Chapter IV – The Fruit Sale
Several months went by as Charlie Brown and his friends went to band practice two days a week. Things were coming along reasonably well for all of them learning their new instruments, even for Charlie Brown. He had still not been able to bring him self to speak to the Little Red Haired Girl, but he enjoyed looking at her from across the band room during practice, just as he would look at her from across the class room during the school day.
One day at the beginning of band practice, Charlie Brown was gazing at the Little Red Haired Girl from across the band room, when something unusual interrupted his thoughts. The band director, Mr. Dunlap, was standing aside from his usual place on the podium. In his place, was a woman whom he had never seen before; a very large woman with funny looking hair.
Charlie Brown turned around to the trombone section to ask, "Linus, who is that lady?"
"That's the band booster's president, Charlie Brown. She is talking about the annual fruit sale fundraiser, so we can raise money to go on trips this fall."
As Charlie Brown listened to the speech, he began to worry. He didn't know anything about selling fruit, or selling anything for that matter. The previous Christmas, he had gone door to door in his neighborhood, trying to sell Christmas wreaths that he had made. He did not sell a single one. This was typical as to how all of Charlie Brown's business ventures turned out. Even when he would offer services, such as raking leaves in the fall, or shoveling sidewalks in the winter, no one would ever want his help.
When the lady at the front of the room finished talking, Molly Volley turned to Charlie Brown and said, "OK, Kid! I hope you plan on selling a lot of fruit, because the section that sells the most fruit gets free pizza from Joe's Pizza Parlor! But this isn't about the pizza. It's about mello pride! So are you gonna help me sell a lot of fruit or what, Kid?"
"Sure. I'll try at least," replied Charlie Brown.
"That's the spirit, Kid. We're gonna WIN!"
Later that evening, Charlie Brown was at home reading the letter that Mr. Dunlap had sent home with the students.
"Dear Band Member," Charlie Brown read aloud. "It is that time of year again to begin raising money for all of our band trips in the fall. For our first fundraiser, we will be holding our annual fruit sale. This fruit sale has made a lot of money for the band in the past, and we hope that all of the students will work hard again to make this year's sale a success. In order have a profitable sale, we ask that each student sell at least twenty boxes of fruit." Charlie Brown stopped reading and said, "Twenty boxes! Good grief! How in the world am I going to sell twenty boxes?!" He continued reading the letter, "It is encouraged that students sell as many boxes as possible. This sale will last for two weeks. To help promote sales this year, we have decided to have a competition between all of the sections. The section that sells the most fruit will receive free pizza and root beer from Joe's Pizza Parlor. Thank you and good luck!"
Charlie Brown began to worry. How was he going to be able to sell that much fruit? Since his sister Sally was also going to have to do the same, he decided that maybe they should work together. Charlie Brown looked around the house for Sally, only to find her in the back yard spinning her flag, as she stood on top of a cardboard box. Charlie Brown was puzzled.
"Um...Sally...What are you doing?" Charlie Brown asked, wondering if he would be sorry for asking such a question.
"I'm practicing my box drills!" Sally said enthusiastically.
"Your box drills?" Charlie Brown said.
"Yeah! Mr. Dunlap said that next week we are going to learn how to do box drills, and I want to get a head start!" She answered proudly.
"Um...Sally. I don't think that's exactly what Mr. Dunlap had in mind....Oh, nevermind that now. Sally, how are we going to sell this much fruit?" Charlie Brown said, holding up the letter.
"We? You're my Big Brother, so that means you have to sell my twenty boxes along with your twenty boxes!" Sally said.
"But that's forty boxes! Selling twenty is going to be hard enough! There's no way I'm selling that many." Charlie Brown said in frustration.
"But you're my Big Brother!" Sally protested.
"That may be true," said Charlie Brown, "But you have responsibilities too, Sally. If you want to be in the marching band, there are going to be a lot of extra things that you are going to have to do. And you shouldn't expect me, or anyone else to do these things for you. So...how do you think we should go about selling this much fruit?"
"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." She answered.
"Well, you really should. We only have two weeks, you know." Charlie Brown warned her.
Sally stopped spinning her flag, and stepped down from the box. "I guess you're right, Big Brother. How are we going to sell this much fruit?"
"I don't know, Sally. I was thinking we could start out by asking Mom and Dad, and then maybe calling Grandma and Grandpa. And then, I thought maybe we should around the neighborhood and asking if people want to buy any."
"But you've never sold anything around the neighborhood!" Sally reminded him.
"Yes, Sally. I know." Charlie Brown said discouragingly. "But...I suppose we could at least try."
The next day Charlie Brown and Sally went door to door in their neighborhood, in hopes of finding some business. Charlie Brown knocked on the door of the first house and a man answered. "Good morning sir. Would you like to buy a box of fruit to support the marching band? Oh...I see. Well thank you anyway, sir. Have a good day!"
"What happened?" asked Sally. "He said he didn't want any fruit because....Well, you've been to Johnson's Produce Market down town."
"Yes, what about it?"
"Well, that was Mr. Johnson! What does he need to buy fruit from us for? He has a whole supermarket full of it!"
"You're whole trouble is that you don't try hard enough." Sally lectured as they arrived at the next house. "Here. Let me try!"
Sally went up the front porch steps and knocked on the door. A kid about her age answered the door.
"Hey kid, you don't look very good. You look like you've been eating too much candy. You need some fruit! Ask your mother if she wants to buy fruit from us!" She demanded.
A few minutes later he came back and said, "She said she would like to, but we already have an apple tree in our back yard."
"Just wait and see! You'll be sorry when you're apple tree gets termites. Then you'll wish you had bought from us!" Sally yelled as the boy closed the door.
Charlie Brown and Sally went all over their neighborhood, without luck, trying to sell at least one box of fruit.
"Well, Sally. We went all over the neighborhood, and we didn't sell a single box." Charlie Brown said disappointed as they returned to their house.
"Don't worry yet, Big Brother." Sally answered. "Remember we still have ask Mom and Dad."
"You're right. We'll have to wait until they get home. In the mean time, why don't you call Grandma and Grampa?"
Sally went into the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"Hello, Grandma? It's me. Sally! How are you? Christmas gift? Why yes, I really liked the Christmas gift you sent me, thank you very much. Oh, no. Your 'thank you' card didn't get lost in the mail. I just never sent it.....Yes, Grandma.....Yes....Yes, I understand. I apologize. Well, thank you again. Goodbye." "Well, what happened?" Charlie Brown asked as Sally hung up the telephone.
"I never got around to asking her if she wanted to buy any fruit from us. I was too busy apologizing!" She replied.
"Apologizing? What for?" Charlie Brown asked, a bit confused.
"I had to apologize because I didn't send her a 'thank you' card for the Christmas present she sent!"
"Christmas present? But Christmas was months ago!"
"I know. I had no idea thank you cards were so important to Grandmas. What's the big deal anyway? I just thanked her over the phone. Isn't that good enough?" Sally complained.
"Sometimes people like to know that you really appreciate what they do for you. It's very impolite not to send a 'thank you' card when someone send you a gift," Charlie Brown tried to explain.
"But I don't like writing out thank you cards!" Sally continued to complain.
"It doesn't matter. If that's the case, maybe we should tell Grandma and Grandpa that you don't like receiving gifts either. Then you won't have to worry about sending the tank you cards....Anyway," Charlie Brown said, returning to the issue at hand, "Let's call Grandma again, and I'll talk to her this time. She'll be happy to hear from me."
"What makes you say that, Big Brother?" Sally asked.
"Because I sent her a thank you card! Not to mention a birthday card, and an anniversary card." He said.
"Big Brothers always like to show off," Sally said as Charlie Brown dialed his Grandparent's phone number.
"Hello, Grandma? It's Charlie Brown. How are you?.....Well, I was wondering, if you'd be interested in buying some fruit from Sally and I? We just joined the marching band, see, and they are making us sell fruit to help raise money.....You would? Thank you very much!....Yes...you too, Grandma. Goodbye!" Charlie Brown wore a huge smile as he hung up the phone. "Guess what, Sally! Grandma just bought two boxes from us!"
"Our first sale!" She said excitedly.
Later that evening, after Charlie Brown had explained the whole situation to his father, entered Sally's room and said, "Sally, I just talked to Dad about our problem. I told him about how we went all over the neighborhood this afternoon and didn't sell anything. He said he is willing to help us out."
"Really? That's great!"
"He said that he can take orders down at his barbershop. He knows a lot of people, and he is friends with most of his customers. Not only that, but he is always candy bars and girl scout cookies from people who are selling them for their children, so a lot of people will be happy to return the favor and buy from him. He said he shouldn't have any trouble at all selling that much fruit for us. He said that he may even be able to sell more than forty boxes." Charlie Brown explained.
"That's even better. Does this mean I don't have to do anything else for this sale?" Sally asked, trying to get out of doing more work.
"Well, that's the thing, Sally. Dad said he would be more than willing to help us, only if we help take care of delivering all of the fruit. Would you be willing to do that?"
"Oh, I suppose so." She answered.
"Good then. I'll go tell Dad."
Charlie Brown was pleased with the way things were turning out. He kept on thinking of how nice it was of his father to help him and his sister. The days of the sale went on, Charlie Brown continued to try to sell some boxes on his own, without much success.
A few days later, Charlie Brown received a phone call.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Hello, Chuck? This is Peppermint Patty. I've got a bone to pick with you Chuck. What's the big idea of coming on our turf and selling your fruit? Don't you know that me and Marcie here have to sell fruit too? You're stealing our customers, Chuck!" Peppermint Patty raged at Charlie Brown.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I have been trying and trying to sell, but no one wants to buy from me! And besides, I haven't even been on your side of town for weeks!" Charlie Brown said, trying to defend himself.
"Well what's this I hear that my neighbor already bought fruit from a Mr. Brown? Huh Chuck?"
"Ask Charles if he wants to buy some fruit from me, Sir." Marcie interjected.
"Oh, and Marcie here wants to know if you're gonna throw fruit at her the next time you see her." Peppermint Patty added.
"Throw fruit at her? What? Why in the world would I do that?" Charlie Brown said, as he was becoming very confused.
"Not throw, Sir! Buy! Ask him if he wants to buy a box from me!" Marcie said to Peppermint Patty.
"Stop calling me Sir! Anyway, Chuck. Why is my neighbor telling me that he already bought from someone named Brown? Are you selling fruit behind my back Chuck?" Peppermint Patty again demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I didn't sell anything. All I know is my dad has been helping my sister and I by selling it at his barbershop. So your neighbor probably bought it from my dad," he explained.
"Chuck! You mean to tell me that your dad is selling all of your fruit for you? Here Marcie and I are working our brains out trying to sell, and you're having your dad do all of your work for you? What kind of person are you Chuck?"
"Well, I...." he tried to say.
"Good bye Chuck!" Peppermint Patty said as she slammed the receiver to hang up.
"Good grief," said Charlie Brown.
The remainder of the two week sale continued without incident. Charlie Brown's father sold over fifty boxes for Charlie Brown and Sally. The two helped their father deliver the fruit and thanked their customers for supporting the band. Charlie Brown was grateful for his father's help, and at the same time his father enjoyed helping.
After they finished the delivery, they returned home. Upon returning home, an urgent thought occurred to Charlie Brown.
"Good grief! What about Snoopy?" he thought to himself. "I completely forgot about Snoopy! I should have remembered that he needed to sell fruit too. I should have helped him, and now it's too late!"
Charlie Brown rushed out to his back yard, only to find a mountain of fruit boxes stacked behind Snoopy's doghouse. The sight amazed Charlie Brown, as he wondered how in the world Snoopy was able not only to sell that many boxes, but to get them all home.
"I'm not even going to ask," Charlie Brown said as he turned around to go back inside.
Meanwhile, behind the mountain of fruit boxes, someone was getting a huge lecture.
"One orange?!?!" Snoopy cried as his ears pointed straight up in shock. "What do you mean you only sold one orange!?!? You were supposed to sell twenty boxes, and now you come back here and tell me you only sold one orange?"
"!! !!!! !!!" Woodstock responded. He looked like he was ready to cry.
"You're a disgrace to the whole trumpet section! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" Snoopy continued to lecture.
"!!! !!!! ! !!!!" Woodstock explained.
"Well, I guess you're right. It would be hard to fit more than one orange in a bird nest," Snoopy said, a bit calmer. "Alright then, the least you can do is help me deliver all of this stuff."
Snoopy and Woodstock loaded all of the fruit boxes onto the back of Snoopy's doghouse. Snoopy then put on his goggles and scarf and hopped on to the top of his doghouse. Woodstock tried haphazardly to fly to the top, but struggled. Snoopy rolled his eyes and grabbed Woodstock out of mid-air and set him down. Suddenly, the doghouse doubled as a Sopwith Camel airplane, and Snoopy was taking off into the air.
"Here's the World War I flying ace, on a mission to deliver supplies to the infantry camps." Snoopy thought to himself. Looking down from his Sopwith Camel/doghouse, he spotted the house of his first delivery. "Prepare to drop the supplies!" He shouted over the roar of the engine. Woodstock pushed a box over the edge of the doghouse, and it gently floated down and landed on the front stoop of the house, as the box had a parachute attached to it.
"Here's the next camp! Prepare the supplies!" Snoopy ordered Woodstock again.
Snoopy and Woodstock continued this until they were down to their last delivery. Just then, over the horizon, Snoopy spotted an all too familiar sight.
"It's the Red Barron!" he thought out of disgust. "Hang on!"
Snoopy and the Red Barron then engaged in a short but decisive dog fight. After a few minutes, Snoopy found that the back of his plane had been hit and was smoking. Finding satisfaction, the Red Barron disappeared into the sky.
"Curse you Red Barron! Curse you!" Snoopy cried as his plane smoked. Turning to Woodstock he said, "We're over the last infantry camp! Hurry up and drop the last supply box and prepare for a crash landing!" Woodstock quickly obeyed the orders and pushed the last box off of the plane/doghouse, and watched as the parachute released from the falling package, and drifted towards the ground. He noticed that the package looked like it was on fire.
At that very moment, somewhere in the middle of the desert, just outside of Needles, a smoking box of oranges landed right in front of Spike.
"Hey! Our fruit delivery is here!" Spike thought as he turned to his cactus. "That's funny, I didn't think we ordered roasted oranges."
Several months went by as Charlie Brown and his friends went to band practice two days a week. Things were coming along reasonably well for all of them learning their new instruments, even for Charlie Brown. He had still not been able to bring him self to speak to the Little Red Haired Girl, but he enjoyed looking at her from across the band room during practice, just as he would look at her from across the class room during the school day.
One day at the beginning of band practice, Charlie Brown was gazing at the Little Red Haired Girl from across the band room, when something unusual interrupted his thoughts. The band director, Mr. Dunlap, was standing aside from his usual place on the podium. In his place, was a woman whom he had never seen before; a very large woman with funny looking hair.
Charlie Brown turned around to the trombone section to ask, "Linus, who is that lady?"
"That's the band booster's president, Charlie Brown. She is talking about the annual fruit sale fundraiser, so we can raise money to go on trips this fall."
As Charlie Brown listened to the speech, he began to worry. He didn't know anything about selling fruit, or selling anything for that matter. The previous Christmas, he had gone door to door in his neighborhood, trying to sell Christmas wreaths that he had made. He did not sell a single one. This was typical as to how all of Charlie Brown's business ventures turned out. Even when he would offer services, such as raking leaves in the fall, or shoveling sidewalks in the winter, no one would ever want his help.
When the lady at the front of the room finished talking, Molly Volley turned to Charlie Brown and said, "OK, Kid! I hope you plan on selling a lot of fruit, because the section that sells the most fruit gets free pizza from Joe's Pizza Parlor! But this isn't about the pizza. It's about mello pride! So are you gonna help me sell a lot of fruit or what, Kid?"
"Sure. I'll try at least," replied Charlie Brown.
"That's the spirit, Kid. We're gonna WIN!"
Later that evening, Charlie Brown was at home reading the letter that Mr. Dunlap had sent home with the students.
"Dear Band Member," Charlie Brown read aloud. "It is that time of year again to begin raising money for all of our band trips in the fall. For our first fundraiser, we will be holding our annual fruit sale. This fruit sale has made a lot of money for the band in the past, and we hope that all of the students will work hard again to make this year's sale a success. In order have a profitable sale, we ask that each student sell at least twenty boxes of fruit." Charlie Brown stopped reading and said, "Twenty boxes! Good grief! How in the world am I going to sell twenty boxes?!" He continued reading the letter, "It is encouraged that students sell as many boxes as possible. This sale will last for two weeks. To help promote sales this year, we have decided to have a competition between all of the sections. The section that sells the most fruit will receive free pizza and root beer from Joe's Pizza Parlor. Thank you and good luck!"
Charlie Brown began to worry. How was he going to be able to sell that much fruit? Since his sister Sally was also going to have to do the same, he decided that maybe they should work together. Charlie Brown looked around the house for Sally, only to find her in the back yard spinning her flag, as she stood on top of a cardboard box. Charlie Brown was puzzled.
"Um...Sally...What are you doing?" Charlie Brown asked, wondering if he would be sorry for asking such a question.
"I'm practicing my box drills!" Sally said enthusiastically.
"Your box drills?" Charlie Brown said.
"Yeah! Mr. Dunlap said that next week we are going to learn how to do box drills, and I want to get a head start!" She answered proudly.
"Um...Sally. I don't think that's exactly what Mr. Dunlap had in mind....Oh, nevermind that now. Sally, how are we going to sell this much fruit?" Charlie Brown said, holding up the letter.
"We? You're my Big Brother, so that means you have to sell my twenty boxes along with your twenty boxes!" Sally said.
"But that's forty boxes! Selling twenty is going to be hard enough! There's no way I'm selling that many." Charlie Brown said in frustration.
"But you're my Big Brother!" Sally protested.
"That may be true," said Charlie Brown, "But you have responsibilities too, Sally. If you want to be in the marching band, there are going to be a lot of extra things that you are going to have to do. And you shouldn't expect me, or anyone else to do these things for you. So...how do you think we should go about selling this much fruit?"
"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." She answered.
"Well, you really should. We only have two weeks, you know." Charlie Brown warned her.
Sally stopped spinning her flag, and stepped down from the box. "I guess you're right, Big Brother. How are we going to sell this much fruit?"
"I don't know, Sally. I was thinking we could start out by asking Mom and Dad, and then maybe calling Grandma and Grandpa. And then, I thought maybe we should around the neighborhood and asking if people want to buy any."
"But you've never sold anything around the neighborhood!" Sally reminded him.
"Yes, Sally. I know." Charlie Brown said discouragingly. "But...I suppose we could at least try."
The next day Charlie Brown and Sally went door to door in their neighborhood, in hopes of finding some business. Charlie Brown knocked on the door of the first house and a man answered. "Good morning sir. Would you like to buy a box of fruit to support the marching band? Oh...I see. Well thank you anyway, sir. Have a good day!"
"What happened?" asked Sally. "He said he didn't want any fruit because....Well, you've been to Johnson's Produce Market down town."
"Yes, what about it?"
"Well, that was Mr. Johnson! What does he need to buy fruit from us for? He has a whole supermarket full of it!"
"You're whole trouble is that you don't try hard enough." Sally lectured as they arrived at the next house. "Here. Let me try!"
Sally went up the front porch steps and knocked on the door. A kid about her age answered the door.
"Hey kid, you don't look very good. You look like you've been eating too much candy. You need some fruit! Ask your mother if she wants to buy fruit from us!" She demanded.
A few minutes later he came back and said, "She said she would like to, but we already have an apple tree in our back yard."
"Just wait and see! You'll be sorry when you're apple tree gets termites. Then you'll wish you had bought from us!" Sally yelled as the boy closed the door.
Charlie Brown and Sally went all over their neighborhood, without luck, trying to sell at least one box of fruit.
"Well, Sally. We went all over the neighborhood, and we didn't sell a single box." Charlie Brown said disappointed as they returned to their house.
"Don't worry yet, Big Brother." Sally answered. "Remember we still have ask Mom and Dad."
"You're right. We'll have to wait until they get home. In the mean time, why don't you call Grandma and Grampa?"
Sally went into the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"Hello, Grandma? It's me. Sally! How are you? Christmas gift? Why yes, I really liked the Christmas gift you sent me, thank you very much. Oh, no. Your 'thank you' card didn't get lost in the mail. I just never sent it.....Yes, Grandma.....Yes....Yes, I understand. I apologize. Well, thank you again. Goodbye." "Well, what happened?" Charlie Brown asked as Sally hung up the telephone.
"I never got around to asking her if she wanted to buy any fruit from us. I was too busy apologizing!" She replied.
"Apologizing? What for?" Charlie Brown asked, a bit confused.
"I had to apologize because I didn't send her a 'thank you' card for the Christmas present she sent!"
"Christmas present? But Christmas was months ago!"
"I know. I had no idea thank you cards were so important to Grandmas. What's the big deal anyway? I just thanked her over the phone. Isn't that good enough?" Sally complained.
"Sometimes people like to know that you really appreciate what they do for you. It's very impolite not to send a 'thank you' card when someone send you a gift," Charlie Brown tried to explain.
"But I don't like writing out thank you cards!" Sally continued to complain.
"It doesn't matter. If that's the case, maybe we should tell Grandma and Grandpa that you don't like receiving gifts either. Then you won't have to worry about sending the tank you cards....Anyway," Charlie Brown said, returning to the issue at hand, "Let's call Grandma again, and I'll talk to her this time. She'll be happy to hear from me."
"What makes you say that, Big Brother?" Sally asked.
"Because I sent her a thank you card! Not to mention a birthday card, and an anniversary card." He said.
"Big Brothers always like to show off," Sally said as Charlie Brown dialed his Grandparent's phone number.
"Hello, Grandma? It's Charlie Brown. How are you?.....Well, I was wondering, if you'd be interested in buying some fruit from Sally and I? We just joined the marching band, see, and they are making us sell fruit to help raise money.....You would? Thank you very much!....Yes...you too, Grandma. Goodbye!" Charlie Brown wore a huge smile as he hung up the phone. "Guess what, Sally! Grandma just bought two boxes from us!"
"Our first sale!" She said excitedly.
Later that evening, after Charlie Brown had explained the whole situation to his father, entered Sally's room and said, "Sally, I just talked to Dad about our problem. I told him about how we went all over the neighborhood this afternoon and didn't sell anything. He said he is willing to help us out."
"Really? That's great!"
"He said that he can take orders down at his barbershop. He knows a lot of people, and he is friends with most of his customers. Not only that, but he is always candy bars and girl scout cookies from people who are selling them for their children, so a lot of people will be happy to return the favor and buy from him. He said he shouldn't have any trouble at all selling that much fruit for us. He said that he may even be able to sell more than forty boxes." Charlie Brown explained.
"That's even better. Does this mean I don't have to do anything else for this sale?" Sally asked, trying to get out of doing more work.
"Well, that's the thing, Sally. Dad said he would be more than willing to help us, only if we help take care of delivering all of the fruit. Would you be willing to do that?"
"Oh, I suppose so." She answered.
"Good then. I'll go tell Dad."
Charlie Brown was pleased with the way things were turning out. He kept on thinking of how nice it was of his father to help him and his sister. The days of the sale went on, Charlie Brown continued to try to sell some boxes on his own, without much success.
A few days later, Charlie Brown received a phone call.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Hello, Chuck? This is Peppermint Patty. I've got a bone to pick with you Chuck. What's the big idea of coming on our turf and selling your fruit? Don't you know that me and Marcie here have to sell fruit too? You're stealing our customers, Chuck!" Peppermint Patty raged at Charlie Brown.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I have been trying and trying to sell, but no one wants to buy from me! And besides, I haven't even been on your side of town for weeks!" Charlie Brown said, trying to defend himself.
"Well what's this I hear that my neighbor already bought fruit from a Mr. Brown? Huh Chuck?"
"Ask Charles if he wants to buy some fruit from me, Sir." Marcie interjected.
"Oh, and Marcie here wants to know if you're gonna throw fruit at her the next time you see her." Peppermint Patty added.
"Throw fruit at her? What? Why in the world would I do that?" Charlie Brown said, as he was becoming very confused.
"Not throw, Sir! Buy! Ask him if he wants to buy a box from me!" Marcie said to Peppermint Patty.
"Stop calling me Sir! Anyway, Chuck. Why is my neighbor telling me that he already bought from someone named Brown? Are you selling fruit behind my back Chuck?" Peppermint Patty again demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I didn't sell anything. All I know is my dad has been helping my sister and I by selling it at his barbershop. So your neighbor probably bought it from my dad," he explained.
"Chuck! You mean to tell me that your dad is selling all of your fruit for you? Here Marcie and I are working our brains out trying to sell, and you're having your dad do all of your work for you? What kind of person are you Chuck?"
"Well, I...." he tried to say.
"Good bye Chuck!" Peppermint Patty said as she slammed the receiver to hang up.
"Good grief," said Charlie Brown.
The remainder of the two week sale continued without incident. Charlie Brown's father sold over fifty boxes for Charlie Brown and Sally. The two helped their father deliver the fruit and thanked their customers for supporting the band. Charlie Brown was grateful for his father's help, and at the same time his father enjoyed helping.
After they finished the delivery, they returned home. Upon returning home, an urgent thought occurred to Charlie Brown.
"Good grief! What about Snoopy?" he thought to himself. "I completely forgot about Snoopy! I should have remembered that he needed to sell fruit too. I should have helped him, and now it's too late!"
Charlie Brown rushed out to his back yard, only to find a mountain of fruit boxes stacked behind Snoopy's doghouse. The sight amazed Charlie Brown, as he wondered how in the world Snoopy was able not only to sell that many boxes, but to get them all home.
"I'm not even going to ask," Charlie Brown said as he turned around to go back inside.
Meanwhile, behind the mountain of fruit boxes, someone was getting a huge lecture.
"One orange?!?!" Snoopy cried as his ears pointed straight up in shock. "What do you mean you only sold one orange!?!? You were supposed to sell twenty boxes, and now you come back here and tell me you only sold one orange?"
"!! !!!! !!!" Woodstock responded. He looked like he was ready to cry.
"You're a disgrace to the whole trumpet section! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" Snoopy continued to lecture.
"!!! !!!! ! !!!!" Woodstock explained.
"Well, I guess you're right. It would be hard to fit more than one orange in a bird nest," Snoopy said, a bit calmer. "Alright then, the least you can do is help me deliver all of this stuff."
Snoopy and Woodstock loaded all of the fruit boxes onto the back of Snoopy's doghouse. Snoopy then put on his goggles and scarf and hopped on to the top of his doghouse. Woodstock tried haphazardly to fly to the top, but struggled. Snoopy rolled his eyes and grabbed Woodstock out of mid-air and set him down. Suddenly, the doghouse doubled as a Sopwith Camel airplane, and Snoopy was taking off into the air.
"Here's the World War I flying ace, on a mission to deliver supplies to the infantry camps." Snoopy thought to himself. Looking down from his Sopwith Camel/doghouse, he spotted the house of his first delivery. "Prepare to drop the supplies!" He shouted over the roar of the engine. Woodstock pushed a box over the edge of the doghouse, and it gently floated down and landed on the front stoop of the house, as the box had a parachute attached to it.
"Here's the next camp! Prepare the supplies!" Snoopy ordered Woodstock again.
Snoopy and Woodstock continued this until they were down to their last delivery. Just then, over the horizon, Snoopy spotted an all too familiar sight.
"It's the Red Barron!" he thought out of disgust. "Hang on!"
Snoopy and the Red Barron then engaged in a short but decisive dog fight. After a few minutes, Snoopy found that the back of his plane had been hit and was smoking. Finding satisfaction, the Red Barron disappeared into the sky.
"Curse you Red Barron! Curse you!" Snoopy cried as his plane smoked. Turning to Woodstock he said, "We're over the last infantry camp! Hurry up and drop the last supply box and prepare for a crash landing!" Woodstock quickly obeyed the orders and pushed the last box off of the plane/doghouse, and watched as the parachute released from the falling package, and drifted towards the ground. He noticed that the package looked like it was on fire.
At that very moment, somewhere in the middle of the desert, just outside of Needles, a smoking box of oranges landed right in front of Spike.
"Hey! Our fruit delivery is here!" Spike thought as he turned to his cactus. "That's funny, I didn't think we ordered roasted oranges."