Mr. Jay arrived at the school extra early the next morning. As usual, the custodians were already there maintaining the building.
I wonder if they were able to fix the broken light? Mr. Jay thought to himself.
Just as he entered the building, he saw Mr. Gage, one of the custodians, walking away from his classroom door. Mr. Gage smiled as he noticed Mr. Jay.
“Good morning, Mr. Jay. Mr. Gaines and I were able to correct the lighting problem in your room,” he said happily.
“Good morning, Mr. Gage. It is really great to hear that! I was very concerned about our safety,” answered Mr. Jay.
“Well, everything is okay now. Let’s go in and check out your new light,” said Mr. Gage.
As they both entered the room, Mr. Jay said, “I am very thankful for your timely attention. Everything looks better and the room seems brighter than before. Thank you both!”
“No problem. I hope you and your students have a great day. See you later,” said Mr. Gage as he left.
This is a good time to put those wonderful worksheets on the bulletin board outside, Mr Jay thought to himself as he gathered the papers and headed for the hallway. As he was putting the last paper up, he thought of visiting Miss Hart’s classroom to ask her about Harry’s visit yesterday. His train of thought was interrupted as he heard footsteps coming toward him. When he turned around, he was a little amazed by the presence of Miss Hart.
“Hello, Mr. Jay!” she said in a happy tone.
“Good morning, Miss Hart,” replied Mr. Jay.
“Did Harry come by yesterday?” asked Miss Hart.
“Yes he did come by, in much of a hurry I might add,” said Mr. Jay with a grin. He went on to explain how Harry rushed by only to tell him that she had said thank you again.
“Didn’t he give you something?” asked Miss Hart, looking somewhat puzzled.
“Only a nice smile as he waved good-bye,” joked Mr. Jay.
“Why did you send him over at the end of the day to say that again?” asked Mr. Jay.
Miss Hart began to look confused as she went on to explain.
“As you know, I needed to borrow your lamb for story time last week. I collected as many of the farm animals that I could to help make the story come to life. The students smiled as I held up every animal mentioned….”
Mr. Jay interrupted and said, “I’m glad I could help.”
“Um, but that’s not all,” said Miss Hart.
“What?” asked Mr. Jay with a serious look on his face. Miss Hart began to explain some more…
“On Saturday I was able to buy my own stuffed lamb at the toy store, so I sent my student to return yours. I should have returned it myself, but I had to leave right after the students boarded their busses. Anyway, at the toy store they were having a buy-one-get-one free sale, which helped me afford more animals. I came over this morning to make sure you got your lamb back and to give you a gift for your classroom. Here it is!”
“Oh, wow, a nice bunny! Thank you—it’s cute,” said Mr. Jay, looking both surprised and glad.
“I didn’t recall you having one, so I decided to help you expand your collection,” said Miss Hart, smiling.
“I actually didn’t have one until now. This bunny will go right next to the tortoise I already have. My students are going to love it! By the way, I had forgotten that I let you borrow my lamb,” said Mr. Jay.
“Well, you trusted me and I trusted Harry,” said Miss Hart as she gave Mr. Jay his gift. As she handed him the bunny, he had a flashback to all the events that had happened since yesterday. As she started to turn away to go back to her classroom, Mr. Jay stopped her by asking…
“Miss Hart, do you have a minute?”
“Yes,” answered Miss Hart.
“I’d like to show you the new light in my classroom,” said Mr. Jay as he walked toward his classroom door.
When they entered the room, he pointed to the light above the front desk and told her that the older light had fallen Monday afternoon during the time he planned to reorganize that part of the room. Miss Hart began to look very serious and concerned.
“You don’t seem to be hurt. Thank goodness!” she said in a solemn tone.
Mr. Jay went on to explain that since he now understood what Harry intended to do, perhaps Harry dropped the lamb but forgot about it when he heard the school bus announcement.
“When the children hear that announcement, many of them seem to drop everything as they try to stampede to their assigned bus,” added Miss Hart with a slight grin.
“Yes, that’s true,” replied Mr. Jay.
“Another thing Mr. Jay … uh … even though Harry did not follow through as I intended, his mistake turned out to be a good thing for you,” said Miss Hart as she motioned to walk toward the door. Both teachers wished each other a good day as they parted to finish preparing for the day ahead.
At first, Mr. Jay thought of sitting at his desk to review his lesson plans for the week after the Thanksgiving recess, but instead he decided to use this last hour before the arrival of his students to rearrange all the desks to avoid any possible injuries by falling lights. This idea came from one of the best teachers ever—experience!
THE END
Story Questions for Discussion
1. What are some school rules your school teaches for keeping the students safe?
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2. Why do some students disobey safety rules? Explain.
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3. Was Mr. Jay being mean to Harry when he reminded him about not running? Why or why not?
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4. In what way did Miss Hart trust Harry? Was he responsible? Why or why not?
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5. How can experiences teach us things? Explain.
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