1984
Let’s Follow Freddie
March 1984


“Let’s Follow Freddie,” Friend, Mar. 1984, 14

Let’s Follow Freddie

“Saturday,” said David.

“And nothing to do,” sighed his friend Andy.

They sat on the steps and watched Mr. Hickle the postman.

“We could go roller-skating,” said Andy.

“My brother is using my skates,” said David.

“Why don’t we ride our bikes?” Andy suggested.

“Your bike has a flat tire, remember?” David answered.

They sat on the steps and counted the blue cars that passed by.

“We could play catch,” said Andy.

“Some dog ran away with my catcher’s mitt,” grumbled David.

They sat on the steps and counted the red cars that passed by.

Then Freddie walked up the street. “Hi, David! Hi, Andy!” called Freddie.

“What’s that bulge in your shirt?” asked David.

“Nothing,” said Freddie.

“Where are you going, Freddie?” asked Andy.

“Nowhere,” answered Freddie. Then he hurried away.

“What do you think Freddie is hiding?” asked David.

“And where do you think he is going?” asked Andy.

“Let’s follow Freddie. He must be going to do something special,” suggested David.

They followed Freddie.

When Freddie came to a fence, he stopped. It was too high for him to climb. He found a hole and crawled through it.

David and Andy were too big to get through the hole. But they were big enough to climb the fence.

Freddie came to a nice green lawn. He hopped on one foot ten times.

David and Andy hopped on one foot ten times.

Freddie ran to the playground. He slid on the slide. He swung on the swings. Then he went whistling away.

David and Andy slid on the slide. They swung on the swings. They were having a lot of fun.

“David, where did Freddie go?” asked Andy.

“I thought you were watching him,” said David.

“He went that way, I think,” Andy said.

“I think he went that way,” David said, pointing the opposite way.

Suddenly they heard whistling. They followed the music. Sure enough—it was Freddie whistling.

Freddie came to an alley. He stopped. David and Andy hid behind two oak trees. Freddie looked all around, but he didn’t see David and Andy. He went down the alley. David and Andy followed him.

“Where do you think he’s going?” asked Andy.

“He must have a secret. What do you think it is?” asked David.

Andy thought and thought.

“Maybe he’s found some buried treasure, and he doesn’t want anybody to know where it’s hidden.”

“In an alley?” asked David.

“Why not?” answered Andy.

Soon Freddie stopped in front of an old, worn-out box. Slowly he lifted the lid of the box.

David and Andy crept closer and closer.

“What do you think is in the box?” whispered Andy.

“Let’s find out,” David whispered back.

They quietly crept up behind Freddie. Freddie was leaning over the box and looking inside.

“Hi, Freddie!” said both David and Andy.

Freddie slammed the lid down on the box.

“What’s in the box, Freddie?” asked Andy.

“We can keep a secret. Honest,” said David.

“If you promise not to tell, I’ll show you.”

After David and Andy promised, Freddie opened the box. David and Andy looked in and saw five kittens.

“I found them in the alley and put them in this old box. Their mother’s dead,” explained Freddie. He reached inside his shirt and brought out a container of milk.

“So that’s what you had under your shirt,” said David. “Can we help you feed the kittens?”

“Sure, then we can take turns coming to feed them,” replied Freddie.

“Now we’ll have something to do every day,” Andy said happily.

Illustrated by Julie F. Young