Gooney Bird and All Her Charms Read Free Page B

will be back in school tomorrow and we’ll all be happy to see him,” Mr. Leroy went on. “No dog treats, though, please. And no lunch scraps! The vet said that Bruno is a little overweight. I think some of you have been giving him your sandwiches at lunchtime.”
    â€œNot the bread,” Nicholas said in a loud whisper. “I just gave him the bologna.”
    â€œShhh. Pay attention to Mr. Leroy.” Mrs. Pidgeon put her finger to her lips.
    â€œNext: remind your parents. Bake sale at lunchtime next Tuesday! We’re all hoping that someone’s mom will make those delicious lemon squares again! The proceeds will go toward new music for the school band, and our music director, Mr. Bornstein, says thank you in advance!”
    â€œNow he’s going to say about Napoleon, I bet!” Malcolm said.
    â€œShhh.”
    But he didn’t. Instead, Mr. Leroy said, “Finally, our special treat this morning: Lielit Brehanu is going to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Lielit’s mother and father have just officially become American citizens!”
    Everyone clapped. They all liked the quiet fourth grade girl who had come with her parents from Ethiopia last year. The children stood beside their desks and repeated the pledge with Lielit, who said the words proudly but sounded a little nervous over the intercom.
    â€œThank you, Lielit. And have a good day, everybody!” Mr. Leroy said, as he did every morning, and the speaker fell silent.
    â€œI bet Napoleon’s feelings are hurt,” Beanie said. “He didn’t even get
mentioned!
”
    They all looked sympathetically at the skeleton.
    â€œI’m starting to have an idea,” Gooney Bird announced.
    â€œWhat sort of idea?” Mrs. Pidgeon asked. They all knew that Gooney Bird’s ideas were always good ones.
    â€œAbout how we can make Napoleon famous in our school, but also it will be educational, and it won’t be dangerous or anything.”
    â€œSounds terrific,” Mrs. Pidgeon said. “Ready to tell us about it?”
    â€œNot quite. My brain is still at work.”
    â€œFair enough. And actually, class, I was going to start our study of the human body with exactly that!”
    â€œWith what?” the children asked.
    â€œWith the brain!” Mrs. Pidgeon announced.
    Keiko raised her hand and Mrs. Pidgeon said, “Yes, Keiko?”
    â€œNapoleon doesn’t have a brain,” Keiko said sadly in a soft voice.
    â€œHe did
once!
” Barry said.
    â€œYes, he certainly did. And what protected it?” Mrs. Pidgeon used her pointer and pointed to the chart, where the outlined head showed a wrinkled pinkish brain. Then she pointed to Napoleon’s head.
    â€œSkull!” all the children called.
    Gooney Bird reached into her desk and pulled out her bracelet. She held it up so they could all see the small silver skull.
    â€œMrs. Pidgeon! Mrs. Pidgeon!” Malcolm was waving his hand. “Guess what!”
    â€œWhat, Malcolm?”
    â€œLast summer, at Little League, the pitcher hit me in the head with the ball! But I had a helmet on, and under my helmet was my skull, so I had lots of protection, and my brain was okay!”
    â€œI’m glad to hear that, Malcolm. Not glad that you got hit by the ball, but glad that you didn’t get hurt. Now, class—”
    â€œHe did it on purpose! It was Jamie Morrissy who was pitching, and he always hits people on purpose! My dad said that if he does it again—”
    Mrs. Pidgeon went to Malcolm and put her calm-down arm across his shoulders.
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    â€œMalcolm’s brain is at work right now, class,” she said. “He’s remembering last summer, and it is our brain that stores our memories.”
    â€œLielit used her brain to remember all the words to the Pledge of Allegiance,” Felicia Ann said.
    â€œAnd to say them,” Mrs. Pidgeon added. “Our brains control talking,