Gooney the Fabulous Read Free

Barry Tuckerman, as always, was half standing at his desk, waving his arm wildly. Felicia Ann, as always, was looking at the floor. But her hand was raised in a timid sort of way.
    Gooney Bird looked at Nicholas. "Nicholas," she said, "you didn't raise your hand. But would you like to be first?"
    Nicholas, who had been looking gloomy all week, shook his head.
    "Is there anything we can do to make you feel more cheerful?" Gooney Bird asked in a kindly voice.
    "No," Nicholas muttered.
    "Well, then." Gooney Bird looked around the room at all the waving hands. Finally she looked at the teacher's desk. "Mrs. Pidgeon," she asked, "is your fable ready?"
    "Yes," said Mrs. Pidgeon. "I have it right here."
    "And your costume?" asked Gooney Bird.
    Mrs. Pidgeon nodded.
    "I'd like you to go first, then. You're a member of this class, after all."
    Mrs. Pidgeon smiled. "All right," she said. She stood up. She
was wearing black slacks and a black turtleneck shirt. She reached into the bag that she had stored under her desk and brought out a white vest and put it on.
    "How shall we do this, Gooney Bird?" she asked. "Would it be fun to have the class guess what animal each of us is?"
    "
No,
"Nicholas said loudly.
    It was very startling. Nicholas ordinarily was a cheerful, outgoing boy. But all week he had been acting strangely.
    Gooney Bird decided to ignore him. "Yes," she said, "let's guess. Class, take a look at Mrs. Pidgeon and guess what animal she is! Remember, it must begin with a P!"
    "But P is for her
last
name," Tricia pointed out.
    Mrs. Pidgeon laughed. "That's true," she said. But my first name is Patsy! I'm a two-P person! Now see if you can guess my animal."
    The class all looked carefully. Mrs. Pidgeon was entirely black except for her white middle.
    "
Penguin!
"the children all shouted.
    "I saw
March of the Penguins
Beanie called out.
    "Me too!" Malcolm said. "I did too! I saw it too! I saw
March of the Penguins!
"
    "So did I!" called Ben. "My dad took me!"
    "I saw it!" Chelsea said loudly.
    "I thaw it too," Felicia Ann whispered, "but it wath tho thad!"
    "Shhhhh," Gooney Bird said, and she held her finger in front of her mouth. "I'm sure Mrs. Pidgeon's fable won't be sad. Will it, Mrs. Pidgeon?" Gooney Bird stepped aside so that the
teacher could stand at the front of the class to read her fable.
    Mrs. Pidgeon was laughing. "No," she said, "it isn't sad at all. But it also isn't about a penguin!"
    "It isn't?" asked Gooney Bird, looking puzzled.
    "No. I'm going to write the name of my animal on the board. I'm afraid guessing is not going to be a good idea. It might take forever. Instead, each of us can write our animal in a list. I'll start right here." Mrs. Pidgeon picked up the chalk and held it to the board. "Then, after we're all done," she said, "we can have a lesson in alphabetizing. Remember my beginning letter, P?"
    She wrote an uppercase P on the board.
    Then she added an A, an N, a D, and another A.
    "
Panda!
"the class called out. They looked at their teacher again. Her arms and legs were black, and her middle was white. A perfect panda.
    "Now," Mrs. Pidgeon said, "I'll read my fable."
Once there was a small panda who lived in a bamboo grove in China. He was a happy panda who spent his days playing in the tall stalks of bamboo and nibbling at the leaves.
    One day a majestic deer wandered into the bamboo grove.
    "Hello," said the deer to the panda. "You look as if you are enjoying your nibbling."
    "Yes," the panda replied. "I am."
    "I myself prefer to eat the tips of rhododendrons,"
the deer said. "They are quite yummy, and I think they have a lot of vitamins."
    "Bamboo is yummy, too," said the panda, "but I'd be happy to give a rhododendron a try, on your recommendation."
    So the majestic deer led the small panda out of the bamboo grove and through a meadow, then to a rhododendron bush at the edge of the woods.
    "Here," said the deer. "Help yourself."
    The panda nibbled curiously. The taste was not bad. It was very