Franklin Wants a Pet, Franklin's Blanket, and Franklin's School Play: Three Classic Franklin Stories (5 page)

At breakfast, Franklin's father sniffed and pinched his nose. “Do you smell something odd?” he asked. “A sort of musty, old-sock smell?”

Franklin and his mother sniffed, too.

Then Franklin remembered. “I think I know what smells,” he said.

Franklin reached under his chair and pulled out his blue blanket. Plop! A handful of cold, slimy brussels sprouts spilled out of the blanket and onto the floor.

His mother and father stared with amazement.

“Look!” said Franklin. “I found my blanket. I forgot I put it here.”

“You forgot to eat your brussels sprouts, too,” said Franklin's mother.

“Whoops,” said Franklin, looking a little sheepish.

“Old, cold brussels sprouts sure do stink,” said Franklin's father.

“All brussels sprouts stink,” said Franklin.

Franklin's mother smiled.  “I used to hate cabbage,” she said. “Now
that's
a stinky vegetable.”

“Asparagus!” said Franklin' s father. “That's even stinkier than brussels sprouts and cabbage mixed together.”

“Broccoli!” shouted Franklin. Then he stopped. He liked broccoli. “It stinks, but I wouldn't hide broccoli,” he said.

“That's good news,” said his father.

Franklin helped to tidy the mess.

Then Franklin picked up his blanket.

“I don't care that you are old and full of holes,” he said. “But you sure do need a bath.”

That night, before his goodnight story, his goodnight hug and a glass of water, Franklin put his father's yellow blanket back where it belonged. He was glad he lived in a house where even old blankets had their special place.

For Rachel – P. B.

For Sandi, who was born to perform – B. C.

Franklin is a trademark of Kids Can Press Ltd.

Text © 1996 by Context
x
Inc.

Illustrations © 1996 Brenda Clark Illustrator Inc.

Interior illustrations prepared with the assistance of Shelley Southern.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without, the prior written permission of Kids Can Press Ltd. or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from CANCOPY (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E5.

Kids Can Press acknowledges the financial support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Canada, through the BPIDP, for our publishing activity.

Kids Can Press Ltd.

29 Birch Avenue

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M4V 1E2

Printed in Hong Kong by Wing King Tong Company Limited

CDN PA 96 0 9 8 7 6

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Bourgeois, Paulette

                        Franklin's school play

ISBN 1-55074-287-6 (bound)      ISBN 1-55074-289-2 (pbk.)

II. Clark, Brenda.          II. Title.

PS8553.O854F73 1996             jC813'.54           C96-930082-4

PZ7.B68Fr  1996

Kids Can Press is a Nelvana company

Written by
Paulette Bourgeois

Illustrated
by Brenda Clark

Kids Can Press

F
RANKLIN could count forwards and backwards. He could remember his phone number, his address and the names of six different shapes. But sometimes Franklin was forgetful. So he worried when Mr. Owl chose him play one of the lead roles in the class play. What if he forgot his lines?