The Basket with the Beautiful Handle

Chapter 1The Last Red Strip

The handle was the best part of Malky's basket.

A red strip wound between two golden ones. The ends disappeared beneath a neat knot on each side. She had spent almost the whole afternoon on it.

Her friend Adina's basket had a plain brown handle.

"Yours looks like a rope," Malky said.

"It is meant to carry things."

"Mine can carry things too."

Malky put three paper flowers inside. She lifted the basket and swung it once.

The flowers nodded.

Across the classroom, Mrs. Klein adjusted the scarf that covered her hair. She was setting out seed packets for the school garden sale.

"Tomorrow we will carry the packets downstairs in your baskets," she said.

Malky put in a fourth flower.

Chapter 2The First Real Load

The next morning, the seed packets had been tied into bundles.

There were far more than Malky expected.

Her basket filled halfway. The handle pulled into a taller arch when she lifted it.

One neat side knot crept upward.

Malky lowered the basket before Adina could see.

"I will take yours down afterward," she said. "Mine should go on the front table."

"Are you ready?"

Malky lifted it again. The knot moved another little distance.

She squeezed that end with her thumb and walked toward the door.

At the first step, the red strip slipped free.

One end of the handle rose. The basket tipped against her skirt.

She sat down on the step with the basket on her lap.

Three seed bundles rolled into the hall.

Chapter 3The Wrong Knot

Adina set her own basket down and gathered the bundles.

"Any packets open?"

Malky checked. None had torn.

Her handle dangled like a long ear.

"The red strip must be too smooth," she said.

"Was it tied around the basket rim?"

"Of course."

Malky looked.

The golden strips had been tucked beneath the rim. She had wrapped the red strip around them to hide the ends. It looked like a knot, but it was mostly decoration.

Mrs. Klein came to the doorway.

"Stay here. We will carry the baskets from underneath until we fix that handle."

Malky had wanted her basket at the front of the sale.

Now Mrs. Klein was carrying it like a bowl.

Chapter 4Something to Keep

In the classroom, Mrs. Klein set two empty baskets on a desk.

Adina showed how her brown handle went around the rim twice before being fastened.

Malky pulled the red strip away from her own handle.

The golden strips separated.

"I have to start again."

"The basket itself is sound," Mrs. Klein said.

Malky pressed its woven sides. They held.

The red strip was still good too. She smoothed it on the desk instead of throwing it away.

Mrs. Klein brought two stronger strips from the supply cupboard. She showed Malky where they could pass around the rim without loosening the weaving.

Malky worked slowly. When the first fastening looked tidy, she pulled it gently.

It stayed tidy.

Then she pulled a little harder.

It stayed in place.

Chapter 5Not the Flowers

The repaired basket looked less fancy.

Malky reached for the paper flowers to test it.

Adina had already brought the seed bundles back.

"It needs to carry these."

Malky put in one bundle. Then another.

Mrs. Klein stood beside her while she lifted the basket a few inches above the desk. The handle did not stretch into a tall arch.

They added the rest of the bundles, stopping at the amount Mrs. Klein meant them to carry.

Malky lifted it again.

Both fastenings held.

She set it down and looked beneath the rim. Neither end had moved.

"Now the flowers?" Adina asked.

Malky laughed. "They were never a very hard test."

She wound the red strip around the middle of the handle, away from the fastenings.

It no longer had to pretend to hold anything together.

Chapter 6The Front Table

At the sale, Malky's basket stood beside Adina's.

Both held seed packets. Neither held paper flowers.

A woman in a green headscarf picked up a bundle and asked whether the basket was for sale too.

"The packets are," Malky said. "The basket belongs to our classroom."

"What a lovely handle."

Malky smiled, then turned the basket slightly so the woman could see its ends.

"We fixed it this morning. The red part is only for looking nice."

The woman bought two bundles.

By the end of the afternoon, only three remained. Malky carried them upstairs without squeezing the handle against the rim.

Adina carried the empty packet box.

At the classroom door, Malky held up her basket.

The three bundles stayed exactly where they belonged.

She had carried something much heavier than flowers. She had not needed anyone to pretend otherwise.