hear themselves speak. And before
any of them regained control, the
bell rang. Lunchtime!
“This hat business sounds awful!”
said Dandelion Pinkley as she plunked
down at the usual lunch table with her
friends Tomiko and Beepde. Already
seated were her brother Doodlebug,
their cousin Rudyard, their friend Bog,
and Sherwin Winsher, Doodlebug’s
buddy from his own class.
“Beanies are for babies,” Doodlebug
grumbled. He pulled out his sandwich,
wheat germ and boiled rutabaga mash
on black bread, and chomped into it.
“Maybe they won’t be that bad,”
Sherwin suggested. “We might get
Viking beanies, Doodlebug!”
Everyone else let out long nervous
sighs and said nothing.
Moments later Principal Hogwobble
waddled through the cafeteria doors,
smiling like a cat who’d eaten a tree’s
worth of birds. As every kid watched
with dread, the principal pointed to a
line of bins placed against one wall.
No one had noticed them before.
“As you dump your lunch trays and
leave, take a beanie—and make sure it’s
the one assigned to your class,” Hogwob-
ble ordered. “Put them on immediately
and wear them all afternoon. Tomorrow
morning, we’ll meet in the school
auditorium for further instructions.
I’d better see you wearing those top
hats!” He chuckled when he said
“top hats,” but nobody else did.
Pickles! I
musta got the
flight time
wrong!Oh, dear. Flying already fills
me with dread – great fear.
And now this rush!Can't miss it! Next
flight's tomorrow.
And who wants to
spend a night on
an airport bench? 5