The Peanuts Movie Page 4

  Oh, brother, they’re talking to her? Charlie Brown thought. So much for a fresh start. Time is running out!

  As soon as he got home from school, Charlie Brown picked up 10 Ways to Become a Winner! and began pacing around his living room, reading out loud.

  “ ‘Number six: Tell yourself, “I am worthy. I can do this. I have what it takes.” ’ ”

  The phone rang, and Sally darted over to it and answered it.

  “Hello?” she asked, and then she grinned and held out the receiver to Charlie Brown. “Your girlfriend’s on the phone.”

  Charlie Brown jumped up, panicked. The book flew out of his hands. He took a deep breath and slowly approached the phone. The Little Red-Haired Girl was calling him! He could do this! He just had to stay cool.

  Sally rolled her eyes as she handed him the phone and then walked away. Charlie Brown stretched the long telephone cord as far away from Sally’s listening ears as he could. Then he froze, unable to speak. After an uncomfortable silence, a familiar voice came from the other end.

  “Hey, Chuck!”

  It was Peppermint Patty! Charlie Brown let out his breath. At least it wasn’t stressful talking to Peppermint Patty. They’d been friends for a long time.

  “How’ve you been?” she asked him.

  “Well, I—” Charlie Brown began.

  Peppermint Patty was talking a mile a minute. Charlie Brown nervously paced around as she talked, tangling himself in the phone cord.

  “Listen, I have some great news for you, Chuck,” she was saying. “The Winter Dance is coming up and Marcie put me in charge of the refreshment committee. I took it upon myself and signed you up to make the cupcakes.”

  “You did what?” Charlie Brown asked. “I can’t make cupcakes. The only thing I do know how to make is toast. Besides, why would I even want to go to the Winter Dance?”

  Peppermint Patty ignored his question. “Toast and cupcakes. That sounds good, Chuck. See you there!”

  “Hold on! I said—” But Peppermint Patty had already hung up.

  Charlie Brown looked down at himself. He was all tangled up in the cord! He slowly unraveled himself. Toast and cupcakes? How had he gotten himself into that?

  After dinner he was still wondering how to get out of that mess as he brought a stack of newspapers to the curb for recycling. A light snow was gently falling from the moonlit sky. As he put down the newspapers, he heard faint music coming from across the street.

  A warm, glowing light came from the house of the Little Red-Haired Girl. Through the picture window in the front, he could see her gracefully dancing around her living room. To Charlie Brown, she looked just like an angel inside a snow globe.

  An idea struck Charlie Brown. He raced back into his house, into his bedroom, and shut the door.

  A few minutes later Sally was in the living room, building a house made of playing cards. Snoopy watched her. She had already built the first floor and was very carefully placing cards on top to make the second.

  Suddenly, she heard a noise.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  Then the floor and walls began to shake. Her card house toppled over.

  “Hey! What’s going on?” she called out.

  The loud music was coming from Charlie Brown’s room, right next to the living room. She began to pound her fist against the wall.

  “Turn it down! Turn it down in there!”

  But the music just got louder. Sally angrily walked down the hall toward Charlie Brown’s bedroom. Snoopy followed her. She flung open the door.

  Charlie Brown was dancing in the middle of his room, holding a mop for his dance partner. He was hopping around and flailing his arms like crazy.

  Crash! He knocked a lamp right off his nightstand.

  Sally was stunned.

  “She likes to dance!” Charlie Brown cried as he jumped into the air.

  Sally sighed, turned, and walked away. Snoopy, however, knew he had to help. He tore the mop out of Charlie Brown’s hands. Then he snapped his fingers, and the lights went dark. When the lights came on again, they were shining on Snoopy, who was wearing the cape of a Spanish dancer.

  He danced a circle around Charlie Brown, expertly twirling and tapping his feet on the floor. When he finished, he motioned to Charlie Brown to copy him.

  Charlie Brown jumped around and waved his arms. Snoopy put a mortified paw to his face. The boy was hopeless! Then he marched out of the room.

  When he returned, he was carrying a box marked DANCE KIT. Charlie Brown watched as Snoopy pulled cutouts of footprints from the box and placed them on the floor. Each footprint had a number on it. He placed them in a simple square pattern, then nodded to Charlie Brown.

  Charlie Brown stepped on the numbered footprints.

  “1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4,” he chanted as he practiced, and Snoopy nodded his approval.

  For the next few days Charlie Brown had dance fever. He practiced his steps as he brushed his teeth. He moved his feet as he sat at his desk in school. He danced in the living room as Sally watched TV.

  “You know, I could really use a dance partner,” Charlie Brown said. Sally was not interested.

  “Not on your life!” she said.

  Charlie Brown retreated to his bedroom with Snoopy.

  “Okay, Snoopy, I got the basics down,” Charlie Brown told him. “But if I’m going to win, I need to step it up.”

  Snoopy laid out more footprints on the floor. This time he used more footprints and the pattern was more complicated. Charlie Brown studied it for a minute and then began to dance.

  He was flawless! Perfect! Snoopy applauded.

  Charlie Brown grinned and started to daydream.

  “I can see it now . . . ,” he said.

  He performed his dance perfectly on the dance floor. So did the Little Red-Haired Girl.

  “We have our winners!” Franklin said. “And now let us begin our traditional dance of the champions.”

  Charlie Brown extended a hand to the Little Red-Haired Girl, and she took it. They began to dance, and everyone gathered around them, cheering them on. As the music swelled, Charlie Brown dipped the Little Red-Haired Girl. He gazed into her furry face. . . .

  Furry face? Charlie Brown snapped out of his daydream when he realized that he was dipping Snoopy. The dog leaned in and kissed Charlie Brown’s cheek.

  “Snoopy!” Charlie Brown cried, laughing. “Thanks for your help. I left some cookies in your dog dish.”

  Snoopy raced out of the room, slamming the door behind him. It created a gust of wind, scattering the footprints all over the bedroom floor. Now the steps were completely different.

  Charlie Brown turned back to the footprints. He didn’t realize that they had changed.

  “Now, to practice,” he said. “The dance is tomorrow night!”

  Chapter Twelve

  The Big Dance

  The next night, kids swarmed into the school gym for the big dance. Balloons covered the ceiling, paper streamers were hung high above, and colored lights cast their glow on the walls as a mirror ball spun in the center of the gym. One of the kids was a DJ, spinning records in the corner.

  The boys all headed to one side of the room, and the girls all stayed together on the other side. Patty looked across the dance floor at Pigpen, who was dancing confidently by himself.

  “You know, I’ve always wanted to dance with Pigpen,” she whispered to Violet. Violet was shocked.

  A large dust cloud was forming around Pigpen as he danced. Violet looked at Patty like she had lost her mind.

  “Uh, yuck!” Violet said.

  But even Pigpen was too shy to step into the middle of the dance floor. Sally looked around with frustration.

  “Why isn’t anyone dancing? It’s called a dance!” she complained. Then she spotted Linus across the room. As she walked toward him, he hid himself under his blanket.

  “Someone needs to get this dance started,” Sally said. She grabbed Linus and pulled him out to the da
nce floor.

  Linus wouldn’t dance. So Sally wrapped his blanket around him and pulled on it, making him dance with her.

  Sally and Linus broke the ice. The other kids streamed onto the dance floor and broke out their best moves.

  Outside, Charlie Brown made his way to the gym, carrying a tray of cupcakes. He couldn’t wait to show off his new dance moves. And that wasn’t all.

  “These cupcakes don’t look half-bad, if I do say so myself,” he told Snoopy.

  He didn’t notice Snoopy grab a cupcake with a quick swipe of his paw. Then he gobbled it up. Delicious! Snoopy greedily eyed the other cupcakes.

  “This time I’ve come totally prepared,” Charlie Brown said proudly. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Snoopy.”

  Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Snoopy ate another cupcake . . . and another . . . and another . . .

  “The old Charlie Brown would still be lying in bed with a stomachache,” he went on.

  He stopped in front of the school doors. This was it! Then he looked down at the tray and saw that it was empty. He turned back to Snoopy and saw the dog with an innocent look on his face—and lots of frosting, too!

  Charlie Brown chuckled. “Good grief!”

  Charlie Brown stepped into the gym. Peppermint Patty and Marcie entered right behind him. They each held one side of a large punch bowl filled with punch.

  Peppermint Patty’s eyes got wide when she saw the scene inside.

  “Marcie, look! Everyone’s here!” she cried, and then she dropped her side of the punch bowl and ran onto the dance floor.

  Marcie staggered backward with the heavy punch bowl, almost dropping it! Charlie Brown came to her rescue.

  “Let me help you with that, Marcie,” he said, taking the bowl from her.

  Marcie smiled. “You’re such a gentleman, Charles,” she said, and then she joined Peppermint Patty.

  Charlie Brown looked around the gym, nervously scouting it out. Then he spotted the Little Red-Haired Girl on the dance floor with Patty, Violet, and Lucy.

  “She’s here!” he said happily.

  But as he moved into the gym, the door shut behind him, catching his shirt. He couldn’t move, and he couldn’t put down the punch bowl to free his shirt. He was stuck!

  Then the music died down and Franklin moved to the center of the room, holding a microphone.

  “Okay, ladies. It’s time for you to show off your best moves. Who will win the first half of our dance competition and take home the trophy?” he asked.

  The music kicked back in and the girls formed two lines on the dance floor, creating an aisle between them. One by one, the girls danced down the aisle.

  Charlie Brown struggled to see the dancing. He knew the Little Red-Haired Girl was good. She had to win, so that when he won the boys’ dance they would get to dance together!

  When it was the Little Red-Haired Girl’s turn to dance, all he could see was her red hair bopping up and down above the line of dancers. But everybody applauded loudly for her. Charlie Brown was hopeful.

  “Listen to that noise,” Franklin said. “I think it’s safe to say we know who our winner is!”

  Charlie Brown smiled as the Little Red-Haired Girl accepted her trophy.

  “And now it’s the gentlemen’s turn to see who will be joining our lovely winning lady for the final dance of the night,” Franklin said.

  The boys began to line up, and Charlie Brown started to panic. He tried to pull away from the door, but he was still stuck! The music started again, and Charlie Brown leaned forward as hard as he could to try to get free.

  Then . . . bam! Snoopy burst through the door, wearing sunglasses and a shirt that read JOE COOL. Charlie Brown rocketed forward, still holding the punch bowl.

  Charlie Brown struggled to keep the punch from spilling out, but it was no use. Punch splashed out as he carried it as fast as he could to the refreshment table. When he finally slid the bowl onto the table, it was nearly empty.

  But at least he was free! He looked down at his hand, where he had written down his dance steps in ink. The punch had washed them off. Charlie Brown frowned—but it wasn’t the end of the world. He had practiced hard.

  “This is it,” he told himself. “It’s now or never.”

  He joined the line of dancers. Patty and Violet looked at him and started laughing.

  Charlie Brown’s confidence deflated. He started letting other boys go in front of him.

  One by one, the boys danced down the aisle. Snoopy took his turn, busting out his best dance moves.

  “Whoa!” cried Peppermint Patty. “Check out the moves on that funny-looking kid with the big nose.”

  Then Snoopy noticed Charlie Brown. He danced over to a light pointed at the ceiling and aimed it at Charlie Brown.

  Charlie Brown couldn’t hide. He took a deep breath.

  “Okay, just like you practiced,” he told himself. “Remember the steps.”

  Charlie Brown danced his way down the aisle.

  1-2-3-4, he chanted in his head. He remembered the dance!

  The crowd started to slowly clap. Charlie Brown gained confidence. He took things up a notch, adding fancy twirls and fast foot moves. He was graceful. He was skilled. He was fabulous!

  “Charlie Brown?” Frieda asked in wonder.

  “All right!” cheered Shermy.

  “It looks like we might have a winner here!” Franklin said as everyone clapped and cheered for Charlie Brown.

  It’s going to happen! I’m going to dance with the Little Red-Haired Girl! he thought.

  Then he took his final dance step—and slipped in the spilled punch! His shoe flew off his foot and hit the fire sprinkler overhead. Water rained down on everyone!

  All the kids ran out of the gym. It washed the dirt right off Pigpen. He looked like a completely different kid. Patty stared at him in confusion.

  “Do I know you?” Patty asked.

  Charlie Brown sadly watched everyone leave.

  “Where’s everybody going?” he yelled after them. “It’s not over yet!”

  He was supposed to win the dance contest. He was supposed to dance with the Little Red-Haired Girl. . . .

  A stream of water rained down on his head. As Snoopy came over and opened an umbrella to protect him from the water, Charlie Brown sighed and said, “This isn’t how it was supposed to end!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lost Forever

  Water dripped from Charlie Brown as he walked down the sidewalk with Snoopy. The full moon shone brightly above them. There was a faint buzzing in the background as the red remote-control plane zipped across the sky.

  Charlie Brown stopped by Snoopy’s doghouse, where Woodstock waited for them, perched in a tree branch.

  “I hate to say it, Snoopy, but I may have lost her forever,” Charlie Brown said sadly.

  Snoopy put a hand on Charlie Brown’s back. Then he handed him a cupcake, but Charlie Brown wasn’t interested. He headed inside the house with his head hanging low.

  Moved by Charlie Brown’s emotions, Snoopy hopped up onto his doghouse and began to type.

  The Flying Ace took to the air, in search of his long-lost love, Fifi.

  He flew across the sky, keeping his eyes peeled for her white plane. Finally, he spotted her! Fifi, piloting her White Albatross, was flying right toward him. Her eyes widened when she saw him.

  The Flying Ace steered his plane next to Fifi’s. She looked over at him and smiled. He did a loop in the sky to impress her. When he finished, Fifi steered her plane into a DOUBLE loop.

  Then she took off in front of the Flying Ace, and he followed her. The two planes looped and dipped in the sky. Then they both dropped down and flew across a green valley below.

  Fifi held up a camera and started snapping photos of the Flying Ace in his plane. He hammed it up, striking poses for her--which is why he didn’t see the old barn up ahead.

  WHOOSH! The Flying Ace zipped through the barn and came out on the other side covered in hay
. He flashed an embarrassed smile at Fifi, and she smiled back.

  Fifi steered up and grabbed a piece of cloud with her hand. Then she blew on it, and it formed the shape of a heart. It floated across the sky toward the Flying Ace.

  He responded by rolling his plane above the valley. When the plane was upright again, the Flying Ace held flowers in his hand. He flew up next to Fifi and extended them toward her.

  BOOM! The flowers exploded! Startled, Fifi and the Flying Ace looked behind them.

  A red plane circled them and then flew across their path. The Red Baron!

  He flew off into the distance, but the Flying Ace gave chase.

  Then the Red Baron set his sights on Fifi’s plane.

  He steered right on top of the White Albatross. Then he dipped down and punctured her wing with his wheel. Fifi’s damaged plane suddenly rolled over!

  Taken by surprise, Fifi fell out of the cockpit! The Flying Ace dove down with a shriek, determined to save her.

  Just before he reached her, Fifi pulled the string on her parachute. She shot up in the air as the chute blew open.

  The Flying Ace banked hard, flying straight up to try to reach Fifi. As she slowly began to float back toward the ground, the Red Baron zoomed toward her.

  Both pilots raced toward Fifi. At the last second the Red Baron’s wing snagged the string of the parachute. Then he flew off, with Fifi dangling from his wing!

  The Flying Ace flew as fast as he could toward the Red Baron. The villain headed toward a large mountain. A long bridge with train tracks led into a dark tunnel inside the mountain. A train was chugging across the bridge, headed for the tunnel.

  ZOOM! The Red Baron zipped inside the tunnel just before the train. The Flying Ace followed him.

  Then Fifi’s pink scarf flew out of the tunnel, covering the face of the Flying Ace! He ripped it off, but he was too late. The craggy face of the mountain was quickly approaching . . .

  Riiiiiiip! Woodstock tore the paper out of the typewriter. Snoopy’s hands covered his face as he trembled in fear. He slowly removed his hands to see Woodstock looking at him.