Eggs with Legs by Judy Delton Page B

her notebook, because she felt better writing everything down. She loved to make lists. And keep track of what to do for badges.
    “I thought we could do three things to earn this badge,” said their leader.
    Molly wrote a big “1” in her notebook.
    “Number one is, I thought of dyeing eggs and making up colorful Easter baskets for the people in the nursing home. You can all be thinking of what else you’d like to put in your baskets.”
    Molly wrote down, “Find things to put in baskets.”
    “I think they would enjoy that,” Mrs. Peters continued, “and we could combine it with a visit. Many of the senior citizensthere don’t have visitors, and we could brighten their day by talking to them, and listening to them.”
    “Some of them can’t hear,” said Roger. “I know one old geezer there who doesn’t know what you’re saying. And their stories are boring.”
    The Pee Wees glared at Roger. They did not like to hear him call old people geezers. Some of them had grandparents in the nursing home. Molly wondered how Roger would like to be called a geezer. Or a pip-squeak.
    “They know we’re there,” said Mrs. Peters, glaring at Roger. “Whether they can hear us or not.”
    Hands were waving. “Mrs. Peters,” called Ashley Baker. Ashley was Patty and Kenny Baker’s cousin from California. She was a temporary Scout because she was just visiting. But she was in Minnesotaso much that she didn’t seem like a temporary Pee Wee to Molly.
    “In California we went to the Golden West Retirement home and cooked dinner for senior citizens on St. Patrick’s Day. We made everything green. Green beans, green peas, green chicken, green potatoes, even green cake.”
    The Pee Wees stared at Ashley. They had never heard of green potatoes. They do strange things in California, thought Molly. Ashley always told stories about things that no one ever did in Minnesota. Maybe it was because of the earthquakes. Maybe pictures fell off the walls and onto peoples’ heads and made them odd.
    “That’s very nice,” said Mrs. Peters. “I am sure the seniors enjoyed the dinner very much.”
    “They did,” said Ashley. “They all had seconds.”
    “But I think a basket will be enough for us to handle.”
    “Basket, handle, get it? Handle!” cried Tracy, who loved riddles and crossword puzzles.
    “The next holiday is Mother’s Day, and as our second thing to do to earn our badges I thought it would be nice to think of something we could do that would be extraspecial for our mothers,” said Mrs. Peters. “Or our aunts or grandmas or whomever you wish to honor on Mother’s Day,” she added quickly.
    Hands were waving again.
    “I want to honor my dad on Mother’s Day,” said Roger.
    “He can’t do that, can he, Mrs. Peters?” asked Sonny. “Maybe an aunt, but you can’t make a dad into a mother!”
    Mrs. Peters is treading on thin ice, thought Molly, remembering somethingher grandma always said. Mrs. Peters has hurt Roger’s feelings once today; she has to watch out.
    “Yes,” their leader said firmly. “If Roger wants to honor his dad on Mother’s Day, it is fine.”
    “Ho ho, are you going to give him a bottle of perfume, or a bunch of flowers?” taunted Sonny.
    “Men like flowers as well as women,” said Ashley. “And I give my dad aftershave lotion, and that’s just like perfume. Sonny is a sexist!”
    All the girls booed Sonny. Mrs. Peters frowned and held up her hands for quiet.
    “Flowers and perfume are for people. Men
or
women. Now let’s talk about what else we can think of for Mother’s Day. Maybe
doing
something nice would be better than giving things.”
    “Breakfast in bed,” suggested Tracy.
    “Cleaning the house,” said Kevin.
    “Carrying groceries in,” said Mary Beth. “I do that a lot.”
    “Those are all good suggestions,” said their leader. “But let’s try to think of something out of the ordinary. Something you’ve never done for them before. We have a week to