Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry Read Free Book Online Page B

toothbrush in the toilet and when I tried to get it back I—"
    "Oh, no!" Keiko cried, and covered her ears.
    "Don't tell it now and give it away, Malcolm," Gooney Bird said. "You work on your story, and make it very suspenseful by adding a suddenly in the middle."
    Gooney Bird looked around the classroom. All the second-graders had taken out paper and pencils. They were all writing down ideas for their stories.
    "And remember my last story, about Catman?" she reminded them. "Has anyone here ever lost a beloved pet?"
    Almost every hand went up again. Even Mrs. Pidgeon's.
    "Could that be my story, Gooney Bird?" Mrs. Pidgeon said. "I had a parakeet named Brucie, and somehow the door to his cage was left open, and—"
    "Next Tuesday," Gooney Bird said. "'How I Lost Brucie.'"
    "'And Found Him Again,'" Mrs. Pidgeon said with a happy smile. "My story has a surprise ending."
    "Mine will be 'How I Lost Gretchen Guinea Pig,'" Tricia said. "Mine has a sad ending."
    "You know what?" Mrs. Pidgeon said, standing up. "It's lunchtime already. Let's skip arithmetic today, class."
    The students put the arithmetic books back in their desks. They reached for lunch boxes instead.
    Gooney Bird took out a grapefruit, a cucumber, and some dill pickles. "I'm having a completely vegetarian day today," she explained. "But look at this! Dessert! For the whole class!"
    She held up a bulky paper bag.
    "What is it?" the children asked.
    Gooney Bird grinned. "Sixty-three gumballs," she said. "And after I give them out, I am going to teach you all a wonderful whirling dance called the tarantella."
    Suddenly Felicia Ann looked up from the floor. "Shouldn't we all hug and kiss first?" she said in a surprisingly loud voice.
    "Thank you for suggesting that, Felicia Ann," Gooney Bird replied. "Of course we should." And so they did.
    The End