儿童英语读物 The Pumpkin Head Mystery CHAPTER 2 Farm Stand Trouble

“I can’t wait until it is dark!” Benny cried.



“It won’t be long now,” Jessie said. “I will go find a candle.”



Henry lifted the pumpkin 1 head onto the top of the scarecrow. Watch, the Alden’s wire-haired terrier, barked excitedly.



“You carved such a scary face into that pumpkin,” Violet said. “I don’t think Watch likes it very much.”



Benny rubbed Watch’s head. “Don’t worry, Watch. Sam is just pretend. He is for fun. Scarecrows can’t hurt anybody. They can’t even move!”



When Jessie came back, she placed a candle inside the pumpkin head. The eerie 2 face glowed in the dark.



“Oh, my! That scarecrow gave me a fright!” Mrs. McGregor, the Aldens’ housekeeper 3, stood on the front lawn. She held a big platter filled with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers 4. “You have been working so hard out here,” she said. “I thought you might like a snack.”



“Wow! S’mores!” Benny cried. He jumped up and took the platter from Mrs. McGregor. “Thank you!”



Mrs. McGregor lit a small fire in the fire pit. Soon all four children were toasting marshmallows. Benny made a double-decker sandwich. He piled lots of chocolate and gooey marshmallows between his graham crackers. Just as he opened his mouth to take a big bite, there was a loud screech 5 and a honking 6 horn.



Violet jumped. “What was that?” she asked.



Henry pointed 7 toward the road that ran in front of Grandfather’s house. “There was almost a bad accident out there. One car stopped and another one came close to hitting it.”



“I wonder why a car would stop in that spot?” Jessie asked. “That’s odd.”



The drivers shouted at each other, but the children could not hear what they said.



Violet stood up. “I hope everyone is all right.”



Finally, both cars drove off. The Aldens watched the two sets of red taillights disappear down the road into the darkness.



“Everything seems to be fine now,” Henry said.



After the children finished their s’mores, Henry put out the fire.



Jessie blew out the candle in the pumpkin head. “We should get some rest,” she said. “We promised we would be at the Beckett farm early tomorrow morning.”



After a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes made by Mrs. McGregor, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny hopped 8 on their bicycles and rode to the farm. They stopped to rest by the sign at the farm’s entrance.



Henry jumped off his bike. “I think this sign is even more crooked 9 than ever,” he said. “I’m sure I can fix it. I’ll ask Mr. Beckett for some tools.”



“Look at that!” Violet exclaimed. She pointed at a smashed pumpkin underneath 10 the sign. “That wasn’t there yesterday.”



Just then, a speeding blue car turned sharply into the lane.



“Watch out!” cried Jessie. She pulled Benny out of the way just in time.



The car did not stop. The man behind the wheel blew his horn at the Aldens and raced toward the farmhouse 11. It looked like Jason. A cloud of dust followed him.



“That was dangerous!” Henry cried.



“Maybe he didn’t see us,” Violet said. “But he was driving much too fast.”



The Aldens jumped back on their bikes and pedaled toward the farm. They were surprised when they reached the farm stand. Many pumpkins 12 lay smashed on the ground. The beautiful flowerpots had all been knocked off the display stand.



Mr. and Mrs. Beckett, Sally, Jason, and Bessie all stood by the booth talking. The blue car was parked in the gravel 13 lot.



“There they are!” Bessie shouted. “Those are the kids I was telling you about. They were fooling around with the pumpkins yesterday.”



“Oh, Bessie, stop,” said Mr. Beckett. “This is Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden. I’m sure they didn’t do this. They are our friends.”



Bessie pointed a finger at Violet. “Well, that one there was snooping around in the booth yesterday. That’s not very friendly!”



Violet’s face turned bright red. “I was not snooping in the booth! I was only paying for the pumpkins we bought.”



“Bessie,” Mr. Beckett said, “please go in the booth and check that everything is in order.”



“That’s a good idea.” Bessie paused to stare at Violet. “And if anything is missing in there, I’ll know who to blame.” Bessie pulled a large key ring from her pocket. She unlocked the door and disappeared into the booth.



Violet was so stunned 14 she did not know what to say. She crossed her arms tightly and stared at the booth.



Mrs. Beckett put her arm around Violet. “Don’t worry about Bessie, Violet,” she said. “She is just upset by the mess she found this morning. We know you did nothing wrong.”



Violet was angry at first, but she noticed that Bessie had seemed quite upset. Her eyes were red and puffy and her short hair looked messy and uncombed.



“What did happen here?” Henry asked.



“We’re not sure, Henry,” Mr. Beckett said. “Bessie found things this way when she arrived this morning.”



Jason kicked at a fallen flower pot. “Maybe it was that pumpkin head ghost.”



Mr. Beckett glanced at the Aldens and shook his head. “Jason, you know that there is no such thing.”



“That’s what you always say,” Jason said, “but I know what I saw. Anyway, we’d better cancel the Girl Scout 15 hayride.”



Mr. Beckett sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We can’t have them come with the farm looking like this. It’s a shame. We sure could have used the money.”



“I will call them now,” Jason said. “You go rest your leg.”



“Wait,” Jessie said. “When are the Girl Scouts 16 coming?”



Mrs. Beckett looked at her watch. “In about two hours.”



“We could clean everything up by then,” Jessie said. “If we all work together, it shouldn’t take too long.”



“Yes,” agreed Violet. “I can put all the flowers back on the stands and sweep up the spilled dirt.”



“And Benny and I can pick up all these smashed pumpkin pieces,” Jessie said.



Benny was already holding half of a pumpkin in his hand. “I’ve got the first piece!” he cried.



“I could fix your sign out by the road, too,” Henry offered. “I noticed that it is crooked.”



Mr. Beckett looked at his wife. “James was right,” he said. “His grandchildren are helpful!”



Everyone got right to work. Henry borrowed the tools he needed. He carried them up the lane to fix the sign. Jessie found a wheelbarrow in the barn. She gave Benny a ride in it out to the farm stand.



Then they began collecting all the broken pieces of pumpkin. Violet was already busy placing all the flower pots back onto the display stand. Some of the flowers were ruined and she had to throw them away in the wheelbarrow.



“Hey, look at this!” Benny called. He held up a shiny necklace. “I found it in the grass.”



“It’s very pretty,” Jessie said. “Maybe a customer lost it.”



“You should give it to Bessie,” Violet said. “She can keep it in the booth. Maybe the customer will come back and ask for it.”



“I’ll go show it to her,” Benny called. He ran back toward the booth.



Benny was too small to see in the window. He went around to the side door. “Bessie?” he called. When there was no answer, he slowly opened the door. “I found a necklace!” he called.



But Bessie didn’t answer. She was lying flat on the floor!