Zooman Sam by Lois Lowry Page B

the way I did birds. Remember I promised you scary animal hats? Today's the day."
    "Uh, Sam," Mrs. Bennett asked politely, "how many will you be doing this morning? I had planned on a finger-painting project." She looked at her watch.

    "Five," Sam told her.
    "Goodness," Mrs. Bennett said, "I'm not sure we'll have time for five today, Sam."
    "I have to," Sam said. "It's like wisdom teeth."
    "
Wisdom teeth?
"
    "These are five very scary animals," Sam explained.
    "Do it, Sam! Do the scary ones!" Adam and some of the other boys began to call. "You promised really scary ones!"
    Mrs. Bennett sighed. "Go ahead, Sam," she said.
    Sam took the first hat out of the bag. He looked at it carefully to see which one it was, and then he put it on his head. "Big Ben?" he said. "Could you do the music from
Jaws?
"
    Big Ben began to hum the scary music loudly. Some of the children joined in. Sam could see Becky cover her ears.
    "I am now wearing my Sharks hat," Sam announced. "A zookeeper has to take care of sharks."
    "Oh,
no!
" Becky moaned. She uncovered her ears and covered her eyes.
    "But I know how to train sharks to behave,"
Sam explained. "Who would like to be a pretend shark?"

    All of the boys waved their arms in the air, volunteering, and Sam chose Eli and Adam. "Swim toward me when I tell you to," Sam instructed them. "Not till I'm ready."
    Eli and Adam lay on the carpet, waiting. They made their faces into scary faces, with their teeth showing.
    "I have a special weapon," Sam explained. He reached into the bag and took it out.
    "Sam," Mrs. Bennett said, in a warning sort of voice.
    "It's not a gun," Sam reassured her. He turned toward the class and toward the two sharks who were waiting. "Okay, sharks," he said, "
swim.
"
    All of the children, led by Big Ben, were now humming the
Jaws
music loudly: all except Becky, who was curled in Miss Ruth's lap and had her face in her hands. Eli and Adam wiggled across the floor toward Sam.
    It was very, very scary. Sam aimed his dog-training bottle of water with a teensy bit of vinegar and waited. When the two sharks were close enough, he shot them both.
    "
Yuck!
" Eli and Adam jumped up, their faces
wet. The humming stopped. The shark attack was over.

    "See?" Sam said. "It's easy to control sharks if you know what you're doing.
    "Next," he said, changing his hat with a dramatic flourish, "I need a whole bunch of you to be a swarm of hornets!"
    The class, all of them excited, began to buzz loudly. Leah began to move forward slowly in her wheelchair, and three others fluttered imaginary wings and aimed their stingers at Sam as they approached.
    It was very, very scary. "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz," the class buzzed. But Sam, wearing his Hornets cap, tried to be as brave as the bravest possible zooman. He aimed his squirter, and one by one he shot the hornets and they dropped to the floor. Leah slumped over in her wheelchair, and said, "I'm dead. Zzzzz."
    Sam changed hats again. "Now," he announced, "Grizzlies."
    Big Ben got up from his seat. No one made a sound. There was no
Jaws
music, no zzzzzzz. There was just Big Ben, rising up into the silence with his arms raised high in the air and his fingers shaped into claws. He lurched forward slowly, moving his legs in huge thumps, growling. Then, suddenly, he began to give a terrible grizzly roar. It was the scariest thing Sam had ever seen, and it was coming right toward him.

    He took aim and squirted Big Ben in the mouth, mid-roar.
    The class cheered as the grizzly slowly slumped to the floor, defeated.
    Sam took out another hat. This one scared him, but he wasn't entirely certain what it was. In the very beginning, when the hats were brand new, his mother had read each one to him, and he had set these five aside. His mom had agreed that this one was very scary, but she didn't know exactly what it was either.
    "Devil rays," Sam announced in a loud voice. Everyone looked impressed and a little frightened, but no one said anything.
    Becky uncovered