The Two and Only Kelly Twins by Johanna Hurwitz Page B

Kelly. “But we’re not making any decisions today in any event.”
    So a couple of weeks went by, and all of Caroline’s kittens were adopted, much to Arlene’s disappointment. And Mr. and Mrs. Kelly remained firm about not getting a dog.
    Then one evening Mr. Kelly came home from work carrying his briefcase, a newspaper, and a box.
    “What’s in there?” asked Ilene, pointing to the box. She knew that the briefcase held only boring old papers.
    “It’s a surprise,” her father said.
    “Is it for us?” asked Arlene hopefully.
    “Yes. It’s two pets,” Mr. Kelly said. “One for each of you.”
    The box wasn’t very big, so right away Arlene shouted, “Kittens! You got us kittens!”
    “No.”
    “Chihuahuas!” shouted Ilene, rushing to hug her father.
    “No.”
    “Then what is it?” asked Arlene puzzled.
    “Here’s a hint. It starts with an
f,
” said Mr. Kelly. “And remember, there are two of them.”
    The two sisters looked at each other. “We don’t want fish,” Arlene reminded her father.
    “No fish,” he said.
    “Frogs?” guessed Ilene. She wrinkled her nose. Who’d want a pair of frogs for pets?
    “Look,” said Mr. Kelly.
    Arlene and Ilene stood shoulder to shoulder and watched as their father opened the box. Inside were two skinny animals with matching white hair, small claws, and tails.

     
    “What are they?” asked Arlene.
    “Ferrets,” her father said.
    “Wow. Ferrets,” said Ilene. “Aren’t they cute?” she asked as she admired the little faces, which almost resembled those of puppies or kittens. “I never even heard of ferrets. We’ll be the only kids at school with ferrets for pets,” she told her sister.
    “Cool,” agreed Arlene. She reached out a finger to pet one of the animals.
    “One of the men at my office is going to be working overseas. These ferrets belonged to his children, but the family agreed it would be too difficult to settle in a new country with these critters. So he offered them to me.”
    Each girl picked up one of the ferrets, and they began petting them. “He’s so soft,” cooed Ilene.
    “I love him,” said Arlene.
    Mr. Kelly went back to his car and returned with a large wire cage for the new pets to live in.
    “Do they have to stay in the cage all the time?” asked Ilene.
    “No. Just when you’re not playing with them, like when you’re at school.”
    “What should we name them?” asked Arlene.
    “Whatever you want,” Mr. Kelly said. “Mr. Clifton said that they are both females.”
    “I don’t care,” said Arlene. “I want to name mine Benjamin Franklin Ferret,” she announced. “And I’ll call him Frankie for short.”
    Ilene couldn’t think of a name that fast. She mumbled different names to herself, trying them out. Then she suddenly remembered something. “What is the name of that cookbook you always use?” she asked her mother.
    “The Joy of Cooking?”
    “No. The other one, that you said was a wedding present from Dad’s grandmother. The author has a name that starts with
F
.”
    Mrs. Kelly thought for a moment. “Do you mean
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook?
”
    “Yes,” said Ilene, nodding. “My ferret will be called Fannie Farmer Ferret. That’s a better name for a girl ferret,” she added, making a face at her sister.
    “I don’t know if either of those are appropriate names for ferrets,” said Mr. Kelly.
    “Who knows what appropriate names for ferrets are?” said his wife.
    And so that’s how Frankie and Fannie came to live with Arlene and Ilene Kelly.
    If truth be told, Arlene and Ilene could not tell the ferrets apart. They didn’t really know which was Frankie and which was Fannie. Like the twins themselves, they seemed identical. However, one particularly loved raisins and the other loved peanut butter on a piece of cracker.
    Whichever one Arlene held she called Frankie. And whichever one Ilene picked up she called Fannie. It didn’t seem to matter to the ferrets, and it didn’t