Room for One More

No matter how hard it was to make ends meet, Poppy and Mother Rose could never say "no" to a homeless child, and in the Pumpkin Shell, their tiny summer cottage by the ocean, it was often hard to tell their own children from the strangers they took under their wing. But Janey, their latest acquisition, was somewhat of a problem. They had promised the Home to keep her for two weeks—and here it was the day before she was to go back, and still she acted like a stranger—afraid to go into the water with the others—almost scared of her own shadow. It wasn't that Janey didn't want to belong—she just didn't know how. Then Miss Winston, from the Home, arrives a day earlier to take Janey back with her. Janey rebels. She doesn't want to go. The rest of the children take a vote—they always decide such matters—and they decide that Janey can stay. They have no sooner shifted the sleeping quarters around to make room for her, when Jimmy John—another unfortunate—who had been waiting out in Miss Winston's car, comes in. Jimmy John is not only a problem child but wears braces on his legs. No one had ever been kind to Jimmy John before, and Mother's heart goes out to the boy. Before she herself realizes it, Jimmy John is taken into the ever-growing family—and they shift again to make room. Then in the midst of their hectic but happy existence, tragey strikes. Poppy, who has been overworking, succumbs to a heart attack. Mother's real and adopted family rally 'round and pitch in to keep the Pumpkin Shell going. It's not easy, for Joey is starting his first year at medical school in the fall, and Mother's rejection slips from her writing have been coming in with alarming regularity. When Joey realizes how tough things are for the family, he decides to give up medical school and accepts a job—but Mother puts her foot down on that idea. Meanwhile Jimmy John has been making remarkable strides. Several operations—which have caused the drastic drain on the family income—enable him to walk with hardly a trace of a limp. Finally, Mother decides the only solution to their financial problems is to sell the Pumkin Shell. When Jimmy John overhears Mother and Mrs. Biddle discussing the sale, and realizes that the bills for his operations make it necessary to sell the Pumpkin Shell, he runs away. But the kids find him and bring him back. Then like a sudden burst of sunshine, fortune smile upon the Pumpkin Shell—and all because of Jimmy John. The heart-warming conclusion is one that will delight and enchant your audience.