mr. Reed when they were all there. “But we added up the votes. We have the winner for you.”
Roger sat on the edge of his chair. Kevin just leaned back as if he weren’t worried.
Troop 23 sat very still.
“The winner is …” read Mr. Reed.
Just as he said the name, someone coughed. All that Troop 23 could hear was “White.”
“Yeah!” shouted Roger, and jumped up off his chair. The chair fell over and made a loud noise. Troop 23 cheered, even Kevin. Roger stood by Mr. Reed, smiling.
But there was another boy standing on the other side of Mr. Reed.
He was smiling too.
Mr. Reed looked puzzled. “Which one of you boys is Robert White?” he asked.
“I am!” they both answered.
Mr. Reed frowned. “You’re both Robert White?”
“Didn’t you call Roger White?” asked Roger.
“I’m sorry, I called Robert White,” said Mr. Reed.
Roger turned red.
“He won’t sit down!” whispered Patty.
Roger just stood next to Mr. Reed and smiled a silly smile. Finally Roger’s father had to go and get him.
“I thought he said Roger,” mumbled Roger. “I know he did.”
“I never thought both of us would lose,” said Kevin.
“We are used to always having a winner in our troop,” said Mrs. Peters.
“It’s because we’re the best troop,” said Kevin.
“It’s because we have never had so much competition,” said Mrs. Peters.
The Scouts had to admit she was right. The world was full of other Pee Wee Scouts. They weren’t the only ones.
Mr. Reed was putting a medal around Robert White’s neck.
“Yeah!” shouted all the Scouts. They whistled and stamped their feet and cheered. Roger and Kevin cheered the loudest for Robert White.
After the election there was a treasure hunt. A Pee Wee Scout from Alaska won. But someone from Buddy’s troop came in second, and Tim Noon came in third. Troop 23 hoisted Tim up on Mr. Kelly’s shoulders and cheered some more.
“It’s almost over!” cried Rachel. “The Jubilee is almost over.”
“I’m afraid so,” said Mrs. Peters. “It is time to pack our things and say goodbye.”
Inside the Kellys’ tent, Molly wrapped her sugar bowl in her pajamas so that it wouldn’t break. She packed it very carefully.
Before they got on the bus for the airport, the Scouts gathered in front of the dining hall for the last time. It was Sunday afternoon. All the Scouts and parents held hands in a big circle. The last big circle.
“I want a swimming pool,” Sonny said to Mrs. Betz.
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“You can ask the tooth fairy for your wish,” she said. “The next time you lose a tooth.”
“That’s no fair!” Sonny shouted. “I never get what you say I’ll get.””
Mrs. Betz just said, “Hush.”
“Yeah,” whispered Roger. “Hush your face.”
Patty and Lisa giggled.
The Jubilee song started again.
“ ‘Hold, hold, hold my hand,’ ” sang Molly. She gave Mary Beth’s hand a squeeze. She loved her best friend. And she loved her new friend too. Buddy’s address was in her pocket.
“ ‘Soon it will end, but I made a new friend at the Pee Wee Jubilee,’ ” they sang.
Mr. Reed made a little good-bye speech. He talked about helping others, reaching out, sharing and exploring. When he talked about new talents and abilities, Molly thought of her sugar bowl. She smiled. Her parents would be proud of her.
Mr. Reed was finishing his speech. “… and the Jubilee was a big success. Every one of you should be the Pee Wee Scout of the Year. Get home safely and keep that Pee Wee Scout spirit alive!”
Molly smiled.
The Pee Wee Scout spirit.
That’s what it’s all about.
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.
