Another Present

Well, it's Friday! Hallelujah, amen. I love the Five for Friday linky, but I am not joining today. I know, sad. But, I have the most important story to tell.

It happened yesterday at recess, and since I was at school working for 13 hours yesterday, I just had no gumption to tell it last night.

My students love to give me recess presents. Remember that story from last week?

If not, go read it and pay attention to the present about the frog. That particular present giver was at it again.

So, yesterday, Mrs. Jones and I were enjoying the wonderful fall day. We watched the children slide. We showed the children our donkey that had returned. We "played" with the children. We talked to each other.

As we were gearing up to blow the whistle, we hashed out again our afternoon math lesson. While we were pumping each other up a disturbance was heading our way.

In the form of a running boy. Smiling ear to ear.

When he was at close range I noticed he had something in his hand, and in less time than it is taking me to write this, I comprehended that the "thing" was a mouse.

EEEK! I was up and running the other way. About 30 feet away. To the other side of the 4 children (who were sitting because they were caught jumping down from the top of the calf fence).

Pretty sure that before I left Mrs. Jones' side, she screamed (like a loud, city-girl scream).

Then she was yelling at the poor kid (yeah, right, poor kid) "go throw that in the woods, NOW!! GO!! RUN!! GO NOW!!"

I never screamed. I ran fast, but I never screamed (that I remember, and Mrs. Jones hasn't corrected me either).

I watched the part about throwing the mouse in the woods from the safety of 30 feet, so I was pretty sure I wasn't in danger.

Then one of the four kids asked me, "Mrs. Bartel, are you ok?" She may have never seen me run before. I answered "no," but offered nothing more.

After the mouse was in the hedgerow, I corralled that "poor kid" and ushered him to a restroom, all the while repeating "DO Not Touch ANYTHING!" Then I watched him wash his hands with soap and water.

He looked defeated. Now I felt a bit sorry for him. He was in trouble, but didn't know why.

Until he told his story to a third grader headed into the restroom. All smiles. "I was holding a mouse."

Next stop, office. Please tell the principal, secretary and science teacher what you did. As he told his story, I got some more details.

1. He was in the barn. (Off limits unless with an adult, he was not with an adult.)

2. He saw a mouse.

3. He thought it looked fuzzy.

4. So he wanted to pick it up and pet it.

5. When he picked it up it was stiff.

6. So he brought it as a present to his teacher.

I enjoyed watching our principal go from smiles at the beginning of his story to stern lecturer at the end, with an admonition to go wash his hands with soap and water. The science teacher offered hand sanitizer to the kid on our way out.

I was smiling a bit. Probably because I had not had to deal with the mouse (thank you Mrs. Jones), or with lecturing the kid on the dangers of dead animals (thank you Mrs. Principal), and because it is a bit of a funny story from 30 feet away.

After seeing him to the restroom a second time, I headed back out to see if Mrs. Jones was ok. She was fine, maybe a little shook up. I said "you screamed like a city-girl" she defended herself saying, "he shoved that dead mouse in my face!"

We hashed the story a couple more times. to anyone who would listen (and the poor kid was doing the same--he stopped in the kitchen to tell the cooks!) and finally headed in to our math lesson.

What I wonder is... What present will he find next week?

P.S. That frog from last week??? Even after Mrs. Jones and I BOTH told him to put it in the flower garden, that frog made its way into my classroom. Until I saw it and sent him outside. 20 years from now, will he be a zoo keeper?