Maisie the Halfway Holiday Helper

Submission for Susannah Hill Contest

By Deborah Dolan Hunt

                                                                    Word Count: 239

      “Maisie, can you set the table?” asked Mama.

       Maisie started to put out the holiday dishes.

      “Maisie!” Grandma shouted. “Can you help me?”

      “Sure,” said Maisie.

       “Maisie, you need to finish,” said Mama.

      “I’ll finish it later,” said Maisie.

       Grandma handed her a roll of stamps.

       Maisie loved this job.

      “Maisie!” Daddy yelled. “Can you help Tommy?”

      “Sure,” Maisie ran out of the room.

      Grandma yelled. “Maisie!”

      Maisie looked back. “I’ll finish it later.”

     Tommy pouted. “I want to play.”

      Maisie grinned. “Me, too.” She started to help Tommy with his holiday poem.

     The doorbell rang. Maisie ran to answer it.

     “Maisie, we’re not done,” whined Tommy.

     “We can finish it later,” said Maisie.

      Maisie flung open the door. “Hi Sally.”

      Sally frowned. “Maisie, you said you would come back to practice for the Christmas

concert.”

     “Sorry,” said Maisie. “We can practice later.”

     “Maisie, you need to finish setting the table,” said Mama.

     “Don’t forget the stamps,” yelled Grandma.

      “And my poem,” pouted Tommy.

      Maisie grabbed Sally. “If you help me, we’ll have plenty of time to practice.”

      “I’ll help you, but you need to learn how to finish one job before you start the next,”

said Sally.

       Maisie grinned. “I’ll try.”

       “Maisie,” said Grandpa. “Can you help with the tree topper?”

        “Be right there,” said Maisie.

         Sally shouted, “Maisie, we need to finish your chores.”

         “We can finish later,” Maisie shouted and ran out of the room.