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12 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twelve Jinseng. What doctor mc allister ever did before
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  Speaker 1: Henry began to work for him would be hard to guess.
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  Speaker 1: There were certainly as many duties always waiting for him
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  Speaker 1: as he had time to do, and it made no
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  Speaker 1: difference to the industrious boy what the job was. Nothing
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  Speaker 1: was too hard or too dirty for him to attempt.
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  Speaker 1: One day, the doctor set him at the task of
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  Speaker 1: clearing out his little laboratory. The boy washed bottles, pasted labels,
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  Speaker 1: and cleaned instruments for one whole morning, and more than
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  Speaker 1: one broken flask on its way to the rubbish heap,
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  Speaker 1: was carefully carried up the hill to the hidden family.
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  Speaker 1: While Henry was busy carefully lettering a sticky label, he
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  Speaker 1: noticed a young man in the outer office who was
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  Speaker 1: talking with a doctor. Can you tell me if this
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  Speaker 1: is real? Jinsing. Henry heard him say, it certainly is, returned,
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  Speaker 1: doctor mc allister. They will give you two dollars a
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  Speaker 1: pound for the route at any of the drug stores.
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  Speaker 1: Henry ventured to steal a peep and found he could
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  Speaker 1: readily see the plant the man was holding. It was
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  Speaker 1: about a foot high with branching leaves and a fine
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  Speaker 1: feathery white flower. Henry knew it was exactly the same
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  Speaker 1: white puffball that he had noticed in Violet's vase that
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  Speaker 1: very morning, when the young man had gone, Henry said,
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  Speaker 1: I know where I can find a whole lot of
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  Speaker 1: that plant? Is that? So, replied the doctor kindly. It's
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  Speaker 1: only the root, you know, that is valuable, But anyone
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  Speaker 1: who wants the bother of digging it up can sell
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  Speaker 1: any quantity of that. When Henry went home at noon,
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  Speaker 1: he related enough of this incident to set his sisters
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  Speaker 1: to work in good earnest. They started out with both
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  Speaker 1: knives and two strong iron spoons and the kettle, and
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  Speaker 1: with Benny to run about finding every white flower he could.
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  Speaker 1: The girl succeeded with a great deal of hard digging
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  Speaker 1: in finding enormous quantity of jinseng root. In fact, that
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  Speaker 1: first afternoon's work resulted in a kettleful, not counting a
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  Speaker 1: single leaf or stem. Henry was delighted when he saw
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  Speaker 1: the result of their work, and took it next day
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  Speaker 1: to the largest drug store, where he received three dollars
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  Speaker 1: for the roots. Without any hesitation. Henry paid a visit
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  Speaker 1: to the dry goods store and came home with a
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  Speaker 1: pair of new brown stockings for Benny. That was a
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  Speaker 1: great day in the woods. Benny gave them no piece
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  Speaker 1: at all until they had admired his wonderful new stockings
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  Speaker 1: and felt of each rib. There had been one other
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  Speaker 1: thing that Benny had given them no peace about. On
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  Speaker 1: the night when the children had crept so quietly away
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  Speaker 1: from the baker's wife, Jess had forgotten to take Benny's baar.
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  Speaker 1: This bear was a poor looking creature which had once
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  Speaker 1: been an expensive, bright eyed teddy bear made of brown plush.
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  Speaker 1: But Benny had taken it to bed every single night
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  Speaker 1: for three years, and had loved it by day, so
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  Speaker 1: that it was not attractive to any one but himself.
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  Speaker 1: Both eyes were gone, and its body was very limp.
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  Speaker 1: But Benny had certainly suffered a great deal trying to
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  Speaker 1: sleep in a strange bed without his beloved bear. Jess
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  Speaker 1: therefore had plans on foot the moment she saw Benny's
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  Speaker 1: new stockings, she washed the old brown stockings with their
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  Speaker 1: many neat darns and hung them up to dry, and
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  Speaker 1: early in the afternoon she and Violet sat with a
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  Speaker 1: work bag between them, each with a stocking with Benny
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  Speaker 1: sitting by to watch proceedings, Jess mapped out a remarkable
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  Speaker 1: teddy bear. One stocking carefully trimmed, made the head and body,
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  Speaker 1: while the other furnished material for two arms, two legs,
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  Speaker 1: and the stuffing. Jess worked hard over the head, pushing
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  Speaker 1: the padding well into the blunt nose. Violet embroidered two
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  Speaker 1: beautiful eyes in black and white, and a jet black
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  Speaker 1: nose tip. You must make a tail, too, Jessy, said Benny,
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  Speaker 1: watching her snip the brown rags. Bears don't have tails,
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  Speaker 1: Benny argued Jess, although she wasn't exactly sure, she was right.
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  Speaker 1: Your old bear didn't have any tail, you know. But
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  Speaker 1: this bear has a tail, though, returned Benny, knowing that
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  Speaker 1: Jess would put on two tails if he insisted. And
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  Speaker 1: it was true, his bear finally did have a tail.
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  Speaker 1: What kind of tail, asked Jess helplessly. At last, bushy
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  Speaker 1: long and slim or cotton tail long and slim, decided
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  Speaker 1: Benny with great satisfaction. So I can pull it, Penny,
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  Speaker 1: cried Jess, laughing in spite of herself. But she made
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  Speaker 1: a tail long and slim, exactly as Benny ordered, and
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  Speaker 1: sewed it on very tightly, so that it might be
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  Speaker 1: pulled if desired. She fastened on the legs and arms
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  Speaker 1: with flat hinges so the bear might sit down easily,
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  Speaker 1: and added at last a pair of cunning flappy ears
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  Speaker 1: and a gay collar of braided red string from a bundle.
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  Speaker 1: What's his name, Jesse, inquired Benny, when the wonderful bear
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  Speaker 1: was finally handed over to him. His name, repeated Jess.
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  Speaker 1: Well you know he's a new bear. He isn't your
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  Speaker 1: old one, so I wouldn't call him Teddy. Oh no,
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  Speaker 1: said Benny, shocked. This is not Teddy. This has a
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  Speaker 1: pretty tail, of course, agreed Jess, trying not to laugh. Well,
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  Speaker 1: you know we sold that Jin Sang to pay for
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  Speaker 1: your new stockings, and if you hadn't had your new ones,
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  Speaker 1: we couldn't have made this bear out of your old ones.
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  Speaker 1: You want his name to be Stockings, asked Benny politely. Stockings, no,
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  Speaker 1: answered Jess. I was thinking of Jin Sing Jin Sing,
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  Speaker 1: echoed Benny, sinking deeply. That's an nice name, all right.
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  Speaker 1: I think Jensen will be a good bear if what
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  Speaker 1: she doesn't bark at him. And from that moment the
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  Speaker 1: bear's name was Jinseng as long as he lived, and
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  Speaker 1: he lived to be a very old bear. Indeed, end
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  Speaker 1: of Chapter twelve,