Horrible Harry and the Mud Gremlins by Suzy Kline

Harry’s Necklace

    â€œH ey, Doug,” Sidney whispered when he walked into Room 3B, “what’s Harry wearing around his neck?”
    â€œIt looks like a necklace,” I said, hanging up my jacket.
    â€œA necklace?” Sid giggled. After he put his lunch box on the rack, we walked over to the science corner. Harry was standing on our new round yellow moon rug, checking the mold we were growing. Everyone in Room 3B had taped a Baggie to the wall with one slice of bread in it. We had started the experiment ten days ago.

    â€œLook at the cool green mold!” Harry exclaimed.
    Sid was unimpressed. He wanted to talk about Harry’s jewelry. “Hey Harry, don’t you know that girls wear necklaces? Not boys!”
    Just as Harry put a fist up, Mary appeared. “I can’t believe you said that, Sidney La Fleur. Don’t you know boys have been wearing necklaces for years? Men too. Didn’t you watch the World Series? Half of the baseball players had necklaces on. And what about Michael Jordan? He wears a gold earring.”
    Sid took a step back, turned, and walked over to the art supply table.
    Mary moved closer to Harry and examined his necklace. “Hmm, interesting,” she mumbled. “It’s hexagonal, six sides. Is that a cover over it?”
    â€œYup,” Harry replied. Now Song Lee, Dexter, and Ida joined us.
    â€œWhat’s underneath the cover?” Ida asked.
    â€œA locket?” Song Lee guessed.
    â€œNope,” Harry answered. “I’ll show you.”
    Very slowly, Harry slid the cover to one side. “My grandma got this for me at the museum shop on Sunday. It’s a microscope. See the glass lens? You can look through it.”
    Mary picked up the end of Harry’s silvery chain and looked through the dangling lens. “Wow! I can see the lines on my own finger!”
    â€œSure you can!” Harry said. “This baby magnifies things ten times.”
    When Song Lee took a turn, she used the lens to look at Harry’s face. “I can see the black hairs in your nose.”

    Harry raised one eyebrow. “Want to see green hairs? Just look at the bread mold we’re growing.”
    Song Lee looked through the hexagonal magnifying glass into the closest plastic Baggie. “Ooooh neato! It looks like green fuzz growing out of craters.”
    â€œYeah,” Harry agreed. “But it’s not as cool as what I saw this morning on the way to school.”
    â€œWhat did you see?” Mary demanded.
    â€œYou mean, What did I discover?” Harry corrected. “I discovered a kingdom of mushrooms.”
    â€œA kingdom of mushrooms?” we replied.
    â€œHey, what’s up?” Sid interrupted. He had returned to the science corner wearing a yellow yarn necklace. Three paper clips were hanging from it like silver jewels.
    No one made a comment. We were too interested in Harry’s discovery.
    Harry lowered his voice. “Just wait till recess. I’ll show you some wicked looking fungi. And you can look at it with my new magnifying necklace.”
    â€œWhat’s fun gee?” Sid blurted out.
    â€œFun guy,” Harry corrected. “Don’t you pay attention in science? Mushrooms are a part of the fungus kingdom, like the bread mold we’re growing. My grandma told me we use fungi to make detergent, penicillin for antibiotics, blue cheese, and ...” Harry flashed his white teeth “... salami.”
    â€œAaauugh!” Sid gasped clutching his throat. “Mom made me a salami sandwich today. I’m eating fungi for lunch!”

    â€œWe’re all eating it for lunch, Sid,” Harry replied. “Yeast is a fungus that’s inside bread. But when it’s between our toes, it’s called athlete’s foot. You gotta be tough, Sid!”
    Sidney’s face turned as green as the mold in our experiment. Harry patted him on the back. “Today’s your lucky