yard, I started to say about the flecks, and she poked me really hard."
Steve was grinning. "Beautiful flecks? Your sister really said that?"
"Yeah. She said that they were the same color as the highlights in your hair. But she would
really
have poked me if I said about highlights."
Steve ran his hand through his thick hair. Sleuth looked up and woofed slightly. "She likes my hair?" Steve asked.
Sam nodded. "So we need to poke Sleuth, huh? When he's bad?"
"What else did she say about my hair?" Steve asked.
"Nothing. That was all." Sam was impatient. He didn't want to talk about hair. He wanted to start training his dog.
"You want a hat?" Sam asked Steve. "I've got my Timberwolves cap, for when I train dogs. I could get you some kind of animal hat."
Steve was patting his hair, still, and arranging it with his hand. "No, I think a hat might mess up my hair. What time is your sister getting home?"
Sam was getting
very
impatient now. He tried to think of a way to bring Steve's attention back to dog training. "She won't be home till late," Sam said. "She's probably going to stop on the way home and have aâ" He looked at Sleuth, who was sound asleep on the grass. "A
hamburger
" Sam said loudly.
At the sound of the H-word, Sleuth woke suddenly and jumped up. He pawed at Sam and Steve in excitement.
"Poke him with your finger!" Sam said.
But it was clear that a finger poke would have no effect on a jumping, woofing dog. Steve scolded Sleuth firmly and finally got him back to a sitting position. "We really need a gun, Sam," Steve said, and then, when he saw Sam's face, explained, "I mean a water pistol."
"I'm not allowed to have guns," Sam said sadly. "Not even toy ones." Sam's parents had the same rule as Mrs. Bennett. They didn't even like it when he aimed a stick and said, "Blam." Sometimes Sam secretly made his fingers into guns and shot things that way, but he didn't let his parents see.
Steve was thinking. "How does your mom wash windows?" he asked.
Sam tried to remember. "Well, first she talks about it a lot. Every day she says, 'Those windows are dirty.' Then after she says that for about a hundred days, she finally says, 'Okay, I'm going to do it. Today I'm going to wash the windows.' And then she looks at my dad, but he says he has to go take the car to be repaired. And then she looks at Anastasia, but Anastasia says she has homework. And then she looks at me, and I say, 'I'll help,' but she says I'm too little. So she does it by herself."
"But what does she use to wash them?" Steve asked.
"Rags," Sam said.
"But doesn't she have a squirt bottle of blue stuff?"
Sam nodded.
"Great," Steve said. "That's what we need. Can you borrow that bottle?"
"Okay. But what're we going to do with it?"
"Squirt Sleuth," Steve said.
13
"Bulls" was a hit at school on Thursday. Sam pawed the floor with one foot, indicating how ferocious a bull could sometimes be, and how important it was for a zooman to be brave and alert. Then, as Sam had predicted, Mrs. Bennett read
Ferdinand
to the class. Instead of standing in front of the circle to talk about zookeeping one more time, he adjusted his Bulls cap and sat down to listen to the story. When they read it at home, sometimes his dad pretended to be a matador. He used a towel for a cape, and Anastasia blew a pretend trumpet when Myron the Matador entered the ring.
Becky whimpered, but didn't cry, because Mrs. Bennett let her be in charge of the flowers. Becky held a bouquet of artificial flowers, and raised one each time the story talked about how beautiful they smelled to Ferdinand.
On Friday, with his zooman coverall newly washed once again, Sam wore his Bears cap. He demonstrated hibernation (Sam was pretty good at snoring) and showed how a zookeeper tiptoes quietly while his bear sleeps. Then Mrs. Bennett read
Blueberries for Sal.
"We're a pretty good team, Sam," Mrs. Bennett said. "What cap will you wear on Monday?"
Sam thought about the caps he had not yet
Steve was grinning. "Beautiful flecks? Your sister really said that?"
"Yeah. She said that they were the same color as the highlights in your hair. But she would
really
have poked me if I said about highlights."
Steve ran his hand through his thick hair. Sleuth looked up and woofed slightly. "She likes my hair?" Steve asked.
Sam nodded. "So we need to poke Sleuth, huh? When he's bad?"
"What else did she say about my hair?" Steve asked.
"Nothing. That was all." Sam was impatient. He didn't want to talk about hair. He wanted to start training his dog.
"You want a hat?" Sam asked Steve. "I've got my Timberwolves cap, for when I train dogs. I could get you some kind of animal hat."
Steve was patting his hair, still, and arranging it with his hand. "No, I think a hat might mess up my hair. What time is your sister getting home?"
Sam was getting
very
impatient now. He tried to think of a way to bring Steve's attention back to dog training. "She won't be home till late," Sam said. "She's probably going to stop on the way home and have aâ" He looked at Sleuth, who was sound asleep on the grass. "A
hamburger
" Sam said loudly.
At the sound of the H-word, Sleuth woke suddenly and jumped up. He pawed at Sam and Steve in excitement.
"Poke him with your finger!" Sam said.
But it was clear that a finger poke would have no effect on a jumping, woofing dog. Steve scolded Sleuth firmly and finally got him back to a sitting position. "We really need a gun, Sam," Steve said, and then, when he saw Sam's face, explained, "I mean a water pistol."
"I'm not allowed to have guns," Sam said sadly. "Not even toy ones." Sam's parents had the same rule as Mrs. Bennett. They didn't even like it when he aimed a stick and said, "Blam." Sometimes Sam secretly made his fingers into guns and shot things that way, but he didn't let his parents see.
Steve was thinking. "How does your mom wash windows?" he asked.
Sam tried to remember. "Well, first she talks about it a lot. Every day she says, 'Those windows are dirty.' Then after she says that for about a hundred days, she finally says, 'Okay, I'm going to do it. Today I'm going to wash the windows.' And then she looks at my dad, but he says he has to go take the car to be repaired. And then she looks at Anastasia, but Anastasia says she has homework. And then she looks at me, and I say, 'I'll help,' but she says I'm too little. So she does it by herself."
"But what does she use to wash them?" Steve asked.
"Rags," Sam said.
"But doesn't she have a squirt bottle of blue stuff?"
Sam nodded.
"Great," Steve said. "That's what we need. Can you borrow that bottle?"
"Okay. But what're we going to do with it?"
"Squirt Sleuth," Steve said.
13
"Bulls" was a hit at school on Thursday. Sam pawed the floor with one foot, indicating how ferocious a bull could sometimes be, and how important it was for a zooman to be brave and alert. Then, as Sam had predicted, Mrs. Bennett read
Ferdinand
to the class. Instead of standing in front of the circle to talk about zookeeping one more time, he adjusted his Bulls cap and sat down to listen to the story. When they read it at home, sometimes his dad pretended to be a matador. He used a towel for a cape, and Anastasia blew a pretend trumpet when Myron the Matador entered the ring.
Becky whimpered, but didn't cry, because Mrs. Bennett let her be in charge of the flowers. Becky held a bouquet of artificial flowers, and raised one each time the story talked about how beautiful they smelled to Ferdinand.
On Friday, with his zooman coverall newly washed once again, Sam wore his Bears cap. He demonstrated hibernation (Sam was pretty good at snoring) and showed how a zookeeper tiptoes quietly while his bear sleeps. Then Mrs. Bennett read
Blueberries for Sal.
"We're a pretty good team, Sam," Mrs. Bennett said. "What cap will you wear on Monday?"
Sam thought about the caps he had not yet
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