Ralph sat on the motorcycle thinking as hard as he could. In the closet? He couldn’t get it out when the door was closed. Under the bed? Eventually it would be found.
“How about downstairs?” suggested Keith. “I could carry it down for you before we leave. There must be a good hiding place down there someplace.”
“There’s that big old clock my ancestor ran up,” said Ralph thoughtfully. “Nobody ever cleans under it, but frankly I don’t care to have it striking over my head.”
Keith thought awhile. “How about that big television set in the lobby?” he asked. “The noise shouldn’t bother you because you would only go under it at night when everyone was asleep.”
“Yes!” Ralph was excited. “That’s a perfect garage. I saw it when I got the aspirin. The legs are just high enough for the motorcycle but not quite high enough for a vacuum cleaner attachment.”
“Then it’s settled!” said Keith, and then added rather sternly, Ralph thought, “But first you must ask your mother.”
Ralph dismounted and ran to the knothole. He was gone several minutes before he returned to announce in triumph, “She says I can keep the motorcycle if I promise to drive carefully and wear my crash helmet every single time I ride it.”
“Swell!” Keith was just as excited as Ralph. “When we check out I’ll hide it for you while my folks are busy paying the bill.”
“I can’t thank you enough.” Ralph fastened his crash helmet once more. “I never thought I would have a motorcycle of my very own.”
Keith lay back on the pillow and smiled at the mouse mounting the motorcycle. “It will be fun thinking of you riding around that big old lobby when I’m back in Ohio this winter going to school. And when the teacher asks us to write a composition about our summer vacation I can write about meeting a brave mouse named Ralph who rode a little motorcycle. I’ll tell about your bringing the aspirin except I’ll have to call it a pill because I can’t spell aspirin. Of course the teacher won’t believe it, but she’ll probably say I show imagination.”
Ralph felt proud to think he was going to be written about in a composition in far-off Ohio. Pb-pb-b-b-b. He grabbed his tail, gunned the motor, and took off, heading for the threadbare part of the carpet that made such a good speedway. Round and round he sped, faster and faster until his whiskers blew back and he was filled with the joy of speed. He longed to wave to Keith, but he realized a good driver must keep both paws on the handgrips. He glanced up and noticed that Keith’s eyes were closed. The boy had fallen asleep with a smile on his face.
Ralph dragged his heels to brake the motorcycle. Quietly he parked it beside the bed and quietly he removed his crash helmet and hid it behind the curtain. He did not want to disturb the sleeping boy.
Ralph could wait to ride the motorcycle. It was his to keep.
About the Author
BEVERLY CLEARY is one of America’s most popular authors. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, she lived on a farm in Yamhill until she was six and then moved to Portland. After college, as the children’s librarian in Yakima, Washington, she was challenged to find stories for non-readers. She wrote her first book, HENRY HUGGINS, in response to a boy’s question, “Where are the books about kids like us?”
Mrs. Cleary’s books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children’s literature. Her DEAR MR. HENSHAW was awarded the 1984 John Newbery Medal, and both RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE 8 and RAMONA AND HER FATHER have been named Newbery Honor Books. In addition, her books have won more than thirty-five statewide awards based on the votes of her young readers. Her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations. Mrs. Cleary lives in coastal California.
Visit Beverly Cleary on the World Wide Web at www.beverlycleary.com.
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Enjoy All of Beverly Cleary’s books
FEATURING RAMONA QUIMBY:
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Forever
Ramona’s World
FEATURING HENRY HUGGINS:
Henry Huggins
Henry and Beezus
Henry and Ribsy
Henry and the Paper Route
Henry and the Clubhouse
Ribsy
FEATURING RALPH MOUSE:
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Runaway Ralph
Ralph S. Mouse
MORE GREAT FICTION BY BEVERLY CLEARY:
Ellen Tebbits
Otis Spofford
Fifteen
The Luckiest Girl
Jean and Johnny
Emily’s Runaway Imagination
Sister of the Bride
Mitch and Amy
Socks
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Muggie Maggie
Strider
Two Times the Fun
AND DON’T MISS BEVERLY CLEARY’S AUTOBIOGRAPHIES:
A Girl from Yamhill
My Own Two Feet
Credits
Cover art by Tracy Dockray
Cover design by Amy Ryan
Copyright
THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE. Copyright © 1965 by Beverly Cleary. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061972270
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