Free The Garden Thief by Gertrude Chandler Warner

CHAPTER 1
Mr. Yee Has a Problem
    “It’s raining,” said Benny as he looked out the window. “And somebody is walking funny.” Benny was six years old, the youngest of the four Alden children.
    Violet, his ten-year-old sister, put down her violin and came to the window. “It’s not raining hard,” she said. “This is just a drizzle.” She looked down the long driveway, at the person walking toward their house. “That man is tilting toward the right as he walks.”
    Jessie, who had been reading a book, put it down and came to the window. She was twelve years old and sometimes took charge of her younger brother and sister. Jessie looked out the window. “That’s Mr. Albert Yee,” she said. “Grandfather’s friend. And I agree, he is walking funny.”
    The Alden children lived with their grandfather, James Alden. After their parents died, the children had run away from home and lived in a boxcar in the woods. They thought that their grandfather, whom they had never met, was a very mean person. They didn’t want to live with him. But their grandfather found them and they saw he was a good person. Now Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry lived with him in a big house in Greenfield, Connecticut.
    “Why are you all staring out the window?” asked Henry. At fourteen, he was the oldest. Henry loved tools and he loved to fix things. In fact, he had just come up from the basement, where he had a small workshop. “Hey,” he said, “that’s Mr. Yee. And he has a broken arm.”
    “Yes,” said Jessie. “Now I can see the cast.”
    “Poor Mr. Yee,” said Violet. “It must hurt. See how he’s holding his arm?”
    Benny ran to the door to let Mr. Yee in. He reached it at the same time as Mrs. McGregor did. She was the Aldens’ housekeeper and a great cook.
    Mrs. McGregor opened the door. “Why, hello, Mr. Yee,” she said. “Come right in.”
    “What happened to your arm?” Benny asked.
    “Hello, Benny,” said Mr. Yee. “I fell and broke it.”
    The other children came to the door and said hello to Mr. Yee. Mrs. McGregor asked him if he would like some hot tea. He said yes, and soon everybody found themselves sitting at the table in Mrs. McGregor’s kitchen.
    The cast on Mr. Yee’s right arm went all the way from his wrist to the middle of his upper arm. Violet noticed that Mr. Yee couldn’t seem to sit comfortably at the table. And he had to hold his teacup in his left hand.
    “How did you break your arm?” Jessie asked him.
    “Stupid accident,” Mr. Yee said angrily. “Stupid. I don’t want to talk about it now.”
    The Aldens looked at each other. They felt bad for Mr. Yee.
    “Now don’t you worry,” Mrs. McGregor told him. “Your arm will heal and you’ll be fine.”
    Mr. Yee looked at her. “How do you know my arm will heal?” he asked.
    “Well,” said Mrs. McGregor, “because you’re healthy and you eat healthful foods. Think of all the vegetables you grow and eat. You’re a wonderful gardener,” she said.
    Mr. Yee shook his head back and forth. “I cannot tend to my garden this year,” he said. “I thought I could, but I can’t. Not with my arm in a cast. That’s why I’m here. I want to ask James for help.”
    “Grandfather isn’t here,” said Henry. “He’s visiting his sister, our Aunt Jane, until Friday.”
    Mr. Yee sighed. “Then it’s no use,” he said. “I can’t tend the garden without help.”
    “We can help,” said Violet softly. “We love to help.”
    “Yes,” said Jessie. She passed a plate of Mrs. McGregor’s freshly baked cookies to Mr. Yee. “We’re very good at helping. We’ll help you tend your garden.”
    Mr. Yee sat up a little straighten “Really?” he asked, looking at each of the children.
    “We are quick learners,” said Henry.
    “And I love vegetables,” said Benny. In fact, Benny loved food of all kind.
    Mr. Yee sipped his tea and seemed to be thinking. Finally he spoke.
    “Each year, prizes are given for the best vegetables