Russell Sprouts

Russell Sprouts — page 3 — than Russell Sometimes Russell wished he were just the same age as Teddy But most of the time he was glad to be the age and size that he was It made him proud to have an older friend in second grade About twice a year Teddy’s mother would sort through all his clothing and set aside everything that was too small for Teddy Then she would put the outgrown outgrown but not worn-out clothes into a big shopping bag or a box and bring them downstairs to the second floor for Russell If something was too small for Teddy it was likely that it was just the right size for Russell The night before after Russell was asleep Teddy’s mother had brought a big box of Teddy’s outgrown clothes down to Russell’s apartment 10

Russell Sprouts — page 4 — Hand-me-downs said Russell’s mother with delight when she showed the box to Russell the next day Mrs Michaels If we lived upstairs over Teddy instead of downstairs below him would these be hand-me-ups Russell wanted to know laughed I never thought of it that way but I guess they would she agreed She took everything out of the box and held each piece of clothing up against Russell There was the winter coat with toggles that Teddy had worn last year There was a T-shirt with a picture of Mickey Mouse and another one with a picture of Superman Teddy had neat clothes and Russell was glad that he could wear them It’s too bad that we can’t give any clothing clothing to Teddy in return said Mrs Michaels 11

Russell Sprouts — page 5 — Russell laughed It was a funny thought If he was too big for his old jacket and pants then Teddy would certainly be too big So some of Russell’s old clothing was put away for Elisa to grow into Elisa was only three years old but when she got bigger she could wear lots of his outgrown clothes including his old yellow rain slicker Russell was glad that his slicker didn’t fit him any more He wanted to get a new one that was red because red was his favorite color His favorite toy cars were red and his bike was red too He even liked to eat red things like spaghetti with lots of tomato sauce or hamburgers with loads of catsup Mrs Michaels took Russell shopping for a new red slicker They went to four different different stores but they couldn’t find a red one 12

Russell Sprouts — page 6 — How about blue Mrs Michaels asked finally No said Russell I want red Yellow is a very popular color said the saleswoman Then No said Russell Mrs Michaels sighed Next week we’ll go to some other stores she promised But if we can’t find a red one I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for another color something wonderful-awful happened Russell’s grandmother saw a red slicker in the children’s department of a store near her home She knew that Russell liked red things the best So when she saw the red slicker she bought it for him and put it in a package and mailed it to Russell When the package arrived Russell was 13

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