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downstairs and placed their order. Soon a waiter wheeled in a table with their food.
    After enjoying juice, milk, and a basketful of warm cranberry and banana muffins and sweet rolls, they were ready to go. Grandfather told the children which bus would take them to the Empire State Building and which bus would bring them back to the hotel.
    â€œI’ll meet you here around dinnertime,” Grandfather said, “and you can tell me everything you saw.”
    The Aldens stopped at the Grants’ room to pick up Bobby.
    â€œReady?” Henry asked.
    â€œYes, I am!” cried Bobby.
    â€œAll last night he kept talking about how excited he was to be going to the Empire State Building,” said Mr. Grant.
    â€œMe, too!” cried Benny.
    â€œHave fun!” Mrs. Grant called as the children left.
    The bus stop was just a block from the hotel, and the children didn’t have to wait long before a bus arrived. Grandfather had given them tokens, and they each slipped their tokens into the fare box as they got on the bus. There were three seats together in the middle of the bus, so Benny, Bobby, and Violet sat down, and Jessie and Henry stood, holding on to the metal rail over their heads.
    When they reached Thirty-fourth Street, Henry rang the bell, and the bus stopped right in front of the Empire State Building. They got off the bus and then stood on the sidewalk, staring up at one of the tallest and most famous buildings in the world. Standing right below it, they couldn’t even see the top.
    â€œI thought a lot of the buildings here in New York were tall,” Benny said, his eyes wide. “But this one is really tall.”
    â€œSure is,” Bobby said. “I can’t wait to get to the top!”
    â€œLet’s go!” said Benny eagerly.
    The older children smiled at the two excited boys. Henry led the way inside.
    The lobby was quite large, and the walls and floor were covered with marble. There were lots of elevators and shops, and at first the Aldens weren’t sure which way to go.
    â€œ ‘To the Ob … observ …’ ” Benny tried to sound out the sign on the wall, but it was too difficult.
    â€œGood try,” said Jessie. “ ‘To the Observation Deck’.”
    A short line of people curved back from a ticket booth, and the children went to wait at the end.
    The line moved quickly. After they had bought their tickets and picked up some pamphlets with information, the children followed the people ahead of them to an elevator.
    Soon they were shooting up to the top of the building. The elevator went so quickly that the lighted sign over the door counted off the floors they passed by tens: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 …
    â€œHey!” Benny said. “My ears are popping like they do in an airplane.”
    â€œThat’s because we’re going up so high so quickly,” Jessie explained.
    60, 70, 80 …
    At last the elevator doors opened, and they were on the 86th floor. Benny and Bobby were the first out onto the observation deck, which ran all the way around the building.
    â€œThis is great!” Benny said. It was a clear, sunny day, and they could see for miles in every direction. The city lay spread out before them: rows of small buildings looked like toys, and tiny buses and cars moved along the streets. People were so small, the children could hardly see them.
    â€œWe’re facing north,” Jessie said. “See, there’s Central Park. I think I can see our hotel.”
    â€œWhat’s that building over there?” Benny asked, pointing to a tall, beautiful building.
    â€œThat’s the Chrysler building,” Henry said, checking his pamphlet.
    Off to the west, the children could see the Hudson River, alongside which they had driven into New York, with New Jersey stretching out on the other side. On the east they could see another river, the East River, with several bridges stretching across