Horrible Harry and the Green Slime

Table of Contents

 

 

 

“Kline has the uncanny ability to penetrate young, elementary age concerns.”—
Publishers Weekly

PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcom Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand

 

Penguin Books Ltd; Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

 

First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin,
a division of Penguin Books USA Inc., 1989
Published in Puffin Books, 1991
Reissued 1998

Text copyright © Suzy Kline, 1989

Illustrations copyright © Frank Remkiewicz, 1989
All rights reserved

 

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE PREVIOUS PUFFIN EDITION
UNDER CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 91-52535.

eISBN : 978-1-101-07684-2

 

 

 

RL: 2.3

For my class who launched the original cobweb invasion at Southwest School,

 

Miss Mackle held up a big glass jar with the names of everyone in Room 2B.

“Today,” she said, “we will pick secret pals.”

Everyone looked around the room and pointed at somebody.

Harry pointed at me.

I pointed at Harry.

“Just a minute,” Miss Mackle continued, “when I say ‘pick a pal,' I mean pick a pal out of
this
jar.”

Everyone stared at the jar and groaned.

“For one week,” Miss Mackle continued, “you will send letters and little homemade surprises to your secret pal. On Friday, you will bring a letter to school saying who you are. I hope this activity will promote writing skills
and
new friendships.”

I put my hand in the jar very carefully. Then Harry did.

Slowly we opened the folded pieces of paper.

Harry flashed his white teeth. I could tell he was happy about the name he drew.

“I bet you have Song Lee,” I whispered.

Harry nodded. “How did you guess?”

Miss Mackle put the jar back on her desk. “Now remember, boys and girls, your secret pal is a secret. Don't tell anyone! And when you give your pal something, make sure it is when he or she is not at their desk.”

“Who do you have, Doug?” Harry whispered.

“I can't tell you. Didn't you hear the teacher?”

Harry made a face. “I told you!”

“No you didn't. I guessed yours.”

“Do you have Ida?” Harry guessed.

I shook my head.

“Tell me!” Harry insisted.

“I can't.”

“Then you're not my friend anymore,” Harry said.

Miss Mackle stood in front of the class. “I think this activity will be a fun learning experience.”

Some fun, I thought. I just lost my best friend.

The next day when Song Lee was with her special English teacher, Harry put a fat letter on her desk with a picture of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Harry found a letter on his desk. He read it aloud:

Harry leaned over on his desk, “See Doug,
my
pal knows how to be a friend. He's not like YOU!”

And then he picked up the conch and listened to the sounds of the sea.

He didn't even ask me if I wanted a turn.

When I came back from lunch, I found a drawing on my desk.

It was supposed to be a flying unicorn in a snowstorm. I thought it was dumb. My secret pal didn't even know how to spell my name.

On Wednesday, I got a drawing of a snowman and one sentence:

It was a one-eyed snowman.

Ho, ho, ho, I thought. It was so funny, I forgot to laugh.

Thursday, Song Lee found a clay salamander on her desk. There was a story next to it. The story was three pages long.

I could tell Song Lee liked the salamander because she named it Lin Woo and made a collar of flowers for it.

When Harry came back from the lavatory, he had another note and surprise on his desk. It was a pencil holder made out of a ball of aluminum foil. Three holes were jabbed in it for pencils.

Harry read his note: