Free Penny and Peter by Carolyn Haywood Page B

Merry. "My little Greggie!"
    Suddenly there was a shrill toot of the train whistle. The train started with a jolt. Then it stopped. Daddy lowered the window and looked out. What did he see but Annie running down the platform beside the train. She was puffing and panting. In her hand she carried the basket with Greggie inside.
    Mr. Ramsay waved to her. "Here we are, Annie," he shouted. "Here we are!"
    Just then the train began to move. Annie rushed up to the window. Mr. Ramsay reached out and grabbed the basket.
    "I saw the basket the minute you left," she shouted. "I ran to the corner and jumped in a cab."

    Daddy and Merry were both leaning out of the window now. "Oh, thank you, Annie," cried Daddy.
    "Thank you, thank you, Annie," shouted Merry.
    Merry waved to Annie as long as she could see her. Then she settled down between Mummy and Daddy. She took the basket on her lap and opened it. She patted Greggie's head. Greggie licked her hand. "Oh, Greggie!" said Merry. "I'm so glad you didn't miss the train."

C AROLYN H AYWOOD (1898–1990) was born in Philadelphia and began her career as an artist. She hoped to become a children's book illustrator, but at an editor's suggestion, she began writing stories about the everyday lives of children. The first of those,
"B"
Is for Betsy,
was published in 1939, and more than fifty other books followed. One of America's most popular authors for children, Ms. Haywood used many of her own childhood experiences in her novels. "I write for children," she once explained, "because I feel that they need to know what is going on in their world and they can best understand it through stories."