$38. 27. It was almost enough. Maybe by Monday Margaret would have enough to buy the bicycle.
All of Margaret's friends had bikes. If she didn't get a bike, the girls in her class would forget all about her. During summer holidays, they planned to ride their bikes to each other's houses and they talked about bike trips to different sections of town and to the swimming pool. It would be a long, boring summer without a bike.
In Margaret's family, there wasn't enough money for extras like a bicycle. That's why Margaret had to work in spare time.
Margaret headed for Mrs. Perry's house. When she rang the doorbell, Mrs. Perry opened the door with her usual greeting.
"Well hello, Margaret. Here's my little Miss Sunshine, right on time. "
"Let's see, " Mrs. Perry said, "I put the envelope on the table, 1 think. No, here it is on the kitchen counter. " Mrs. Perry handed the envelope to Margaret.
"I'll be back soon. " Margaret said. She put the envelope in her jacket pocket and walked quickly down the street. Mrs. Perry could only get around with a walker (助行架). Margaret was glad she could be helpful.
When she came to the park, she saw Gina and Alice sitting at a picnic table. "Hey, Mags, " Gina called. "Alice's mom made cookies. Come on, there's enough for the whole world, "
"We're going to my house anyway, " said Alice. "You could come after you help Mrs. Perry. "
"Thanks, but . 1 promised the Smiths I'd keep an eye on their dog while they're gone. " Margaret was feeling Warm so she took off her jacket.
"People really trust you to help them, " said Alice. "Nobody asks me to do anything. It must make you feel great to volunteer. "
Margaret nodded. For the first time she thought maybe she should help Mrs. Perry for nothing, just "volunteer". After she got the bicycle, she might try it.
"I'm on my way, " Margaret said to Gina and Alice. "See you on Monday. "
A block away Gina caught up with her.
"I found this by the picnic table. Is it yours?" Gina handed her the envelope.
"You're a lifesaver, Gina!" Margaret said. "Mrs. Perry's grocery money and the check for her medicine are inside. Thanks, "
At the supermarket, Margaret looked inside the envelope but she saw only the check for the medicine.
Margaret searched for the money on her way back to the park. She looked carefully around the picnic table but she didn't find anything. She stopped at her house and sat on her bed, wondering what to do. Mrs. Perry might not have any more money, Even worse, she might think that Margaret had just kept the money for herself, She could say it was Mrs. Perry's fault for not sealing the envelope, but that wouldn't be fair. Margaret knew that if she had gone straight to the supermarket, this wouldn't have happened. There was only one good solution. Margaret took her own money from the shoe box, went back to the supermarket.
Mrs. Perry was surprised when she saw Margaret. "How did you manage to get the groceries, Miss Sunshine? I found the grocery money in this envelope on the TV. I must have put the check for the medicine and the grocery money in different envelopes. Do you have time to take the money to the market?"
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