by Martha Hynson
Macy the Scientist
On Saturday morning, Macy sat at the kitchen table and looked at Amazing Science. “This book is my safe-keeping place,” she told Mama. “I have two good-choice tickets inside it. Miss Snow gave me one for spinning an egg and the other for being a good helper when Jonah fell on the playground.”
Miss Snow had sent Macy and Bella to get ice for Jonah’s knee. They got lost and went into the janitor’s closet. Who knew that guy had his own secret closet? It had lots of cool stuff in it. If Macy didn’t turn out to be an art teacher, she might like to have his job.
“I might decide to be a janitor when I grow up,” Macy said, jumping up from her chair. Can I borrow your mop so I can practice?”
“Sure,” Mama said, looking up from the dish she was drying. “I thought you might want to dye eggs today since it’s almost Easter, but on second thought, this floor could use a good mopping.”
“But I want to go with your first thought!” Macy hopped from foot to foot. “I can practice being a janitor after we decorate eggs. That will be perfect timing in case we make a mess because I know all about cleaning up eggs. Also I can spin them to make sure they’re cooked.”
Mama laughed. “They’re cooked. But we need to let them cool. I’m going out to work in my flower bed while they’re cooling. In the meantime, you can practice being a janitor by cleaning your room.”
“Okay,” Macy said. “But can I look at my book first? Miss Snow said I’m a scientist, so I need to practice that, too.”
“Yes, you may look at your book first. I don’t want to discourage you from reading or from being a scientist. But I must say, I’m looking forward to having a janitor in the family.”
Right then, Macy heard a knock at the door. She ran to see who had come to visit. It was Mrs. Tucker who lived beside them. Her house was yellow like the sun. Macy’s house was plain old white.
“Hello, Mrs. Tucker,” Macy said. “How are you today?”
“I’m wonderful Macy,” said Mrs. Tucker. “How are you?”
“I’m wonderful, too,” said Macy. She did a twirl. “I’m practicing being a scientist.”
“Mrs. Tucker brought some seeds we’re going to plant in my garden,” said Mama. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
Macy took Amazing Science to her room and flopped on her bed. She flipped the pages until she came to one that showed how to make a boat. The experiment part was to see how many pennies your boat could hold without sinking. Macy ran back to the kitchen to get aluminum foil and tape. She didn’t have any pennies. Pennies were boring anyway. What else could she use? She saw the eggs on the counter. Hey! Those things were not boring. They were probably cool by now and Mama had said she could decorate them. She would color them to look like people and they could ride across the bathtub in her boat.
Macy carried foil, tape and ten eggs to the bathroom. She put Amazing Science on the floor beside her so she could see it while she worked. First she made a pirate ship. Then she used her markers to turn nine eggs into pirates. The last one she made into a mermaid with lots of freckles.
Macy put the eggs carefully on the side of the tub and turned the water on. But what fun could she have with just one boat? She needed another so they could race. The second boat turned out lots bigger. It was so big a chicken could ride in it. Yay! Now, Flappy could race against the pirates.
Macy went to get her chicken. Mama and Mrs. Tucker were on the side of the house where the garden was. Macy ran to the other side next to the swingset where Flappy lived. “Do you want to go for a boat ride, Flappy?” Macy gave her chicken a pat. Flappy might not have liked that idea. She squawked and ran around and around the yard. “Here, Flappy. Here, girl,” Macy called as she chased her.
Flappy hopped onto the swing set. Then she flew up in a tree.
“Come on down, Flappy.”
Flappy did not come. Macy ran to the chicken coop and grabbed some of the corn that was hanging there. She ran back to the tree and held it up. Flappy hopped off the branch and landed on Macy’s head. She pecked at the corn as Macy walked back to the house. By the time they got inside, that chicken was calm.
But in the bathroom, everything was not calm at all. Water ran over the side of the tub. The pirates and mermaid had floated away. Most of the color had washed off them. Red, yellow, and blue swirled around the floor. When Flappy saw that sight, she flew off Macy’s head. She landed on Amazing Science and pecked at the pages. Then Mama came in.
She sucked in a big breath. “Macy Joy! What is going on in here?” Mama leaned over to turn the water off. Just then, Woof-Woof ran in and barked at Flappy. He went between Mama’s legs and stepped on a pirate with half a face. Mama slipped and sat down hard in the swirling colors. Flappy flew to the sink. Mama grabbed Woof-Woof’s collar. Then she yelled at Macy to get her chicken.
Macy looked at Flappy. Something red was on her face. Was she bleeding? “Poor Flappy! Let me see your boo-boo.”
Macy picked Flappy up. Then she blew out a very glad breath. Flappy did not have a boo-boo, after all. But what was the red stuff on her face? Oh, no! Macy’s good-choice-tickets were not safe in AmazingScience anymore. They didn’t look like tickets anymore either. Those things had been pecked into little pieces. And those pieces were stuck on Flappy’s beak.