Something that Ma and Pa called The Depression had

come to Canton, the town where Sarah lived with Ma

and Pa and her sister Polly. It swept through the flour

mill where Pa worked and when The Depression left

town, the flour mill stood empty and many houses

stared at the street with empty window eyes.

The Depression forced Pa to work at the livery stable

shoveling horse manure and it made Ma cry.

The Depression made Sarah and her sister Polly go

barefoot all summer.

Sarah swished through the damp green grass to pick a

bouquet of flowers for Ma. She squished the grass

between her toes. She felt the warm dirt tickle her feet.

Sarah didn’t want to wear shoes ever again.

Then the leaves dancing in coats of

many colors warned everyone in

Canton that fall had arrived for its

yearly visit. Ma looked at Sarah and

said, “My, my, Sarah. We need to

buy you a pair of shoes.” Pa didn’t

say anything. He just looked

worried.

Sarah knew he

was worrying

about the

Depression and

keeping their

house warm and

buying food.

Sarah wanted to make Pa smile again, so she said,

“Don’t worry, Pa. I have an extra pair of shoes to wear.”

She patted Pa on the shoulder. “I’ll wear them

tomorrow, Pa, so you and Ma won’t have to worry

anymore

Later that day Sarah crept out to Pa’s workshop in the

shed. She had seen an old pair of boots behind the

door. She would wear them to school so that Pa

wouldn’t worry about her bare feet.

The next morning Sarah slipped Pa’s old boots

on her feet and started off for school. As she

walked along she wrinkled her nose. “Something

smells funny,” she said to the red and yellow

autumn leaves.

“Something smells funny,”

Elmer the play ground bully said

as Sarah walked up to the

swings. “Sar-ahah, smells!

Sar-aah smells,” Elmer shouted.

Sarah played on the swings all by

herself, and when the bell rang to

go into school, she walked in by

herself. No one wanted to get near

Sarah and her smelly boots.

When Sarah sat down at her desk, everyone around her

moved over a seat.

Her teacher Mrs. Bertram called Sarah up to her desk.

“One of last year’s students left a pair of sandals in the

cloakroom, Sarah. They look like they are just your size.

Hurry and change into them so we can have our spelling

bee.”

Sarah slipped the sandals on her feet, leaving the smelly

boots in the cloakroom. She hurried back into class and

this time everyone stayed in their seats.

At lunch time when Sarah went into the cloakroom to

get her lunch box, she saw that Pa’s boots were gone.

“Where did my boots go, Mrs. Bertram? Pa won’t like

it if I lose them!”

“I put them in the furnace room. Mr. Eagan will watch

them until you’re ready to go home.”

After school, Sarah put the sandals back in the cloak room and hurried downstairs in her bare feet. She sat down on the furnace room floor and pulled on Pa’s boots.

Elmer and Spike followed Sarah home from school. Spike shouted, “Sarah smells like a frog,!”

Elmer shouted, “Sarah smelly boots! Sarah, smelly boots!”

Sarah slipped into Pa’s workshop and put the boots back

where she had found them that morning. She hurried into

the kitchen to help Ma bake biscuits for supper.

“What’s Elmer yelling about?” Ma asked. “I could hear

him all of the way in here. It sounds like he’s saying

Sarah Smelly Boots!”

He’s just being a noisy boy, Ma. Let’s eat supper.”

Pa and Ma and Polly and Sarah sat at the table eating

supper.

Polly sniffed. “I smell a horsey,” she said.

Ma sniffed. “I smell coffee.”

Sarah sniffed. “I don’t smell anything.”

Pa didn’t sniff, but he smiled at Polly. I think you smell

the horsey on Sarah’s socks.”

Then Sarah knew that Pa knew she had borrowed his

boots. After dinner, Sarah followed Pa out to his shop.

The boots were sitting on his work bench and he was

rubbing something that looked like soap into them. “The

boots don’t smell like Polly’s horsey. They smell like

your cherry pipe tobacco.” Sarah said.

“My boots smell like horses

because I work in a stable

with horses every day,” Pa

said. He laughed. “They are an

old pair and if you had told

me you were going to wear

them to school, I would have

cleaned them up a little.”

“I don’t mind the smell, Pa.

I’ll wear them to school

everyday,” Sarah told him.

“Here, Sarah, help me rub some of this beeswax into the

boots. That will help get rid of the smell.”

Sarah smiled. She imagined dozens of bees polishing

Pa’s boots with wax and soft cloths.

Sarah helped Pa rub the

beeswax into his boots.

“What are you doing to do

with the boots when we

get them cleaned up?”

Sarah asked Pa.

“What would you do with

them?” Pa asked. “I don’t

use them anymore because I

have a new pair and I can

only wear one pair of boots

at a time.”

“That’s true,” Pa said.

“There’s a pair of sandals at

school I could wear until it

snows. Then I could wear the

boots. I’ll ask Mrs. Bertram if I

can barter the boots for the

sandals,” Sarah said.

“I’ll trade them for something,”

Sarah said. “Mrs. Bertram said that

people are using the barter system a

lot now because there’s not much

money around.”

The next morning Sarah wore the boots to school again.

“Oh my, “ Mrs. Bertram said. “You have cleaned those

boots up enough so you can barter them .” She stared at

Sarah’s feet. “They look rather nice and they don’t smell

a bit.”

At recess, Elmer came over to Sarah his nose wrinkled

for a smell. He shouted “ Sarah smelly boots,.” Then he

stopped and sniffed. “I don’t smell your boots.”

Sarah stuck out her tongue at him. “That’s because I’m

not wearing them. I’m wearing my new sandals.”

“Bartered? What do you mean bartered?” Elmer said.

“You need to listen in class a lot better,” Sarah said,

sticking out her tongue at him.

“Are you going to wear the

smelly boots after school?”

Elmer asked Sarah.

“No, I bartered the boots for

these sandals and for a pair

of girl’s boots for winter,”

Sarah told Elmer.

“I bartered the boots ! I Traded them! I traded the boots

that don’t smell anymore.” Sarah told him.

“Who would want them?” Elmer asked her.

“I made a deal with Mrs. Bertram. I traded Pa’s boots

and Mrs. Bertram helped me. I didn’t ask her too many

questions. “

Sarah stuck her tongue out at Elmer again and ran to the

swings. Her new sandals were easier to run in than Pa’s

old boots.

The next morning Sarah got to school early because she could run so fast in her new sandals. She jumped on the swings and soared into the sky. She could see all the way across the street from the school to Elmer’s house. She saw Elmer’s mother help him put on a pair of boots and when she turned around Sarah saw Elmer take off the boots and hide them under a chair. She saw Elmer’s mother find the boots and help him put them on again.

The red door of Elmer’s house opened and

Elmer ran out onto the sidewalk carrying his

school books . He tripped over a crack in the

sidewalk and fell flat on top of his bag.

Sarah watched Elmer pull up his boots and get back up on his feet. “Sarah’s Smelly boots!” she yelled at the top of her voice.

“These are my Ma’s old boots,” Elmer yelled back.

Instead of yelling back at him, Sarah just smiled. He’d be wearing his bartered boots all winter so she had plenty of time to tease him!