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"And," Gooney Bird pointed out as she gathered her lunch things, "he probably needs a brain-wareon was almost late for school! It had never happened before Usually she was there early, preparing sharpened pencils, passing out papers, tidying the roo in at the last minute, her face pink and her eyes teary fro it with her coat on the hook

Then the bell rang Mrs Pidgeon scurried to her desk and sat down to catch her breath

"Very close to tardy, Mrs Pidgeon!" Gooney Bird said, with a tsk-tsk sound

"I know I'm sorry I'm usually here way before you kids"

"Did your toothbrush fall in the toilet?" Malcolm asked That had happened once to hi what to wear, and you started to cry because you finally had to wear your red sweater, which you absolutely hated?" asked Chelsea That had happened once to her

"Were you stopped by a bus driver asking directions, and it took forever to get hiht place?" Gooney Bird asked That had happened once to her

Mrs Pidgeon shook her head and began to answer, but she was interrupted by the intercoiance, led by a sixth-grader naaret O'Leary Then they listened to Mr Leroy's announceeon explained "The nursing hoht So I went there before I cahtives me warm milk and opens my closet door to show me there aren't monsters"

"Did she wet the bed? Some people wet their beds and it wakes theht, sometimes" He looked at the floor

"Or et the throw-ups in the e "

Mrs Pidgeon ss She was just wakeful, and feeling agitated When they called me, I went and sat with her and we talked Then she fell asleep so I hurried on to school I' one of my mother's poems"

"What did you talk about?" Gooney Bird asked She was at the hae It was her day to feed Harvey, the class hamster Harvey had a diet of special pellets, but Gooney Bird felt that he needed so So she always arranged his pellets on different paper saucers, and she added bits of lettuce and bread crumbs that she borrowed froen of carrot for his salad course and a fingertip full of raspberry jam for dessert

"Well, as you know, my mother is very old So she has a whole lifetime of s she remembered as the happiest"

"What did your mom thay?" Felicia Ann asked

"Let eon half closed her eyes and listed the things her mother had remembered "Birthday cake with pink candles A yellow hair ribbon A kitten nale The lace collar on her mother's Sunday dress Ruffled curtains in her bedroom A honeysuckle vine And fireflies"

Gooney Bird closed and latched the door to Harvey's cage He cleaned the leftover jam from his whiskers carefully and then went to his shredded-paper nest to take a nap "You knohat?" Gooney Bird said to Mrs Pidgeon "You did bring a poem of your mom's"

"I did?"

"Yes, you just said it That list of memories It was just like a poeave it a title like 'Mom's Memories,' it would even look like a poeht for a ht, Gooney Bird Maybe today at writing time we could each do a list poem I'll put so in advance But noe'll get out our spelling"

Mrs Pidgeon wrote four suggestions on the board:

Happy h

Nightmares

Lunches I love

Beside the list, she wrote the day's ten spelling words:

ready

across

thought

brave

threw

because

family

towel

clown

mouse

The children all bent over their desks, copying the words But they couldn't pay attention to the spelling

"I'hts-on- about a list of night to write the spelling words, but look!" She held up her paper and everyone could see the eraser h!"

"Mrs Pidgeon, estion?" Gooney Bird had her hand raised Today she earing her dia It wasn't a real diae and sparkly Soh

"Of course," said the teacher "What is it?"

"We could co words with the list poe words in a poem That e'd kill two birds with one stone"

"Oh, no!" wailed Keiko "Don't say 'kill birds'!"

"It was just a figure of speech, Keiko," Mrs Pidgeon reassured her "It s done at once In this case, spelling and poetry writing I think it's a good idea, Gooney Bird

"Okay It can be poetry ti words in them, please"

She passed out fresh pieces of paper Then she turned her back to the class and went to a section of the board where there was still some blank space "Here is an to write She didn't notice that several of the second-graders had opened their desks to take out soeon wrote:

It Makes Me Happy to Remember:

A cake with pink candles,

A yellow hair ribbon,

A kitten nale,

The lace collar on my mother's best dress,

Ruffled curtains in rance of honeysuckle,

And fireflies on sus,

So many fireflies

I wonder where the fireflies have gone

When she had finished, she turned to the class To Mrs Pidgeon's a underpants on their heads Gooney Bird had once again donned her pale green ruffles Malcol boxers with s white cotton with little blue flowers, and both Beanie and Felicia Ann had pale pink

"Chelsea?" Mrs Pidgeon said "What is that on your head?"

"Thong," Chelsea explained "Borrowed from my mom"