Henry and Ribsy Page 4

  Mrs. Huggins came into the room and put her arm around Henry’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Henry. I thought I could do a better job,” she said. “I’m sure it will look all right in a few days.”

  “Don’t worry, son,” said Mr. Huggins. “It’ll grow out in no time and next time we’ll do better.”

  “Next time!” Henry stared at himself in the mirror. “I can’t go to school looking like this. I’ll have to stay home. I’ll get behind in arithmetic and I won’t know the folk dances and—”

  “Oh, Henry,” interrupted his mother, “it isn’t that bad. It will be grown out before you know it.”

  “But it won’t grow out by Monday and that’s when school starts.”

  When Henry’s mother and father left the room, Henry threw himself on the bed and pounded the pillow with his fist. He would have to think of something to do about his hair. He would just have to, that was all. Maybe he could get a wig. Or have all his hair cut off and say he was tired of having hair. There was one thing he was sure of. He couldn’t face the kids, especially Scooter, looking like this. Some bits of hair that had fallen down Henry’s back made him itch. He scratched and thought.

  Then he got up and pulled his Daniel Boone coonskin hat out of a drawer. He put it on and looked at himself in the mirror. No, it wouldn’t do. Even with the tail hanging down, too much hair showed. He put it back and pulled out his sailor hat. No, it wouldn’t do either. Wait a minute, he thought, and turned down the brim. Yes, that did it. The turned down brim hid every bit of his hair. It hid his eyebrows, too, but he didn’t care.

  Henry looked at himself in the mirror, wiggled first his right tooth and then his left tooth, and felt a little better. Maybe he could find something to rub into his scalp to stimulate the growth of hair the way the advertisements said.

  Ribsy whimpered at the front door. Henry let him out and then decided to go out with him. Even if he did look funny, he’d better keep his eye on Ribsy every minute. He wasn’t going to miss that fishing trip if he could help it.

  Henry sat on the front steps with his arm around Ribsy’s neck and laid his cheek against Ribsy’s ear. Good old Ribsy. He seemed to understand. Funny how Ribsy’s ears were so silky when the rest of his hair was so rough. And he smelled good, too—a nice doggy smell. Henry scratched Ribsy behind his right ear. Thump, thump, thump went Ribsy’s tail on the step.

  Then Ribsy trotted into the shrubbery and came back with his rope, which he dropped at Henry’s feet. He looked at Henry and wagged his tail.

  “Oh, so you want to play tug-of-war.” Henry tossed one end of the rope to his dog, who grabbed it with his mouth and growled a pretend growl. Henry pulled at the rope. Ribsy hung on and pulled harder. “Good old Ribsy,” said Henry. It wasn’t every dog that would play tug-of-war.

  Henry was still playing with Ribsy when he noticed Scooter McCarthy pedaling down Klickitat Street on his bicycle with Robert riding on the back fender. It was too late for Henry to retreat into the house. His friends had already seen him.

  Scooter stopped in front of Henry. “Hi,” he said. “What are you wearing that sailor hat like that for?”

  “None of your beeswax,” answered Henry.

  The two boys got off the bicycle and joined Henry on the steps. Henry watched Scooter in case he tried to snatch the sailor hat.

  “I bet all your hair fell out,” said Scooter. “I bet you’re bald.”

  “My hair didn’t either fall out,” said Henry.

  “Then why—” began Robert.

  Henry quickly interrupted. “I have two loose teeth,” he said to change the subject. “Thee, thith and thith. They’re canine teeth. That means teeth like a dog.”

  “Aw, I lost those teeth ages ago,” boasted Scooter.

  “Sure you did,” said Henry. “You’re older than me.”

  “How about letting me pull them for you?” suggested Scooter.

  “No, let me,” begged Robert.

  “Nope,” said Henry, pleased at getting their attention away from his hat.

  “Aw, come on, Huggins,” coaxed Scooter. “I’ll give you a piece of Chinese money that has a hole in the center.”

  Henry shook his head. He hoped he could keep them talking about his teeth until his mother called him in to dinner.

  “Please, Henry,” said Robert. “I’ll let you make a tunnel out of a coffee can for my electric railroad.”

  Henry did not answer. He wiggled his teeth and kept an eye on Scooter.

  “You keep quiet,” Scooter said to Robert. “I asked him first.”

  “He’s more my friend than he is yours,” answered Robert.” We’re the same age and we’re in the same room at school.”

  Henry wiggled his teeth and let the boys argue. While they were arguing, Mary Jane, Beezus, and her little sister Ramona came down the street. Henry could tell they had been to the store, because Mary Jane was carrying a jar of mayonnaise, Beezus a carton of milk, and Ramona a pound of butter, which wouldn’t break if she dropped it.

  “Henry has two loose teeth at the same time,” Robert announced to the girls.

  “Let’s see,” said Beezus eagerly.

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” said Henry modestly, and bared his teeth. He wiggled first the right tooth and then the left tooth while the girls watched and admired. If he kept them busy looking at his teeth, they might not say anything about his hat.

  “If you’ll tie strings to them, I’ll be glad to pull them for you,” said Beezus.

  “Hey, I asked first,” Scooter reminded Henry.

  “Nope,” said Henry.

  “Henry Huggins, you better pull them out,” said Mary Jane. “My dentist says if you leave loose teeth in too long it makes your grown-up teeth come in crooked.”

  Henry scratched at the bits of hair down his back as he thought this over. “Nope,” he said, to keep the argument going, “I’m going to keep them.”

  “If you tie strings on them and tie the other ends to a doorknob and slam the door, they come out without even hurting,” said Beezus.

  “He could eat a whole bunch of chewy candy. That would pull the teeth out,” suggested Mary Jane.

  “That’s no fun,” objected Scooter. “Besides, he might swallow them.”

  “He could tie a string to each tooth and then tie rocks to the other ends of the strings and throw the rocks in the river.” Robert looked pleased with his suggestion.

  “I know a better way,” said Scooter. “He could tie the rocks to his teeth and walk along a railroad track until he came to a high trestle, and when he got to the middle he could throw the rocks off. Boy, that would really pull them out!”

  “I know,” said Robert. “He could tie the other ends of the strings to the back end of a fire engine, and when it took off—yow! Would his teeth come out in a hurry!”

  “He could tie them to a skyrocket and set off the rocket. Zowie! That would really be something to watch.” Scooter looked proud of himself for thinking up this idea.

  “Now you’re being silly,” said Mary Jane. “Anyway, the Fourth of July is past.”

  “Say, whose teeth are they, anyway?” demanded Henry. Was Scooter eyeing his hat? He couldn’t be sure, so he continued. “Besides, I don’t want to lose the teeth for keeps. I want to put them under my pillow at night and find dimes instead of teeth in the morning. Anyway, I’ll think of a way to pull them myself.”

  “How?” everyone wanted to know.

  “You just wait,” said Henry. “It’ll be a good way, a way nobody ever pulled teeth before.” Then he wished he hadn’t said it. Now he would have to think of a way to pull the teeth, and he already had enough troubles. He scratched his back where the loose hair made him itch and wished his mother would hurry up and call him in to dinner.

  “What do you keep scratching for?” Scooter asked, glancing at Henry’s hat.

  “I itch,” said Henry coldly.

  “Ramona!” shrieked Beezus suddenly. “Now look what you’ve done!”

 
Ramona was busy eating the pound of butter, which she had unwrapped and was holding in her grimy little hands. Ribsy finished licking the greasy paper and moved closer to help Ramona finish the butter.

  “Ribsy!” yelled Henry, and grabbed his dog by the collar. He couldn’t have Ribsy eating the Quimbys’ butter. Beezus’s mother would be sure to complain if he did. The Quimbys might eat butter that had been licked by Ramona, but they probably wouldn’t eat butter licked by Ribsy even though he was a nice clean dog.

  Ribsy strained so hard toward the butter that Henry had to hang onto his collar with both hands. Ribsy coughed and pawed the air with his front feet. “Cut it out, Ribsy,” ordered Henry. “Do you want to get me in trouble?”

  “Ramona, just wait till Mother sees this butter,” scolded Beezus, as she pried at her little sister’s slippery fingers. “Look at it. It’s all squeezed and dirty.”

  Out of the corner of his eye Henry saw Scooter raise his hand. Henry let go of Ribsy’s collar, the dog bounded forward, and Henry clapped his hands to his head an instant too late. Scooter had snatched the sailor hat.

  “You give me that hat!” yelled Henry, trying to cover his hair with one hand while he grabbed at his hat with the other.

  “Try and get it,” taunted Scooter, and began to laugh. “Boy, oh, boy! Look at the haircut!”

  “Ribsy!” screamed Beezus.

  “I’ve got him,” said Robert, grabbing Ribsy by the collar.

  “Henry Huggins, what happened to you?” Mary Jane was horrified. “You look all chewed.”

  “Wow!” exclaimed Robert, keeping a firm grip on Ribsy’s collar. “Look at that hair!”

  “Scooter McCarthy, you give me that hat!” Henry tried to grab it, but Scooter held it out of reach.

  “What happened, Henry?” Robert asked. “Did you cut your own hair?”

  “Aw, keep quiet,” said Henry.

  “It looks as if something had been chewing on it!” Scooter stopped and laughed. “Look at it. Did you ever see anything so chewed?”

  Beezus, who was trying to stuff the melting remains of the butter back into the box, looked at Henry. “I know what happened. His mother cut his hair, that’s what. I can tell, because my mother cuts my hair and she never gets the bangs straight.”

  “Is that what happened?” Scooter demanded, as he spun Henry’s hat around on his finger.

  Henry kicked at a tuft of grass. He was too miserable to answer.

  “Boy, she really fixed you,” said Scooter, laughing harder than ever. “Look at those nicks in back. And the way it sticks out over your ears.”

  “I’m glad my mother doesn’t cut my hair,” said Robert. “I wouldn’t want to go around looking like that.”

  “Wait till the kids at school see it,” said Scooter. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

  “It does look pretty awful,” said Beezus, as she tried to hang onto her little sister’s greasy fingers. “I guess it’s easier to cut girls’ hair.”

  Henry did not have a thing to say. He knew how awful his hair looked.

  At last Mrs. Huggins came out on the porch. “Henry, dinner is ready,” she called.

  Henry caught the sailor hat as Scooter tossed it to him. “Come on, you old dog,” he said to Ribsy as he climbed the front steps. “Look at all the trouble you got me into just because I was trying to keep you out of trouble. Now what am I going to do?”

  Ribsy’s ears and tail drooped as he followed Henry into the house.

  4

  Henry’s Canine Teeth

  That evening, when Henry wore his sailor hat to the dinner table, he noticed his mother glance at him and then look at his father. She looked as if she was going to say something, but instead she sighed and was silent.

  “You’re looking pretty gloomy,” remarked Mr. Huggins, as he filled Henry’s plate.

  “Yeah,” said Henry. “Don’t give me much to eat. I’m not very hungry.” Henry was careful to bite with his solid front teeth. He couldn’t take chances with his loose teeth. He had to have them to show off to people who started making fun of his hair.

  “I’m afraid the boys were giving him a bad time about his hair,” exclaimed Mrs. Huggins.

  “Would you feel better if you went to the barber to see what he could do about it?” asked Henry’s father. “A short crew cut might help.”

  “Well, maybe, but I don’t think anything would help very much,” said Henry. He wiggled first his right tooth and then his left tooth.

  “I wonder if…” began Mrs. Huggins and paused.

  “If what?” Mr. Huggins asked.

  “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking.” Mrs. Huggins suddenly smiled at Henry.

  Henry wiggled his teeth and wondered what his mother was thinking about. He hoped it wasn’t anything like another home haircut.

  “Really, Henry,” said his mother, “you shouldn’t go around with your teeth flapping that way.”

  “Aw, Mom, they don’t flap,” protested Henry. “They just wiggle.”

  “I see by the paper that old teeth left under pillows are turning into quarters instead of dimes, because the cost of living has gone up,” said Mr. Huggins.

  Henry grinned. He knew it was really his father who had always taken away his old teeth and left the dimes under his pillow. But right now, much as he could use two quarters, he needed two loose teeth more.

  The next morning Henry examined his hair in the mirror. He could not see that it had grown any, so he put on his sailor hat and moped around the house. He tried drawing a face on an electric lightbulb with colored chalk. When he found the face did not shine through the shade the way he had planned, he felt even gloomier. He stood with his nose pressed against the front windowpane until Ribsy scratched at the door and asked to be let out.

  Henry followed his dog out the door and sat down on the front steps. Gloomy as he felt about his hair, he didn’t want to risk losing that fishing trip by giving Ribsy a chance to get into trouble with the neighbors. While he kept his eye on Ribsy, he could not keep from poking first his right tooth and then his left tooth with his tongue. They were looser all right. He discovered he could poke the two teeth out between his lips so they felt like little tusks.

  As Henry experimented with his teeth, he happened to glance up Klickitat Street. Then, thinking he must be seeing things, he jumped up and stared. Robert and Scooter were walking toward him, both of them wearing sailor hats with the brims turned down over their eyebrows!

  Well, how do you like that, thought Henry. Wearing sailor hats just to make fun of me. A couple of fine friends they turned out to be. Well, they weren’t going to get a chance to tease him. “Come on, Ribsy,” he said. “Let’s go in the house before they see us.”

  Ribsy did not care to go into the house. He was busy sniffing the rosebushes along the edge of the Grumbies’ property.

  “OK, you old dog,” muttered Henry, and steeled himself for the meeting with Scooter and Robert.

  Side by side the two boys walked down the street. They did not seem to see Henry. Looking straight ahead, they stalked past the Hugginses’ house.

  Henry stared after them. What’s the matter with them anyhow? he wondered. What did I do to them? Then a thought struck Henry. Could it be? No, it couldn’t. Yes, it must be! Suddenly Henry had a feeling he was no longer the only boy with a chewed-up haircut. “Hey!” he yelled.

  Robert and Scooter stalked on.

  Why are they acting like that, Henry wondered. It’s not my fault if they have home haircuts. Henry felt he had to know for sure. If he wasn’t the only one with chewed-up hair, things wouldn’t be so bad. “Hey, fellows,” he yelled again and as he yelled, his tongue touched one of his loose teeth. What were a couple of loose teeth anyhow? He made up his mind. “Want to watch me pull my teeth?”

  Robert and Scooter hesitated. Then they stopped and turned around.

  “I’ve thought of a keen way to pull them,” said Henry, trying frantically to think of an unusual way to get tho
se teeth out of his mouth.

  “How?” demanded Scooter, as he and Robert came up to the steps.

  “You’ll see,” said Henry feebly. But, he thought, how am I going to pull them? To stall for time, he fished through his pockets and found a piece of string. “Uh…how come you fellows are wearing hats?” he ventured.

  “Come on, Robert,” said Scooter. “He said he was going to pull his teeth, but I guess he didn’t mean it.”

  “I am too going to pull them.” Henry was determined not to let the boys get away before he found out what had happened. He carefully untangled the string and tried to sound casual. “Did you fellows get your hair cut?” he asked.

  “We sure did,” said Scooter, “and it’s all your fault.”

  “What do you mean, it’s all my fault?” asked Henry. “What did I do?”

  “You know.” Scooter scowled at Henry. “And if you ask me it was a pretty mean trick. As bad as tattling.”

  “Worse,” said Robert.

  “What mean trick?” Henry demanded. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your mother phoned our mothers and told them about the sale of hair clippers, that’s what,” said Scooter. “She phoned just like you told her to. And they both went right over to the clipper sale at the Colossal Drugstore.”

  “My mother?” Henry was genuinely bewildered. “My mother phoned your mothers?”

  “Honest, didn’t you know about it?” Robert asked.

  “Cross my heart and hope to die,” said Henry. Well, so that was what his mother had been thinking about at dinner last night! Leave it to her to think of something. Henry wanted to laugh and shout but he didn’t dare, not with Scooter glowering at him.

  “See?” said Robert to Scooter. “I told you it wasn’t his idea for his mother to tell our mothers. I knew Henry wouldn’t do a thing like that and you said he would.”