The Drawing in the Wrong Folder

Chapter 1A Whale for Gitty

Rivky had drawn a whale for Gitty's birthday.

The whale wore a tiny hat. A little fish below it carried a hat so large that only its tail showed.

Gitty laughed when she opened the folded card.

"May I keep this in my room?"

"That is why I made it."

Rivky had spent a long time getting the whale's smile right. She was pleased that Gitty noticed the fish, too.

A week later, she visited again. The whale was not on Gitty's wall.

Chapter 2Beside the Table

Gitty went to fetch colored pencils from the hall cupboard.

Rivky waited beside the little table. Against its leg stood a brown folder, open at the top.

A torn piece of green paper stuck out. So did part of a penciled tree.

Behind them was the folded whale card.

Rivky recognized the fish's huge hat at once.

She looked from the folder to the empty wall.

Gitty had asked to keep the drawing. Now it was with the scraps.

Chapter 3The Words Waiting

When Gitty returned, Rivky almost said, "If you did not like it, you should have told me."

Instead, she said nothing.

Gitty spread the pencils on the table.

"Would you rather make a house or a shop?"

"Whatever you want."

Gitty looked up.

Rivky pressed a blue pencil against the paper, too hard. The point broke.

Gitty brought the sharpener.

"Are you upset?"

Rivky glanced at the brown folder. She wanted Gitty to know how much work the whale had taken. She also wanted to know why it was there.

Chapter 4Asking About the Folder

"What is that folder for?" Rivky asked.

"Things I am working on."

"Even the torn green paper?"

"It is a pattern for leaves. Why?"

Rivky pointed to the card.

"I saw my whale with it. I thought it was a scrap folder."

Gitty pulled out the card carefully.

"It is here because I do not want my little sister bending it. She can reach the table, but she does not open the folder."

Chapter 5The Penciled Tree

Gitty laid out the other papers.

The penciled tree was part of a larger drawing. The torn green paper showed the shape of leaves she wanted to cut later, with Mommy's help.

At the back was a piece of thick paper with a rectangle drawn in the middle.

"I am making a frame for the whale," Gitty said. "It needs to fit before I decorate it."

Rivky studied the rectangle. It was almost exactly the card's size.

The folder had looked like one thing from beside the table. Gitty used it for something else.

Chapter 6A Space Around the Whale

"I was hurt when I saw it," Rivky said. "I thought you did not want it."

"I do want it. I should have shown you the frame."

"You did not know I was wondering."

They put the card inside the penciled rectangle.

One edge needed more room. Gitty marked it again while Rivky held the paper steady.

"Should the frame have hats?" Gitty asked.

"Only if the fish gets the largest one."

Gitty laughed. This time Rivky joined her.

Chapter 7Back in the Folder

By the end of the visit, the frame plan had tiny hats along its lower edge.

Gitty slipped the papers back into the brown folder until Mommy could help finish it.

The whale went in, too.

Rivky watched it disappear behind the leaf pattern. This time, the sight did not sting.

"Show me when it is ready," she said.

"I will."

The wall was still empty. The folder still held torn green paper. Neither had changed.

What Rivky knew about them had.