Hatty and Barty Adventures Month Three

By Grant Boyer and Aleksandra Rzepka

These are children's bedtime stories meant to inspire children's imaginations and to make preparation for sleeping an enjoyable time for both the parent and the child. They will get to learn about different places, and different eras in these stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hatty and Barty Trust
• Release date: Apr 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087954646

Book preview

1

BARTY HITS A HOME RUN: PART ONE

It was a very sunny spring day and Barty decided to play baseball with the neighborhood children at the park at the end of the block.

Two older boys were coaches and one kid was chosen to be the umpire. This was Barty’s first time playing baseball and, when the coaches were picking players for their teams, Barty had the misfortune to be picked last because he was smaller than everyone else.

The first inning began with Barty’s team playing defense. Barty was relegated to right field where there was the least likelihood of getting any action. As the first inning progressed, Barty sat on his haunches waiting for the offensive players to strike out or walk. Once, a hit that was a line drive went straight to their pitcher, who caught it on the fly.

The bottom of the first inning commenced, putting Barty’s team up to bat. Barty was ninth in the batting order, so he wasn’t going to get a chance to bat this time around. Two of his teammates got hits, but the opposing team completed a double play on the second hit and another of the batters struck out. They didn’t get any runs that inning.

After the second inning, Barty's team was still behind, one to zero and he still hadn't seen any action in the outfield. By this time, most of the players were hungry. They had agreed at the beginning of the game that they would only play three innings so they wouldn’t be late for lunch.

Inning number three began quickly, with Barty’s team playing defense again. The first pitch was a strike; the second pitch was a ball. The pitcher unwound for the third pitch which was very fast. The batter, who was big for his age, took a late crack at the ball and connected solidly.

Barty looked up at the sky and saw the white ball rapidly descending towards him. His teammates yelled, Barty, catch the ball!

Will Barty catch the ball and save the day? We will find out tomorrow night.

To be continued…

2

BARTY HITS A HOME RUN: PART TWO

Barty really tried to catch the ball that was flying toward him, but he was a little off in his determination of the ball's trajectory. The sun glared in his eyes as he looked up and the temporary blindness he experienced caused the ball to miss his mitt and bounce on the ground.

Barty ran after the ball, grabbed it and heaved it to third base, but the batter was already safe on the base.

The disappointment in his teammates’ eyes was evident. By the time the top of the third inning was over Barty's team continued to drag behind, two to zero.

The bottom of the third inning began and batter number seven was walked to first base. After two strikes, batter number eight managed to bunt the ball, surprising the other team and causing the shortstop to bungle the play. Now there were runners on first and second base!

Barty was up and entered the batter's box for the first time! The pitcher wound up to the cries of, Hey batter, batter; swing! yet Barty remained frozen in place. The cry of strike one! from the umpire resonated loudly in his ears.

The next pitch, Barty managed to swing at the ball, but he only caught a piece of it and it veered strongly to the left becoming a foul ball. Strike two! the umpire called out.

The pressure was on and the pitcher, knowing Barty was new to baseball, decided to throw the ball directly at Barty for the next pitch. Fortunately, Barty had fast reflexes and managed to duck in time.

Barty’s teammates almost ran onto the field to give the pitcher the whupping he deserved, but their coach calmed them down. The umpire called out, Ball one!

The pitcher improved with his next pitch, but it was outside and called as ball two. The pitch after was inside and low. Barty refused to swing at it and, Ball three! was called.

Anticipation had now built to the highest level. If Barty struck out, the previous two batters on base would fail to make it home and the outcome would be grim.

The pitcher looked at the catcher and shook his head at the signal given. He looked again and liked the next signal, so he wound up and let fly his fastest fastball.

Barty caught a glint of the ball, shut his eyes and swung his bat as hard as he could. CRACK! The ball connected with his bat.

His bat broke in two due to the speed of the impact and the ball sailed high above center field. The runners rounded the bases, while Barty stood at home plate, awestruck by what he saw.

Run Barty! his teammates yelled, so run he did, just as the first runner reached home plate. He got to first base as the second runner reached home plate. The center fielder was running to get the ball that had flown out of the park and landed down the street.

As Barty rounded third base, the center fielder grabbed the ball and hefted it with all of his might to the right fielder. The right fielder caught it deftly and heaved it all the way to the catcher.

The ball sailed towards the catcher and everyone screamed at Barty to slide. He did and his shoe touched home plate just as the ball reached the catcher's mitt.

Safe! the umpire cried out. Since it was the bottom of the third inning, the game ended with Barty's team ahead, three to two. Barty was a hero for the day with his three-run home run and the children on his team went home happy and hungry.

3

HATTY & BARTY GO TO THE POST OFFICE

The day after Thanksgiving, Hatty and Barty went to the post office to mail Christmas cards to their extended family and friends. They each wore a back pack stuffed full of the letters and cards.

What they didn’t realize was the rest of the townspeople in Rigglesnortville were off to do the exact same thing. Before they even arrived at the post office they saw a line of people ahead of them that was blocks long.

What are you waiting for? Barty asked the person at the end of the line.

The person at the end of the line was a rather frumpy looking older lady in grey scarf and long, dark green coat with a red dress peeking out from underneath.

I am waiting in line for the post office so I can mail my Christmas cards and presents!

How long have you been waiting, Ma’am? Hatty interjected.

Since the wee hours of this morning! The disgruntled woman replied.

Ugh! Hatty and Barty uttered simultaneously.

We can’t wait that long, let’s think of ways to rectify this incomprehensible situation, Hatty said.

Hatty and Barty put their heads together and, as usual when they did, the sparks began to fly.

In a moment, a concurrent Eureka! emitted from their lips.

Barty walked home without the backpacks while Hatty took the backpacks and stepped out of line. She headed towards the door of the post office and sat down by the entrance, the two