Winter According to Humphrey (9781101591222) (2 page)

2

Singing Snowflakes

A
fter recess, my friends wanted to talk about the winter program.

Mrs. Brisbane, on the other paw, wanted to talk about science.

“I tell you what,” she said. “Since you'll be singing about snowflakes, let's talk about them.”

It turns out that snowflakes are SO-SO-SO interesting! I found out that:

• Snowflakes are made of little crystals of ice.
  
• Each snowflake has six sides.
  
• Snow forms in clouds where the temperature is below freezing.
  
• No two snowflakes are ever the same.
  
• Ice crystals form around tiny bits of dirt! Can you believe a beautiful snowflake starts with a piece of dirt
  ?
  
• As they get heavier, the snowflakes fall toward the ground.
  

“If we're lucky, we'll get to do a science experiment with real snow,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “What else can we do with snow
?”

“Oooh, I love to go sledding,” Sophie said. “We live on a hill and last year it snowed and all the kids in the neighborhood sledded all day. The hill was bumpy, so we bounced all the way down. And then my cousins came over and some friends and my mom made chili and we made popcorn, too. And then the next day . . .” Sophie paused for a breath.

“Thank you, Sophie,” Mrs. Brisbane said quickly. “Who else has an idea
?
”

I don't think Stop-Talking-Sophie was finished talking. To squeak the truth, she never is.

She can talk more than any human I know!

“I like building snowmen,” Holly said. Then she yawned a HUGE-HUGE-HUGE yawn.

My other friends came up with so many interesting things to do, like building snow forts and making ice cream out of snow.

I've never done any of those things because hamsters don't like the cold, despite our fur coats! Still, I enjoy watching the snow from the warmth of my cage indoors.

Then Mrs. Brisbane said, “And, of course, one of your songs is about the idea that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. I like the words to the song Ms. Lark gave us today. I think it's true for this class.”

The words
?
What
words
?
I wanted to get my paws on that song and find out what it said. After all, if I was going to be in the show with my friends, I needed to know my part!

Soon, all of my friends hurried off to lunch—except for one.

Holly was still at her desk, yawning.

Mrs. Brisbane noticed, too. “Holly, are you feeling all right
?
”

“I'm fine,” Holly answered in a weak voice.

Mrs. Brisbane walked over to her table. “You seem tired today. Maybe you should go see the school nurse. Or I could call your mother to pick you up, if you're sick.”

Holly yawned. “No, I'm fine,” she said again.

Then Mrs. Brisbane did a strange thing. She put her hand on Holly's forehead. I tell you, humans never stop surprising me with their odd behavior!

“Did you bring your lunch
?
” Mrs. Brisbane asked.

Holly nodded.

“You can eat in here, if you'd like. It's nice and quiet. We could eat together,” Mrs. Brisbane said.

Mrs. Brisbane brought her lunch bag over to Holly's table and they took out all kinds of yummy-looking food, like sandwiches and hamster-iffic carrot sticks. They didn't talk for a while as they ate. Then Mrs. Brisbane asked, “Are you all ready for the holidays
?
”

“Not really,” Holly said. “I still have a lot of presents to make.”

“It's nice to make presents,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “But it's a lot of work.”

“You can squeak that again,” I said. “Holly's working so hard, she's not even sleeping. It might make her sick!”

I know that all Mrs. Brisbane could hear was SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK, but I wished she could understand me.

“Who are you making presents for
?
” Mrs. Brisbane asked.

“Everyone in the class,” Holly said. “Oh, and I forgot! I have to make something for Ms. Lark!”

Mrs. Brisbane looked puzzled. “We don't have a gift exchange in this class.”

“I know,” Holly said. “But I figured it out. I'm going to deliver them
outside
of class.”

Mrs. Brisbane chewed a bite of her sandwich and then said, “That's nice of you, but why do you want to do this
?
”

“I love to make things! And I love to give gifts to show how much I like everybody,” Holly said. “Then they'll like me back.”

Then Mrs. Brisbane did something I don't see her do very often. She frowned.

“Holly, your classmates like you for who you are,” she said. “You don't need to give people presents to make them like you. You know that, don't you
?
”

I was so glad to hear my teacher squeak up.

“That's right!” I agreed.

Holly thought for a moment. “I guess they do.”

“It's important to get enough sleep, Holly,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “You don't want to get sick for the holidays.”

It's amazing! Even if she didn't understand what I said, Mrs. Brisbane seemed to know what I was thinking. I guess that's what makes her such a great teacher.

Holly yawned again.

Mrs. Brisbane and Holly chatted a little more while they finished lunch. Then my teacher said, “Why don't you put your head on your table and rest until the others come back
?
”

“Couldn't I work on making my presents instead
?
” Holly asked. “I brought some of my projects with me.”

Mrs. Brisbane shook her head. “No, Holly. Please drop the idea of making presents for everyone. Put your head down and rest.”

Holly agreed, and soon she was fast asleep.

Of course, Holly woke up when our friends came back into the class. (Maybe she didn't wake up all the way, though.)

Later in the day, Mrs. Brisbane read to us from a wonderful book about a girl named Alice falling down a rabbit hole (which sounds terrifying to a small creature like me). And just like our program, it took place in a
wonderland,
but not the kind where it snows.

It was hard to follow the story, though, because while Mrs. Brisbane was reading, Holly kept yawning and they kept getting longer and longer.

Yawn. Yawn. Yawwwwn. Yawwwwwwwn.

Then I noticed something funny. Once Holly started yawning, all the other humans in the room began to yawn.

Even
I
started to yawn, and I'm not a human.

I finally crawled into my sleeping hut for a nap. I was only sorry that Holly couldn't fit in there, too!

“Og, do you remember the time you and I got snowed in
?
” I asked my neighbor that night when the school was empty.

“BOING-BOING!” Og replied.

“It doesn't seem that long ago,” I said. “In fact, it was earlier this year. But so much has happened since then. And now winter is back!”

“BOING
?
” Og sounded surprised.

“I wonder if it will snow again. I wonder what a wonderland looks like. And I wonder what that snowflake song is like,” I squeaked.

Og splashed around in his water a little, but he didn't answer my questions.

It was beginning to get dark in Room 26, but my hamster eyes see well in the dark. And as I looked across the room, I noticed a sheet of white paper under Be-Careful-Kelsey's table.

“I wonder . . . ,” I squeaked. “Og, do you think that's a copy of the snowflake song
?
”

Og splashed a little louder.

I was thinking about opening the lock-that-doesn't-lock on my cage and trying to read the paper when I heard a familiar RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE coming down the hall outside the classroom.

The first time I'd heard that rattling, I'd thought a ghost was coming. But now I knew that it was only Aldo coming in to clean. He isn't anything like a ghost, thank goodness.

Suddenly, the door swung open and bright light filled the room as Aldo appeared, pushing his cleaning cart.

“Never fear . . . 'cause Aldo's here,” his voice boomed out.

“Greetings, Aldo!” I squeaked at the top of my tiny lungs.

“Hello, Humphrey! Hello, Og! How are my favorite classroom pets
?
” he said.

I was glad we were his favorites. George, the frog with the deep voice in Miss Loomis's class, isn't one bit friendly. Sometimes it's difficult to understand Og, but I don't understand the hermit crabs in Miss Becker's room at
all.

I've liked Aldo since my first night in Room 26. It was fun to watch him, especially when he showed me his trick of balancing a broom on his fingertip.

Aldo came over to our table and bent down so his face was level with my cage and Og's tank. I love to see Aldo up close because he has a big furry black mustache that wiggles when he talks. Sometimes I wonder if he stores extra food in there, the way I do in my cheek pouch.

“Say, have you heard about this Winter Wonderland show
?
” he asked. “It's going to snow in the gym . . . and that's no joke! Get it
?
That snow joke.
”

When he laughed, his mustache shook.

It made me cold to think of snow outside. But the thought of snow
inside
the school made my teeth chatter.

“Here's a snow joke for you,” Aldo said. “How do snowmen travel around
?
”

I had no idea, so I was happy when Aldo said, “By icicle! Get it
?
An icicle, like a bicycle.”

“That's funny,” I squeaked.

“Here's another one,” Aldo continued. “What do you call a snowman in the summer
?
A puddle!”

Aldo's mustache shook even harder as he laughed at this joke—along with me.

Then Aldo went to work cleaning the classroom. He dusted the tables and was careful not to disturb anything on Mrs. Brisbane's desk. Aldo admires Mrs. Brisbane (so do I). He's even going to school to learn to be a teacher like her someday.