The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney Page A

tell the kids.”
    Mr. Thomas grinned. Then he bent down and unplugged the TV. “Couldn’t hurt,” he said.
    He put down the broom and sat on the couch near his wife and the two of them just sat there in the den, giggling like—well, like Stop-Giggling-Gail!
    Suddenly, Mr. Thomas looked over at me.
    “You don’t mind a little peace and quiet, do you, Humphrey?”
    “NO-NO-NO!” I squeaked. And I promptly fell asleep.

    Things were a lot better when A.J., Garth and I returned to Room 26. No rubber bands flew through the air. Garth didn’t trip anybody or make fun of anybody. That meant Gail didn’t get in trouble for giggling. Heidi didn’t get in trouble for speaking out without raising her hand because she wasn’t trying to tell Mrs. Brisbane what Garth had done.
    But the best change was Sayeh, who did raise her hand. Every single day.
    One day, she raised her hand to volunteer to stay in during recess to clean the chalkboard. Miranda raised her hand, too. Mrs. Brisbane chose them both.
    “Girls, I think I can trust you to stay here while I run this report down to the principal’s office,” Mrs. Brisbane told them.
    Of course she could trust them.
    Once the girls were alone, they began to talk.
    “I really liked your singing,” Miranda told Sayeh.
    “Thanks.”
    “My mom and I are going to a musical version of ‘Cinderella’ over at the college this weekend,” Miranda continued. “We have an extra ticket. Would you like to come with us? My mom will pick you up.”
    Sayeh quickly turned to face Miranda. “Oh, yes. I have not been to a play before.”
    Miranda grinned. “Good! I’ll have my mom call your mom.”
    Suddenly, Sayeh’s face fell. “Oh, better not. She’s so busy. Ummm. Give me your number and I’ll have my father call your mother.” Sayeh watched Miranda’s reaction carefully. So did I.
    “Cool.”
    That was it. Miranda jotted down her number. Sayeh looked greatly relieved.
    I knew that Miranda’s mother didn’t care how well Sayeh’s mother spoke English. Maybe now Sayeh would figure that out, too.
    Another great thing that happened was that Mrs. Brisbane started reading a book out loud to the class.
    Sometimes, I doze right through these sessions. But this time, she picked out a really good book. When she announced that it was about a mouse, Gail giggled.
    “What did she say?” Art whispered to Richie.
    “Pay-Attention-Art,” Mrs. Brisbane said. “It’s about a mouse.”
    Several of the boys groaned.
    “Baby stuff,” one of them muttered.
    “We’ll see,” Mrs. Brisbane told them. She started to read and, oh, what a tale it was! All about mice no bigger than I am who were great warriors. I was longing to put on some armor myself by the time she stopped reading.
    “Continued tomorrow,” she announced as she stuck a bookmark in place and closed the book.
    Tomorrow! That woman truly has a mean streak. She’s proved it again and again. I would have sneaked out of my cage at night to finish the book, but she’s so mean, she stuck it in her desk drawer—the one she locks with a key. Grrrr!
    The weekend came around quickly, though, and I went home with Richie.
    I’m still not quite sure how many people actually live at the Rinaldis’ house because there were always so many people coming and going. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, neighbors. One meal seemed to flow right into the next and Richie’s mom was very generous with treats. I’ll tell you one thing: You could never be lonely or hungry at the Rinaldis’ house.
    On Sunday afternoon, guess who showed up? Remember Richie’s uncle? That’s right: Aldo Amato! This time my buddy Aldo was not lonely because he brought along his girlfriend, Maria, to meet the family. She was a very nice lady who wore her long hair piled up high on her head. She was dressed in bright red from head to toe: red earrings, red sweater, red skirt and red shoes. I think red is a very happy color. I think Maria is a very happy