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"Yeth," Felicia Ann agreed "Blitherd And that’th the rinned

"I liked the fable," she added, and looked at the floor again

"Good," said Mrs Pidgeon "All right, class Noe’ll--"

"I don’t get it!" Malcolm called out "That story wasn’t about floods or blizzards! It was insects! It was about insects! It was a story about insects! Ants! One time I was at my cousin’s house and I sat on a whole hill of red ants, and--"

He iggling in his seat Mrs Pidgeon went to hirip," she said Sometimes she had to do that to calm Malcolm down Sometimes Malcol calm at school, because at home his family had baby triplets and life was never calm Their house, Malcol, and their bathroom was filled with the smell of laundry, mostly in threes: three sets of baby clothes with spit-up on the front; and their kitchen was filled with groups of three bottles and three sippy cups and spilled milk and half-empty jars of strained peas, and so to scream three times!" and then she did, and after that she felt better for a while

Now the class waited, as they were accustorip Then they took out their social studies books and turned to page 32

All but Gooney Bird Greene Her social studies book was on her desk, but she hadn’t opened it

"Mrs Pidgeon?" Gooney Bird raised her hand, and when the teacher nodded to her, she said, "I have a great idea!"

The second-graders, including Malcolreat idea, so was about to happen

2

At lunchtieon’s second-graders sat together and traded lunch parts, as they always did

"Anyone want some of my sushi?" asked Gooney Bird Greene "This one is called kappa listening cylinder

"What’s that green stuff?" Barry asked,a face"

Nori,"Goony Bird told him

"That’s seaweed," Keiko explained

"Yuck," Barry replied

"You shouldn’t have told hiht have thought it was spinach Oh, well I like it I’ll eat it myself" She popped the kappa maki into her mouth

"Anyone want half a cream cheese and jelly on raisin bread?" Beanie asked She held up a triangle of her sandwich

"I’ll take it, if the jelly isn’tout," Chelsea said "Let me see" She exaive you five carrot slices and an oatraders made their trades "YESSS!" Malcol down at his lunch "YESSS! YESSS!"

"Malcolm has all dessert!" Beanie pointed out "How did you do that, Malcolrinned happily at his pile of three cookies and three plastic cups of chocolate pudding "Traded ao halves of an egg salad sandwich and an apple," he explained, talking with his mouth full "I traded--"

Gooney Bird interrupted him before he could describe it three times "Where’s your lunch, Nicholas?" Gooney Bird asked Nicholas often brought KFC chicken pieces, and soave it away," Nicholas said He looked gloory"

"Are you sick?" Gooney Bird asked sympathetically "We could take you to the nurse’s office"

"No, I’m okay," Nicholas said But he put his head down in his arms, on the table

Around the It was December Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa decorations were on the walls Mr Leroy, the principal, had been wearing holiday neckties now for several days; today he earing one with small arten children had pasted photographs of the chain of the dangling pictures that hung across the tops of the multipurpose roo Santa hats And the school dog, a Saint Bernard naed to Lester Furillo, the custodian, didn’t see plastic antlers The whole school had a feeling of excite

"We need toon a carrot stick, "announcing the you-knohat"

Nicholas looked up briefly, then put his head back down

"Yes! Our you-knohat!" Ben agreed With a swat of his hand he flattened his empty milk carton

"Our fabulous you-knohat!" added Chelsea as she wadded up her napkin and threw it, unsuccessfully, toward the trash can

The fabulous you-knoas Gooney Bird’s idea

"We can write our own fables!" Gooney Bird had explained

"We already knorite good stories--"