Laugh with the Moon by Shana Burg

Author:Shana Burg [Burg, Shana]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-375-98568-3
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2012-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

In the morning, I’ve just put on my school uniform when I get an idea: I tie my bright purple scarf with blue stars around my waist. After all, if I’m going to be a teacher, I can’t wear the exact same uniform as all my students.

Once I’m dressed, I check on Fred. That’s when I get a big surprise: an egg is lying in the corner of the green chair. It’s a perfect, tan-colored oval egg, exactly like you’d see on a TV commercial. I reach over and pick it up. It’s still warm. “Wow, Fred!” I say. “You’re a girl!”

Fred clucks.

I peek in the box. Fred did good! “Nice work,” I tell her. Then I take the egg to the kitchen, where Mrs. Bwanali is cleaning the counters and Dad is sitting at the table reading and shoveling toast into his mouth. I hold out my hand to show him the egg. “Glad you didn’t slice and dice her?” I ask.

“Mmmm,” he says, and closes the medical book he’s reading.

Of course, Mrs. Bwanali is more impressed by the finer things in life. “A more beautiful dress,” she says, spinning me around to check out my accessory. “Now not another second! Show Mrs. Bwanali the egg.”

I hold it up for her to examine.

She throws the rag onto her shoulder, takes the egg out of my hand, and turns it around as if it is also a girl in a dress. “This egg is a beautiful egg. A beautiful egg that shines. It is an egg like a queen. If this egg is a person, this egg dress in fine clothes. This egg have shoes.”

I don’t know what to say, but then again, even if I did, I wouldn’t have a prayer of getting a word in edgewise with all the yolky compliments Mrs. Bwanali is frying up. “You may eat this egg for breakfast or give this egg to a school friend,” she says. “Remember, Clare, always keep your hen warm.”

“Her name is Fred.”

“Fred,” Mrs. Bwanali says. “I like this American name. This hen, Fred, may like to sleep under the bed, you know. The temperature is good there.” Mrs. Bwanali is full of advice about how to get Fred to produce enough eggs to share with Memory, Innocent, Saidi, Patuma, and Winnie. “Talk to Fred. Tell her what you do, what you like. Ask Fred question about her day. A happy hen is a prize more great than gold!”

I sit down at the table and Mrs. Bwanali serves me white tea, toast with jam, and the freshest, most delicious egg I’ve ever tasted while I guess who the chicken is from. “I think it’s from you!” I say.

Mrs. Bwanali is tickled. “My girl, Clare, think Mrs. Bwanali is a queen,” she tells Dad. “She think Mrs. Bwanali have chicken to give here and chicken to give there.” This really cracks her up. “I tell you what, my girl,” she says. “If I do get a chicken to keep, I give it to Fred.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.