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| Jolly Solly |

What a Trip

“Big day? What big day? They’ve canceled the whole outing, because of some stupid health scare”

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Mr. Faigelbaum tut-tutted as he checked the bird feeders in his back garden. They definitely needed some attention. If it had only been a matter of tightening a few screws, Mr. Faigelbaum could have done it on the spot. The trouble was that a few of the feeders needed rehanging. That involved using a hammer and nails and making lots of loud banging noises. This was sure to annoy Mr. Krankowitz next door.

Mr. Faigelbaum sighed. He would simply have to wait a few days. That’s when the old man took his annual outing to the seaside. The trip was run by an organization for the elderly. Mr. Faigelbaum would fix the bird feeders then.

The day before the outing, Mr. Faigelbaum greeted Mr. Krankowitz cheerfully.

“All ready for your big day, then?” he asked.

Mr. Krankowitz scowled.

“Big day? What big day? They’ve canceled the whole outing, because of some stupid health scare.”

Mr. Faigelbaum stared at him in dismay.

“Canceled? You mean there’s no outing tomorrow?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” responded the old man. “I say what I mean and I mean what I say.”

“Oh, um, what a pity!” exclaimed Mr. Faigelbaum. He felt genuinely sorry for the old man. Despite all his grumbling, Mr. Krankowitz always enjoyed his yearly outing to the coast. And then, Mr. Faigelbaum couldn’t help worrying about his feeders. When would he ever manage to fix them?

 

He looked around for inspiration. There was Jolly Solly’s cheerful open-top car, parked across the street! Surely the clown would know how to solve this difficult problem. Mr. Faigelbaum crossed the street and knocked on number 100. He smiled as he heard a voice screeching, “Bang! Pop! Pop goes the weasel!” Tuki the parrot must be staying with him for a few days. He often did when Eli the animal trainer went away.

The clown listened sympathetically to Mr. Faigelbaum’s story.

“Oh, dear,” he observed. “We have a double problem. Mr. Krankowitz waits all year for his outing. He must be terribly disappointed. And of course you want to fix your bird feeders.”

That afternoon Jolly Solly paid a visit to the old man. He found Mr. Krankowitz looking even grumpier than usual. Jolly Solly saw that he was disappointed over the canceled outing.

“How about coming to the beach with me in my car tomorrow?” Jolly Solly said.

“Car shmar,” muttered the old man dismissively. “It’s not the same as going in a big bus.”

Jolly Solly remembered how the old man always spent weeks before the outing grumbling. He grumbled about the uncomfortable big bus. He grumbled about the drivers who drove like maniacs. Jolly Solly decided not to mention this.

“I understand,” he responded softly.

“I’d like to know which fool made the stupid decision to cancel the outing!”

The old man was increasingly upset. Jolly Solly cast around for another idea. What did Mr. Krankowitz like? It came to him in a flash. Kippers!

“I say! Why don’t we go fishing tomorrow?” the clown offered. “We’ll catch some fish, and you can grill them fresh. That’s just the way you like them. What do you say to that?”

“What do I say? Hmm. Well, I suppose if you’re going fishing, you’ll need some help from an expert like me,” he replied. Mr. Krankowitz made it sound as though he was doing the clown a great favor. But Jolly Solly saw the gleam in the old man’s eye. He knew Mr. Krankowitz was hooked!

The next morning Mr. Krankowitz was muffled up to the eyeballs despite the sunny weather. In case of unexpected weather conditions, of course. He climbed slowly into Jolly Solly’s car. Mr. Faigelbaum watched from the window as the clown made sure the old man was comfortable. At Mr. Krankowitz’s request, he opened the car windows because it was too stuffy. He then closed them because it was too chilly. At last the yellow car pulled away.

Mr. Faigelbaum quickly grabbed his tools, and went out to the garden. There he banged away to his heart’s content, making sure the feeders were securely attached.

By the time the old man came home, Sunny Lane was quiet once more. Mr. Faigelbaum made sure all his tools were out of sight. “Gotta make sure things don’t look too fishy,” he murmured to himself.

R.Atkins’s book Around the Year with Jolly Solly contains 50 fabulous stories. For information about a personalized version, contact junior@mishpacha.com

 

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 824)

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