Free Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu by Charise Mericle Harper Page B

collect nice stuff from France, this seems like the perfect job to have.

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    Augustine Dupre always knows when it's me knocking at her door. I made up a special knock so she wouldn't have to get worried and kick Crinkles out. So when I do my knock she always knows right away it's me.
    Augustine Dupre is not allowed to have any pets in her apartment. This is one of Dad's rules, so if Dad is around, she has to shoo Crinkles away and pretend like he was never there.
    As soon as I walked in I saw Crinkles sitting on Augustine Dupre's sofa. I couldn't believe Mrs. Luther had left him. It was like Augustine Dupre could read my mind, because the next thing she said was "I am going to help take care of Crinkles while Mrs. Luther is away." Then she put her fingers up to her mouth and made a shushing sound. I knew exactly what she was meaning. She was saying, "It's our secret—don't tell your dad." Of course she didn't have to worry about me, because I know how to keep a secret. And now I had two.

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    I like Crinkles, but lately I have been trying to be more careful about not touching him, so I sat in a chair instead of on the sofa. Mimi is so allergic to cats that even if I just pet Crinkles once, her nose will know about it and start sneezing as soon as I stand near her. Some friends are more important than cats.
    WHAT AUGUSTINE DUPRE TOLD ME
    Augustine Dupre is so smart. Without me even saying a word about it she knew exactly why I was visiting. She said, "I bet you want to hear about Mrs. Luther's house and my friends." She said her friends' names were Yvonne and Francois, and that they had a daughter name Lily. "I am sure you will like Lily," said Augustine Dupre. "She is very energetic. And she will absolutely love you. How could she not?"
    Augustine Dupre gave my hand a little squeeze and then she told me something that was a complete surprise. "I was thinking you might like to help Yvonne by being a mother's helper. I have told her about you and she is interested. Would you like a little job?"
    It was a MOM, WOW-OMG moment, but with Augustine Dupre I try to be more fancy, so I said, "Oh my gosh, that sounds great!" Being a mother's helper was not something I had ever been before, but you don't always have to be a doer to be a knower. And I was pretty much already knowing all about it.
    WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK A MOTHER'S HELPER IS
    If you had never heard about being a mother's helper before you would probably think it was a job where you help a mom do boring mom chores. Things like
    washing clothes

    cleaning the floor
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    putting things in cupboards
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    folding laundry
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    If you thought these things, then you would be wrong. This is not being a mother's helper. This is being a mom!
    A mother's helper is a lot more fun, and that is because mother's helper is a person putting things in cupboards who plays with the kids and keeps them having fun. The mom likes this because then she doesn't have to listen to them, and she can do all her mom stuff without getting interrupted. Mother's helpers do things like play fun games with kids,

    eat snacks with kids,
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    show kids how to make forts in the living room,
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    and keep kids away from the stove.
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    THE NUMBER ONE SURPRISING THING ABOUT BEING A MOTHER'S HELPER
    You get paid real money to do it!

    BEING A MOTHER'S HELPER IS EASY BECAUSE...
    The mom is right there in the house in case the kids are naughty, get hurt, or forget to go to the bathroom. It's the perfect nothing-can-go-wrong job.

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    WHAT HAPPENED NEXT THAT WAS UNUSUAL
    If I am visiting with Augustine Dupre and Mom wants me to come back upstairs, she usually yells down the stairs, but this time she came to the door instead. We had to shoo Crinkles out of the apartment really fast. He was not happy.

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    Augustine Dupre and Mom talked about the new French neighbors, and Mom said she was looking forward to meeting Augustine Dupre's friends. I couldn't help myself—even