Ellie's Lovely Idea

by Callie Barkley

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Love Is in the Air

  Chapter 2: A Musical Idea

  Chapter 3: Singers for Hire

  Chapter 4: Special Deliveries!

  Chapter 5: Ellie Meets a Princess

  Chapter 6: Bird Buddies

  Chapter 7: Lenny the Chatterbox

  Chapter 8: Ready, Set, Surprise!

  Chapter 9: The Last Telegram

  ‘Liz at Marigold Lake’ Excerpt

  About Callie Barkley and Marsha Riti

  Love Is in the Air

  Early on a Saturday morning, Ellie and her three best friends, Liz, Marion, and Amy, were making valentines in Amy’s kitchen. The girls had slept over at Amy’s house. They were still in their pajamas!

  “Ten down, ten to go!” Ellie said, adding a valentine to her DONE pile. She smiled. Ellie loved seeing her name in red glitter!

  Valentine’s Day was next Friday—less than a week away! There would be a party in their second-grade class. The girls were making valentines to give to their classmates.

  “Valentine’s Day is so much fun,” said Liz as she finished up her second valentine. Liz was a true artist. She was taking lots of time on each card.

  “Me too,” Marion said. “February would be so boring without it.” Marion was using lots of ribbon. Each one of her cards looked like an award. Marion knew all about winning awards. She was really good at piano and ballet and a great horseback rider.

  “It has been a quiet month,” said Amy. She was cutting and folding her cards into tiny books. “We haven’t had any animals at the Critter Club for weeks!”

  The Critter Club was the animal shelter that the four girls had started in their town of Santa Vista. Their friend Ms. Sullivan had come up with the idea after the girls had found her missing puppy. Ms. Sullivan had even let them take over her empty barn. Now it was the Critter Club! With the help of Amy’s mom, who was a veterinarian, the girls cared for stray, lost, or hurt animals.

  “That reminds me!” cried Amy. “We got a photo from the woman who adopted Penny.” Penny was a stray Dalmatian that the girls had been taking care of—until a few weeks ago. Together they had found the perfect home for her.

  Amy got the photo from the kitchen.

  Ellie sighed. “I sure do miss having her around the Critter Club.” Amy, Liz, and Marion all nodded.

  Just then, Amy’s mom, Dr. Purvis, came in from the living room. “I couldn’t help overhearing you girls while I was opening the mail,” she said. “You know, just because there are no animals at the club doesn’t mean you can’t help some other animals.”

  Dr. Purvis dropped an open envelope onto the table. Then she winked and walked away.

  Ellie reached for the envelope. She pulled out the paper inside. Amy, Liz, and Marion looked over her shoulder.

  “Oh! Puppy Love!” said Amy. “This is an organization that my mom’s friend Rebecca started. That’s her.” Amy pointed to the woman in the photo. “She gives money to families who need help paying for their new puppy’s medical care—like all the shots that keep a puppy healthy.”

  “It looks like Puppy Love is trying to raise more money,” Marion pointed out.

  Ellie looked at the cute puppies in the photo and smiled. How much money do I have at home in my piggy bank? she wondered. Twelve dollars? She would gladly donate it all to Puppy Love to help those families—and puppies—who needed it.

  I just wish it could be more, she thought. Much, much more.

  A Musical Idea

  Ellie and her nana Gloria carried bowls of popcorn into the family room. It was Saturday night—movie night—at Ellie’s house. But her parents had gone out to dinner and her little brother, Toby, was upstairs reading.

  “Guess it’s just us tonight, Nana,” Ellie said with a smile. Watching old movies with her grandmother was one of her favorite things to do.

  “Just us! Just us!” squawked Lenny the parrot from his perch in the corner. Lenny belonged to Nana Gloria. Together they had come to live with Ellie’s family.

  Ellie laughed. “You too, Lenny!”

  “What movie are we watching tonight?” Nana Gloria asked.

  “Ms. Sullivan lent it to me,” Ellie said. “It’s called The Singing Telegram. And the star of it is Ruby Fairchild—your favorite!”

  As Nana Gloria clapped, Ellie smiled a secret smile. She was the only one who knew that Ms. Sullivan had once been known as the famous Hollywood actress Ruby Fairchild. That was years and years ago. Now Ms. Sullivan wanted to have a quiet life in Santa Vista. Her secret was safe with Ellie.

  Ellie sat next to Nana Gloria and pressed play on the remote.

  Like all of Ruby Fairchild’s movies, this one was black and white. The movie was about a shy young man who falls in love with a young woman. The only time he feels sure of himself is when he is singing. So he gets a job as a telegram deliveryman. One day he delivers a singing telegram to the woman he loves, telling her of his feelings. But he doesn’t say who it’s from. By the end of the movie, she figures it out and they live happily ever after.

  Ellie loved every moment. Lenny seemed to like it too. “Bravo! Bravo! Squawk!” he cried as the closing song played. Ellie giggled. She had taught Lenny to say “Bravo!” when she sang, which she did a lot. Now he said it whenever he heard any music.

  “Did people really send telegrams back then?” Ellie wanted to know.

  Nana Gloria nodded. “Oh, yes,” she said. “Way before cell phones and e-mail, people sent them all the time.”

  “Nana, have you ever gotten a singing telegram?” Ellie asked.

  “I have!” Nana Gloria replied with a smile. “I’ll never forget it. Your grandfather sent me one for my birthday once. It was one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten.”

  Ellie giggled. “It sounds like such a fun way to show your love . . .” She trailed off. An idea was quickly forming in her head: herself, Ellie, plus singing, plus delivering messages of love and friendship. It all added up to . . . singing telegrams for Valentine’s Day! That’s something I’d do just for fun! Ellie thought. But maybe people would make a small donation to Puppy Love to have their message delivered. Then it would be for a good cause, too!

  Now if only she could just get Liz, Marion, and Amy to go along with the idea. . . .

  Singers for Hire

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Amy said nervously.

  “Ellie, are you sure we’re ready?” Liz asked.

  “Yeah,” added Marion. “Maybe we need a few more practices?”

  The girls were backstage in the school auditorium. In front of the curtain, the whole school was filing in for Monday morning assembly.

  Ellie pulled her friends into a little huddle. “You guys,” she said excitedly, “this is a great way to advertise our singing telegram service.”

  The day before, Sunday, Ellie had invited the girls over. She had explained her idea to raise money for Puppy Love. They had all agreed it was a great idea. Liz had even made some posters to hang up at school.

  There was just one thing they didn’t agree on. “Tell us again,” said Marion. “Why can’t you deliver the singing telegrams on your own?”

  “You’re such a great singer,” Liz told Ellie.

  “And so good onstage,” added Amy. “Some of us . . . aren’t.”

  Ellie beamed. She was enjoying her friends’ nice words. But she also knew she and her friends would sound better all together.

  “Come on,” Ellie said. “It’ll be fun to sing together. And won’t it feel more special for the person who is getting the telegram?”

  Amy shrugged. Liz nodded. Marion smiled a tiny smile.

  “Okay, then,” said Ellie. “Let’s do this!”

/>   She peeked around the curtain. They just needed to wait for the sign from the principal, Mrs. Young. Ellie had worked everything out with her. Mrs. Young had only one rule: The girls couldn’t deliver the singing telegrams during school hours. But she let them hang up the posters all around school. There was also a drop box in the hallway for telegram order forms and money.

  Mrs. Young was announcing them. “Students,” she was saying, “first up, we have a special treat. Four of our second-grade students are helping to raise money for a great charity called Puppy Love. They will be delivering singing telegrams for Valentine’s Day!”

  Mrs. Young waved to Ellie.

  “That’s our sign,” whispered Ellie. She led the girls out onto the stage. Ellie took her place front and center. Liz, Marion, and Amy lined up behind her.

  And then they began to sing, just as they’d practiced.

  L-O-V, add an E,

  That spells LOVE and love is free.

  But for just five dollars, you can send

  A musical note to your best friend!

  Tell us who, tell us where,

  Tell us when and we’ll be there.

  Tell us what to say, we’ll turn it into song,

  Show your love, you won’t go wrong!

  Ellie beamed as she sang. Her friends’ voices blended beautifully behind her. For Ellie, it was over all too soon. The audience was clapping, and the girls were walking offstage. I knew we should have practiced a third verse, she thought.

  After the assembly, the four friends walked to their classroom together. “That was so great!” Ellie said excitedly.

  “I don’t know,” said Amy uncertainly. “I messed up at least twice.”

  “I didn’t even notice,” said Liz, putting an arm around Amy.

  “Me neither,” said Marion. “I actually think we did sound good. Delivering singing telegrams could be really fun . . . if anyone signs up, that is.”

  At lunchtime that day, the girls walked past the drop box in the hallway. Ellie couldn’t resist. She peeked under the lid.

  “Well?” said Liz at her side. “Are there any orders?”

  Ellie looked up, her eyes wide. She lifted the lid. The box was already half full! More than twenty people had already signed up to send a singing telegram!

  Amy gasped, very surprised. Marion’s jaw dropped.

  Ellie clapped. “And we’re just getting started!” she exclaimed. “Girls, we are in business!”

  Special Deliveries!

  After school, the girls met up at Marion’s house. They had a lot of work to do!

  “Today is Monday,” said Marion. She had her clipboard out. She started making a list. “We could start delivering telegrams tomorrow after school. Let’s say we deliver about five a day. We can get them all done by Friday afternoon—Valentine’s Day.”

  “We might get more orders!” Ellie pointed out.

  Liz nodded. “We’ll have to fit them in somehow,” she said.

  The group agreed to meet up every day after school that week. Then they got started on some telegrams to be delivered the next day.

  Amy loved writing poems, so she wrote the words to the song.

  Marion decided on the tune of the music. She stuck to easy tunes, like “Happy Birthday” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

  Liz decorated a copy of the lyrics. The girls would give it to the person who received the telegram—as a Valentine’s Day card.

  Then Ellie led the girls in a rehearsal. They practiced singing each telegram a few times.

  Soon they had ten singing telegrams, all ready to go. They took a break and had some hot cocoa.

  “I can’t wait to see the look on the first person’s face!” Ellie said eagerly. “What a fun surprise!”

  On Tuesday after school Dr. Purvis dropped the girls off at the first address. She had offered to drive them from place to place. She waited in the car while the girls went up to the front door.

  “Everybody ready?” asked Ellie as she rang the doorbell.

  Liz, Amy, and Marion nodded. They huddled around the lyric sheet. Within moments a dark-haired fifth grader opened the door.

  “Hi!” said Ellie. “You’re Rosie, right?”

  The girl nodded.

  “Then this is for you!” cried Ellie. All together the girls started to sing.

  Rosie clapped and smiled. “Oh, that’s soooo nice!” she said. “Thank you!”

  Then Liz handed her the lyric-sheet valentine. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” she said.

  And just like that, the girls had delivered their first singing telegram. They walked together down Rosie’s front walk.

  “Wow,” said Amy. “That was kind of fun!”

  “Did you see how happy she was?” said Liz.

  “Where to next?” asked Ellie eagerly.

  Marion checked her clipboard. Off they went to the next address, a block away. The second telegram was for a first-grade teacher from her students. It was a valentine and get-well message.

  “Wonderful!” Mrs. West cheered. “You girls are fantastic! And so are my first graders.”

  The girls were on a roll. They delivered three more telegrams. Then Marion checked her watch. “How about one more for today?” she said.

  The others agreed. Dr. Purvis drove them to the last house of the day. Ellie rang the doorbell. A woman Nana Gloria’s age answered the door.

  “Hello!” said Ellie. “We have a singing telegram for Grandma Sue. It’s from your grandchildren!”

  The girls finished their song. Unlike the others, Grandma Sue did not clap. She did not smile. She didn’t say anything.

  She started to cry.

  Ellie looked at her friends. A terrible thought flashed through her mind. Oh no. Did we really sound that bad?

  Ellie Meets a Princess

  “That was lovely,” Grandma Sue said at last, wiping her tears. “Thank you so much.” She sniffed. “I’m sorry about all my crying. I’ve just been so very worried about my princess, that’s all.”

  “Your princess?” Ellie said.

  “Yes, my Princess Boo,” said Grandma Sue. “She’s my pet lovebird. She’s not well.”

  “Awww,” the girls said in unison.

  Grandma Sue nodded. She explained that Princess Boo had seemed off lately. She wasn’t eating much. Grandma Sue feared she was getting sick.

  Ellie and the other girls looked at one another. A sick animal? Ellie thought. Sounds like our thing!

  Ellie spoke up. “Amy’s mom is a veterinarian,” she said. “Would you like her to take a look at Princess Boo right now?”

  Grandma Sue’s eyes went wide. “Oh, would she?” she asked.

  Amy nodded. “I’m sure she would be happy to!” she said.

  The girls were right. Dr. Purvis was more than happy to help. Within minutes, she was giving Princess Boo a quick checkup in Grandma Sue’s living room. The girls and Grandma Sue looked on.

  Princess Boo was a beautiful green bird with some pink and red around her beak and on her neck, and a bit of blue on her tail.

  “Well, Dr. Purvis?” Grandma Sue asked after a bit. “What’s wrong with my princess?”

  Dr. Purvis put Princess Boo back on her perch. “Nothing,” she said. “At least, not medically. But I have some questions. Does anyone else live with you, besides Princess Boo?”

  Grandma Sue shook her head. “No, it’s just the two of us.”

  “And how much of the day are you home?” Dr. Purvis asked.

  Grandma Sue thought it over. “Well, I have a part-time job on weekdays,” she said. “Three evenings a week I go to my book club. On weekends, I do errands. Sometimes I go on long walks with my friend. Otherwise I’m home. Why do you ask?”

  Dr. Purvis nodded. “I think I know what’s wrong,” she said. “Princess Boo might have a case of . . . loneliness.”

  “Loneliness?” said the girls and Grandma Sue all together.

  Dr. Purvis explained that most lovebirds needed companionship. She said th
ey were happiest when someone could be with them much of the day. “Some lovebird owners have two of them,” she said. “That way the birds keep each other company.”

  “Oh!” cried Grandma Sue. Her face brightened. “So I should get another bird!”

  “Well,” Dr. Purvis said, “first, I have an idea. Maybe Princess Boo could spend time with someone else’s bird. See how it goes. If it seems to help her feel better”—Dr. Purvis smiled—“then you’ll know if it’s a good idea to get another bird.”

  Grandma Sue nodded. “That’s a smart idea,” she said. “There’s just one problem. I don’t know anyone else who has a bird.”

  Ellie felt her friends’ eyes on her. She was already way ahead of them.

  “I do!” Ellie cried.

  Bird Buddies

  Liz, Amy, and Marion had just arrived at Ellie’s house. It was Wednesday after school. The girls were going to write a few more telegrams. Then they’d head out to deliver some, too.

  “I think Princess Boo is looking better already!” said Liz with a smile.

  Princess Boo was inside her cage, which was right next to Lenny’s perch.

  “Grandma Sue dropped her off this morning,” Ellie said. “She’ll pick her up after dinner tonight.”

  Amy giggled. “It will be like a bird playdate!”