There was a knock.
At the door.
There was a knock at the door!
It was Grumpy!
“GRUMPY!”
“Charlie and Mouse!” cried Grumpy.
“You are getting so big!”
“Yes,” said Charlie, “I am getting so big!
I can read. And swim. And eat three hot dogs!”
“That is a lot of hot dogs,” said Grumpy.
Charlie nodded. “With mustard.”
Mouse shook his head. “I am not getting big.”
“Well,” said Grumpy. “You are bigger than you were. You are not getting small.”
“No,” said Mouse. “I am not getting small.”
“Then what are you getting?” asked Grumpy.
“I am getting medium,” he said.
“Aha,” said Grumpy. “What is it like being medium?”
“When you are medium,” said Mouse,
“you can read some books. But also, people read books to you.”
“What else?” asked Grumpy.
“When you are medium, you can swim. But your mom sits on the steps and watches. Just in case.”
“Ahh,” said Grumpy. “It sounds very nice to be medium.”
“It is,” said Mouse.
“And how many hot dogs can you eat?” asked Grumpy. “When you are medium?”
“You can still eat three hot dogs,” Mouse said.
“But not with mustard. Mustard is not medium.”
“That makes sense,” said Grumpy.
Grumpy carried his bag inside.
Charlie helped.
Mouse helped, too.
When they were done, Charlie said,
“Do you know what?”
“No,” said Grumpy.
“No,” said Mouse.
They did not know what.
“It is almost lunchtime,” said Charlie.
“When it comes to hot dogs,” said Grumpy,
“I am medium, too.”
