Franklin Wants a Pet, Franklin's Blanket, and Franklin's School Play: Three Classic Franklin Stories (3 page)

At the pet store, Franklin pointed to a fish.

“I want a goldfish,” he said.

“A goldfish!” they said. “Why? A fish cannot do tricks or play with you.”

So Franklin explained. He liked to watch fish swim slowly around and around. He liked their beautiful colours. And he liked the way they made him feel inside. Quiet and calm.

“Besides,” he said. “I love goldfish.”

“That's the best reason of all,” said Franklin's parents.

Franklin named his fish Goldie. He took very good care of her, just as he'd promised.

Every morning, Franklin watched Goldie swim around and around. And every night before he went to bed, Franklin blew a great, big fish kiss and whispered, “I love you, Goldie.”

For two special children, Annie and Madeline – PB

For Linda, Derek and Stephanie, who had their own special blankets – BC

Franklin is a trade mark of Kids Can Press Ltd.

Text © 1995 by P.B. Creations Inc.

Illustrations © 1995 Brenda Clark Illustrator Inc.

Interior illustrations prepared with the assistance of Muriel Hughes Wood.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without, the prior written permission of Kids Can Press Ltd. or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from CANCOPY (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), 6 Adelaide Street East, Suite 900, Toronto, ON, M5C 1H6.

Kids Can Press Ltd.

29 Birch Avenue

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M4V 1E2

Printed in Hong Kong by Wing King Tong Co. Ltd.          

CDN PA 95 0 9 8 7 6

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Bourgeois, Paulette

                        Franklin's Blanket

ISBN 1-55074-154-3 (bound)       ISBN 1-55074-278-7 (pbk.)

I.  Clark, Brenda.    II. Title.

PS8553.O874F75 1995             jC813'.54           C95-930636-6

PZ7.B787Fran  1995

Written by
Paulette Bourgeois

Illustrated
by Brenda Clark

Kids Can Press

F
RANKLIN could slide down a riverbank all by himself. He could count by twos and tie his shoes. He could even sleep alone – as long as he had a goodnight story, a goodnight hug, a glass of water, a night light and his blue blanket.

In the beginning, the blanket was big and soft and edged in satin. But with all the snuggling and cuddling, it now had holes in the middle and tatters along the edges. Every year, as Franklin got bigger, his blue blanket got smaller.

Franklin usually kept his blanket folded in his top drawer. One night it wasn't there. Franklin searched around his room. He rummaged through his toy chest. He took everything out of his drawers and his books off the shelves. But he could not find his blue blanket anywhere.