Be Nice to Mice (7 page)
Authors: Nancy Krulik
“If you don’t do your experiment, I can’t give you a grade,” Mrs. Hauser reminded her. “You don’t want a zero, do you?”
Selena bit her lip. “No. But I can’t make my mice do this, either.”
Mrs. Hauser thought for a minute. “I understand,” she said finally. “How about you do a research paper instead? Maybe something about animals?”
“Okay,” Selena replied. “I’ll start on it this weekend.”
Wow! Katie was very impressed. Selena loved her mice so much, she was willing to do extra work rather than make them do some more running. Selena really cared about animals and their rights after all.
Katie had been very wrong about Selena. She wished there was some way she could help her.
Chapter 15
“I can’t believe Jessica and I didn’t get a ribbon today,” Suzanne moaned later that afternoon, as she and Katie walked together in the Cherrydale Mall. “We looked so awesome in our ladybug dresses.”
Katie knew that wasn’t the point of a science fair. But she couldn’t explain that to Suzanne. Especially since Katie and Emma W. had won the third-place ribbon for the fourth grade. Suzanne would just think Katie was bragging.
“You want to get a snack?” she asked Suzanne, changing the subject.
Suzanne shook her head. “I’m still full from the pizza we ate for lunch. Did you see the look on George’s face when I slid my slice right under his nose?”
“That was kind of mean,” Katie told her.
“Not as mean as his cheating,” Suzanne answered her.
Katie turned her head. Something exciting caught her eye. Rows and rows of wire animal crates had been set up in the middle of the mall. Inside each crate was a kitten or a cat. Nearby, volunteers were walking dogs. The dogs all wore coats that read, “Please Adopt Me.”
“The Cherrydale Animal Shelter is having one of their pet adoption days!” Katie exclaimed.
“You’re really crazy about that animal shelter,” Suzanne remarked.
“Of course I am. That’s where I found Pepper,” Katie reminded Suzanne. “I got him when he . . .”
“. . . was just a puppy,” Suzanne finished Katie’s sentence for her. “I know.
Everybody
knows. You tell that story all the time.”
Everybody
knows. You tell that story all the time.”
Katie couldn’t argue with that. She did talk about Pepper an awful lot. Suzanne didn’t have any pets. She couldn’t understand how special they could be.
But Selena understood. Katie learned that today.
Just thinking about Selena made Katie sad. She was probably sitting in the library working on her research paper. And here Katie was, having fun in the mall.
Just then, one of the volunteer dog walkers strolled near to where Katie and Suzanne were standing. Katie looked at the volunteer with surprise.
“Selena!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be in the library.”
Selena looked at her curiously. “Hi, Katie,” she said. “Why would you think that?”
“Well, you have that research paper to do and I just thought . . .” Katie began.
Selena frowned. “I know. I have to start on that. But I volunteered to help with the pet adoptions this afternoon. I couldn’t let the animals down.”
“Do you work at the shelter?” Suzanne asked.
Selena nodded. “Just once a week.”
“I didn’t know kids could work there,” Katie said.
“You have to be twelve years old to volunteer,” Selena explained. “I just turned twelve last month.”
“What kind of things do they let you do?” Katie asked.
“I walk the dogs. I play with them a lot, too,” Selena replied.
“That sounds like a great job!” Katie said. “I’d like to do that when I’m twelve.”
“Maybe you won’t have to wait,” Selena told Katie. She pointed over to where some of the puppies were. “Those two boys are your age, and they’re helping out.”
Katie turned and looked toward where Suzanne was pointing. “George! Kevin!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
George looked at Katie. He held out a long wooden stick with a scoop on the end. “What does it look like we’re doing?” he asked her. “We’re scooping up any poop the dogs make on the floor.”
“Wow! I didn’t know you guys were so into helping out animals,” Katie said.
“We’re not,” Kevin assured her. “This is Mr. G.’s idea. It’s to make up for not helping to clean up the field.” He frowned as a puppy who was too young to have been trained squatted down to go to the bathroom. “Man, I hate these dogs,” he moaned.
“
I
love them,” Selena told him. “They’re very special. It would be nice to find places for all of them.”
I
love them,” Selena told him. “They’re very special. It would be nice to find places for all of them.”
Katie thought about that for a minute. “Maybe you can,” she suggested. “And do your research paper at the same time.”
Selena looked at her curiously.
“Suzanne and I have this website called
Reading Rocks
,” Katie explained. “We work on it with our friend Emma. Every month we review a new book. Lots of people have been checking it out.”
Reading Rocks
,” Katie explained. “We work on it with our friend Emma. Every month we review a new book. Lots of people have been checking it out.”
“What does that have to do with getting shelter animals adopted or my research paper?” Selena asked the girls.
“Nothing,” Suzanne said. “I have no idea what Katie is thinking. I never do.”
Selena laughed.
Katie scowled. “Let me finish, Suzanne.” she said. “We could post pictures of the dogs. You can do research about each dog like, like what breed it is, or if it’s a mutt, you could write about all the different breeds they are. Then you could suggest the type of family that would be best for each dog.”
“I’ll bet Mrs. Hauser would love for me to do that for my research project,” Selena said with a grin. “I’ve got to get that done by the end of next week. How about I research ten dogs? Then you can post their pictures on your website!”
“Great!” Katie agreed.
“We should start with Cody, here.” Selena patted the big brown-and-white dog she had been walking. “Let’s get him a home first.”
“All right!” Katie exclaimed. Lots of animals were going to find homes now—all because of her idea.
When it came to great ideas, Katie was definitely the champ. Not even the magic wind could change that.
Bug Facts
Do you want to be a bug expert like the kids in 4A? Katie and her friends are giving you the buzz on what’s cool about bugs.
• There are more insects on Earth than any other type of animal. Ninety-five percent of all animal species on Earth are insects.
• Houseflies find sugar with their feet, which are ten million times more sensitive than human tongues.
• Ants can lift and carry objects that are fifty times their own weight.
• Mosquitoes are twice as attracted to the color blue than any other color.
• The world’s fastest insect is the dragon-fly. It can fly at a speed of thirty-six miles per hour, which is faster than cars are allowed to go on some city streets.
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