Princess Posey and the Next-Door Dog Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE - HAPPY WALKING

  CHAPTER TWO - ANOTHER GREAT DAY

  CHAPTER THREE - “WHOOSH!”

  CHAPTER FOUR - MISS LEE’S NEWS

  CHAPTER FIVE - THE VERY, VERY, VERY SPECIAL PRESENT

  CHAPTER SIX - A NOT-SO-WONDERFUL SURPRISE

  CHAPTER SEVEN - “YOU’RE NOT MY FRIEND”

  CHAPTER EIGHT - AS GOOD AS NEW

  CHAPTER NINE - SILLY POSEY!

  CHAPTER TEN - JUST THE THING FOR IT!

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  A division of Penguin Young Readers Group. Published by The Penguin Group.

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

  Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.).

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England.

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.).

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,

  Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd).

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  New Delhi—110 017, India.

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd).

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,

  Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa.

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England.

  Copyright © 2011 by Stephanie Greene.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Greene, Stephanie. Princess Posey and the perfect present / Stephanie Greene ;

  illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson. p. cm.

  Summary: For first-grader Posey, every school day is great until her teacher’s birthday,

  when her best friend’s gift of an enormous bouquet puts Posey’s few,

  home-grown roses to shame. [1. Teachers—Fiction. 2. Schools—Fiction. 3. Best

  friends—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction.] I. Sisson, Stephanie Roth, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.G8434Pri 2011 [E]—dc22 2010001476

  ISBN : 978-1-101-53562-2

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  To Lily,

  the family’s newest princess.

  —S.G.

  To Kathy Foster,

  an amazing teacher at

  Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School.

  —S.R.S.

  CHAPTER ONE

  HAPPY WALKING

  “Remember when I was afraid to walk into school by myself?” said Posey. “I was silly, wasn’t I, Mom?”

  Her mom stopped the car in front of the school.

  “You weren’t silly,” she said. “You were just out of kindergarten.”

  The girls in Posey’s class said the word silly all the time. Sometimes it meant “funny.” Other times it meant “babyish.”

  “I bet Danny will be afraid to walk into school by himself, won’t he?” said Posey.

  Her baby brother kicked his feet against his car seat and reached out his hand.

  Posey shook it.

  “Danny’s lucky,” her mom said. “He has a big sister to show him how.”

  Posey got out of the car and shut the door. “See you later, alligator,” she called.

  “After a while, crocodile,” her mom called back.

  Posey walked into the school and down to the blue hall. Miss Lee was standing outside their classroom door.

  “Miss Lee!” Posey called. “Hi, Miss Lee!”

  She knew children were supposed to walk in the halls at Middle Pond School.

  Not run.

  But Posey couldn’t help it. When she saw her very own teacher standing outside their door, she started to skip.

  She was careful to skip her tiny inside skip. Not her big outside skip. Besides, skipping wasn’t running. It was happy walking.

  And Posey was happy.

  She loved her big classroom where she could see all her friends.

  She loved having her own cubby with her name over it.

  She loved raising her hand when she knew the answer to a question. And she loved her two best friends, Ava and Nikki.

  But most of all, Posey loved her teacher, Miss Lee.

  CHAPTER TWO

  ANOTHER GREAT DAY

  “Good morning, Posey,” Miss Lee said. “You’re very cheerful this morning.”

  “See my new kitty eraser?” said Posey.

  “It’s very nice,” said Miss Lee. “Make sure you keep it in your cubby.”

  “I will.” Posey pulled a piece of paper out of her backpack. “Look what I made for you.”

  “Another drawing?” Miss Lee shook her head. “I don’t know how you find time to sleep.”

  Posey laughed. She loved it when Miss Lee teased her.

  “It’s a pink rainbow!” Miss Lee sounded amazed.

  “I used three different pinks,” Posey said.

  “I see that.” Miss Lee smiled. “I have never seen a rainbow like this before.”

  “It’s the only one in the world,” said Posey.

  “In that case, I think we need to hang it in our gallery, don’t you?” said Miss Lee.

  “Oh, yes!”

  That was exactly what Posey had hoped Miss Lee was going to say. The Learners’ Gallery was where they hung special stories and drawings.

  Their class was called “Miss Lee’s Learners.”

  Learning was very important work.

  In first grade they learned new things all day long.

  How to spell new words. How to write stories. How to add numbers like two plus three.

  Posey was proud to be one of Miss Lee’s Learners. She was excited to have her drawing hang in the Learners’ Gallery, too.

  “There. How’s that?” Miss Lee stood back to admire Posey’s picture.

  “Beautiful,” said Posey.

  She went to her cubby and put away her things. She looked around for Ava and Nikki. There they were, in front of the word wall! Posey saw Ava’s blond curls and Nikki’s black ones.

  “Hi, Ava! Hi, Nikki!” Posey skipped over to them. “How do you like my new kitty eraser?”

  “I wish I had one,” said Nikki.

  “Maybe you can try mine tomorrow,” said Posey.

  “Can I try it, too?” Ava asked.

  “Okay.”

  The three friends hugged.

  It was going to be another great day in first grade.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “WHOOSH!”

  Gramps picked up Posey after school. There was a bag of mulch in the back of his truck.

  “I bet today is gardening day,” Posey said.

  “How did you get to be so smart?” said Gramps. “I promised your mom I would get her flower beds ready for winter.”

  “Can I help?” asked Posey.

  “I’m counting on it,” Gramps said.

  After Posey had her snack, she went to her room to put on her pink tutu. It was her favorite thing to wear.

  She never told anyone, but when she wore her pink tutu, she was Princess Posey, the Pink Princess.

  Princess Posey could go anywhere and do anything.

  Especially if she had her magic princess wand. Posey picked it up.

  She had made it herself with a stick and tinfoil.

  It had a star at the end, too.

  Posey waved it in the a
ir as she ran outside. She was going to use it now to help the flowers grow.

  The yellow flowers were first.

  “Whoosh!” Princess Posey made her magic wand noise and waved it over the flowers. “I hereby command you to grow!” she said.

  “Whoosh!” Posey commanded the blue flowers.

  “Whoosh!” she told the white flowers.

  The pink roses were last. They were her favorite. She had helped Gramps plant them.

  “You are the most beautifulest flowers in the whole garden,” she said. “Whoosh!”

  “Hey!” Gramps called. He was kneeling on the grass beside a pile of mulch. “Where’s my best helper?”

  Posey ran over to him. “I was playing a game,” she said.

  “I figured as much.” Gramps held out his hand. “I wanted you to see this before it flew away.”

  A ladybug with four black dots was crawling in the palm of Gramps’s hand.

  “It means good luck, doesn’t it?” said Posey.

  “Sure does,” said Gramps.

  “Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home,” Posey said.

  Just like that, the ladybug opened its wings and lifted into the air.

  “I guess you told it a thing or two,” said Gramps. “Dig in.”

  Posey scooped up two handfuls of mulch. “I’ll make sure the roses are warm,” she said.

  “That’s my girl,” Gramps said. “They will thank you for it, too.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  MISS LEE’S NEWS

  At the end of school the next day, Miss Lee called, “Boys and girls. I have a special announcement.”

  A special announcement! Posey put down her pencil. Everyone around her did, too.

  “Guess what tomorrow is?” Miss Lee asked.

  “Wednesday!” Luca shouted.

  Posey frowned. That Luca! He always forgot to raise his hand. Miss Lee usually reminded him. All she did now was smile.

  “That’s right, Luca. It’s Wednesday,” she said. “But it’s also my birthday.”

  Miss Lee’s birthday! How exciting!

  “It’s my turn to bring in birthday cupcakes,” Miss Lee said. “We’ll celebrate after lunch.”

  Everyone started to talk. The room buzzed like the inside of a beehive. Posey got in line with Ava and Nikki to wait for the bell.

  “I’m going to bring Miss Lee a present,” Nikki said.

  “Me too,” said Ava. “I’m going to bring her something very special!”

  “I’m going to bring her something very, very special!” said Nikki. “How about you, Posey?”

  Posey knew exactly what she was going to bring. Her present was going to be very, very, very special.

  “Mine’s a secret,” she said.

  “Mine is, too,” said Nikki.

  “Mine, too!” said Ava.

  Posey could hardly wait to get home and work on her present. She could hardly wait for tomorrow.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE VERY, VERY, VERY SPECIAL PRESENT

  “Hurry, Danny, hurry!” Posey cried. She ran across the backyard.

  “He’s coming as fast as he can,” her mom said. She held Danny’s hand to keep him from falling.

  Danny couldn’t walk by himself yet. All he did was stumble and fall, stumble and fall.

  Every time he fell on his bottom, he laughed. Most of the time Posey laughed with him.

  Today she wanted him to go faster.

  “See, Mom?” Posey said. She waited for them in front of the roses. “One, two, three, four, five! Miss Lee will love them, won’t she?”

  “I’m sure she will,” said her mom.

  “Let’s leave this one.” Posey pointed to a tiny bud. It was still closed. “It hasn’t been born yet.”

  “Maybe we should cut them in the morning,” said her mom.

  “Danny might spill his cereal in the morning,” said Posey. “We might be late.”

  “Okay.”

  Her mom cut the roses. Posey carried them inside. She wrapped the stems in a wet paper towel.

  Then she wrapped foil around the paper towel and put the roses in the refrigerator.

  “I bet no one else gives Miss Lee such a special present,” she said. “She’ll be amazed, won’t she, Mom?”

  “She’ll love them because you grew them,” said her mom.

  Posey could hardly wait to see Miss Lee’s face. She was going to smile and smile.

  She would know Posey liked her more than anyone.

  In her secret heart, Posey hoped Miss Lee would like her more than anyone, too.

  CHAPTER SIX

  A NOT-SO-WONDERFUL SURPRISE

  Posey held her roses tight as she walked slowly down the blue hall. She didn’t skip even her tiny inside skip.

  Excitement butterflies were tickling the inside of her stomach.

  Miss Lee was going to be so happy. She was going to say, “Why, Posey! These are the most beautiful flowers I ever saw!”

  But that’s not what Miss Lee said.

  When Posey got to the door of their classroom, she heard Miss Lee say, “Why, Nikki! What beautiful flowers!”

  Oh, no!

  Posey stopped.

  Miss Lee and Nikki were standing by Miss Lee’s desk. Miss Lee was holding the biggest bunch of flowers Posey had ever seen.

  They were every color. They were wrapped in beautiful green paper.

  The paper was tied with glittery ribbons that curled at the ends.

  “We got them in a store that had nothing but flowers,” Nikki said.

  “It’s called a florist,” said Miss Lee. “We’ll put that word on the word wall today.”

  She smiled at Nikki. Nikki smiled back.

  Posey’s heart felt like it was being squeezed.

  “I have just the thing for them!” Miss Lee said. She went to her closet and took out a vase. “How would you like to fill it with water for me?”

  “Sure!” said Nikki.

  Nikki filled Miss Lee’s “just the thing!” vase with water. After Miss Lee put in the flowers, she wound the glittery ribbons around her wrist like a bracelet.

  She and Nikki laughed.

  Posey’s mouth felt trembly. Her eyes felt hot. Quiet as a mouse, she went back into the hall.

  Nikki’s flowers were so beautiful! Posey couldn’t give five little roses that were wrapped in a soggy paper towel to Miss Lee now.

  Yesterday they looked so beautiful. Today they looked so small.

  The tinfoil was crumpled where Posey had gripped it. One of the roses had a droopy head like it was sleepy.

  Looking at them made Posey feel sad.

  She put them in her backpack. She zipped it closed.

  Now Miss Lee wouldn’t know how much Posey liked her.

  Now she would like Nikki more than she liked Posey.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “YOU’RE NOT MY FRIEND”

  Ava and Nikki rushed up to Posey’s table.

  “Miss Lee loved the story I wrote for her!” Ava said.

  “She loved my flowers, too!” said Nikki. “What did you give her, Posey?”

  “I don’t like you anymore, Nikki,” Posey said with her trembly mouth. “You’re not my friend.”

  Nikki’s eyes got big the way they did when she was going to cry.

  Posey turned around in her chair so she couldn’t see. Being mean made her feel a little better.

  But not for long.

  She didn’t have anyone to share her cookies with at lunch. She sat by herself on the swings at recess.

  When Miss Lee asked for helpers to pass out her birthday cupcakes, Posey didn’t raise her hand.

  The cupcakes had fluffy white frosting. They were covered with colored sprinkles.

  Posey didn’t touch hers.

  Miss Lee walked around the room. She stopped at every table.

  “Aren’t you going to eat yours?” she said when she got to Posey.

  Posey shook her head.

  “You have been quiet all day,” said M
iss Lee. “Do you feel all right?”

  Posey nodded.

  Miss Lee crouched down. “Would you like to talk about it?” she whispered.

  Posey shook her head again. This time, she squeezed her eyes shut.

  “All right.” Miss Lee stood up. “I’ll wrap this so you can take it home.”

  Posey watched Miss Lee walk away. She did want to talk about it. But not with Miss Lee.

  With her mom.

  Except, when Posey opened the car door after school and her mom said, “How did Miss Lee like your roses?” Posey didn’t talk.

  She cried.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  AS GOOD AS NEW

  “There.” Posey’s mom put the last rose into the jar of water. She had snipped off the tips of each stem so they could drink.

  “They will be as good as new in no time,” she said.

  Posey sniffed. She had told her mom what happened. Except not the part where she was mean to Nikki.

  “Can Danny have a piece of your cupcake?” her mom said.

  “I guess so.”

  Her mom put a piece of cupcake on the tray of Danny’s high chair. She sat down at the kitchen table next to Posey.

  “I’m sorry you were disappointed, Posey,” she said. “But you should have given Miss Lee your flowers.”

  “Nikki’s not my friend anymore,” Posey said.

  “You’re being silly.” Her mom tucked a piece of hair behind Posey’s ear. “Nikki didn’t know you were bringing flowers, did she?”

  “No.”

  Posey had kept her idea a secret, but Nikki came up with it, too. They came up with the same good idea lots of times. That’s why they were best friends.