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Ellen brought a beet,” said Austine.
    “That is a splendid suggestion.” Miss Joyce wrote, “Ellen brought a beet for our room.”
    Ellen and Austine exchanged a triumphant look. Again Ellen thought how lucky she was to have such a loyal girl for her best friend. Austine wouldn’t let Miss Joyce forget about the beet if she could help it.
    Otis waved his hand.“You could put that she sure got dirty bringing the beet.” Ellen and Austine gave him a disgusted look.
    Miss Joyce suggested,“Let’s say it in a different way.” She wrote, “Ellen worked very hard to bring the beet.”
    Ellen smiled modestly. She noticed that Austine was whispering to Amelia and wondered what they were saying.
    Miss Joyce said, “We have room for one more sentence. Has anyone any sugges-tions?”
    Amelia raised her hand and said, “You could say that Ellen is going to tell us about the beet when we study plants today.” Miss Joyce wrote the sentence on the blackboard while Amelia and Austine smiled at Ellen. So that was what they were whispering about! Ellen might have known her best friend would think of something like that.
    Now Ellen knew that at last she had pleased Miss Joyce. Hadn’t she written on the blackboard that Ellen had worked hard to bring the beet and that she was going to tell the class about it? Surely Miss Joyce would reward such a hard worker by choosing her to clap erasers.
    All through social studies and arithmetic and lunch period Ellen waited anxiously for afternoon recess.When the class went to the blackboard to do spelling, she wrote her words over and over as fast as she could, just so she could erase them and be sure that one eraser was good and dirty.
    Finally the time came. When Miss Joyce looked around the room, Ellen held her breath. She didn’t know what she would do if Miss Joyce didn’t choose her. “Let’s see,” said the teacher. “Who will take the erasers out to clean them during recess? Ellen, you may take half of them.”
    Ellen let out her breath in a sigh of relief.
    At last Miss Joyce had chosen her to clap erasers! Now she knew Miss Joyce liked her as much as she liked the other boys and girls.
    Then Miss Joyce said,“Otis, you may take the rest of the erasers.”
    Oh dear, thought Ellen in dismay, anybody but Otis. It was just her luck to have to clap erasers with Otis after waiting so long.
    She just knew Otis would do something to spoil everything. He always did. He was that kind of boy.
    “Yes, Miss Joyce,” said Otis, dropping three of his jumping beans on the floor.
    With a guilty look, he quickly leaned over to pick them up.
    “I am sorry, Otis,” said Miss Joyce. “You are not cooperating. You were supposed to keep your Mexican jumping beans in your pocket until our science period. Bring them to me and I will keep them in my desk until after school.”
    “Aw,” muttered Otis as he gathered up his beans and handed them to Miss Joyce.
    “And I think you had better stay in during recess,” said the teacher. “Austine, you may clap erasers instead of Otis.” 
    Ellen beamed across the room at Austine.
    Not only was she going to clap erasers, she was going to clap them with her best friend!
    And if Miss Joyce kept Otis’s jumping beans until after school, he wouldn’t get to talk about them during science period after all.
    Joyfully Ellen gathered her half of the erasers from the chalk rail. On her way out of the room, she hesitated near Miss Joyce, who was standing in the doorway.
    “Thank you for choosing me,” she said shyly. “I’ve always wanted to clap erasers.”
    “You have?” Miss Joyce sounded surprised. “Why, if I had known that, I would have let you take them sooner. I haven’t asked you before because cleaning erasers is such dirty work and you always keep your dresses so clean.”
    Ellen hurried out of the building with Austine, and they clapped erasers furiously.
    As clouds of chalk dust blew out into the rain, Ellen coughed.  "Austine, do