Written by Sherinda Ryter
Copyright 2012 Sheri Bone
ISBN: 9781620953877
Illustrations by Amaryah Bone
Story Dedicated to the Memory of my father, and my dog Mandy who is the real Mack.
CHAPTERS
The First Day of Fourth Grade
Sam and Mack
The Project
Rain
The Boulder
Fear!
The Museum
The Plan
Art Class
The Plan – Part II
Fifteen Minutes
White Squirrel
What Next?
Brave Sam
The Gifts
Hurricane Henry
Horrible Hank
Great Mom
Sam’s Dream
The Final Report and Project
The First Day of Fourth Grade
Wasn’t there a law against assigning projects and reports the first day of school? As he sat alone on the bus during the ride home, nine year old Sam Milner was sure he wasn’t going to like fourth grade. His new teacher, Mr. Barrie, seemed nice enough, but Sam could tell that behind Mr. Barrie’s twinkling blue eyes was a really strict teacher. He knew that by the way his teacher handed out the Social Studies texts and started explaining the details about their report and project. Sam feared that the ease he felt in third grade was gone forever. He wondered if his twin sister, Pam, felt the same way about her first day of fourth grade. But when he glanced at her on the other side of the bus, laughing and chattering like a chipmunk with her friends, he suspected that she was happy with how fourth grade was starting.
Most schools do not like to put twins in the same classroom. Except for kindergarten, Sam and Pam had had different teachers. Pam’s fourth grade teacher was not new to her. She had Mrs. Wilbur three years earlier when she was just a first grader. Pam was sure Mrs. Wilbur would be fun in fourth grade, too. Sam wished he had it easy in school, like Pam did.
“Mom, mom!” yelled Pam as soon as she got off the bus and began running down the sidewalk. She was in such a hurry that she almost tripped on Mack, the family’s brown and white hunting dog who was lying in the warm September sunshine that heated the stone walk.
“Slow down, Pammy,” said Mrs. Milner, coming out of the house. “I was afraid that you were hurt! Now, what is so important?”
“Mrs. Wilbur is just great! Remember when I had her in the first grade? Well, she is even better now! Just wait until I tell you about the neat Social Studies project that we are going to be doing!”
As all this was happening, Mrs. Milner couldn’t help noticing her other child trudging up the sidewalk, stopping only to give Mack a quiet pat on the head. Sam heard Pam’s last sentence and moaned, “Neat Social Studies project? It’s gonna be real stupid. I think fourth grade is going to be terrible!”
Even though both twins had golden wheat colored hair, tan freckles, and looked very much alike, their personalities were very different. “I can’t wait to get more information about it so I can start right away!” Pam always liked school. Everyone called her ‘teacher’s pet.’
Sam, on the other hand, liked playing soccer and exploring in the woods behind their house with Mack. Writing reports and doing project always gave him a stomach-ache. Why couldn’t his teachers see that he was not like his sister? Why couldn’t they give him grades for being a great explorer or soccer player?
Mrs. Milner interrupted Sam’s thoughts. “Okay, you two, I was just getting a snack ready when Pammy came tearing up the walk. What say you help me finish and then you can tell me all about your day?”
Sam’s spirits lifted when he saw that his mom was cutting up apples and making chocolate peanut butter dip. That was his favorite snack in the whole wide world! Since the weather was still nice and warm, they carried out the snack and settled on the front porch of the old farmhouse. Mrs Milner and Pam sat in the comfortable chairs with puffy pillows and Sam straddled a wooden bench. Mack came up to Sam and begged for a little of the treat. Sam knew to give Mack only plain apples. Chocolate was not good for dogs. It could make them sick.
“Mom, is it okay for Mack and me to go to the woods for a quick walk before dinner? We’ll be back before dinner.” Sam knew his limits when he and Mack were exploring in the woods together.
“Yes, you two may go, and definitely be back before dinner. Your dad will be home really soon, and I know he’ll want to hear about your project and your first day of fourth grade.
Sam and Mack
Sam grabbed a last slice of apple dipped in chocolate, shoved it in his mouth, chewed just a little, and then called to Mack.
“Come on, boy! Let’s go to the woods!” Of course, it didn’t sound quite so clear with his mouth full of apple. It sounded more like, “Comb bo. Less go tooda woos” but Mack knew what Sam meant and his wagging body said what he could not.
Even though other people said Mack was just an old hunting dog, Sam knew he was as smart as most people. Even smarter than some. ‘Let’s go to the woods’ was Mack’s favorite phrase. Whenever Sam called that to him, Mack would perk up his ears, wag his tail, and then take off through the fields to the edge of the woods where he would wait patiently for Sam. It was almost as if he was looking back at the old white farmhouse and admiring his home while Sam followed, swinging a stick at all of the tall grasses in his way.
The Milners lived on an old farm in north-western New Jersey. They owned about fifty acres, some of which was yard (great for kicking the soccer ball around in), some of which was field (Mr. Milner liked to think he was part farmer), but most of which was woods, which was just perfect in Sam’s eyes. The woods were very hilly, with little streams in the spring, lots of ferns in the summer, and mounds and mounds of rocks all year round. Sam liked to inspect the lichen that grew on the rocks and trees, and he liked the feel of the thick mosses beneath his feet as he looked around for critters. The shades of greens, grays and browns all meant something to Sam, and he was glad he had some pioneer spirit in him.
When Mack was with him, he rarely saw any deer, but he was always on the lookout for frogs and salamanders. One day he found a Wood Frog. He almost missed seeing it since it blended into the leaf litter on the forest floor so perfectly. But his eye was trained to pick out the shades of color and he saw it. That was a good day.
When he wasn’t playing soccer, the woods were his favorite place to be. He was so comfortable in the woods, and he knew so much about the forest, why didn’t he do better in school? Sometimes he wished he could have class in the woods. Then he would do well. He would be the star pupil. He knew his classmates wouldn’t have seen that frog!
He looked over at Mack and smiled. Mack, being a typical English Pointer, was mostly white and had small brown spots all over his body. On his rump were two large chocolate ovals that matched the large fudge colored spot on his side. His ears and face were chocolate, too. Besides Joey, a boy in Sam’s class, Mack was Sam’s best friend.
Mack was the only reason Mrs. Milner allowed Sam to investigate in the woods alone. She knew the boy and dog were inseparable, and that Mack would protect Sam with his life, if need be. But Sam also knew the rules. He had to be back home before it got dark. He was, as his mother liked to point out, only nine years old.
Today’s walk took the pair to the rocky outcrop that overlooked a small lake. It was where Sam liked to think. A big rock that was moss covered made a large chair in which he liked to ponder his problems. Today he wondered how he was ever going to get through the fourth grade when the teachers started assigning big projects on the first day! Didn’t teachers usually wait a couple of weeks? He knew he had the worst teacher of all, and that Pam would probably get all “A’s” while he struggled with his “C’s.”
Maybe he could find an arrowhead or something that would help with his report. As he noticed the forest growth, Sam occasionally glanced down to look for arrowheads. But his heart wasn’t in it. Ever since he heard about the report and project, he felt sad.
No, now was not the time to be thinking of Social Studies. He should be thinking of getting back to the house before dinner. Since school had started, his time in the woods would be very short.
“Come on, Boy, we gotta head back.” Sam could hear sadness in his voice.
Mack stopped sniffing for critters, perked up his ears, and bounded all around Sam.
“How could Mack be so happy while I am so sad?” Sam thought to himself. “Maybe he knows something I don’t.”
The Project
Dinner went as expected. Pam was excited about school, and Sam grunted. He hardly tasted the meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. When his father asked about how Sam liked fourth grade, Sam just grunted again. Why didn’t they start talking about soccer or his walk in the woods? Why did it have to be about stupid school? Of course he couldn’t say school was stupid to his mom. She used to be a teacher. No, these thoughts would have to stay in his head. So, he decided to change the subject as he passed the meat loaf.
“Hey, Dad, tomorrow night is our first soccer game. It’s a Thursday and sometimes you have meetings on Thursdays. Can you come? Pam, pass the catsup. We are going to meet at the field at five, but the game starts at six. And then on Saturday morning we have another game. Can you come to that one, too?”
Pam was not the only twin in the family who could talk without taking many breaths! Sam, when he was talking about soccer or the woods, could go on and on forever!