March 15
Dear Daddy Longlegs,
It's very stormy outside tonight.
All the girls have turned off their lights and gone to sleep.
But I drank black coffee, so I can't sleep.
I had a party in my room this evening for Sallie and Julia.
We ate sardines, muffins, salad, and fudge.
We also drank coffee, which I'm now regretting!
"I had fun," Julia said as she was leaving.
Imagine that! An orphan successfully entertained a Pendleton.
But Sallie was the true friend.
She stayed and helped with the dishes.
Would you mind pretending that you're my grandmother?
I know that's a strange request!
But tonight the other girls were comparing their grandmothers.
"I have one grandmother," Sallie said.
"She's lots of fun."
"I have two grandmothers," Julia said.
Well, of course, she has more grandmothers than anyone does!
A grandmother seems like a nice relative to have.
When I went into town yesterday, I saw a lace cap trimmed with lilac ribbon.
Would you like that?
I'll buy it for your 83rd birthday, Granny dear.
Meanwhile I am studying verb forms for my Latin exam.
I have studied verb forms for my exam.
I will be studying verb forms for my exam.
The exam is next week, and I have vowed to pass it!
The clock in the chapel is striking midnight.
I feel sleepy after all.
Goodnight, Granny. I love you dearly.
Your granddaughter,
Judy
March 26
Dear Sir:
You never answer any questions.
You never show the slightest interest in anything I do.
You are the most horrible of all the horrible trustees at the orphanage.
You're only educating me out of a sense of duty.
You don't care about me at all!
I don't know a single thing about you.
I don't even know your name.
It's very boring to write to a thing.
I doubt you even read my letters.
I'm sure you toss them into the trash without opening them.
From now on, I will write only about my schoolwork.
I retook my Latin and geometry exams.
I passed them both.
Yours truly,
Jerusha Abbott
April 2
Dear Daddy Longlegs,
I am a BEAST.
Please forget that horrible letter I sent last week.
I was feeling lonely and miserable when I wrote.
Plus, I had a sore throat.
I didn't know it, but I was coming down with tonsillitis and the flu.
I'm in the infirmary now.
I've been here for six days!
This is the first time they let me sit up and have pen and paper.
(The head nurse is very bossy!)
I've been thinking about that awful letter the whole time.
I won't get well until you forgive me.
I can't write anything more.
I feel rather shaky; I think I've been sitting up too long.
Please forgive me for being rude and ungrateful.
I was badly brought up.
Yours with love,
Judy
April 4
Dearest Daddy Longlegs,
I am still in the infirmary.
Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in bed, looking at the rain.
I was feeling bored with life in this great institution.
Suddenly a nurse appeared with a long white box.
"For me?" I said in surprise.
"What do you think is in inside?"
The nurse laughed. (She was obviously a nice nurse, not the bossy and mean head nurse.)
"You must have an admirer," she said.
"There's usually only one thing that comes in a box like that—"
"Roses!" I exclaimed as I lifted the cover.
The box was filled with the loveliest pink roses!
Thank you a thousand times, Daddy Longlegs.
Your flowers are the first real present I've ever received.
I know you sent me money for Christmas.
But the roses prove that you were really thinking about me.
And the card is even nicer than the roses.
I can tell you wrote it yourself and didn't have your secretary do it.
I thought the funny handwriting showed lots of personality.
Do you want to know what a baby I am?
I lay down and cried because I was so happy.
I'm sure now that you read my letters.
So I'll make them much more interesting.
I hope you'll keep them tied with a red ribbon and locked in a safe.
But please remove that rude letter and burn it.
I hate to think that you ever read it.
Thank you for thinking of a sick, miserable, and grumpy freshman.
You made me very happy.
You probably have lots of loving family and friends.
So you don't know what it's like to feel alone. But I do.
Good-bye.
I promise never to be rude again because now I know you're a real person.
I also promise never to bother you with any more questions.
Yours forever,
Judy
P.S. Maybe I'll ask just one more question.
Do you still hate girls?