Maggie is quite busy carrying letters from Mrs. Leeper to the principal and other teachers. Maggie is very intrigued by the contents of the letters and always stops in the hallways to try to figure them out, but she can only read her own name in the messages. Frustrated, Maggie decides to spend her weekend figuring out cursive. She lies to her friend Jo Ann, saying that she cannot play because she has to help her father with his work, as she doesn’t want to admit that she is working on her cursive.

Maggie reads cursive examples and studies the formation of the letters. By the end of the weekend, she masters cursive writing and reading, and she even gives her parents some advice on their penmanship. However, she keeps it a secret that she has been working on cursive since she doesn’t want to admit that she was wrong to be so stubborn.

With her new knowledge of cursive, Maggie is especially eager to carry some messages. When Mrs. Leeper sends a message to the principal, Maggie quickly reads it. She learns that Mrs. Leeper has seen her reading the chalkboard and is convinced that Maggie can both read and write in cursive.