Polly has lost track of little Phronsie, whom she was supposed to be watching -- and now she and Jasper run into old Mr. Selwyn in the library of the steamer ship bound overseas to England. He seems very ill!

And who "is" this boy who seems so cruel to the sick old man? And what about this stuck-up girl Fanny Vanderburgh, who thinks the old man is "much" too common?

People come all shapes and sizes -- and the Five Little Peppers meet every sort imaginable, while finding adventures, new friends, and even a few dangers. And how delighted they will be, seeing how things turn out -- almost topsy-turvy, for the odd little group that includes the oh-so-common Mr. Selwyn and those haughtily proud Vanderburghs!

The little old kitchen had quieted down from the bustle and confusion of mid-day; and now, with its afternoon manners on, presented a holiday aspect, that as the principal room in the brown house, it was eminently proper it should have. It was just on the edge of the twilight; and the little Peppers, all except Ben, the oldest of the flock, were enjoying a "breathing spell," as their mother called it, which meant some quiet work suitable for the hour. All the "breathing spell" they could remember however, poor things; for times were always hard with them nowadays; and since the father died, when Phronsie was a baby, Mrs. Pepper had had hard work to scrape together money enough to put bread into her children's mouths, and to pay the rent of the little brown house.

Jefferson, said Phronsie, with a grave uplifting of her eyebrows, "I think I will go down into the kitchen and bake a pie; a very little pie, Jefferson." "Bless you, Miss," replied the cook, showing his white teeth in glee, "it is the making of the kitchen when you come it." "Yes, Jefferson," said Phronsie slowly, "I think I will go down make one. It must be very, very full of plums, you know," looking up at him anxiously, "for Polly dearly loves plums." "It shall be that plummy," said Jefferson convincingly, "that you'd think you never saw such a one for richness. Oh, my what a pie that shall be " exclaimed the cook, shutting up one eye to look through the other in a spasm of delight at an imaginary pie; "so it's for Miss Mary, is it?" "Yes," said Phronsie, "it is. Oh, Jefferson, I'm so glad you like to have me make one," she clasped her hands in silent rapture, and sat down on the lowest stair to think it over a bit, Jefferson looking at her, forgetful that the under cook was fuming in the deserted domains over his delay to return.

Come on, Dave! It was Joel's voice, and Polly pricked up her ears. "'Tisn't going to hurt you. Hoh! you're a 'fraid-cat-old 'fraid-cat!" "No, I'm not 'fraid-cat," declared little Davie, trying to speak stoutly; "I'm coming, Joel," and his little rusty shoes pattered unevenly down the rickety board walk. "Jo-el!" called Polly, thinking it quite time now to interfere. Joel scuttled behind the old woodshed, and several smothered grunts proclaimed his disapproval at the interruption. "Now I know you're up to some mischief," declared Polly, "so you just come into the house, Joel Pepper, and tell me what it is." "'Tisn't," said Joel, loudly insisting. "Don't go, Dave," in a loud whisper. Thereupon ensued a lively scuffle, evidently, by the noise they made. "I must," said little Davie; "Polly called us."

"Shan't we ever have anything else to eat, Polly?" asks the child, gravely.

"Oh, yes," says Polly, cheerfully. "Lots and lots -- when our ship comes in!"

"What'll it be?" asks Phronsie, in the greatest delight, prepared for anything.

"Oh, I don't know," says Polly. "Ice cream, for one thing!"

The little Peppers dream on -- cake, ice cream . . . with pink frosting! As they learn, however, sometimes things must get worse before they get better.

In the "Five Little Peppers" series, Margaret Sidney (1880-1916) wrote some of the most beloved children's novels ever published.

The story of young people's lives is not complete without many and broad glimpses of their school days. It was impossible to devote the space to this recital of the Five Little Peppers' school life, in the books that showed their growing up. The author, therefore, was obliged unwillingly to omit all the daily fun and study and growth, that she, loving them as if they were real children before her eyes, saw in progress.

So she packed it all away in her mind, ready to tell to all those young people who also loved the Peppers, when they clamored for more stories about them -- just what Polly and Joel and David did in their merry school days. Ben never got as much schooling as the others, for he insisted on getting into business life as early as possible, in order the sooner to begin to pay Grandpapa King back for all his kindness. But Jasper and Percy and Van joined the Peppers at school, and a right merry time they had of it

And now the time seems ripe to accede to all the insistent demands from those who love the Five Little Peppers, that this record of their school days should be given. So here it is, just as they all gave it to

Margaret Sidney

This children's classic, first published in 1881, which tells the story of the widowed Mrs. Pepper and her five children-Ben, Polly, David, Joel, and Phronsie, continues to resonate with readers today. Without being saccharine, the book reveals the true value of family. When the children, or Five Little Peppers as they are known in Badgertown, wish they could afford a special birthday celebration for their mother, Mamsie, she says, with a smile like a flash of sunshine, ""I don't want any other celebration . . . than to look around on you all. I'm rich now, and that's a fact."" This is the first in a series of books about the inhabitants of the Little Brown House.