A Winning Spirit. Valerie Tripp

mother will make me wear socks and shoes and a sweater on top,” said Susan. “But at least the flower necklaces will hide most of the sweater.”

      So the girls decided to be Hawaiian hula dancers for Halloween.

      Soon after that, the streetlights went on, which meant Linda and Susan had to go home. They agreed to meet back at Molly’s house after school the next afternoon to make their costumes. Then they would all go trick-or-treating together. Afterward, Linda and Susan would spend the night at Molly’s so they could talk about how wonderful their Halloween had been.

      By the time she went inside to supper, Molly had completely forgotten Ricky’s threat to make them all sorry. She was too busy practicing her hula.

      Trick or Treat?

       CHAPTER 3

      he grass skirt made out of newspaper and crepe paper was not exactly as glamorous as the pink floaty skirt Molly had imagined. But it was quite long, and it did make a nice rustling noise as she walked. Besides, making the skirts had been lots of fun. Mom came home from Red Cross headquarters early, just so she could help. She put on a record of Hawaiian songs. Then they all sat in the den, cutting the newspaper into strips. They covered the newspaper with strips of green crepe paper. Mom sewed all the paper strips onto long pieces of cloth to tie around their waists like aprons. Susan showed them how to make crepe paper flowers that were big and colorful. They made strings of the paper flowers to use as necklaces and bracelets. Mrs. McIntire even squirted some of her perfume on them.

      By the time they were ready to go out trick-or-treating, Molly, Linda, and Susan were caught up in the excitement of Halloween and very pleased with their matching hula outfits.

      “Adorable!” said Dolores. “You look as cute as buttons!” She and Jill bobby-pinned paper flowers into the girls’ hair.

      “When I get back from taking Brad trick-or-treating, I’ll take your picture to send to Dad,” said Mrs. McIntire. Brad was wearing a sheet. He was going as a ghost. “Ricky, I’ll want a picture of you, too.”

      “Okay, Mom,” said Ricky. He was dressed as a pirate. Ricky was a pirate every year.

      It was a windy night, but not too cold, so the girls rolled down their socks and pushed up the sleeves of their sweaters. The wind made their skirts ripple so that they looked graceful and pretty, just like real grass skirts.

      They saw Alison when they went to the Silvanos’ house down the street. Her angel outfit was perfect. She had a flowing white satin robe with fluffy white feathers at the neck and cuffs and all down the front. Her wings and halo were covered with gold glitter.

       “Hula dancers!” Alison sighed with envy when she saw them.

      Molly was very pleased. They had made Alison jealous. “Your outfit is good, too,” Molly said. “You really look like an angel.” She felt like being nice. In fact, it would probably be fun to trick-or-treat with Alison, except Alison’s mother always went with her.

      “Hawaiian hula dancers!” Mrs. Hargate was saying. “What charming costumes, gals! And homemade, too! Aren’t you clever?” The girls just smiled and hurried away.

      “Really,” Linda said later, “you almost have to feel sorry for Alison with a mother like that!”

      “I know,” said Molly. “Wouldn’t it be awful to have a mother who doesn’t know that the whole point of Halloween is to go out and walk around the neighborhood with your friends, and not with her?”

      Because of the war, most people did not have any sugar to spare, so the girls did not get as many candies and cookies as last year. Nevertheless, their brown paper bags were soon bulging with apples, peanuts, and homemade doughnuts, molasses kisses, and popcorn balls. The Hargates’ maid was giving out Tootsie Pops, which were the best treats.

      Two families, the Pedersons and the Rucksteins, asked the girls to do a trick before they got their treats. So the girls did a hula, waving their arms and singing the Hawaiian song they learned in school. Linda strummed her stringless ukulele. It was a big hit. The Pedersons, especially, clapped and clapped. They gave the girls each two glasses of cider.

      Linda believed in eating her treats along the way, so her bag was not as full as Susan’s and Molly’s when the girls finally walked up the driveway to Molly’s house. Molly was humming the Hawaiian song, Linda was unwrapping a popcorn ball, and Susan was making her skirt swish and sway. They were almost to the back door when a huge splash of water poured down on top of them and a hose sprayed straight at them.

      “AHHHH!” Molly yelled. The water flooded around her feet in cold gushes. She felt as if she was drowning in a waterfall. Her bag of treats burst, the popcorn balls floated in puddles, the doughnuts turned to spongy globs, the apples rolled away down the sidewalk. Linda and Susan were gasping. Their paper flowers were flattened. Their skirts were hanging in shreds. The green dye from the crepe paper was dripping down their legs onto their socks.

      When the water finally stopped, Molly’s hair was stuck to her forehead, her hands were full of melting paper flowers, and most of her hula skirt lay in soggy ribbons in the driveway.

      “Ruined! Wrecked! Completely wrecked!” sobbed Molly. “Who would play such a mean trick?”

      Then the girls heard Ricky singing in a low, slow, steady voice:

      I see London,

      I see France,

       I can see your underpants!

      “Ricky,” yowled Molly, “I’ll get you for this! You ruined everything! You’ll be sorry—you wait! You’ll be really sorry.”

      Ricky threw the hose down and ran off. The girls just stood there in the driveway, stunned with surprise and sputtering with anger. Maybe they shouldn’t have teased Ricky about Dolores, but who ever would have expected him to get back at them in such a mean way?

      Finally Linda said, “I’m freezing!”

      Molly said, “You two go on inside. I’ll clean up this mess. Then we’ve got some planning to do. We have to teach Ricky a lesson he’ll never forget.”

      War!

       CHAPTER 4

       while later, Linda, Susan, and Molly sat in Molly’s room in their pajamas. Still pink from their baths, wrapped head to toe in big white blankets, they looked like three rosy polar bears. The girls were whispering together on Molly’s bed when they heard Mrs. McIntire returning with Brad.

      “Would you hula dancers like some cocoa?” Mrs. McIntire called up to the girls.

      “Okay, Mom,” called Molly. “We’ll be right down.”

      “Good!” said Susan. “Now we can tell her what Ricky did!”

      “No!” Molly said quickly.

      “Why not?” asked Susan.

      “I don’t want to be a tattletale,” said Molly. “And besides, Mom would be too easy on him. We just have to take care of Ricky ourselves.”

      The girls walked slowly into the kitchen. There at the table sat Ricky, still in his pirate costume. He was sipping cocoa and looking as innocent as a kitten. Molly, Linda, and Susan sat as far away from Ricky as possible.

      “Well,