Gooney Bird and the Room Mother by Lois Lowry Page B

in school, first you went to the school nurse, and then Muriel Holloway called your mom to come and get you.
    "May I be right smack in the middle and do Squanto?"
    Mrs. Pidgeon nodded. Gooney Bird knelt in front of Squanto and began to examine her crayons.
    "Everyone choose a place on the, ah, mural," Mrs. Pidgeon said. "We want to get it finished before the pageant. Nicholas, could you work on the forest in the background? Chelsea, how about you? Could you do the turkey?"
    Gooney Bird had begun to color Squanto's feather blue. But all of the other children remained standing. They were all looking at their own feet. They looked weary and dissatisfied.
    "My feet match," Felicia Ann whispered. "I have a feeling of ennui."
    "Mine too," Tyrone said loudly. "My feet are the boringest ones in the whole room. I feel a whole lot of ennui. Can I switch one sock with Nicholas?" He sat on the floor and pulled off one white sock.
    "Trade with me!" Barry Tuckerman called. He was
grabbing at Ben's left foot.
    "Me!" Malcolm called loudly. "Someone switch with me!"
    "My goodness, class!" Mrs. Pidgeon said. "Can we keep our voices down, please? Look how carefully Gooney Bird is coloring Squanto. We must all get busy on this mural!"
    But the class wasn't listening. The children were examining their own feet and their classmates' feet. They were comparing socks and grabbing and yelling.
    "You've lost them, Mrs. Pidgeon," Gooney Bird said with a sigh, "and it was my fault. I apologize. I'll try to make it up to you." She stood up. "
Class!
" she said.
    Gooney Bird had a very loud voice when she wanted to use it.
    "
CLASS!
" she said again.
    The children looked up. They became quiet.
    "Here is what we are going to do," Gooney Bird announced. "Arrange yourselves in a circle, please. Try not to step on the Muriel."
    She reached out and took the hands of the children nearest to her, Tyrone on one side and Ben on the other. Tyrone reached for Chelsea. Ben took Beanie's hand. One by one the children arranged themselves in a circle around the mural.
    Mrs. Pidgeon entered the circle by taking the hands of Nicholas and Chelsea and standing between them.
    "Now," Gooney Bird announced, "at the count of three, we will each remove our left sock. One. Two."
    "Oh, dear," Mrs. Pidgeon said, "I'm wearing pantyhose. I think I'd better drop out."
    Gooney Bird nodded. "You be the supervisor," she suggested.
    "Ready?" Gooney Bird said loudly. "
THREE.
Left socks off."
    Every child, including Gooney Bird, removed a left sock.
    "You'd better help Malcolm, Mrs. Pidgeon," Gooney Bird said. "Remember, he has that problem with left and right?"
    Mrs. Pidegon nodded. She went to Malcolm and pointed out his left foot.
    "Ready?" Gooney Bird said. "Everyone got that left sock off?"
    The children nodded. They wiggled the toes on their bare left feet and waited for their instructions.
    "At the count of three, pass your left sock to the person on your left. That will be the person beside your bare foot. Malcolm, Mrs. Pidgeon will help you. One. Two. Ready?
THREE.
"
    Each child handed a sock to another child.
    "I got a
girl
sock," Tyrone said. "I don't want no girl sock."
    "A sock is a sock," Gooney Bird said. "Anyway," she added, "you happen to have Chelsea's sock, and Chelsea is one of the smartest girls in this class. Some of her smarts may still be in that sock and they may rub off on you, Tyrone. You've got a very lucky sock there.
    "Now. You can all guess what comes next, on the count of three. You put on your new sock. One. Two.
THREE.
"
    In a moment all the children were wearing unmatched socks. Even Gooney Bird's original pair of one red, one yellow, had become a pair of one red, one white with a blue stripe.
    They all looked down and admired their feet.
    "There is not a single pair of boring feet in this classroom now," Gooney Bird announced.
    "Except mine," Mrs. Pidgeon said with a laugh.
    "Except Mrs. Pidgeon's," Gooney Bird agreed. "Now, class, on the count of