Frogs' Legs for Dinner? Read online

  THE KATIE LYNN

  COOKIE COMPANY

  PRESIDENT: KATIE LYNN

  VICE PRESIDENT: TINA

  HEAD BAKER: GRANDMA

  AGENDA:

  1. TO KEEP MAKING SUPER-SCRUMPTIOUS-YUMMY-DELICIOUS COOKIES!

  2. TO FIND A NEW COOKIE THAT EVERYONE WILL GO APE FOR (AND RAISE MONEY FOR THE APE HOUSE AT THE ZOO)!

  3. TO KEEP TINA’S LITTLE BROTHER OUT OF THE WAY LONG ENOUGH TO GET THE NEW COOKIES READY IN TIME FOR THE ZOO BENEFIT!

  4. TO KEEP MOM’S FRENCH COOKING OUT OF THE KITCHEN—AND HER FROGS’ LEGS OUT OF THE COOKIE DOUGH!

  5. TO HELP JONATHAN NEXT DOOR LOOK FOR HIS MISSING PET FROG … IT MUST BE AROUND SOMEWHERE.

  Text copyright © 2000 by G. E. Stanley.

  Illustrations copyright © 2000 by Linda Dockey Graves.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Stanley, George Edward.

  Frogs’ legs for dinner? / by G. E. Stanley;

  illustrated by Linda Dockey Graves.

  p. cm. — (The Katie Lynn Cookie Company; #2)

  “A Stepping Stone Book.”

  Summary: Mrs. Cooke’s new enthusiasm for French cooking creates chaos in the kitchen and endangers Katie Lynn’s cookie-baking business.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-81705-1

  [1. Cookery—Fiction]

  I. Graves, Linda Dockey, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.S78694Fr 2000 [Fic]—dc21 98-47052

  A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  THE KATIE LYNN COOKIE COMPANY is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  v3.1

  To Shana, for taking over the reins so expertly—

  and to

  Gwen, Charles, James, and Tambye,

  with all my love!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Flying Pies

  2. The Goofy French Chef

  3. Watch Out for Snails!

  4. Frogs’ Legs for Dinner

  5. Where’s Burt?

  6. Animal Cookies

  7. This Place Is a Zoo!

  8. The Secret’s in the Sauce

  9. Everyone Goes Ape!

  Katie Lynn’s Cookbook

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Flying Pies

  “Sit down, everyone!” said Mrs. Cooke. “Dinner’s ready!”

  Katie Lynn and her best friend, Tina, joined Mr. Cooke and Grandma at the kitchen table.

  Mrs. Cooke gave them all a big smile. “It’s time to take my surprise out of the oven,” she said.

  Katie Lynn gulped. She had eaten some of her mother’s surprises before. She could never figure out what they were.

  “What is it, Mrs. Cooke?” asked Tina.

  “Quiche Lorraine!” said Mrs. Cooke.

  “Keesh lo rain?” said Katie Lynn. “What’s that?”

  “It’s a pie filled with eggs, bacon, cream, and cheese all mixed together,” replied Mrs. Cooke.

  Tina leaned over to Katie Lynn. “I thought pies were supposed to have apples or blueberries in them,” she whispered.

  “They are,” said Katie Lynn. “With ice cream on top!”

  But Mrs. Cooke wasn’t listening. “I’ve been watching the French Chef on television,” she said. “He says that anyone can be a great French cook.”

  Katie Lynn wondered if the French Chef had ever tried her mother’s cooking.

  Mrs. Cooke put on a pair of huge oven mitts and took two round pie tins out of the oven. Something yellow was bubbling over their sides.

  “Don’t they look wonderful?” Mrs. Cooke said proudly.

  “Oh, yes!” said Mr. Cooke and Grandma.

  Katie Lynn didn’t think they looked wonderful. She thought they looked awful.

  “I need to go home,” Tina whispered.

  “No way!” Katie Lynn whispered back.

  Mrs. Cooke began walking slowly toward the table. She was trying to balance a pie tin in each hand.

  All of a sudden, one of the tins started to wobble. Mrs. Cooke tried to balance it. She moved to the right, then to the left, then back to the right.

  “Why is she dancing?” Tina whispered.

  Katie Lynn shrugged. “Maybe you’re supposed to dance when you cook French food,” she whispered back.

  The pie tins continued to wobble, and Mrs. Cooke continued to dance from side to side. One tin started to fall. Mrs. Cooke flung up her arms, sending both tins soaring into the air.

  Mrs. Cooke screamed.

  Mr. Cooke dived under the table.

  “I’m out of here!” cried Tina. She jumped up and ran out of the kitchen.

  Katie Lynn was too stunned to move. She thought the pie tins looked like flying saucers.

  One landed on the floor with a big splat. Then the other landed in the middle of the table with a huge sploosh.

  Mrs. Cooke looked as if she was going to cry.

  But Grandma quickly grabbed a fork. She scraped up some of the quiche from the middle of the table and ate it. “Delicious!” she said.

  Mr. Cooke climbed out from under the table. He ate some of the quiche, too. “It has an interesting flavor,” he added. Katie Lynn knew he always said that about her mother’s cooking.

  Now everyone was looking at her. It was her turn to say something, so she picked up her fork and tasted the quiche.

  “Uh … that was really good, Mom,” she said. Then she gulped down her water.

  “Why, thank you, Katie Lynn,” said Mrs. Cooke. She gave her a wink. “I guess you and Grandma aren’t the only good cooks in this family.”

  Grandma and Katie Lynn looked at each other. They didn’t say anything.

  Mr. Cooke just took another bite of quiche.

  After dinner, Mrs. Cooke stood up and sighed contentedly. “I am so thrilled that everyone loved my quiche. I can hardly wait to see what the French Chef cooks tomorrow.”

  The Goofy French Chef

  The next day after school, Katie Lynn and Tina and Grandma were in the kitchen baking their famous Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies for the Katie Lynn Cookie Company. Mr. Chesterfield would need his cookie delivery soon for his restaurant. They were almost done, but Tina’s little brother, Gerald, kept trying to steal the cookies.

  Right now, Gerald was sitting on the floor. He was licking cookie dough off a wooden spoon.

  Mrs. Cooke came to the kitchen door.

  “Bonjour, everyone!” she said. “Katie Lynn, my cooking show is on television. I thought you and I could watch it. Maybe the French Chef will have a new recipe that we can make together.”

  Katie Lynn turned to Grandma. “Can you and Tina double up while I’m gone?” she asked.

  “Certainly, dear, if you take Gerald with you!” said Grandma.

  Katie Lynn and Gerald followed Mrs. Cooke back into the living room. The French Chef’s face filled the television screen. He had a big droopy mustache and was wearing a tall chef’s hat.

  Mrs. Cooke beamed at the TV. “Isn’t he wonderful?” she asked.

  “I think he looks goofy,” Gerald said.

  Katie Lynn silently agreed.

  “Zee secret to good cooking eez using your imagination,” said the French Chef. “Today, we are going to cook snails.”

  Katie Lynn gasped. “Did he sa
y snails?”

  “Yes,” said Mrs. Cooke. She had a dreamy look on her face. “The French eat a lot of snails.”

  Suddenly, Katie Lynn’s stomach felt funny.

  The television camera zoomed in on the snails. They were climbing up the sides of a big glass bowl. Katie Lynn was sure they were trying to escape.

  “Oh, wow!” Gerald said. “This is neat!” He was staring at the TV with bug eyes. But Katie Lynn closed hers. She couldn’t watch anymore.

  Finally, Mrs. Cooke said, “That’s what we’re going to eat tonight!”

  Katie Lynn opened her eyes. “What?” she said.

  “Snails,” said Mrs. Cooke.

  Mrs. Cooke left for the market, and Katie Lynn went back to the kitchen.

  She didn’t feel so good.

  “Well, what are we having for dinner?” asked Grandma.

  “Snails,” Katie Lynn replied weakly.

  “Oh, no!” Grandma gasped.

  “Oh, yes,” said Katie Lynn. “Mom’s gone to the market to get them.”

  Watch Out for Snails!

  Katie Lynn ate some cookies to take her mind off the snails. Then she went back to baking with Grandma and Tina. Gerald was still in the living room, watching reruns of The French Chef.

  Finally, Katie Lynn said, “We only need one more batch and Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies will be ready.”

  Just then, Mrs. Cooke burst into the kitchen. “I’m back!” she announced. She held up a paper bag. “They had some wonderful snails at the market!”

  “They’re alive!” screamed Tina.

  “Of course they’re alive, Tina,” said Mrs. Cooke. “They’re supposed to be alive.”

  “Mom!” cried Katie Lynn. “Some of them are crawling on your dress!”

  Mrs. Cooke looked down. “Oh, my goodness! You’re right. How in the world did they get out?” She plucked the snails off her dress and put them back inside the paper bag.

  Katie Lynn shivered. She hoped no snails ever crawled on her clothes!

  Mrs. Cooke took a big bowl out of the cupboard and dumped the snails into it.

  The snails started crawling up the sides.

  They’re trying to escape, Katie Lynn thought, just like the ones on television.

  Katie Lynn went back to mixing together the cookie ingredients while Mrs. Cooke got the snails ready to cook.

  Suddenly, Tina screamed, “There’s a snail in my cookie dough!”

  Katie Lynn looked at Tina’s dough. “No, there isn’t, Tina. That’s just a chocolate chunk.”

  “But there are some on the floor,” said Grandma. “Be careful not to step on them.”

  Tina started jumping up and down. “I don’t want them crawling on me!” she screamed.

  “Stop it, Tina!” shouted Katie Lynn. “You just squashed two of them!”

  “Oh! Oh! My new shoes!” cried Tina. Now she was hopping around even more. “They’re ruined! They’re ruined!”

  Mrs. Cooke reached down and picked up the snails that hadn’t been squashed. She washed them off and put them in a skillet. “That should solve the problem,” she said.

  “I can’t watch this,” Tina whispered to Katie Lynn.

  “Me neither,” said Katie Lynn.

  They dropped their cookie dough onto the cookie sheets and put them into the oven. They tried not to look at the skillet with the snails in it.

  When the cookies were done, Katie Lynn and Tina took them out of the oven.

  “I hope you girls checked your cookie dough carefully,” said Mrs. Cooke. “I think some of the snails are missing.”

  Katie Lynn and Tina looked at each other in horror.

  Frogs’ Legs for Dinner

  The next morning, Katie Lynn was double-checking the last batch of cookies for snails when the telephone rang.

  “Katie Lynn, ma chérie! Please answer that!” called Mrs. Cooke. “I’m watching the French Chef and I don’t want to be disturbed!”

  Katie Lynn grabbed the receiver. “Hello!” she said.

  It was Mr. Chesterfield.

  “We just ran out of cookies!” he said.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Chesterfield. Grandma’s on her way with the first half of the order,” Katie Lynn said. “We’ll deliver the rest of them as soon as possible.”

  “Great!” said Mr. Chesterfield. He paused. “Have you ever thought about baking other kinds of cookies?” he asked.

  “No, not really,” said Katie Lynn. “Why?”

  “I’m in charge of the Zoo Benefit this year,” said Mr. Chesterfield. “And I want to auction off some special cookies to raise money for a new Ape House.”

  “A new Ape House!” Katie Lynn cried. “That’s a great idea!” Katie Lynn thought the animals in the zoo sometimes looked a little sad. She wished they could do something like this for all of them.

  “I think so, too, Katie Lynn,” said Mr. Chesterfield. “They need a home that feels more like a jungle.”

  “Well, I’m sure we can figure out something that will work,” said Katie Lynn.

  “Good. Let’s talk about it later,” said Mr. Chesterfield. “Your grandmother just arrived with the cookies.”

  Mrs. Cooke came into the kitchen as Katie Lynn hung up the receiver. “We’re having frogs’ legs tonight!” she announced. “The French Chef showed me how to cook them.”

  “Frogs’ legs?” Katie Lynn said.

  Mrs. Cooke nodded. “Yes. The French Chef says their flavor leaps right out of the frying pan. He’s a food genius!”

  Katie Lynn pictured frogs’ legs leaping all over their kitchen floor. She tried to think about the new cookie. But all she could think about was cookies with frogs’ legs sticking out of them.

  She ran next door to Tina’s house. Tina was sitting on her front porch, watching Gerald dig in the dirt.

  Katie Lynn told her about Mr. Chesterfield’s telephone call.

  “What kind of cookies would be special?” Tina asked.

  Katie Lynn shrugged. “That’s what we have to figure out.”

  “Well, let’s not add any chocolate chunks to them,” said Tina. “You can’t tell those from snails.”

  “We don’t have to worry about snails anymore,” said Katie Lynn. “Now it’s frogs’ legs.”

  “Frogs’ legs?” Tina exclaimed.

  Katie Lynn nodded. “That’s French cooking, too. Mom went to the market to buy some.”

  “I thought frogs were pets,” said Tina. She looked next door to where Jonathan Wilbarger was sitting on his front porch. He looked upset. “Hey, Jonathan!” she shouted. “Don’t you have a pet frog?”

  “I used to,” Jonathan said sadly. “But Burt disappeared this morning.” He sniffled. “I really miss him.”

  “Katie Lynn’s family is eating frogs’ legs for dinner tonight,” Tina said.

  Jonathan’s eyes went wide. He jumped up and ran inside his house.

  “Why did you tell him that?” demanded Katie Lynn.

  Tina shrugged. “It just came out.”

  “Well, I don’t want to talk about frogs anymore. I want to talk about our new cookie,” said Katie Lynn. “Come on. Grandma should be home by now. Maybe she’ll have some ideas.”

  “I can’t leave. I’m baby-sitting Gerald,” Tina said. “It’s my job to make sure he doesn’t eat Dad’s newspaper.”

  Katie Lynn rolled her eyes. “Your little brother is so weird.”

  “I know,” said Tina.

  Katie Lynn laughed. “Well, bring him with you. Our kitchen can’t get any weirder!”

  “Okay,” said Tina.

  She grabbed Gerald’s hand, and the three of them ran to Katie Lynn’s house. They went straight to the kitchen. Mrs. Cooke was cooking frogs’ legs.

  Katie Lynn suddenly wondered if Burt’s legs were among them.

  Where’s Burt?

  Katie Lynn told Grandma about the new cookie that Mr. Chesterfield wanted.

  “It’s very important to the apes, Grandma,” she added.

  So G
randma got out her recipes. But nothing looked special to them. Some were too hard. Some were too plain. And some had stuff in them that Gerald was allergic to.

  “He’ll want to lick the spoons,” said Tina. “And then he’ll start itching all over.”

  “Ooh la la!” said Mrs. Cooke. “The French Chef was right. These frogs’ legs look delicious.”

  “See you later, Katie Lynn,” said Tina.

  “You and Gerald are both welcome to stay for dinner, Tina,” said Mrs. Cooke.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Cooke, but we have to go home,” said Tina. “My mother says I eat over here too much.”

  “You can’t leave now,” whispered Katie Lynn. “We still haven’t decided on a new kind of cookie.”

  “Sorry,” Tina said. “Come on, Gerald.”

  “Ribbet! Ribbet!” croaked Gerald. He hopped through the door behind her.

  Katie Lynn and Grandma set the table.

  Mr. Cooke came into the kitchen. He looked nervous.

  Mrs. Cooke put a huge platter in the center of the table. “Ta-da!” she said. “Frogs’ legs! Bon appétit!”

  Just then, the front doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” said Mr. Cooke. He jumped up from the table and ran out of the room.

  Dad’s never coming back tonight, Katie Lynn thought. He won’t have to eat frogs’ legs like the rest of us.

  All of a sudden, Mr. Cooke reappeared at the door to the kitchen. Jonathan Wilbarger was right behind him. Jonathan looked as if he had been crying.

  “Where’s Burt?” Jonathan demanded. He was looking at the huge platter of frogs’ legs on the table.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jonathan,” said Mr. Cooke.

  “Those are his legs!” Jonathan cried. He pointed to two of the biggest legs on the platter. “That’s what’s left of Burt!” He looked at Mrs. Cooke. “I can’t believe you cooked my pet frog! Burt was part of our family.”

  “But I bought these frogs’ legs at the market,” said Mrs. Cooke.

  Jonathan walked over to the table and took the two big frogs’ legs off the platter. “Don’t worry, Burt,” he said. “I don’t know where the rest of you is, but I’ll always take care of your legs.”