didn't want to stare, but she was sure he was wearing a toupee.

"Hi, I'm Daa Beasley, otherwise known as Uncle Dandy," the man said. "Are you Mary Rose?"

"No, she's the baby-sitter, Dan," the woman said as Stacey opened the door. "Hello, dear, I'm Rosie's agent, Sandra Yu. I'm so sorry we're late."

"That's okay," Stacey said. "Rosie's in the basement. She's practicing her backpulls."

"Sounds dangerous," Uncle Dandy said with a laugh.

Stacey cringed. She knew she had gotten the word wrong. She slunk back to her homework as the other two walked downstairs.

Rosie performed her tap number, and Stacey said it sounded great. Uncle Dandy clapped loudly and yelled, "Brava!" (Janine explained that you say that to a girl, instead of "Bravo!")

Soon Rosie, Sandra Yu, and Uncle Dandy trooped upstairs and Rosie played some complicated "piece" on the piano. Uncle Dandy clapped loudly at that, too, and at Rosie's violin playing (despite a couple of embarrassing squeaks).

Then came Rosie's acting. Stacey could see Rosie clearly as she stepped into the middle of the living room with a script in her hands.

"I shall perform a selection from the daytime

television serial The Brash and the Beautiful," Rosie announced in a singsong voice. "It's the part of Josephine, the runaway girl. In this scene, she meets her father after having escaped from a home for wayward children, where she was treated terribly and lost her memory. For this scene, I shall require someone to read the part of the father."

"Sweetheart, can't you do a monolog instead?" Ms. Yu asked her.

Rosie frowned. "I don't have one prepared," she replied. "Besides, you said I was perfect for this role — "

"Yes, yes, of course," Ms. Yu answered. "Uh, Dan, what's your policy on scene auditions?"

"I could read the part," Uncle Dandy said, "but not without my glasses. I'm liable to hold the thing upside down and sound like I'm reading Russian — har har!"