Karen's Runaway Turkey

by Ann M. Martin

  “I agree,” said Ms. Colman.

  Then Mrs. Titus came outside. First she congratulated us on our prizewinning essays. “I am so proud of you,” she said. But then she gave us some bad news. She told us our turkey could not stay at school. “We can keep him only for a few days at most,” she announced. “He is too noisy. This is a school, not a zoo.”

  “I understand,” said Ms. Colman.

  Archie Needs a Home

  “I know a turkey is not like a guinea pig,” I told Nancy as we walked home from the bus stop that afternoon. “Archie will be a lot harder to take care of than Hootie was.”

  Nancy agreed. “And you will probably have to keep him outside. He might scare Rocky and Midgie.”

  “But Archie is not really a pet,” I said. “He is a turkey. I hope Mommy and Seth will let me keep him.”

  “I hope so too. You can always tell them your next-door neighbors will not mind if he makes noise outside,” Nancy said as we waved good-bye.

  I laughed.

  “Merry, Andrew, guess what?” I said as soon as I came in my house.

  “What?” Andrew wanted to know. He sat at the kitchen table eating pretzels and apple slices.

  I sat down with him and told Merry and Andrew all about Archie. I explained that my class had won him in an essay contest. But I remembered not to tell Merry what my essay was about. I still wanted to surprise her. “We would need to keep Archie only for a few days,” I finished. “Just until the assembly.”

  “A real turkey, here.” Andrew sounded pleased.

  “Karen, you never told me your class won the grand prize in an essay contest.” Merry sounded very impressed.

  I nodded. “Yeah,” I said, shrugging.

  “A turkey is a strange prize,” said Merry. “But if you want to keep him here for awhile, I will try to help you.”

  “Oh, thanks, Merry,” I said, beaming.

  “The first thing we should do is go to the library to check out some books on turkeys,” Merry suggested.

  I wished I had thought of that.

  At the library, I found a book called All About Turkeys. I also read about turkeys in the encyclopedia. By the time we left, I had become an expert on turkeys.

  Mommy and Seth were just pulling into the driveway when Merry, Andrew, and I returned home. I waited for them to come in the house and take off their coats. Then Mommy talked to Merry, and Seth played with Andrew. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Now was the perfect time to ask about Archie.

  But guess what?

  Mommy and Seth said no. At the same time. Then Mommy repeated her no. “Karen, we already have a cat, a dog, and a part-time rat and hermit crab. This house is too small for another animal, especially a turkey,” Mommy added.

  “But the turkey would live outside, in a pen in the backyard,” I pleaded. “And only until our assembly.”

  “If he is too noisy for your school yard, he is probably too noisy for the backyard,” Mommy said. “He will disturb the neighbors.”

  “He will not bother Nancy’s family. Nancy said so. And they are right next door.”

  “No,” Mommy repeated.

  “I will take care of Archie all by myself,” I insisted. “You will not have to do anything. I have been reading about turkeys.” I waved my library book under her nose. “Archie just needs to eat seeds and nuts or leftover corn.”

  “I will help take care of Archie too,” Andrew promised.

  “And I will do all I can,” said Merry, just before she left.

  “Let me think about it,” said Mommy.

  At dinner Mommy asked me about Archie again. I told her he was not as big as most male turkeys, and that he got excited when there were a lot of people around. “It would be better for him to be someplace quiet like our backyard,” I said.

  “And it would be for only a few days, right?” Mommy wanted to know.

  I nodded. “Ms. Colman said she would try to find Archie a home to go to after our assembly. Archie is going to be the star of our assembly,” I pointed out again. “If he is not there, our part of the show will be ruined.” I wrung my hands.

  Mommy and Seth were impressed at how much I knew about turkeys. I knew where turkeys live, where they sleep, and how fast they can run.

  “Can Archie fly?” Mommy wanted to know.

  “No,” I answered. “Wild turkeys can fly, but Archie is not a wild turkey.”

  Finally, when we were eating dessert, Mommy said yes, we could keep Archie. “Just for a few days, Karen.”

  Seth said he would clear a space for Archie’s pen in the backyard.

  “Thank you,” I cried, hugging them both. “My class will be so happy. So will Ms. Colman. And so will Archie.”

  After dinner Mommy called Ms. Colman. I heard her say Merry would pick up Archie on Thursday. That meant he would have to spend only one more night at school. Just enough time to plan our part in the assembly. I wondered if Archie were ready for a rehearsal.

  Turkey in the Straw

  The next morning, I visited Archie before school started. He gobbled a little when he saw me coming. But he seemed calmer than the day before. He bobbed his head at me. It almost looked as if he were saying hello.

  My class cheered when Ms. Colman told them I could take Archie home.

  “I am allowed to keep him only until the assembly,” I said.

  “Still, that is better than nothing,” Addie remarked.

  “We need to spend some time this morning finding a home for Archie,” Ms. Colman announced. She began writing the names and addresses of nearby zoos and farms on the board. “I would like you to pick one of the places on the board and write a letter asking if they could take in a turkey,” Ms. Colman said. Then she passed around fancy white paper and envelopes. (The paper had no lines on it.)

  Ms. Colman made sure we each wrote to a different place. I decided to write my letter to one of the zoos. I had no idea there were so many farms and zoos near Stoneybrook. “Some of these places are wildlife preserves,” Ms. Colman explained. “They shelter animals so no one can harm them.”

  I wrote my letter in my notebook first so I would not have to cross out anything on the fancy paper. When I was finished, I showed my letter to Ms. Colman and Ricky. They liked it a lot.

  This is what I wrote:

  My class spent a long time on our letters. When we were finished, Ms. Colman collected them to take to the post office.

  “Before we begin our geography lesson, class, I think we should talk about the assembly.”

  I was very glad Ms. Colman said that. I had been thinking about the assembly quite a bit. “Archie should be the star of our act,” I said.

  “I agree,” said Ms. Colman. “But what would you like to do with Archie?”

  “We could pretend to catch him for our Thanksgiving dinner,” Pamela suggested.

  “Yeah, and just as we sit down to eat, the turkey walks away,” said Hannie.

  “I like that idea,” said Bobby.

  Ms. Colman did not.

  Finally, after a lot of talking, we decided to let Archie strut around onstage while we sang “Turkey in the Straw” and danced. Luckily almost everyone in my class knew the song. But Omar, Bobby, and Hank were not happy about dancing. Especially when Nancy suggested teaching them fancy twirls.

  Ms. Colman said we might not have time to learn anything too complicated before the assembly.

  “Maybe we should just dance around onstage to the music,” Audrey suggested.

  Everyone but Nancy liked that idea. I did not think our dance mattered too much. Archie would steal the show, no matter what we did.

  Smile for the Camera

  After our math lesson the next morning, Ms. Colman said, “Class, I have some exciting news.”

  “More exciting news,” Ricky whispered.

  “Oh, goody!” whispered Natalie.

  “Shhh,” I said. I did not want to miss a word.

  “The Stoneybrook News will be publishing an article abo
ut your essays in a special Thanksgiving edition,” Ms. Colman continued. “The paper will be printing all your essays.”

  My class clapped and cheered almost as loudly as when we heard we had won the contest.

  I was excited about seeing my name in print in a real newspaper. But I was also a little disappointed. Now my big surprise for Merry would be no surprise at all. I decided I would have to tell Merry about my essay before that special edition came out. That way she would hear the news from me first.

  Ms. Colman let us practice for the assembly after recess. She wrote the words to “Turkey in the Straw” on the blackboard. Then she hummed the tune. We sang the song twice. It sounded strange without music. Ms. Colman said our next rehearsal would take place in the auditorium with our music teacher playing the piano.

  That afternoon Merry came to school with Andrew to pick up Archie and me in her car. Mr. Fitzwater had already put Archie back in his cage and had taken down his pen so we could put it up in our backyard.

  Merry told Mr. Fitzwater that we did not need the pen. Seth is a carpenter, and he had already built a new pen for Archie. We just needed to put chicken wire around it when we got home.

  Everyone in my class came outside with Ms. Colman to say good-bye to Archie.

  “You will see him soon,” I said as Mr. Fitzwater carried Archie’s cage to our car. “The assembly is in four days.”

  Andrew and I squeezed in beside Archie’s cage on the backseat. On the way home, Archie seemed nervous. His throat and head turned bright red.

  At home, I helped Merry carry Archie’s cage to the backyard. He was heavy! We left Archie in his cage while Merry put the chicken wire around Archie’s pen. Archie seemed calmer now. He was not fluffing up his wings or gobbling crossly. Andrew and I gave him food and water. Then, when his pen was ready, we let him out of his cage so he could walk around our yard. Merry tried to take his picture, with Andrew and me posing on either side of him. Archie did not like the camera. But I think we got some gigundoly funny pictures.

  Soon it started to grow dark. We put Archie in his pen and fastened the gate just as Seth’s car pulled into the driveway.

  “Time to go inside and wash up,” Merry told us. It was almost dinnertime. We had missed another chance to bake pies with Merry. Boo and bullfrogs! But I knew we still had time before Thanksgiving. Besides, what could be more fun than spending the afternoon playing with a turkey?

  After Merry left, I remembered that I had not told her about my surprise yet. I wanted to be sure to tell her the next day.

  The Runaway

  The next morning at school, Ms. Colman had bad news for us. “No one will take Archie,” she announced. “I called more farms and zoos yesterday after school. The farms have too many turkeys already, and the zoos do not want them.”

  “Why not?” asked Addie.

  “People do not go to zoos to see turkeys,” answered Ms. Colman. “They go to see more unusual animals.”

  “Has anyone answered our letters yet?” asked Pamela.

  Ms. Colman shook her head. “No. Not yet.”

  I sighed. I knew Mommy and Seth would not let me keep Archie forever. And I would hate to see him move to a place that did not really want him. A place where he would be unhappy. I was so worried about Archie that I had trouble paying attention during our rehearsal that morning. We were practicing onstage in the auditorium with Mrs. Noonan, our music teacher. Ms. Colman watched.

  We sang the song about five times while Mrs. Noonan played the piano. Then we practiced dancing onstage to the music. That was fun.

  “Now we will practice singing and dancing at the same time,” said Mrs. Noonan.

  “We are not really dancing,” Nancy whispered to me. “We are just stomping around.” (Nancy is very serious about dancing.)

  I shrugged. “When Archie comes onstage, we may not be able to do any more than that. We will be very busy trying not to step on him.”

  “Class, are you ready?” called Mrs. Noonan.

  “Yes,” some of us answered.

  Mrs. Noonan began playing. We started singing. And dancing. I bumped into Ricky. Omar and Hank crashed into each other. Pamela stepped on Audrey’s toes.

  “Stop,” said Mrs. Noonan. She walked onto the stage and moved us around so we were not standing so close together. She also separated Hank, Bobby, and Omar. We tried again. And again. And again. By the sixth try, Mrs. Noonan was satisfied. Sort of. She said we should try to practice in class once more before the assembly.

  I rushed home from the bus stop that afternoon. “Archie, did you miss me?” I called as I ran into my backyard. Archie did not make a sound.

  “Archie?” I called again. I stopped in front of his pen. Archie was not inside. “Archie?” I looked around the pen, then around the yard. There was no sign of my turkey — anywhere.

  “What happened to Archie?” I cried as I opened the front door.

  Merry sat at the kitchen table with Andrew. Andrew looked as though he had been crying.

  “Archie is gone,” Merry told me. “I am very sorry, Karen. I think I might have left the door to his pen open by mistake when we fed him at lunchtime.”

  “What?” I shrieked.

  “We noticed he was gone about fifteen minutes ago,” Merry said.

  “Fifteen minutes ago! And you are just sitting here not looking for him?” I was furious with Merry. How could she have been so careless?

  “I called your mother at work,” said Merry. “She is going to come home to help us look. I am very, very sorry about this, Karen.”

  I glared at Merry. I was too mad to talk to her anymore. Instead I stomped upstairs to wait for Mommy.

  “Merry has ruined Thanksgiving. And our assembly,” I told Mommy when she came home. (I still was not talking to Merry.)

  “Karen, it was an accident,” said Mommy. “Merry did not do this on purpose. She feels just as bad about what happened as you do.”

  “No one feels as bad as I do,” I said. “Archie could be in danger. If anything happens to him, it will be all Merry’s fault.”

  “Now, Karen,” said Mommy, “I know you feel awful. But it is unfair to blame Merry.”

  No matter what Mommy said, I could not forgive Merry. I was sorry I ever wrote my essay about her.

  Merry stayed with Andrew while Mommy and I walked around the neighborhood looking for Archie. We walked for a long time. We asked everyone we met about Archie. No one had seen him.

  When it started growing dark, Mommy said we had to go home. “Archie will be too hard to find now.”

  I burst into tears. “We will continue our search tomorrow,” Mommy promised.

  “First thing tomorrow,” I said.

  Missing: One Live Turkey

  I tossed and turned all night. How could I sleep, knowing Archie was missing? Would he find food? Would he stay away from foxes and stray dogs? The more I thought about Archie all alone outside in the dark, the more worried I became.

  I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, the sun was shining into my room. I sprang out of bed and ran downstairs.

  “Mommy, Seth, what time is it?”

  “About seven o’clock,” answered Mommy.

  “You let me sleep this late when Archie is missing? How could you?”

  “We were planning our search,” said Seth. He showed me the MISSING TURKEY fliers he had made. He had drawn a picture of Archie and written MISSING TURKEY in big letters at the top. On the bottom was more information about Archie and our phone number.

  “These fliers look nice,” I said.

  “We should post these around town,” Seth said.

  “And we should carry food, plus something to put Archie in if we find him,” Mommy added.

  “What do you mean if we find him?” I said. “We have to find him. I am going to call Hannie and Nancy. They will help us.”

  “Good idea,” said Seth.

  I called Hannie and Nancy while Mommy, Seth, and Andrew ate breakfast. The
y said they would be right over. I also called the big house and talked to Kristy. She told me she would come help too.

  Nancy arrived first with her mother. Then Hannie arrived with her father. A few minutes later, Kristy arrived with Sam, Charlie, and David Michael. Kristy had brought over a cardboard box with holes punched in it, for carrying Archie, and a packet of seeds for him to eat. (Kristy is very organized.)

  Mommy and Seth divided us into groups. I was with Mommy, Hannie, and Nancy. The plan was for each group to walk to a different part of town to look for Archie. Each group took food Archie would like and something to carry Archie in. I took Archie’s seeds and box in my red wagon.

  “Turkeys can run fast,” I said. “Archie might be pretty far away by now.”

  “I doubt he went too far,” said Seth.

  I hoped Seth was right. While the grown-ups planned where we should go, Hannie, Nancy, Kristy, and I put up some fliers in our neighborhood.

  When we came home, everyone was ready to go. Mommy, Hannie, Nancy, and I began by knocking on our neighbors’ doors.

  “We are looking for a missing turkey,” Mommy explained to Mr. Drucker. He was the first one who answered our knock. “We were wondering if he might be in your backyard. We do not think he went very far.”

  Everyone we talked to was happy to let us look around their yards. We walked through big yards and little yards. Yards with swing sets, slides, and sandboxes. Yards with trees and shrubs. Yards with pools. Yards with flower beds and vegetable gardens. There was no sign of Archie anywhere.

  The Search Goes On

  Mommy, Hannie, Nancy, and I spent almost the whole morning searching on our street.

  When we started down Main Street, I saw Ricky and Mr. Torres walking toward us. “Oh, no.” I moaned. “Should we tell them Archie is missing?”

  “Yes, I think so,” said Hannie. “They can help us look.”

  “I guess they could,” I said, sighing. “But I am sooo embarrassed. I hope they will not blame me.”