Be Nice to Mice

Table of Contents

 

 

 

For Sarah and Emily—NK
For our wonderful friends at the
Central Park Zoo—J&W

GROSSET & DUNLAP
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Text copyright © 2006 by Nancy Krulik. Illustrations copyright © 2006 by

John and Wendy. All rights reserved. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. S.A.

 

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005024305

eISBN : 978-1-101-09967-4

“This is the prettiest lightning bug ever!” Katie Carew exclaimed. She looked down at the papier-mâché insect she and her friend Emma Weber had built and smiled proudly.

“I think so, too,” Emma agreed. She sprinkled some glitter on one of the bug’s wings.

“Wait until everybody sees our finishing touch,” Katie added with a grin. She held up a small pocket flashlight and tucked it into a little hole in the back of the bug. “Now our lightning bug can really glow!” Katie made the light flicker on and off. It looked just like a real lightning bug.

“We’re sure to win a prize at the science fair!” Emma declared.

But Katie wasn’t as confident. As she looked around their classroom she could see that other kids in class 4A were buzzing with as much excitement about their projects as she and Emma were.

The fourth-graders had been studying insects in class. Now they had paired up to do a project for the school science fair on Friday. Each pair was building a bug and creating a fact poster.

“Mr. Guthrie sure went buggy decorating the classroom,” Emma laughed, glancing up at all the paper dragonflies, bees, and mosquitoes their teacher had hung from the ceiling.

“I know,” Katie agreed, looking down at her feet. Mr. Guthrie had taped paper ants and cockroaches to the floor. “Good thing I’m not scared of bugs.”

In fact, no one in Katie’s class was scared of bugs. They’d been studying them for so long that the kids were kind of used to them. Recently they had decorated their beanbag chairs with wings, antennae, and six cardboard tube legs. During science week they could sit in
beanbugs
at school.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring real insects to the science fair?” Kevin Camilleri asked his partner, George Brennan.

“That would be so cool!” George agreed.

Katie rolled her eyes. That probably
wouldn’t
be too cool, especially since George and Kevin were studying cockroaches. Even though Katie wasn’t afraid of insects, she didn’t necessarily want an army of cockroaches roaming their classroom.

“Maybe we should put some leftover food around our cockroach to show what they eat,” Kevin suggested. “We could get some stale bread or moldy chocolate cake or something.”

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea, dude,” Mr. Guthrie interrupted. “It might bring some
real
insects to our classroom.”

“That’s exactly what we were hoping for!” Kevin exclaimed.

“Let’s just stick to pipe cleaners and clay,” Mr. G. said with a laugh.

Katie looked over at Kevin and George’s project. The boys had built their huge brown bug from clay. They’d used black pipe cleaners for its six legs and antennae.

“If this were a real cockroach, it would be a giant!” George said. “The king of the cockroaches.”

“I wish this thing would come alive just like Frankenstein’s monster,” Kevin agreed. “Then George and I would definitely win the blue ribbon at the science fair!”

Katie gulped. Kevin had just made a wish.

That was
so
not good!

Katie was an expert on wishes. She knew that they sometimes came true . . . and not the way you expected them to. In fact, the way some wishes came true could be really awful!

Katie learned that lesson the hard way. It happened one horrible day back in third grade. Katie had lost the football game for her team. Then she’d splashed mud all over her favorite jeans. But the worst part of the day came when Katie let out a loud burp—right in front of the whole class. It had been so embarrassing!

That night, Katie made a wish that she could be anyone but herself. There must have been a shooting star overhead when she made the wish, because the very next day the magic wind came.

The magic wind was a really powerful tornado that blew only around Katie. It was so strong, it could blow her right out of her body . . .
and into someone else’s
!

The first time the magic wind blew, it turned Katie into Speedy, her third-grade class’s pet hamster. Katie spent the whole morning going round and round on a hamster wheel and chewing on Speedy’s wooden chew sticks. They didn’t taste very good at all.

But the chew sticks didn’t taste nearly as bad as the food in the school cafeteria used to taste. Katie had seen—and
smelled
—that up close the time the magic wind turned her into Lucille the lunch lady. That time, Katie started a food fight in the cafeteria, but it was Lucille who got fired. Luckily, Katie was able to think of a way to help Lucille get her job back—and to get healthier, tastier food in the cafeteria.

No, Katie
definitely
didn’t trust wishes anymore.
Especially
a wish like the one Kevin had just made. After all, who would want a giant king cockroach roaming the halls of Cherrydale Elementary School?

“Okay, all you busy bees,” Mr. G. called out, shaking Katie from her thoughts. “Everyone take a seat. I have something really interesting to tell you.”

The kids all scrambled into their beanbags. Katie looked up excitedly. She couldn’t wait to hear what cool thing Mr. G. had come up with for them to do.

“You all know, it’s science week at school. And this year, in addition to your science fair projects, each grade is going to do a special group project. The fourth grade project is—drum roll, please—”

The kids smacked their hands against their legs like drums.

“We’re going to clean up the field behind the school,” Mr. G. finished.

The kids all stopped drumming and stared at him.

“That doesn’t sound like fun,” George said.

“I hate cleaning up,” Kadeem Carter added. “Just ask my mother.”

“What does cleaning the field have to do with science?” Mandy Banks asked.

“It’s
environmental
science,” Mr. G. explained. “We’re helping to protect the squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and mice who live in the field.”