STEVIE AND THE VERY IMPORTANT NAIL

For his birthday Stevie got what he wanted most—a real, grown-up hammer and a tool apron his mother made him. He hadn’t told anyone about the nail he’d found in a drawer of his father’s toolbox—at least, not the whole story. He’d heard it jingle when he opened the drawer—and this is what it seemed to say: “I’m a very important nail—and I’ve got better things to do than hang around in some old toolbox. All I need is someone to hammer me in straight and true.”

So, the morning after his birthday, Stevie put on his tool apron with a loop for his hammer and a pocket for the very important nail—and added some smaller nails in case it needed help. Then he set out down the street to find something important for that nail to do.

“Make sure you ask for permission first!” his dad called after him.

“And remember not to run with your hammer!” called his mom.

So Stevie waved to show that he’d heard.

He hadn’t gone very far when he spotted a flier with the picture of a parrot. It was tacked to a telephone pole. “Lost,” it said. “Oh, no!” he thought sadly, remembering how he’d felt when his horny toad ran away. And though he scanned the treetops for a flash of bright wings, all he saw was a scolding bluejay.

So he turned on his heel, about to walk away, when he heard the very important nail start to jingle in his pocket as though it had something important to say. “Wow! You’re right!” cried Stevie after a moment of thought. “That flier could come loose and blow away. Then whoever found the parrot wouldn’t know who it belonged to! This could be just the job for us.” So he checked to make sure the flier was tacked down tight—and it wasn’t until he was satisfied that he went on his way.

In Parker Carter’s front yard, Parker’s dog Peewee lay outside his doghouse, trying madly to scratch a flea behind his ear.

“Here, I’ll scratch it for you,” said Stevie helpfully, and he did such a good job that Peewee licked his hands. Then Stevie gave Peewee a pat—and the doghouse, too, because he liked its red shingles.

But when he turned on his heel, about to walk away, he heard the very important nail start to jingle in his pocket again and this is what he thought it was saying: “What if a shingle came loose? That roof could leak…”

”And poor Peewee would get soaked in the very next rain!” cried Stevie. “Maybe this is just the job for us.” So he checked out all the shingles to make sure none were loose, and it wasn’t until he was satisfied that he went on his way.

Next he passed Mr. Malarky’s house. Mr. Malarky loved flowers and grew them everywhere, even in fancy pots on a shelf under his window. There were pansies and petunias and things Stevie couldn’t pronounce. Stevie stood on his tiptoes, trying to smell them—but even though his mom insisted he was growing like a weed, he still couldn’t quite reach. So he turned to the irises beside him, instead, which smelled pretty good if you sniffed them hard enough.

Then he turned on his heel, about to walk away, when he heard the very important nail start to jingle in his pocket again. “What if that shelf came loose?” it seemed to say.

“Why, all the pots of flowers would fall and smash to pieces!” cried Stevie. “Maybe this is the job we’ve been looking for!” So he checked the shelf to make sure it wasn’t loose, and it wasn’t until he was satisfied that he went on his way.

When he passed Holly Hotchkins’ house, he stopped to watch a chattering squirrel perched on the third step to Holly’s treehouse.

“Catch me if you can!” it taunted Catkins, Holly’s old tomcat, who was crouching on the ground. Stevie knew the squirrel was too fast for Catkins, but Catkins never seemed to remember this, though he’d chased that squirrel enough times.

So Stevie waited until Catkins sprang, and the squirrel shot like an arrow to the top of the tree, then laughed down at them—because now Catkins was hanging onto a treehouse step, afraid to go up or down because his old claws weren’t very sharp any more. So Stevie lifted Catkins gently down and set him on the grass.

“Why don’t you chase snails instead?” he suggested. “They aren’t so hard to catch.”

He’d turned on his heel, about to walk away, when he heard the very important nail start to jingle in his pocket. “What if that step came loose?” he could have sworn it said.

“Oh, my gosh!” gasped Stevie. “Holly could slip and fall—and break an arm or a leg!” So he double-checked the step to make sure it wasn’t loose, and it wasn’t until he was satisfied that he went on his way.

On and on he walked, until he started to feel hungry and began to wonder what was for lunch. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up and go home. When he came to a house he’d never seen before—because he’d never walked this far—he pressed his face against the old picket fence and peered into the backyard. There in the grass he saw a rabbit and five baby bunnies hopping all around. They were so cute that for a moment he forgot all about the very important nail and finding something important for it to do.

When he finally remembered, he sighed, because now he was too hungry to go any farther. He’d just turned on his heel to head for home when he heard the very important nail start to jingle in his pocket. “What if a fence board came loose?” he was quite sure it was saying.

“Yeah, those bunnies could get out and run into the street and get hit by a car!” cried Stevie, forgetting all about lunch. And the very next moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something squeeze through the fence. In a flash, he darted over and scooped up a little black and white bunny. A board had come loose and left a gap in the fence, just like the very important nail had warned him.

Then the front door opened and Stevie recognized Fanny Farthing from school. She had cute golden freckles and a purple mouth, from the grape popsicle she was holding.

Soon the whole family had gathered to hear about the rescue. “How can we ever thank you?” said Fanny’s mom.

“Would you like to take that bunny home when it’s old enough?” Fanny asked shyly.

“Would I!” Stevie grinned, his eyes lighting up. “But I’ll have to ask my mom and dad first.”

“I guess I’d better go fix that fence,” said Mr. Farthing.

“I can do it,” Stevie offered, and he felt his heart pounding as he reached into his apron pocket for the very important nail.

So this is the job for us, he thought, to fix that fence and keep those bunnies safe! And though he didn’t say it out loud, the nail rolled into his hand as if it understood.

Then everybody bent down to watch while Stevie knelt down before that loose fence board and, with his new hammer, drove in the very important nail, straight and true.