“Praise be,” Arthur heard Aunt Elda’s voice as she stooped down to look under the tent. He smiled at her, and wiggled a foot in greeting.
Moreover knelt beside Arthur, his hands gently checking the baby pig. Finally he grinned and nodded at Arthur, holding out his hands.
Arthur handed over his sweater to Moreover, and picked up another lively baby as Uncle Wrisby gently led Bernadette to the barn. He ran to the warmth of the barn and put it down in the fresh, dry hay, then ran back for another. Uncle Wrisby passed him, carrying another, then Moira, then Aunt Elda, barefooted, smiling at him, until all seven babies and Bernadette were in the barn.
Then, while Moreover put the smallest pig—the runt—under a warm light, and Arthur held a bottle of warm milk for it to drink, he looked up to grin at Moira, who had called him Arthur for the very first time.
About the Author
Photo by John MacLachlan
PATRICIA MACLACHLAN is the celebrated author of many timeless books for young readers, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal. Her novels for young readers include Arthur, For the Very First Time; The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt; Skylark; Caleb’s Story; More Perfect Than the Moon; Grandfather’s Dance; Word After Word After Word; and Kindred Souls. She is also the author of many much-loved picture books, including Three Names; All the Places to Love; What You Know First; Painting the Wind; Bittle; Who Loves Me?; Once I Ate a Pie; I Didn’t Do It; Before You Came; and Cat Talk—several of which she cowrote with her daughter, Emily. She lives with her husband and two border terriers in Williamsburg, Massachusetts.
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Other Books by Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Skylark
Caleb’s Story
More Perfect Than the Moon
Grandfather’s Dance
Arthur, For the Very First Time
Through Grandpa’s Eyes
Cassie Binegar
Seven Kisses in a Row
Unclaimed Treasures
The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt
Word After Word After Word
Kindred Souls
Mama One, Mama Two
All the Places to Love
What You Know First
Three Names
WRITTEN WITH
EMILY MACLACHLAN CHAREST
Painting the Wind
Bittle
Who Loves Me?
Once I Ate a Pie
Fiona Loves the Night
I Didn’t Do It
Before You Came
Cat Talk
Credits
Cover art © 2002 by Barbara McGlynn
Cover design by Andrea Simkowski
Cover © 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Copyright
“The Mockingbird” by Randall Jarrell. Reprinted with permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. from The Lost World by Randall Jarrell. Copyright © Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1963, 1964.
Originally appeared in The New Yorker.
ARTHUR, FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. Text copyright © 1980 by Patricia MacLachlan. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacLachlan, Patricia.
Arthur, for the very first time.
p. cm.
Summary: Arthur spends a summer with his unconventional aunt and uncle and begins to look at life, his family, and himself differently.
ISBN 0-06-024047-4 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 0-06-440288-6 (pbk.)
EPub Edition © March 2013 ISBN 9780062285706
[1. Humorous stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.M2225Ar 1980
79-2007
[Fic]
CIP
AC
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11 12 13 LP/BR 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32
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Patricia MacLachlan, Arthur, for the Very First Time
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