Free Holly's Jolly Christmas by Nancy Krulik Page B

.”
    “Oh, come on, Katie,” Suzanne urged. “Where’s your Christmas spirit?”
    Katie sighed. She knew Suzanne wasn’t going to give up until she got what she wanted. She never did. So she figured she might as well spare them both the time and energy.
    “Okay, I’ll help,” she said.
    “Great!” Suzanne high-fived Katie. “The story takes place in a magical Christmas forest. So you have to paint lots of Christmas trees. You’ll love it.”
    “It does sort of sound like fun,” Katie admitted.
    Suzanne smiled at her. “It will be fun. I’m going to be a great stage manager. The best ever. By the time I get finished with this show, everyone will be talking about me.”
    Katie rolled her eyes. That was exactly what she was afraid of. Whenever Suzanne became the center of attention, trouble was sure to follow.

Chapter 3
    Katie wasn’t thinking about Suzanne or the Community Center show as she walked home that afternoon. She was thinking about Christmas again. It was hard not to. Even before she turned the corner onto her block, she could hear Christmas carols.
    “We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.”
    The music wasn’t coming from real live singers. It was blasting from the huge speakers on the roof of Mr. Brigandi’s house.
    By now, Katie was used to hearing the song. It had been playing over and over for a week now—ever since Mr. Brigandi had put up his Christmas decorations. The song was the background music for the twirling Sugar Plum Fairy and marching Nutcracker on her neighbor’s front lawn.
    “Ho, ho, ho!”
    As Katie walked further down the block, she heard Santa’s loud, jolly laughter coming from Mrs. Derkman’s house. Mrs. Derkman and her husband loved decorating their house for Christmas every bit as much as Mr. Brigandi did.
    This year, the Derkmans had placed a huge, rubbery Santa Claus on their front lawn. The Santa sat in a sleigh that moved back and forth on a track. As the sleigh moved, the Santa shouted “Ho, ho, ho” over and over.
    Katie’s house was decorated for Christmas, too. It looked pretty with its colorful flashing lights and electric candles in the windows. But it was nothing compared to what her neighbors had done.
    “Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!”

    Just then, Katie’s chocolate and white cocker spaniel, Pepper, came bounding out of the house to greet her.
    “Arf! Arf! Arf!”
    Pepper’s best friend, Snowball, was right behind him.
    Katie giggled as the two dogs jumped up and down, rubbing their fuzzy bodies against her legs. They looked so cute.
    “I love your new coat,” Katie told Pepper. Her dog was wearing a green and red plaid doggie jacket.
    Pepper wagged his stubby, little tail happily. He didn’t know exactly what Katie had said, but he could tell it was something nice.
    “And your hat is really cute, Snowball,” Katie added. “I love the antlers.”
    Snowball barked and wagged her tail at the sound of her name.
    As Katie bent down to pet Pepper and Snowball, she noticed two motorcycles parked in the driveway. She broke out into a huge smile.
    “Grandma and Nick are here!” Katie exclaimed. She jumped up and ran toward the door.
    “Well, hello there!” Katie’s grandmother said, as Katie raced into the living room.
    “Hi, Grandma!” Katie exclaimed. She gave her grandmother a big hug.
    “What? No hugs for me?” Nick asked.
    Katie reached over and wrapped her arms around Nick. It wasn’t easy. Nick had kind of a big belly.
    “Wow, your beard got so long,” Katie told Nick.
    “I combed it out really nice just for you,” Nick said, stroking his long, white beard.
    “It seems like you grew a foot since I last saw you,” Katie’s grandmother told her.
    Katie stood up straight so she would look even taller. Then she sniffed at the air. “Mmmm, it smells so Christmas-y in here.”
    “We’ve been baking gingerbread,” Nick told her. “I know it’s your