Karen's Cowboy
Page 5
“Yes,” I said, brightening. “I cannot wait to tell them all about Jon Wayne, the king of the cowboys. And Annie Hancock, who was a pioneer all her life. And about riding the range, and shooting arrows, and square-dancing at the hoedown, and —”
Mommy laughed. “You certainly do have a lot to tell.”
“And the haunted mine!” I finished. “That was the best thing of all, I think. It was so spooky! And hey, that reminds me — Halloween is coming up. And I know just what I am going to dress up as.”
“What will you be, Karen?” Mommy asked.
“I will dress up as Annie Hancock. Not the mine-haunting, ghostly Annie, but the arrow-shooting, ranch-running Annie. No one in Stoneybrook will know who she was, but that is okay. I will look like a cowgirl, and that is a good costume. But I will know that I am not just any cowgirl. I will be Annie Hancock, Queen of the Cowgirls.”
“That is a wonderful idea, Karen,” said Mommy. “And Andrew, do you know what you will dress up as?”
“A wolf!” he replied. “Listen to my howl: Ooh-ooh-arroooooo!”
Just then a flight attendant passed by. “Goodness!” she said. “I believe there is a wolf on this plane.”
Andrew laughed. “No, it was only me! Do not be scared. Wolves are endangered, you know. And they are related to dogs.”
I smiled. I felt better. We were flying back to our home and friends in Connecticut. I had a whole stack of finished worksheets to give to Ms. Colman, as well as my almost-filled-up travel diary. Hannie and Nancy were waiting for me. I hoped that someday I would return to the Arrow-A. But I knew that even if I never got to Colorado again I would always remember the Arrow-A: the things I learned, the friends I made, the land I saw.
I joined Andrew in a loud wolf howl.
And nobody even told us to use our indoor voices.
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.
Copyright © 2000 by Ann M. Martin
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First edition, 2000
e-ISBN 978-1-338-06300-4