the circle of children.
"Ravens," she read next. "Children, be thinking about what these hats have in common. Why did Zooman Sam wear all of these hats together?"
"Cardinals," she read from the third cap. She lifted the Ravens hat off. "Anybody figured it out yet?"
Adam waved his hand. "They're all
hats!
" he suggested loudly.
Mrs. Bennett smiled and shook her head.
"That's not what I'm looking for, Adam," she said. "Think harder." She removed the third cap and revealed the fourth. "Blue Jays!" she read to the class.
"Can anyone guess what the next one might be?" she asked.
"I know! I know!" Leah called, waving her arm in the air.
"Leah? What's your guess?"
Leah wiggled excitedly in her wheelchair, and Sam knew that she had done exactly what he did, so often: raised her hand and said she knew when she
didn't,
really. "Uhhhh," Leah said, thinking aloud. "
Pigs!
" she shouted.
Mrs. Bennett sighed. "You'd better put your thinking cap on, Leah," she said, and she took the fourth hat off of Sam's head. "Seahawks!" she announced.
"And now one more." With a nourish Mrs. Bennett removed the Seahawks cap. "
Raptors!
" she told the class. "Wow! Anybody know what a raptor is?"
No one knew. But Sam did. "I do," Sam said. "Of course, I'm the zooman."
Actually, he hadn't known until that morning. His dad had looked it up in the dictionary at breakfast, while his mom stood at the sink trying to scrape some of yesterday's peanut butter from the sleeve of the zooman suit.
"Tell the class, Sam," Mrs. Bennett suggested.
"A bird of prey," Sam said.
"Of pray? Like 'Now I lay me down to sleep'?" Emily asked. She formed her hands into a saying-your-prayers position.
"No. A different kind of 'prey.' It means it eats other creatures," Sam explained.
"Oh, no!" howled Becky. "Like bunnies?" She climbed into Big Ben's lap and began to sob.
15
Of course the answer that Mrs. Bennett had been looking for was
birds.
Sam's six Friday hats were all the names of birds.
"The zookeeper keeps all the birds in the same place," Sam explained. "Like a big giant cage. It's called a..." But he couldn't remember. His father had told him the word that morning, but now he couldn't remember.
"A bird cage!" Adam called out.
Mrs. Bennett leaned down to Sam's ear, the part that showed under the Raptors cap, and whispered the word to him.
"Aviary," Sam announced. "Say it with me, class."
"Aviary," all of the children said, except Adam. Adam said "bird cage" again, and Mrs. Bennett frowned at him and shook her head.
Mrs. Bennett carefully replaced his hats. Orioles, Ravens, Blue Jays, Seahawks, and Cardinals all went one by one back into a tower on top of Raptors, on top of Sam's head.
Sam tried to think of what else he could tell about birds. He didn't find birds as interesting as other animals, and that was why he had worn all six hats at once, so that he wouldn't have to talk about birds on six different mornings.
"When the zookeeper feeds the birds," Sam explained, "he goes into the aviary with his bag of bird food. Then he holds out his hand, with food in it, and the birds come and eat right out of his hand."
"My Uncle Dan has a parrot, and when you hold your hand up, it pecks you," Eli said. "Then it says, 'Only a flesh wound!' and it laughs! It sounds like this." Eli laughed a loud, cackling sort of laugh.
All of the children began to do parrot laughs. Sam tried to capture their attention again. Being a teacher was very, very hard.
"The zooman has to wear thick gloves," he
said, "so that his hands won't get pecked." Then he announced, "Being a zooman is a dangerous job. You have to be very brave."
"Like a firefighter," Adam said. "Probably almost as brave as a firefighter."
"Yeah, firefighters have to be really, really brave," Zachary said in a loud voice. All of the other boys began to nod their heads. One of them began to make a siren sound. Sam saw Mrs. Bennett move to the front of the circle, and he was afraid for a moment that
"Ravens," she read next. "Children, be thinking about what these hats have in common. Why did Zooman Sam wear all of these hats together?"
"Cardinals," she read from the third cap. She lifted the Ravens hat off. "Anybody figured it out yet?"
Adam waved his hand. "They're all
hats!
" he suggested loudly.
Mrs. Bennett smiled and shook her head.
"That's not what I'm looking for, Adam," she said. "Think harder." She removed the third cap and revealed the fourth. "Blue Jays!" she read to the class.
"Can anyone guess what the next one might be?" she asked.
"I know! I know!" Leah called, waving her arm in the air.
"Leah? What's your guess?"
Leah wiggled excitedly in her wheelchair, and Sam knew that she had done exactly what he did, so often: raised her hand and said she knew when she
didn't,
really. "Uhhhh," Leah said, thinking aloud. "
Pigs!
" she shouted.
Mrs. Bennett sighed. "You'd better put your thinking cap on, Leah," she said, and she took the fourth hat off of Sam's head. "Seahawks!" she announced.
"And now one more." With a nourish Mrs. Bennett removed the Seahawks cap. "
Raptors!
" she told the class. "Wow! Anybody know what a raptor is?"
No one knew. But Sam did. "I do," Sam said. "Of course, I'm the zooman."
Actually, he hadn't known until that morning. His dad had looked it up in the dictionary at breakfast, while his mom stood at the sink trying to scrape some of yesterday's peanut butter from the sleeve of the zooman suit.
"Tell the class, Sam," Mrs. Bennett suggested.
"A bird of prey," Sam said.
"Of pray? Like 'Now I lay me down to sleep'?" Emily asked. She formed her hands into a saying-your-prayers position.
"No. A different kind of 'prey.' It means it eats other creatures," Sam explained.
"Oh, no!" howled Becky. "Like bunnies?" She climbed into Big Ben's lap and began to sob.
15
Of course the answer that Mrs. Bennett had been looking for was
birds.
Sam's six Friday hats were all the names of birds.
"The zookeeper keeps all the birds in the same place," Sam explained. "Like a big giant cage. It's called a..." But he couldn't remember. His father had told him the word that morning, but now he couldn't remember.
"A bird cage!" Adam called out.
Mrs. Bennett leaned down to Sam's ear, the part that showed under the Raptors cap, and whispered the word to him.
"Aviary," Sam announced. "Say it with me, class."
"Aviary," all of the children said, except Adam. Adam said "bird cage" again, and Mrs. Bennett frowned at him and shook her head.
Mrs. Bennett carefully replaced his hats. Orioles, Ravens, Blue Jays, Seahawks, and Cardinals all went one by one back into a tower on top of Raptors, on top of Sam's head.
Sam tried to think of what else he could tell about birds. He didn't find birds as interesting as other animals, and that was why he had worn all six hats at once, so that he wouldn't have to talk about birds on six different mornings.
"When the zookeeper feeds the birds," Sam explained, "he goes into the aviary with his bag of bird food. Then he holds out his hand, with food in it, and the birds come and eat right out of his hand."
"My Uncle Dan has a parrot, and when you hold your hand up, it pecks you," Eli said. "Then it says, 'Only a flesh wound!' and it laughs! It sounds like this." Eli laughed a loud, cackling sort of laugh.
All of the children began to do parrot laughs. Sam tried to capture their attention again. Being a teacher was very, very hard.
"The zooman has to wear thick gloves," he
said, "so that his hands won't get pecked." Then he announced, "Being a zooman is a dangerous job. You have to be very brave."
"Like a firefighter," Adam said. "Probably almost as brave as a firefighter."
"Yeah, firefighters have to be really, really brave," Zachary said in a loud voice. All of the other boys began to nod their heads. One of them began to make a siren sound. Sam saw Mrs. Bennett move to the front of the circle, and he was afraid for a moment that
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