Gooney Bird and All Her Charms Read Free Page A

Bird left the room to walk her great-uncle to the front door of the school. And Mrs. Pidgeon carefully moved the stand so that Napoleon was next to the large chart that she had pulled down. They all stared at him quietly.
    â€œSee how his ribs protect the softer inside parts?” Mrs. Pidgeon pointed out.
    â€œMy dad broke two ribs once,” Ben said. “He was hiking and he slipped on a wet place and fell into a big rock. It really hurt.”
    â€œBut look!” Barry said, pointing to the chart. “If your dad didn’t hit his ribs, he would have broken his heart, maybe! Or his lungs!”
    â€œGood for those ribs!” Mrs. Pidgeon said. “Is your dad okay, Ben?”
    Ben nodded. “He’s fine. All healed.”
    â€œThe skeleton protected his important organs,” Mrs. Pidgeon said. “And it also made it possible for him to stand up and hike. Look at his strong leg bones. If we didn’t have bones, well . . .” She stared at the skeleton for a moment.
    Felicia Ann finished the sentence in an awed voice: “We’d just be a blob.”
    All of the children stared at Napoleon. They looked down at their own arms and legs.
    â€œBlobs,” they agreed.
    â€œLook at Napoleon’s head!” said Chelsea, suddenly.
    â€œHe’s got pretty good teeth,” Tricia said. “I bet he flossed.”
    â€œHis eyeholes are kind of creepy,” Tyrone pointed out. Then he chanted,
“Got two big holes in the front of my head, and got no eyeballs cuz I be dead
. . .
”
Tyrone was very good at creating rhymes and raps.
    â€œI
meant
,” Chelsea said impatiently, “does it remind you of anything?”
    â€œA skull,” Barry said.
    â€œYeah, a skull,” Nicholas agreed. “It reminds me of a skull because it
is
a skull!”
    â€œIt reminds me of Gooney Bird’s bracelet!” Keiko said.
    â€œYes! It’s like the skull on Gooney Bird’s bracelet!” Beanie agreed.
    â€œDid I hear someone say my name?” The classroom door opened and Gooney Bird reappeared. “I brought Mr. Leroy back with me,” she said. “He wanted to know what was in Uncle Walter’s box.”
    The principal came through the door behind Gooney Bird. “It looked as if your class was receiving a good-size present! I thought I’d come see what it was. Gooney Bird wouldn’t tell me. She said it should be a surprise.”
    â€œLook!” The second-graders pointed to the side of the room where the skeleton was dangling from his stand. Mr. Leroy turned, looked, and jumped back in surprise.
    â€œHoly moley!” he gasped. “What on
earth—?
”
    â€œIt’s Napoleon!” they called, laughing at his reaction.
    â€œYou might as well shake his hand,” Mrs. Pidgeon told the principal. “He’s going to be with us all month.”
    Mr. Leroy took a deep breath. Then he lifted Napoleon’s bony hand and shook it gently. “Welcome to Watertower Elementary School,” he said, and bowed slightly.

3
    â€œGood morning, students,” Mr. Leroy said on the intercom the next day after the bell rang and school had begun. “We have some announcements, and then a special treat this morning.”
    â€œI bet he’s going to tell about Napoleon!” Barry said. “The other grades are going to be so jealous!”
    â€œShhh,” said Mrs. Pidgeon. “Pay attention.”
    â€œFirst of all, good news,” Mr. Leroy announced. “Bruno is home from the hospital and he’s going to be fine!”
    Everyone cheered. Bruno was the school dog, a huge Newfoundland that belonged to Mr. Furillo, the school custodian. He slept most of the time, and everyone was accustomed to walking around a snoring pile of black fur. But poor Bruno. Last week he had fallen asleep beside the rear wheel of one of the school buses. His tail had been run over.
    â€œBruno