Springtime a laCarte

By O. Henry – edited version

1. It was a day in March. Never, never begin a story this way when youwrite one. No opening could possibly be worse. It is unimaginative, flat, dry and likely to consist of mere wind. But this time it is allowable.For the following story is too extravagant and preposterous to be presented to thereader without preparation.

2. Sarah was a free-lance typewriter and made her money by doing odd jobs copying written work; jobs that nobodyreally wanted to make time for. The most brilliant deal she made was with Schulenberg's Home Restaurant. One evening after diningat Schulenberg's, Sarah went home with the billof fare. It was almost unreadable, seeming neither English nor German, andso arranged that if you were not careful you began with a toothpick and rice pudding and ended with soup and the day of theweek.

3. The next day Sarah showed Schulenberg a neat card on which the menu was beautifully typewritten and Schulenbergwas very impressed. Since then, Sarah was tofurnish typewritten bills of fare for the twenty-one tables in therestaurant--a new bill for each day's dinner, breakfast and lunch as often asrequired. In return for this, Schulenberg was to send three meals per day toSarah's room. Sarah got food, and Schulenberg customers who knew what theyordered, so it was a brilliant deal indeed.

4. One afternoon Sarah was in her room, and had no work to do exceptSchulenberg's menu cards. She looked sadly out of the window. The calendar onthe wall kept crying to her: "Springtime is here, Sarah-- springtime ishere, I tell you. Look at me, Sarah, my figures show it. You've got a neatfigure yourself, Sarah--a--nice springtime figure--why do you look out thewindow so sadly?"

5. On the previous summer Sarah stayed two weeks at Sunnybrook Farm.There she learned to love old Farmer Franklin's son Walter. Young WalterFranklin was a modern agriculturist.He had a telephone in his cow house, and he could calculate exactly what effectnext year's wheat crop would have onpotato prices. And together they had sat and woven a crown of dandelions for her hair. They were to marry in the spring--at the very first signs of spring,Walter promised. And Sarah went back to the city to pound her typewriter.

6. A knock at the door dispelled Sarah's visions of that happy day. Awaiter had brought the draft of the Home Restaurant's next day fare. Todaythere were more changes on it than usual. The gracious spirit of spring pervaded the entire menu. Sarah'sfingers started typing away, as if they danced. Just above the desserts camethe list of vegetables. Carrots and peas, asparagus, tomatoes and corn andcabbage--and then-- Sarah was crying over her bill of fare.

7. She had received no letter from Walter in two weeks, and the nextitem on the bill of fare was dandelions--with some kind of egg--but bother theegg!--dandelions, with whose golden blooms Walter had crowned her, his queen of love and future bride--dandelions, the harbingers of spring, her only reminderof her happiest days. Sarah forced back her tears. The bills had to be written.She ignored her food– the dandelions and egg dish- completely. She couldn’t seethe sole reminder of her summerhappiness mashed into a plain meal. Shecontinued typing away.

8. At 7: 30, the front door bell rang. The landlady answered it. Sarahleft her typewriter and listened. Oh, yes; you would, just as she did! And thena strong voice was heard in the hall below, and Sarah jumped for her door. Youhave guessed it. She reached the top of the stairs just as her farmer came up,three at a jump, and picked her up. Why haven't you written--oh, why?"cried Sarah.

9. "New York is a pretty large town," said Walter Franklin."I came in a week ago to your old address. I found that you went away on aThursday. But it didn't prevent my hunting for you! "I wrote!" said Sarah. "Nevergot it!" "Then how did you find me?" The young farmer smiled aspringtime smile. "I dropped into that Home Restaurant next door thisevening," said he. "I wanted a spring dish that is available in manyplaces at this time of the year. I ran my eye down that nice typewritten billof fare looking for something that looked like that. When I read the wordsbelow the cabbage I sprang up from my chair and hollered for the boss of the restaurant. He told me where youlived."

10. "I remember," sighed Sarah, happily. "That wasdandelions below cabbage." "I'd recognize that capital W 'way abovethe line that your typewriter makes anywhere in the world," said Franklin."Why, there's no W in dandelions," said Sarah, in surprise. The youngman drew the bill of fare from his pocket, and pointed to a line. Sarah recognised the first cardshe had typewritten that afternoon. There was still the splotch in the right corner where a tear had fallen. But betweenthe red cabbage and the stuffed green peppers was the item: "DEAREST WALTER, WITH HARD-BOILED EGG."