Reading Rodent

  Mrs. Braman, Mrs. Frilly, and Mrs. Spelling were all teaching partners in the fifth grade. Mrs. Braman taught reading. Mrs. Frilly taught science. Mrs. Spelling taught math. One afternoon, Mrs. Braman had just finished teaching the reading lesson and had instructed her students to go back to their desks and begin reading. Her students had just pulled out their books and were all nose-deep in their texts in a few minutes.

  Mrs. Braman was walking around the room, talking with her readers about their books. She noticed that one of her students had her hand in the air and a puzzled look on her face. Mrs. Braman walked up to Jada and asked her what was wrong. "Mrs. Braman, there is a mouse in the bookshelf," stated Jada. Mrs. Braman quickly turned to the bookshelf to see a little mouse poking its head out of the shelf. Not wanting to alarm her students, she motioned Jada to keep quiet by putting her finger over her lips. Mrs. Braman quickly walked out of the classroom and into Mrs. Spelling's room. "Mrs. Spelling," said Mrs. Braman, "I need you in my classroom. Grab a bucket." The two teachers met in front of the classroom while Mrs. Braman filled her in on the situation. Mrs. Frilly noticed them talking and went to inquire about what was going on. They decided that all of the students would go to Mrs. Filly's classroom. Mrs. Braman and Mrs. Spelling would get the reading rodent out of the room.

  Mrs. Braman walked into her classroom and exclaimed, "Okay, students, there's been a change of plans. We are going to Mrs. Frilly's classroom for an extra science lesson!" The kids looked confused, but they shut their books to wait for further instruction. As she ushered her class into the other room, Mrs. Spelling walked in with a huge clear container to help trap the mouse. Once the students were in the other classroom, the two teachers began removing books from the shelf to try to find the animal. They were trying to be as quiet as possible, as they did not want the students to know what was happening. After taking all of the books off the shelf, they were not able to locate the mouse.

  The teachers were unsure of what to do next. Mrs. Braman did not want the mouse to be in her classroom. All of a sudden, the grey mouse ran right through the classroom toward Mrs. Braman. Mrs. Braman, who was scared, jumped into the air and started screaming, "Ahhh!" The students all popped out of their seats and went to see what all of the commotion was about. Just then, Mrs. Spelling threw the plastic container over the mouse, scooped it up, and quickly left the room. Not understanding what had happened, the classes looked at their teachers with bewildered eyes. Mrs. Spelling had the mouse in tow and walked toward the door to take it outside. When Mrs. Braman saw Mrs. Spelling walking back in the school with the empty container, she knew that everything had been taken care of. She gave Mrs. Spelling a quiet thumbs-up. She walked into Mrs. Frilly's classroom and told the students to go back to their classrooms. The students, who were still not sure what had just happened, obediently lined up and filed into their original rooms.

  Mrs. Braman's heart was beating very rapidly, but the students were not aware of this. She needed a few minutes to calm down from all of the excitement, so she instructed the students to go back to reading their books. After she let the events digest, Mrs. Braman walked up to Jada and whispered in her ear. "Our furry friend is all taken care of," she said, smiling. Jada smiled, shrugged, and went back to reading her book. After school that day, Mrs. Braman, Mrs. Spelling, and Mrs. Frilly had a good laugh about their day. "That certainly wasn't in my lesson plans for today," said Mrs. Spelling. "You were my hero today!" exclaimed Mrs. Braman. "I hope that my reading rodent does not return!"