Chapter 2

Jerry walked to his bus stop with the box in his hands. Everybody at the bus stop asked him what was in it. "It's very important," he said, but nothing more.

When he got to school, the teacher asked him what was in his box. "It's a secret," he said, but nothing more. At lunch his friends all crowded around and asked him to open it. "I can't--it's a gift," he said, but nothing more.

The box sat with him all day, and no one in class could think about anything else. His teacher didn't let Jerry know, but she was curious too. She decided to send him to the principal for disturbing the class, hoping to get an answer. The principal asked Jerry what he was keeping in the box and if it was dangerous. "It's not for you," he said, but nothing more.

Jerry went back to class and sat down. The entire class was watching as he handed the teacher a note from the principal. "Well, if it's a gift, Jerry, I suggest you deliver it now." Jerry turned around and faced the class. He walked down the aisle and stopped at the desk of Oscar.

Oscar's eyes lit up. Nobody paid attention to Oscar. Nobody talked to Oscar. And nobody had ever stopped at Oscar's desk, until now. Jerry handed him the box, with a new note tucked inside. Oscar read the note. "Dear Oscar, This is my box. Enjoy. P.S. It works better if you don't open it!"

On Tuesday, nobody had more people at his desk than Oscar.

XIII

MARTIN AND THE WAVE

Martin was hot as he sat by the shore. They'd come for the ocean, but he liked the sand more. "The water is fine, come on in!" said his dad. But the waves looked so big, that idea sounded bad.

His mother insisted, "You should go in." No point in fighting--his mother would win. She covered his face up with strong suntan lotion, Then they walked down to the edge of the ocean.

His pinky toe was first to enter, Then the big toe, front and center. An hour later he was up to his knee, And he was turned round, so he didn't see...

A monstrous wave came up from behind, It knocked off his suit (which was quite hard to find). The wave knocked him down, and he cried for a while. It was half a day later before he could smile.

"I'll never go back, not ever!" he said. "I'll stay in my room, under covers in bed." Martin was happy, that he'd arrived home, But that wave was special: it knew how to roam.

The wave was now hiding behind his oak tree. When it peaked out at him, Martin could see. He ran inside quickly and slammed his front door. What would a wave want to follow him for?

The wave didn't leave--it was always around. He could tell where it was by the swoosh-swooshing sound. He heard it at dinner while eating some rice, But no one else could, he even asked twice!

The wave followed close on his way back from school. When someone was coming, it hid in a pool. It was waiting outside while Martin was playing, Pretending to be water that the sprinkler was spraying.

By the end of the week, Martin was through. He needed it gone, and he knew what to do. He went to the ocean, on the very next day. He turned to the wave and had something to say.

"I'm sick of you wave, now get back in there," Being scared of this wave was too hard to bear. He jumped in the water, the wave jumped in too, "Let's settle this now, just me and you!"

The wave came up fast, but Martin was brave, He was no longer scared of this meddlesome wave. With both arms stretched out, he rode the wave back. It seemed that with swimming, he had a knack.

For the rest of day, Martin had fun, With the water, the waves, the sand and the sun. The wave didn't scare him, once he gave it a try, And when he left the water, he waved it goodbye.

XIV

MICROBUG TUG

Microbug Tug is small. He's smaller than a peanut. He's even smaller than a crumb!

MicroBug Tug wants to go on a vacation, and he's visiting the human body. The problem is, he doesn't know his way around too well, and he gets lost very easily.

Can you help him figure out where he is?

Tug is in a deep cave. He's surrounded by two rows of white stumps, one row on top and one row on bottom. It looks like there's some food caught between two of them. Do you know where he is?

He's in the Mouth!

Well, that's not where he wants to be--he might get eaten! He moves on and now he's crawled inside a funny looking shape. Every sound is louder inside. He can hear an echo as the sound bounces around and hits a "drum." Do you know where he is?

He's in the ear!

Tug can't enjoy his vacation with all that racket. He climbs up further until he's surrounded by tall stalks everywhere. There are thousands of them all next to each other and when a wind comes, they get blown all around. Do you know where he is? He's in the hair!

Tug sees something coming towards the hair and hops on when it gets there. Now there are five things he's never seen before next to him. Four of them are longer, and one of them is shorter. Each of them has a hard plate on the tip of it. Sometimes they point, sometimes they wiggle, and sometimes they get together and snap! Do you know where Tug is? He's on the hand!

Gosh, there's way too much excitement on the hand, so Tug hops off when the hand starts scratching another part of the body. Now he's looking into two tunnels and air is coming in and out of each of them. Tug notices that he's close to the mouth again. It looks like there are some short hairs inside, but he doesn't want to get any closer. Do you know where he is now?

He's in the nose!

All of a sudden there is a SNEEZE! Tug is thrown in the air until he falls into a bowl shaped hole. He crawls to the top, but there's nothing close by. It's like he's in the middle of nowhere, or maybe it's the middle of the human body? Do you know where he is?

He's in the belly button!

Wow, you really know the human body! Tug would be lost without you, but he has had it with this vacation. The human body is not for him, so he grabs his bag and hops off.

Thanks for helping!

XV

MUDDY FEET

When I woke, my feet were clean, Spotless with a sparkling sheen.

First things first, I put on socks, Then my shoes to walk on rocks.

Shoes are great for tricky jumps Over puddles, logs, or stumps.

Once I laid them on the floor, Off I went, out the door.

Just before I reached the grass, Down came raindrops falling fast.

They weren't cold, I didn't mind. Warm rain is my favorite kind.

Hitting dirt, it mished and moshed. Pretty soon it splished and sploshed.

The ground was wet and getting wetter. Dirt is nice, but mud is better.

'Cause nothing ever will compete With hopping round on muddy feet.

I like grass between my toes Even though it stains my clothes.

I like sand from on the beach. It gets in places hard to reach.

With leaves, I like them by the pile. Never fails to make me smile.

But nothing's even half as sweet As hopping round with muddy feet.

So that is why my shoes came off And that is why I caught a cough.

All stuffed up and feeling ill, I wonder if my mother will

Clean the dirt that's on my sheet From laying here with muddy feet.

XVI

MY DOG IS FROM NEPTUNE

Don't get me wrong, I think my dog is the greatest, but it just so happens that he's not from this planet.

My parents are part-time astronauts, and one weekend they took a trip to Neptune (they love it in the summer). Sometimes when they go to outer space, they bring me back space rocks or plants from Mars or my favorite dish, Pluto pancakes, but not this time...

When they arrived home from Neptune (after they parked their space ship in the garage), they had a big cage with them. I had never seen a creature like what was inside, so I named it after the first thing it ate: a shoe.

They said that Shoe was the smartest dog on Neptune. He could play dead, roll over, shuffle cards, cook, and use a computer. BUT, since I don't speak Neptunian, I couldn't get him to do any of those things, and I had to start teaching him all over again.

I think that on Neptune dogs must eat human food because Shoe likes to eat what I'm eating, but he hates his earthly dog food. He's a lot faster than any of the earth dogs in the neighborhood. He can beat any of them in a race, but he never rubs it in, because all Neptunians are good sports.

I think dogs and squirrels are sworn enemies on Neptune because Shoe is always barking at them. Also, I think that on Neptune, dog bowls are shaped like toilets because Shoe loves drinking from ours.

Shoe can eat more food than ANYONE on earth ever could. I know this for certain because my uncle can eat the most food in the entire world, and Shoe eats more than he does for a snack.

I think that Neptune is as good a place as any to come from, and I'm glad Shoe is from there. I wouldn't change a single thing about him.

Next weekend my mom and dad are going to Saturn for a barbeque. Shoe and I are both hoping that they don't bring back a cat.

XVII

NEIGHBORS

When I go to bed, I just lay down my head On a bed goes my head, when I lay down for bed

In a room sits my bed, with four legs on the floor On a bed in a room with a floor and a door

A door with a lock to a house that's my home A home with a door to the street where I roam

A bed in a room in a house on my street In a house with a floor for my bed where I sleep

A room in my house in a town, on my block In my town at my house is the door with a lock

On my street, here on the Earth, in the center of town On top of the Earth that is spinning us round

On the Earth in my house with four legs on the floor On my bed, in our galaxy, with a front door

In the Milky Way galaxy, down on my block In the house with four legs, and a door with a lock

On the Earth, in the Universe, I lay my head On a street in my town with a room and a bed

And somewhere out there is your very own street In a room with a floor and a bed with four feet

XVIII

NEON CAN BEAT ANYONE!

Neon is better than everyone at video games.

He has a game where you can race the fastest cars in the world. No one is faster than Neon. He has a game where you can play football. No one can tackle Neon.

He has a game where you can battle monsters. The monsters run away when they see Neon coming. He has a game where you can catch fish. Neon catches fish bigger than the boat.

Sometimes Neon plays his with brother Greg. Neon always wins. They play a game where you fly planes to see who's a better pilot. Neon flies circles around Greg. Neon's so good that none of his friends want to play him. They go outside instead. Sometimes Neon wishes he were outside playing with his friends.

One Monday, Neon gets a new video game. He plays it all day Tuesday and sleeps with the remote in his hand. He beats it on Wednesday. He is so excited that he goes outside to tell his friends during their soccer game.

He is going to ask them "Have you ever beaten a game in three days?" He's sure they will say "No," and then he will tell them that he did something they have never done. "Wait till the game's over," they say.

So he waits. And waits. And waits. "Can I play," he asks, and they say, "Yes." Neon has never played soccer before, but he actually likes it. He's not the best player on the field, but that's okay and nobody makes him feel bad about it. After the game he is very tired, but he's glad that he played.

"What did you want to ask us?" they say. "Can we play again tomorrow?" he asks. Now Neon is better at real soccer than he is at video game soccer.

XIX

NIGHT HIPPOS

By an African river known as the Nile, The sun fell away and it rested a while.

The rhinos were tired from the smoldering heat, So they laid down to sleep and they wiped off their feet.

The elephants marched to their elephant beds And gently they rested their elephant heads.

But the hippos were bathing in the shallowest pools, Thinking the rhinos and elephants fools.

Slowly the hippos sank into the river, The water so cold that it gave them a shiver.

(Hippos can't swim, despite what you may think. Since they also can't float, they could easily sink.)

They dove underwater to the soft river bed, Onto darkish green plants with a smidgen of red.

They strolled on the bottom, then bounced up for air, And they did it for hours, without any care.

The fish followed closely, weaving in, weaving out, Swimming under their bellies, and up to their snouts.

And then, one by one, hippos headed for shore To feed on the grass by the river once more.

They dried off their bodies by shaking and stomping And took bites of grass, chewing and chomping.

With the night fading fast, they were full from the feast, As the sun returned back, rising up from the east.

The hippos crept off to collapse for the day While the rhinos and elephants got up to play.

Enjoying the warmth of the sun and its light, Never knowing the story of hippos at night.

XX

NO DANCING AT THE DINNER TABLE!

When Taylor was a baby, he wiggled his toes. When Taylor could walk, he jiggled his hips. When Taylor got bigger, he started to dance. Taylor danced anywhere, everywhere, and no one knew why.

On the way to school, he tap-danced. On the way back, he shimmied and shook. Getting clean in the tub, on top of his bed, And out in the yard, Taylor danced.

One night his father had finally had enough. "No dancing at the dinner table!" he shouted. But it didn't stop there.

"No dancing in the car!" he yelled the next morning. "No dancing in the store!" he hollered that weekend. Until one day he said it: "NO DANCING AT ALL!"

But even if he wanted to, Taylor just couldn't stop. So when Taylor was in school, he tapped his fingers. When Taylor was in bed, he hummed to himself. And when Taylor was alone, he danced.

It was hard to find places to dance all alone. He tried the garage, but the car made it crowded. He tried the closet, but his clothes kept on falling. Finally he tried the basement.

And that's where he found a small, dusty, crusty piano. He tapped his fingers on the keys and hummed a tune. Then the tapping turned into playing, and the humming turned into singing, and the noise turned into beautiful music.

Everyday, he played his song. Taylor had never been so happy.

But one day his parents came looking for him. "What are you doing down there?" yelled his father. Without waiting for an answer, they marched down to see. "I'm playing my song," Taylor replied. "The one I dance to."

He was scared and nervous as he started to play for them. But as he did, something began to happen. His father started to jiggle his toes. His mother started to wiggle her hips. They were moving and shaking and didn't know why.

And then, they danced. They danced around the room. They danced down the hall. And they most definitely danced at the dinner table!

XXI

NOBLE GNARBLE

Far below the ocean waves, a gnarble laid in bed, All night long his gnarble dreams kept swimming in his head.

He dreamt a dream of swimming up to see the sky above, Lit up by the sun in colors he just knew he'd love.

But gnarbles never swum that high, their fins were much too small, Their tails were thin and floppy, which didn't help at all.

This gnarble liked his fins and had no problem with his tail, So when he woke he knew that he just couldn't, wouldn't fail.

"I'm swimming up above the waves to see the sky of blue; I've never seen it even once, and now it's time I do."

But the other gnarbles warned him that he shouldn't swim so high, As did the blyfish family that always swam close by.

"No gnarble's ever swam that high, it simply isn't done, A blyfish might just make the trip, but we know you're not one."

"Gnarbles don't have flappers like all us blyfish do, You don't even have koggers like the swimming gungaloo."

But the gnarble didn't listen and he left his friends behind. No silly blyfish family could ever change his mind.

He swam up past the boulders made of spongy gishy-gosh,

And flew right by the herd of floating feeding fipple-fosh.

His fins were getting tired but he knew he couldn't stop, So he kept swimming faster, trying hard to reach the top.

Just then a hungry warckel blocked the gnarble with his fin. He grabbed him by his tail and brought him right up to his chin.

"I've never had a gnarble, this would be a tasty treat, But you're much too thin and tiny for big old me to eat."

So the gnarble just kept swimming, and didn't dare to stop, Until he heard the sound of a great big bubble POP!

He turned around to see that he was in a bit of trouble. The sound he heard was that of a silver subbalubble.

The gnarble tried to hide somewhere that he could safely stay, But the subbalubble saw him and was headed right his way.

"Oh Mister Subbalubble, please don't eat me up for lunch, I'll bring a yummy plant instead, for you to sit and munch?"

"I've never seen a gnarble try to swim this high before. What is it, little fishy, that you're up here looking for?"

"If I could see the sky just once, I'd be a happy fish. To do one flip above the waves would be my only wish."

"Well sorry silly gnarble, but I cannot let you go. It's subbalubble dinner time--you should've stayed below."

The gnarble cowered back in fear and shook from fin to fin, But then he saw a school of fish called shiny glimmy glin.

The glimmy glin swam right past the subbalubble's face, And the gnarble grabbed a glimmy fin and quickly left that place.

The gnarble swam up higher still, until he saw some light. He knew it had to be the sun and, Oh was it a sight!

Closely by a plink was sleeping, lying on his back. He rubbed his giant belly as he dreamed about a snack.

The gnarble smiled happily and set his fins a swimming But he didn't see the plink wake up, for he was busy grinning.

The gnarble almost made it to the surface of the sea, But the plink chomped down and swallowed him as if he were a pea.

The gnarble sat inside the plink and started softly crying. He'd never make it out, so was there any point in trying?

But the Gnarble knew he'd come too close to quit and give up now, "There must be someway out of here. There's got to be somehow."

So the gnarble swam around inside, trying very hard to think, And while he did, his floppy tail was tickling the plink.

The plink was very ticklish and he couldn't hold it in. He tried to cover up his laugh with his giant plinkish fin.

But his mouth was open long enough for the gnarble to swim free, He swam so fast the hungry plink did not have time to see.

Far above the ocean floor, above the gnarbles' homes,

Above the blyfish families and dancing water-gnomes,

Above the swimming gungaloo and slimy dundledun,

A gnarble flipped above the waves and smiled at the sun.

XXII

ODE TO BURPING

My name is Tyler, King of burping, Champion of stomach chirping. No one else can belch like me-- A mouth explosion symphony.

When I start a burping session, It sounds just like a bear impression. Sometimes I can shake the room With my burping bellow boom.

I'm famous for my great technique, But, mind you, it's not for the meek. Some tips when burping for a crowd, To help your belch be extra loud:

Arch your back for full projection. Cover up for their protection. Throw some soda down the hatch For burping volume none can match.

But most important, don't forget The golden rule of etiquette. In terms of manners, I'm not choosy But always, always say "Excuse me."

XXIII

PHILIP LOSES EVERYTHING!

Philip had trouble holding onto things. His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework. They didn't realize that it really wasn't Philip's fault--his things actually liked to run away from him!

When Philip was two, his blanket grew legs and ran out of the house. His mother and father weren't very happy. They thought that it was his fault.

When Philip was three, he loved playing with his toy airplane. One day it flew right off the shelf and out the window, all by itself. Somehow Philip got blamed again. "You need to learn how to take better care of your toys," his parents said.

A year later Philip had 12 pairs of socks run away from him! Obviously they were smart and had planned their escape well because Philip never figured out how they did it. When his mother went to buy him more socks, she asked what kind he wanted. "The kind of socks that can't climb out of a sock drawer," he said. She thought he was joking.

Whenever Philip did his homework, he had to hold the paper down. If he let it go for one second, it would run off the desk and try to go outside by sliding under the front door. If you thought Philip's parents didn't like his explanations, you should have seen his teacher's reaction!

One day Philip's mom bought him a brand new ruler for him to bring to school. "Everyone will need a ruler tomorrow," his teacher had said. His mother was very clear that Philip had better not lose the ruler.

Philip took extra care to make sure that the ruler didn't run away. He took a string and tied one end around the ruler and the other end around his dresser. All night long he kept one eye on the ruler, even as he was falling asleep.

Philip thought he had outsmarted the ruler, but he was wrong. It grew arms and legs and ran straight for the door. The string stopped it from getting out, but Philip had fallen asleep and didn't notice. The ruler used its hands to untie the string and crept out the door, trying not to wake Philip up.

Because the ruler was so tall and thin, it had trouble keeping its balance on the stairs and it fell down, hitting every single step on the way. The noise was loud enough to wake Philip up. He chased the ruler all through the house.

The ruler ran through the dining room, and Philip followed after. It ran through the kitchen and then straight out the front door. Philip caught it right before it reached the sidewalk.

"Gotcha!" he said. And just like that, the ruler stopped trying to run away. Philip put it on the ground and it happily walked right back up to his room. Philip finally understood why the ruler was running way--it was playing a game! It just wanted to have some fun.

After that, Philip found a way to keep his toys entertained without having them run away. His parents never yelled at him for losing things anymore. But occasionally they would see him playing board games against a ruler...

XXIV

PRESCOTT HAWTHORNE

Prescott Hawthorne talks to birds. Amidst their chirping he hears words. They tap his window all day long, To sit and joke or crow a song.

His cat Melinda watches, waiting, All the while, contemplating. She would like some feathered snacks, And when he leaves, the cat attacks!

She shuts the window, birds inside. They fly in panic, some collide. Melinda chases everyone. They're all scared, but she has fun.

The brave woodpecker bites her ears. Prescott hears the roaring cheers. He races back and starts to holler, "Stop it Mel," and grabs her collar.

She hides a crow between her claws, Too tight to hear the "caw cah caw's". The hummingbird, who saw it happen, Flies to Prescott, wings a flappin'.

"She's got my friend, please help him out." They knew he would, they had no doubt. "Okay Mel, I'll make a deal. Let him go, you'll get a meal."

Prescott waits, Melinda chooses, Shakes her head and still refuses. "Fine," he says, "I'm sorry Mel, but if you don't, I swear I'll tell."

"I'll go tell mom you ate her pie. I'll go tell dad you chewed his tie. All the other cats will know your secrets till you let him go."

The birds gave Prescott loud applause As Mel released him from her claws. The crow said, "How did you do that? You talk to birds, but she's a cat?"

"All the creatures large or small, I can understand them all."

"Sometimes they just ask for food, And other times they'll be quite rude. But always as I pass them by, They tell me how they want to fly!"

XXV

SIMON AND BARRY

Simon found a four-leaf clover. He was proud of himself until Barry walked by. "I found a five-leaf clover once," said Barry.