Chapter 1: The Canoe
It was a sunny morning on a beach in San Francisco. Rosemary was lounging around on the sand. She was babysitting a bunch of little kids with her friend Eloise. The little kids were playing on the beach. Rosemary rolled over on her side to look at the kids. They were dirty; she hoped she wouldn’t have to clean them off. Eloise, who was beside her, was snoring. It was easy to drift off on a sunny morning. Rosemary shook her awake, saying, “Eloise, the kids are fighting.”
Rosemary sighed. She and Eloise were both twelve. Mary, a six-year-old, was sobbing. Rosemary went over to her, and, trying not to sound annoyed, asked her, “Mary, dear, are you okay?”
“Ricky hit me,” she whined.
Ricky (age 8) was a bit of a pest. “Ricky, don't hit Mary,” Rosemary said, not trying to hide her annoyance this time.