Annabelle

ANNABELLE Story and Pictures by Ruth Bornstein

Annabelle Electronic book published by ipicturebooks.com 24 W. 25th St. New York, NY 10010 For more ebooks, visit us at: http://www.ipicturebooks.com All rights reserved. Copyright © 1978 by Ruth Lercher Bornstein Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Toronto. Manufactured in the United States of America e-ISBN 1-58824-228-5 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bornstein, Ruth. Annabelle. SUMMARY: A lonely toy chimpanzee finds adventure as she searches for her owner. [1. Toys–Fiction] I. Title. PZ8.9.B66An [E] 77-20059 ISBN 0-690-03804-6 ISBN 0-690-03810-0 lib. bdg.

ANNABELLE

Story and Pictures by Ruth Bornstein

For Noa, with hugs

“Here I am all alone,” sighed Annabelle. “Sarah has gone to the park without me.”

“Hello, Pigeon,” said Annabelle. “I’m waiting for Sarah. Let’s sit and look for her out of the window.” “Yes, let’s,” said Pigeon. “I’ll carry you to the window.”

They saw a boy go by with a wagon. “Maybe that boy is going to the park,” said Annabelle. She leaned far out the window. Too far. . . .

She fell into the wagon. Spot, the dog from next door, saw her. He took Annabelle from the wagon—

and ran away fast. Spot saw his friend Blacky across the street. Spot ran across the street—

dropped Annabelle there, and ran off with his friend. Annabelle was a little scared, lying there in the grass. She saw a butterfly. “Butterfly!” she called.

The butterfly stopped. Annabelle whispered something in the butterfly’s ear. The butterfly answered, “No, I don’t know Sarah. But I know Squirrel.”

Squirrel invited Annabelle to her nest. The baby squirrels were happy to meet Annabelle.

They giggled and snuggled close to her. Suddenly Mother Squirrel cried, “Danger! Look out!”

The little ones crawled far back in the nest, but Annabelle looked out. A big crow swooped down and grabbed her.

He cackled and cawed as he carried her high over the park. He glided and soared and turned somersaults in the air. “If Sarah could only see me now!” thought Annabelle.

Then, far below, Annabelle heard music. A parade was coming. White horses pulled big cages on wheels. There were animals in the cages. First came lions. Then tigers.

Then came somebody who looked a little like Annabelle. He reached his big hand out of the cage.

Annabelle and the crow flew away just in time. Next marched the giant elephants.

The biggest elephant saw Annabelle. He lifted up his trunk and gave a loud trumpet. This so surprised the crow that he let go of Annabelle, and she dropped . . .

right down on the elephant’s big head. The people cheered and waved at her. And Annabelle looked down at all the people.

Then, out of the big crowd of people, a little voice cried, “Annabelle! That’s my Annabelle!”

The circus director stopped the parade. He ordered the elephant to kneel down.

He took Annabelle off the elephant’s head and gave her to Sarah. The people cheered.

And Sarah held Annabelle close and whispered, “Annabelle! How did you ever come to be in the circus parade?

“I almost lost you. From now on I’ll take you with me wherever I go.

“I’ll never leave you alone again.”

Ruth Bornstein has been drawing and painting all her life. In 1972 her artistic skills and a long-time interest in children’s literature coalesced, and she has been writing and illustrating children’s books ever since. “ANNABELLE,” she reports, “was inspired in part by memories of a doll I loved when I was little, and by the toy chimp I couldn’t resist buying myself for my forty-seventh birthday!” Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mrs. Bornstein was graduated from the University of Wisconsin. She and her husband are the parents of four children and live in Pacific Palisades, California.