Secrets According to Humphrey Read Free

secret, so I will.”
    I was feeling a little upset with Aldo. After all, if I told his secret to my friends in Room 26, all that they’d hear would be “SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK.”
    Still, I guess a secret is a secret. And a promise is a promise.
    I hopped on my wheel and began to spin.
    â€œSorry, Humphrey,” Aldo said. “I’ll tell you as soon as I can.”
    My wheel was spinning like crazy, so I didn’t even answer.
    â€œBOING-BOING,” Og twanged.
    He sounded as curious as I felt.
    Soon, Aldo turned out the lights and left Room 26.
    I kept quiet until I saw his car pull out of the parking lot.
    â€œWhat do you think Aldo’s secret
is
? ” I called to Og. “And which student is leaving ? ”
    Og splashed around and didn’t answer.
    â€œAnd what are the secrets of the Nile ? ” I asked.
    I knew better than to expect an answer from Og.
    Then I remembered the film that my classmates had seen earlier in the day.
    I had a long night ahead of me, so I decided to take a little trip to the library. If I couldn’t find out who was leaving our class, maybe I could at least learn some more things about Egypt.
    As usual, I jiggled the lock-that-doesn’t-lock, slid down the leg of my table and scampered across the floor to the door.
    â€œI’ll tell you everything when I get back, Og!” I squeaked just before I scrunched down and slid under the door.
    From the sound of Og splashing in his tank, I think he was happy, too.
    At night, only the dimmest lights are on in the halls of Longfellow School, and it’s unsqueakably quiet. But I knew the way to the library, so I hurried as fast as I could.
    It’s a tight squeeze under the door—EEEK!—but I made it. There I was, in the library with its shelves and shelves of books and its big glowing fish tank.
    During the day, the fish tank probably isn’t eerie at all. But at night, the water is a ghostly blue.
    There are brightly colored fish bobbing in the water and lots of bubbles. And then there’s the little sunken ship, lying at the bottom of the tank.
    I didn’t like to look at the sunken ship.
I
was in a boat once and it almost sank!
    â€œHi, guys,” I squeaked to the fish. “It’s me, Humphrey from Room Twenty-six. Hope you don’t mind me dropping in!”
    They didn’t answer, of course, but their mouths moved. Were they trying to tell me something ?
    I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a fish and live in the water all the time.
    Just thinking about it makes me feel all shivery.
    But I wasn’t in the library to see the fish. I was in the library to learn about the secrets of the Nile.
    I needed to get to the big table, so I scurried over to a series of shelves next to it.
    The shelves were like steps and I climbed UP-UP-UP until I reached the top.
    I remembered from an earlier visit that there was a big, bumpy remote control on the desk with buttons. If I pushed the right buttons, the big screen in the front of the room lit up.
    Whew—it was still there. As soon as I pushed the top button, the big screen lit up brightly.
    YES-YES-YES!
    The words “The End” came up on the screen and stayed there.
    NO-NO-NO!
    I didn’t want to see the end until I’d seen the beginning and the middle!
    The remote control had lots of buttons in different colors, with arrows going in every direction. And when I pushed the arrow that pointed this way, the picture started to move—backward!
    It went unsqueakably fast, so I could hardly tell what I was seeing.
    There were people riding camels and lots of sand and a strip of water that must have been the Nile River.
    There were some odd-looking buildings, too.
    Finally, the picture stopped moving.
    Then I pushed the “Play” button.
    â€œ
Secrets of the Nile
,” a deep voice said.
    I hunkered down on the desk and watched in amazement. Soon, I’d know the secrets of the Nile,