Trouble According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney Read Free Book Online

everybody trusted Aldo and knew he wouldn’t lie.
    “Og, aren’t you worried about Miranda?” I squeaked when the classroom was empty at recess.
    “BOING!” was his clear and obvious answer.
    Of course he was worried.
    I wished I was a frog in a glass house instead of a hamster in a cage with a stupid lock-that-doesn’t-lock.

    After recess, I was so concerned about my troubles, I hardly noticed Paul when he came in and sat down for math. My fellow classmates didn’t either. I did notice him when math was over. He paused at the door and stared at the list of jobs on the board before quietly leaving the room.
    Then came the moment of truth. Except it wasn’t the truth. It was all a big mistake.
    Mrs. Brisbane said, “Citizens of Humphreyville, please come to order.” She spoke in her most serious and important voice.
    “It is time to review the status of our community and the jobs you are all doing. As far as I can see, you all performed your duties as required yesterday, except for oneof you. I’m afraid one of you neglected your responsibility and there could have been a disastrous outcome.”
    My fellow classmates were clearly surprised. I glanced at Miranda’s face—so totally innocent. I had to look away.
    I wondered if I could go back to live at Pet-O-Rama where I came from.
    “Miranda, you were in charge of Humphrey and Og yesterday.” Suddenly, nice Mrs. Brisbane turned into the unsmiling Mrs. Brisbane, the way she was when I first met her.
    “Yes,” Miranda answered.
    “Last night, Mr. Amato, the custodian, found Humphrey out of his cage. Luckily, he hadn’t fallen off the table and broken his neck and Aldo put him back in the cage and locked it. It’s obvious that you weren’t careful when you locked his cage yesterday.”
    Miranda looked as sick as I felt.
    “But I
did
lock the cage,” said Miranda. “I remember.”
    “Then how do you think Humphrey got out? Do you think someone else in this class unlocked the cage?”
    Miranda looked confused. “No, of course not.”
    “It was your responsibility. In the end, you are the one who is accountable.”
    Miranda was blinking hard. “I remember locking the cage,” she said softly.
    “YES, SHE DID!” I squeaked loudly, desperately wishing someone could understand me just this once.
    “BOING!” Og chimed in.
    Mrs. Brisbane ignored us. “I want you to think about how serious this is. Humphrey might have ended up stuck behind a cabinet or even gotten out in the hallway. We may have never found him again. He might even have starved to death.”
    My whiskers quivered and my body shivered until I remembered that I’d been out of my cage many times and none of those things had happened. In fact, I’d performed some pretty brave acts, if I do say so myself.
    “In a real community, a person who doesn’t do his or her job well gets fired. I’m afraid I’m going to have to fire you, Miranda.”
    “Oh, no!”
    Mandy’s hand shot up in the air and Mrs. Brisbane called on her. “You can get fired even if you’re good at your job. Like if your company closes down.”
    “That’s true, Mandy. That’s different. Miranda is losing her job because she didn’t fulfill her responsibilities,” said the teacher. “Now, Kirk, I’ll make you the Animal Keeper.”
    Kirk made a great roaring noise, like a lion. A few kids giggled.
    Mrs. Brisbane did not giggle. She frowned at Kirk and continued. “Art, you can be the Door Monitor. Miranda, you will get no points for this job, but I will give you another chance. You can take Art’s job as Energy Monitor. However, there will be consequences for your carelessness,” said the teacher.
    I knew Mrs. Brisbane wasn’t a bad person. She was a good person, but she was doing a bad thing.
    Miranda covered her face with her hands and we could all hear her crying.
    “What am I supposed to do?” asked Art.
    “Pay-Attention-Art,” said Mrs. Brisbane, who by now was in a very bad mood. “You will be in