Free Margaret & Taylor by Kevin Henkes Page B

of cake from Grandpa’s party. She put it under her bed and took it out the next morning for breakfast.
    In the kitchen, Taylor was already eating his oatmeal. But when he saw Margaret’s cake, he wanted it.

    â€œIt’s mine,” said Margaret. “You had yours last night.”
    â€œBut I just had a little piece,” said Taylor, “not half as big as that. And you had some too!”
    â€œDid I?” said Margaret. “Why don’t you pretend that your oatmeal is birthday cake? The oatmeal can be the chocolate part. The milk can be the frosting. The sugar can be the squiggles. And you can imagine all the yellow roses.”
    Taylor added lots of frosting.

    He put on lots of squiggles.

    He imagined lots of yellow roses.

    Then he took a taste and thought hard. But no matter how hard he tried, his oatmeal just tasted like oatmeal.
    Margaret looked at the cake. She looked at Taylor looking at the cake.
    â€œI’ll make a deal,” she said, smiling. “I’ll give you a piece if you give me your dessert at dinner tonight.”
    Taylor looked at the cake. He looked at the oatmeal. He tasted the oatmeal again. It was cold, so he said, “Yes!”
    â€œI have to be fair,” said Margaret. “Your piece should fit your size.”
    First she cut the cake in half. She cut it in half again. Then she took one of the small pieces and cut it once more.

    â€œHere,” she said, “this looks like your size.”
    Margaret set the piece of cake next to Taylor.
    Taylor looked at the cake. It looked more like a crumb. There wasn’t much frosting. There were no yellow roses.
    Just then the phone rang. It was Margaret’s friend Dodie, asking her to go swimming.
    Margaret ran upstairs to ask Mother. She changed into her swimsuit and ran out the door.
    She didn’t even say good-bye to Taylor.
    Margaret forgot about the cake.
    But Taylor didn’t.

6
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THE HAT

    M argaret took her hat from Grandpa’s party and tied a string to its tassel. Then she took her gum and stuck it to the other end of the string. She climbed up her dresser and stuck the gum to the ceiling. The hat dangled down.
    â€œWhat is that?” asked Taylor.
    â€œThis is my friend Lillian,” said Margaret. “She was at Grandpa’s party, but you couldn’t see her. She’s invisible most of the time.”
    â€œCan you see her?” asked Taylor.
    â€œOf course,” said Margaret.
    â€œI can see her hat,” said Taylor.
    â€œThat’s because I told her to show it to you,” said Margaret. “But I bet you can’t see her long curly hair or her diamond rings or her purple shoes.”

    â€œTell her to show me her purple shoes,” said Taylor. “Please?”
    â€œLillian says she’ll show her purple shoes if you make my bed for me,” said Margaret.
    So Taylor made Margaret’s bed.
    â€œI still don’t see the purple shoes,” said Taylor.
    â€œLillian says she’ll show you her purple shoes if you promise to help Daddy with the dishes tonight, instead of me,” said Margaret.
    â€œI promise,” he said, crossing his heart.
    â€œI still don’t see the purple shoes,” said Taylor.
    â€œLillian says she’ll show you her purple shoes if you sit in here alone and talk to her awhile,” said Margaret.
    â€œOkay,” said Taylor.
    So Margaret went outside to play and left Taylor with Lillian.
    â€œI’m four,” said Taylor. “How old are you?”
    There was no answer.
    â€œI like baseball and rockets and bottlecaps,” said Taylor. “What do you like?”
    There was still no answer.

    Suddenly the hat fell down. And Taylor saw the string and the gum just lying there. Lillian was gone.

    So Taylor took the hat and the string, and the gum he was chewing, and climbed up his dresser. He stuck the string to the ceiling in his room.
    Then he went outside to look