Marion Takes Charge Read online

  They kept at it for nearly fifteen minutes. Marion called and called until her voice sounded tired.

  But there was no sign of Tabby anywhere in the barn.

  Marion sat down on a hay bale in the corner. Gabby sat next to her. Marion’s shoulders slumped. She looked at her friends. “I guess I haven’t been any help at all!” she said.

  Just then, from behind the hay bale, Tabby crept out silently. The girls all saw her, but no one spoke or moved. They just watched as Tabby padded slowly toward Marion. The cat climbed up into her lap. She sat down. And then she started to purr.

  Gabby Meets Tabby

  Marion looked over at Ellie, Amy, and Liz. They were all smiling.

  “It worked!” Amy whispered.

  Liz and Ellie cheered silently. No one wanted to startle Tabby.

  But Gabby didn’t realize this. She was too excited to meet Tabby for the first time. “TAB-by! I’m GAB-by!” she shrieked, and leaned over eagerly to pet the cat.

  Tabby’s head jerked up. Her back arched. But Gabby didn’t notice. She kept petting her fur from tail to head—the wrong way. Suddenly, Tabby screeched. Rawrrrr! She shot out of Marion’s lap and was gone behind the hay again.

  “Gabby!” Marion snapped. “Look what you did!”

  Gabby froze, startled by Marion’s tone. Her brow wrinkled and her chin trembled. Marion had seen that look many times. It usually happened right before Gabby started to cry.

  Marion felt bad. She reached out for Gabby’s arm. “Oh, Gabby, I’m sorry,” Marion said. She tried to speak extra gently. “It’s okay. It’s just . . . Tabby is very jumpy. And most cats prefer to be pet the other way—from their heads toward their tails.”

  “But you didn’t know that,” said Ellie kindly. She and Liz and Amy came over. Ellie patted Gabby on the back.

  “Yeah, don’t worry,” said Liz. “Now we know where Tabby is. We’ll get her to come out again.”

  “Hey! I have an idea,” Amy said to Gabby. “Do you want to meet the other animals staying here?”

  A tiny smile lit up Gabby’s face. She nodded. Amy and Ellie led her over to the iguana’s terrarium and the mouse’s cage. Meanwhile, Marion and Liz tried to get Tabby to come out of hiding again.

  Soon, the barn was peaceful. Tabby was lapping milk from a bowl. The iguana and the mouse had also been fed. They’d cleaned out Tabby’s litter box. The girls had written an ad to put in next week’s newspaper. The headline read: CUTE GRAY MOUSE NEEDS A HOME. Then they had made some flyers to put up around town. They planned to put them up next week.

  “What should we do now?” Marion asked. “My dad isn’t coming to get us until three o’clock.” They had all afternoon to spend at The Critter Club.

  The girls thought it over. “Want to play Three, Two, One, Draw?” Ellie suggested.

  “Yeah!” the others replied at once.

  The girls kept the game in the barn’s supply closet. They loved it—it was like a drawing version of charades. One person drew, and her teammates tried to guess what she was drawing. Sometimes they just played a short speed round. Other times, they played the full-length game.

  Liz started to set up the game. “Wait,” she said. “There are five of us. We won’t have even teams.”

  The girls all thought it over.

  “I have an idea,” said Marion suddenly. “Why don’t Gabby and I be on one team. You three can be on the other.”

  Marion winked at Gabby. She wanted Gabby to know she wasn’t mad at her.

  Gabby gave a huge smile. “Let’s play!” she said.

  Animals Everywhere!

  Just as they started the game, Ms. Sullivan stuck her head into the barn.

  “Hello in here!” she said cheerfully. “I have a favor to ask. I made a big batch of cookie dough. I need to roll it out and cut the cookies. It sure would go faster if I had a few helpers!” She flashed a sweet smile. “And I’m willing to pay in fresh-baked cookies!”

  All of the girls eagerly volunteered. But then Marion looked down at Tabby.

  “Gabby,” she said, “maybe you and I should stay here to keep an eye on Tabby.”

  Amy agreed. “That’s probably a good idea,” she said. “But don’t worry. We’ll bring you each a cookie!”

  Amy, Liz, and Ellie went off with Ms. Sullivan. Marion and Gabby were left alone in the barn with the animals.

  Tabby had finished her milk. She curled up next to Marion. She licked her paws and rubbed her face to clean herself. She looked as calm as could be. Marion reached out and pet Tabby very lightly.

  Tabby didn’t hiss. She didn’t flinch. She put her head down and closed her eyes.

  “Look!” Marion whispered to Gabby. “I think she’s really settling in, finally.”

  Gabby didn’t answer. She was standing by the mouse cage with her back to Marion.

  “Gabby?” Marion said. “What are you—?”

  Marion didn’t finish her question. Suddenly, Tabby was on her feet, bolting toward the mouse cage. At the same moment, Gabby let out a shriek as a small streak of gray fur scurried across the table.

  The mouse was loose! And Tabby was chasing it!

  Gabby shrieked again as Tabby ran between her legs. Startled and off balance, Gabby stumbled backward. She bumped into the table behind her. On the tabletop, the iguana terrarium teetered and fell over. The mesh lid came off.

  “Oh, no!” cried Marion. She ran toward the terrarium. She had to get the lid back on—quickly!

  But it was too late. The iguana scrambled out just as Marion got there. It scurried across the table, down a table leg, and across the floor.

  Marion didn’t know which way to go first! Everything was completely out of control!

  “Tabby! I mean, Gabby!” she shouted frantically. “Follow that iguana! I’ll try to save the mouse! Come back here, Gabby! I mean Tabby!”

  But Gabby just stood frozen to her spot, shrieking louder and louder. Ms. Sullivan and the girls must have heard her from the house. Suddenly they rushed into the barn.

  Working together, Amy and Liz cornered the iguana. They got him back into the terrarium and put the lid on.

  Marion managed to catch up to Tabby. She held on to the cat. Meanwhile, Ms. Sullivan and Ellie slowly coaxed the mouse out from the supply closet.

  Before long, all the animals were back where they were supposed to be. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  Everyone, that is, except for Marion. She was completely worn out. She turned and marched over to Gabby.

  “What were you thinking?” Marion yelled. “You weren’t thinking, were you?”

  Instantly, Gabby burst into tears. She turned and ran out of the barn.

  Sisterly Love

  Marion sighed. No one needed to tell her. She knew she had sounded really harsh. Gabby must have felt terrible about letting the animals out. And I just made her feel even worse, Marion thought.

  Marion went outside. Gabby was sitting under the big tree in Ms. Sullivan’s backyard. Her head was buried in her hands.

  Marion sat down next to her. She put her arm around her little sister.

  “I’m so sorry, Gabby,” Marion said. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

  Gabby looked up at Marion. “I wasn’t trying to let the mouse out,” Gabby sobbed. “I just wanted to pet him the way you were petting Tabby. It just . . . it just happened so fast!”

  “I know,” said Marion. “Animals don’t always do what we expect. It’s hard work taking care of them.” She paused, thinking about her day with Gabby so far. “It’s hard work taking care of people, too.”

  They sat under the tree for a little while. Marion told Gabby about the times she had messed up at The Critter Club. “Like when Ollie and his brothers and sisters were here,” Marion told her. “I was trying to feed one of them from a bottle. Instead, I spilled milk all over the kitten!”

  Gabby smiled. She giggled, imagining Marion making a mess.

  Mew.

  Marion and Gabby looke
d up. There was Tabby, standing a few feet away in the grass. Marion crisscrossed her legs to make a lap for Tabby to climb into.

  But instead, Tabby stepped lightly into Gabby’s lap. She sat down and put her head on Gabby’s leg. Gabby gasped in surprise.

  “She likes you, too!” Marion cried. Gabby beamed.

  The sisters sat for a few more minutes and then returned to the barn. Soon, all the girls were deep into their game of Three, Two, One, Draw. Marion and Gabby were winning. They made a fantastic team.

  “It’s no fair!” Ellie said. “Gabby makes two little squiggles on the paper. And just like that, you know it’s a horse?”

  Liz held up one of the drawings Marion had made. “And Gabby! How did you get ‘helicopter’ from this?”

  Gabby shrugged and looked at Marion. The two of them burst out laughing.

  “What can we say?” Marion said between giggles. “We know each other very well!” She put her arm around Gabby. Just then Gabby shivered. “Are you cold?” Marion asked her.

  Gabby shrugged. “A little,” she admitted.

  I knew it! Marion thought. I told her she should have brought a sweater.

  But Marion didn’t say that to Gabby. Instead, she took off her sweater. She wrapped it around Gabby’s shoulders. “Here. You can wear mine for a little while.”

  “Thanks,” Gabby said.

  Marion smiled. Then a thought popped into her mind. As much as she had wanted the chance to babysit, she didn’t really need to be Gabby’s sitter. Because being Gabby’s sister was a lot more fun.

  Read on for a sneak peek at the next Critter Club book:

  Amy Is a Little Bit Chicken

  Cluck, cluck, baaawk! A hen came wandering into the barn. Two more followed right behind her.

  The chickens had arrived the day before. They had been wandering around downtown Santa Vista. They even walked into the road, stopping traffic! No one knew where they’d come from. And no one knew what to do!

  Then Ms. Sullivan happened to pass by. She knew a place the chickens could stay while their owner was found: The Critter Club!

  Already the girls had learned a lot about keeping chickens. For starters, they needed a coop, or henhouse. Luckily Ms. Sullivan’s neighbors offered to help. Mr. Mack was a farmer and Mrs. Mack was a carpenter. Together, they made the perfect coop-building team.

  The girls went outside to see how it was coming along. Behind the barn, Mrs. Mack was hammering a shingle onto the coop roof.

  “Wow, it’s almost done!” Ellie exclaimed.

  “We have a few more things to add inside,” said Mrs. Mack. “Let’s try to get them inside of it.”

  Amy tried luring them with chicken feed. But when she tossed some toward them, the hens ran away from it.

  “It seems like they’re afraid of everything,” Amy said to Mr. Mack.

  He smiled. “Chickens sometimes are kind of . . . chicken.”

  Callie Barkley loves animals. As a young girl, she dreamed of getting a cat or dog of her own until she discovered she was allergic to most of them. It was around this time that she realized the world was full of all kinds of critters that could use some love. She now lives with her husband and two kids in Connecticut. They share their home with exactly ten fish and a very active ant farm.

  Marsha Riti is an illustrator based in Austin, Texas. Her premiere picture book is The Picky Little Witch. She likes to take long walks, stopping frequently to pet neighborhood kitties.

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster · New York

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division • 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 • www.SimonandSchuster.com • First Little Simon hardcover edition September 2015 • Copyright © 2015 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. Designed by Laura Roode. The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal Std.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Barkley, Callie. Marion takes charge / by Callie Barkley ; illustrated by Marsha Riti. — First Little Simon paperback edition. pages cm. — (Critter Club ; #12)

  Summary: When Marion finally gets the chance to babysit her little sister, she finds that the task is harder than she expected, especially when she gets called to the Critter Club to help with a stray cat and must bring Gabby along. [1. Babysitters—Fiction. 2. Sisters—Fiction. 3. Clubs—Fiction. 4. Animal shelters—Fiction.] I. Riti, Marsha, illustrator. II. Title. PZ7.B250585Maw 2015 [Fic]—dc23 2014049484

  ISBN 978-1-4814-2409-7 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-2408-0 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-2410-3 (eBook)