The Boxcar Children Chapter 7 Summary

A Big Meal From Little Onions

  • It's morning, and Jessie and Henry are discussing the excitement from the night before. They don't say anything about it to the younger kids, though.
  • Jessie wonders if the "intruder" was a rabbit, but Henry thinks it might have been a person.
  • Henry says the dog will protect them. They'll just carry on as if nothing happened, though they can't let Benny go into the woods by himself.
  • Henry is very excited to get to work, so he runs the whole way to the doctor's house.
  • It's garden day, and the doctor's mother, Mrs. Moore, is going to tell Henry what's up in the garden.
  • Mrs. Moore thins vegetables with Henry for a while before leaving him to work on his own.
  • Eventually, she comes back and sends Henry home for lunch. She doesn't want any of the vegetables he pulled, so he's taking those with him.
  • Henry goes back to the boxcar, where Benny has been building a fireplace all day. Jessie and Violet helped, and they've set up the kettle over it and everything.
  • The fireplace was good timing because Henry brought home all of those vegetables along with some meat he picked up at the store.
  • The children prepare the food and start the fire. They're going to have stew for dinner, but in the meantime, it's another lunch of milk-soaked bread.
  • Henry heads back to the doctor's house. Dr. Moore wants him to clean the garage. What a treat.
  • No, seriously—Henry thinks that's a treat.
  • Henry begins to organize the garage, setting aside a pile of bent nails for his own use.
  • When the doctor gets home, he's very excited to find the garage so organized.
  • The doctor notices he has four hammers and, deciding he doesn't need that many, gives one to Henry.
  • The doctor asks Henry to return on Monday to pick cherries from his orchard. He says he could use a few extra sets of hands. Hmm, do you think he knows about Henry's brother and sisters?
  • Back to the boxcar. Henry smells the stew. Oh, and look—Jessie has made a ladle from more garbage.
  • The children feast on the stew. When they're finished, Henry begins to make Benny's cart. He decides he'll build the swimming pool the next day, which is Sunday.
  • After Henry builds the cart, the children bed down in the boxcar. Fingers crossed they don't hear that strange noise again tonight.