The Best of the Fair
Elementary: Grades 3–4
Story
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Finally Lily convinced Joseph that they had to find Mr. Weller. When they got off the sidewalk, Lily asked the man at the ticket booth, "Do you know the best place at the fair?"
"You're here! You won't see anything better than the moving sidewalk. It's the first ever," the man replied.
"Do you know Mr. Weller? He's at the best place." Lily asked.
The man shook his head. "Try the Midway. A lot of people think that's the best," the man suggested. They thanked him and looked at the map. The Midway would be a long walk, but they headed there next.
They walked the whole length of the giant Manufactures Building, and by the time they reached the far end, they were tired. Grandpa stopped at a stand run by two men from Austria and bought sausages on a roll with pickles, peppers, onions, mustard, and relish and a new kind of drink to share. It was filled with bubbles that tickled Joseph and Lily's mouths and made them giggle and burp. Lily spotted a souvenir for her mother, an egg-shaped salt and pepper shaker set with "1893 Columbian Exposition" in raised gold letters. Grandpa gave her money to buy it. Then, Grandpa flagged down a man pushing a rolling chair to see if they could get a ride to the Midway.
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The man said they'd be better off taking the fair's railway. "Save yourselves a few cents," he said. Another train ride was just fine with Joseph.
On the train, Lily looked at her map as they passed the Palace of Fine Arts and exhibits built by states and countries. Lily knew from the guidebook that there was a lot to see in that area, like the real Liberty Bell from Pennsylvania and a Japanese temple on an island. "I think we're going to have to come back ten times to see it all, Grandpa," Lily said.
Soon they came to the Midway stop. Joseph didn't want to get off, but Lily told him there were more trains. The shouting and noise from the Midway hurt Lily's ears. A boy ran up and handed them a paper: "The Authentic Daily Programme of the Midway Plaisance."
"Where should we go?" Grandpa wondered. There was so much: Colorado gold mining, a glass factory, a show of trained wild animals.
"Look!" Lily said, pointing to the paper. "Ice Railway—Greatest Attraction in Midway—South of Ferris Wheel," she read. "Maybe that's where Mr. Weller is."
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