Humphrey's Big-Big-Big Book of Stories by Betty G. Birney

Author:Betty G. Birney [Betty G. Birney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780571256013
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2009-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

I felt warm inside all weekend, especially when Seth rang Tabitha on Sunday night to ask her some questions about maths.

But it was COLD-COLD-COLD on Monday. Shivering, quivering cold.

It was even chillier if you were standing near Heidi and Gail. Even when she wasn’t around Heidi, Gail hardly ever giggled any more.

Then came Tuesday, the day of the big maths test. It was probably the quietest day of the year, as my classmates were very serious about this test. Kirk groaned a few times during the test. Seth got up three times to sharpen his pencil. Everyone seemed glad when it was over. Especially me.

Aldo was unusually quiet that night too. Instead of talking to me while he ate, he spent a lot of time writing in a big notebook. Sometimes he’d stop to stare at me, then go back to writing.

It started to snow on Thursday. When the students got to class, they were all bundled up in heavy hats and scarves and they all had red noses. (A few of those noses were runny, I’m sorry to say.)

After class began, Mrs Brisbane rubbed her hands together as if they were still cold. ‘I have finished marking your maths tests,’ she announced. ‘Every single mark went up. Most of them a lot. I know how hard you all worked and I’m proud of you. Now we can get back to preparing for the Poetry Festival.’

When she handed the tests back, there were sighs of relief this time and not one groan.

‘Now I have a big surprise for you. Today we’re going to have a guest teacher.’

‘Is that like a supply teacher?’ asked Heidi. Of course, Mrs Brisbane reminded her to raise her hand.

‘No. He’s coming in to teach one class. And many of you already know him. It’s Aldo Amato.’

‘You mean my uncle Aldo?’ asked Richie.

‘Yes, your uncle – Mr Amato,’ said Mrs Brisbane.

And there he was at the door. Aldo had become Mr Amato. He wore a white shirt, a red waistcoat, dark trousers and a tartan tie. He looked almost as spiffy as Headmaster Morales, and his cleaning trolley was nowhere in sight.

‘Come on in,’ Mrs Brisbane said.

‘Thank you, Mrs Misbane … Mrs Bisbrain … Mrs Brisbane,’ Aldo stammered. It might have been cold outside, but Aldo was sweating. I was pretty nervous myself.

He turned to the students and said, ‘Hello everybody. I spend a lot of time in this classroom when you’re not here, so it’s nice to see real people sitting in these chairs for once. A good-looking group, I must say.’

A few students chuckled, and Aldo relaxed a little.

‘I was talking to my pal Humphrey the other night and I started thinking about what the world looks like from his point of view. I mean, here he is,

a small animal in a room full of much larger animals. Namely – you!’

When everybody laughed, Aldo looked a lot more relaxed.

‘Anyway, Humphrey gave me a great idea for something we can all try together today.’

Who, me? Gosh!

Aldo held up a pencil.

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