Chapter 26

Summary Autumn is filled with special events. On Halloween, Francie and Neeley, like all the children, dress in costumes and go trick or treating. There are also Thanksgiving celebrations. The teacher brings a pumpkin pie, a holiday tradition. She offers to give it to one of the students, but they are all too proud to ask for it. Francie, however, really wants to take the pie home, for she has never tasted it before. As a result, to save her pride and still gain the pie, she tells a lie, saying she would like to take it to a very poor family that she knows. When Francie begins embellishing her story, the teacher realizes that she is not telling the truth. Instead of punishing her, the teacher tells her that she is a very creative student. She encourages her to write down her imaginative stories, but to speak the truth. Francie never forgets her advice.

When her teacher brings a pumpkin pie to school for Thanksgiving and offers to give it away to one of the students, Francie really wants to ask for it, but she is too proud. She does not want the other students or the teacher to think that she is so poor that she must take charity. As a result, she invents a false story, saying she will take the pie to a poor family that she knows. When Francie adds too many details to the tale, the teacher realizes that she has made up the entire story. She encourages Francie to speak the truth and write down her creative stories. Francie tries to follow the teacher's advice the rest of her life.

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