by Mike Thaler
good to me.
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But Penny starts whining, “I
already spent five dollars plus
tax and my present better cost
at least that.”
Somehow I think we’ve lost
the spirit of Christmas here.
Then I have another idea. They
say time is money. So if I spend
five hours—at a dollar per hour—
making Penny’s present, we’ll be
even.
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When I get home, I get to
work.
I get papier-mâché and make
a doll’s head. I paint on two
blue eyes and two pink lips. I
use yellow wool for hair and my
other gym sock for a cap.
I make a body out of a pop
bottle and cover it with a piece
of cloth, sort of like a dress—
more like a sarong. I hope it’s not
sa-wrong dress.
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I lose track of time and work
the whole weekend on it. I take
the boots off my G.I. Joe and glue
them on the bottle. Then I tie on
a hair bow, and I’m nearly done.
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Finally I wrap the doll in pink
polka-dotted paper and make up
a poem on a card.
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I put the present on my dresser,
and that night I count reindeer
instead of sheep to fall asleep.
Then visions of sugar plums
dance in my head. Well, they
don’t actually dance, they sort of
roll around.
Then it begins to snow. But
it doesn’t snow snow, it snows
popcorn. And all the trees are
decorated.
When I wake up, it’s Monday —
the day of our Christmas party!
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CHAPTER 14
TOO MANY SANTAS
On the school bus, T. Rex is
wearing a Santa cap, and when
we get to school Mrs. Green is
dressed up like Santa, too. So
are Fester, Miss La Note, and
Wanda Belch – except her beard
is covered with a hairnet. They
all go around saying, “Ho,
ho, ho!”
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Mrs. Beamster doesn’t dress
like Santa, she’s dressed like an
elf—a book elf. She looks more
like a bookshelf.
Mrs. Swamp is dressed like
a reindeer. She has wire coat-
hanger antlers and a red ball
on her nose. She tells us that
she’s Rudolph.
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Our teachers get very silly
around Christmas. I guess it
reminds them of when they
were kids. It’s a nice thing to
remember.
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CHAPTER 15
PRESENTS OF MIND
We put all the presents
under our tree. Eric finally
brought in his ornament. He
made a Darth Vader helmet.
I don’t know if it catches the
spirit of Christmas.
Doris is wearing mistletoe
taped to her hat, and wants
everybody to kiss her. No way!
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Freddy has baked cupcakes for
the whole class, and Derrick has
brought in soda pop.
Mrs. Green hands out the
presents. I can’t wait for Penny
to open hers. There’s a flurry of
flying wrapping paper and a lot
of oh’s and ah’s and a few boos.
I hope Penny is an oh and not
a boo.
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I look over at her and there’s
a tear running down her cheek.
She’s hugging my doll. I hope
the head doesn’t fall off.
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“Do you like it?” I ask.
“I love it,” she says. “Where
did you buy it?”
“I made it,” I say proudly. She
puts the doll down.
“You didn’t buy it!” she
exclaims.
“I made it,” I say, “except for
the boots.”
“How much did it cost?” she
asks.
“Nothing except time and
effort,” I say.
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“Well,” says Penny, coming
over and taking back her gift,
“I’ll make you something, when
I have the time.”
Boy, I’ll never understand
girls, and I’ll never know what
she got me. But fortunately Doris
got a Barbie Doll and wants to
trade Penny for the doll that I
made. Yay! I could kiss her . . .
almost.
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Penny says okay and gives me
back my present. I thank her,
but I don’t open it. There’s a boy
named Tim in the special ed
class. He’s in a wheelchair and
I’m going to give him my
present.
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They say that life is give and
take. Well, from now on, I want
my life to be more give and less
take. And I want to celebrate
Christmas every day of the year.
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