Free Oddfellow's Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin Page A

welcome to you …” Hank paused, looking down at the small girl, who was shyly fidgeting with her white braids.
    She didn’t speak, but fished a yellow pencil and a scrap of paper from her pocket. She wrote on the paper and held it up.

    Hank smiled. “Welcome to Oddfellow’s Orphanage, Delia.”
    The headmaster jumped down from the carriage. Delia looked up at him. “And I am Headmaster Oddfellow Bluebeard,” he said. “We are happy to have you with us, Miss Delia. I hopeyou will find that you belong here.” He held out a hand that was really more like a paw.
    Delia took his hand in her own small white one.
    Hank unharnessed the bears and led them away. The headmaster, Professor Stella, and Delia climbed the steps to the orphanage. Inside, they had a breakfast of tea and toast before anyone else was even awake.

A DAY OF INTRODUCTIONS
    F ull of toast and jam, Delia fell back to sleep right at the big wooden table. The three grown-ups didn’t wake her, knowing that she’d be awakened soon enough.
    They were right. Delia awoke to the sound of dozens of feet running overhead. She looked up nervously as the footsteps grew closer and closer, until the dining room was filled with a noisy parade of new faces. The parade soon sorted itself into separate children in painted chairs at the long table.
    The dining room had smooth wooden floors and cream-colored walls. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows. Cooks in striped aprons carried in trays of fruit, little cups of eggs, baskets of breads, glasses of milk, and pots of tea.The moment was so busy with the business of buns and buttered toast that no one noticed a new person at the table.
    Then, all at once, they did.
    Orphans and grown-ups alike stared at Delia, and Delia stared back at the peculiar group. There were more people than Delia could take in, but seated around her was a group she couldn’t help but notice. A little hedgehog wearing a vest, who was attempting to eat an apple and a muffin at the same time.A girl with shiny black hair, who had a yellow bird sitting on her shoulder. A girl whose arms and legs were covered in blue tattoos. A boy with acorn-brown hair, glasses, and a great many badges covering his sweater. And, strangest of all, a small boy who had an onion for a head!

    The onion-headed boy politely said, “Hello.”
    Delia was looking for her scrap of paper on which to write “Hello” back, when Professor Stella appeared with a pocket-sizedred notebook on a long loop of string. Delia put the string around her neck, then fished the yellow pencil from her pocket. She turned to the first page of the notebook and wrote on it.

    Then (because it would’ve used up far too many pages in the new notebook) Professor Stella introduced Delia to the other children her age and asked each of them to introduce themselves in turn. Delia listened carefully to the names and tried to remember them.
    The hedgehog was Hugo. The girl with shiny black hair and green eyes was Ava. The girl with tattoos was Imogen. The boy with the sweater covered in badges was Daniel. A boy with blond hair and freckles was Felix. A round boy whose face was mostly hidden behind a book was Tom. Twin girls with golden curls were Lucy and Louise. The little onion-headed boy was Ollie.
    After Ollie introduced himself, he said, “Would you like to hear a joke?” As Delia nodded, a funny barking noise came from outside the dining room. The barking was followed by a small roar and an even bigger bellow.
    Just as Delia was starting to feel worried, Ollie turned to her, beaming. “It’s Boris and Greta and the baby!” he said excitedly.
    Delia tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look.
    Just then, the door burst open and Hank’s tenor voice rang out: “May I present … Oddfellow’s Dancing Marvels!”
    In came a family of black bears, tumbling and stumbling and making a racket. There was a big papa bear, very like thetwo bears who had pulled the carriage. (“Boris,” said