Howdy folks. My names Nathan Foster but most evrybody calls me Nate cept wen Ma is smokin mad at me an then she calls me Nathan Riley Foster in that growly voyce that makes yer skin krawl and starts yer backside hurtin for ya even git inside. Teacher says I has ta rite bout wat I lernt this year an sinse Ma’ll give me a whoopin if I don’t gues I beter. I aint that keen on ritin. Never seed the use a it but I aint to keen on whoopins neether. I like Grandads idea beter. He useta look at me an say “Nate book lernin is a grand thing fer shur but the more immportent lernin aint done in a skool.” I tryd tellin that ta Ma wen she wanted me ta do my figers once but she jist sayd she ‘lowed I didnt no wat he ment an I stil had ta do the figers. Anyways gues I beter git back ta the thing I lernt this year. See I hav this dog. Hes the bestest smartest dog in the hole world! His names Simon an he can hunt anything! We was out huntin skwerls by the crick an we was doin dang good. Simon had a skwerl an we was folowin it and folowin it but then it got away an I reelized we was lost. I git in messes like that lots and Ma always shakes her head an Pa says he rekons its her falt I gots hair like this but I caint see wat havin hair the color a sumer straw gots ta do with anything. Anyways we was mighty lost an it was gitin dark an I was figurin we’d niver git home an I didn’t think it culd get much wors but it did. Simon he was exkplorin an next thing I no he lets out a yuawwl like a kyote an I runed ta see wat was rong an he done got hiself caut in a beever trap. I was mighty skared then cauz I culdn’t git it off an I culdn’t go git help an he was hurtin awful bad but then I heered a horse a comin. I looked up ta see who was ther but it was the Crazy Man! I done jist about skreemed as lowd as Simon seein him ther! Evrybody in town nowed hes crazy an my best frind Tommy tole me that an ole witch put a curse on him wen he was a baby that maked his hair an tung fall rite out! No joke! He moves his hands all the time an Tommy sayd hes talkin ta the devil wen he do that. We was always callin him names an throwin things at him wen we seed him in town cauz we don’t want him gettin too close an the curse rubbin off on us! But ther he was standin rite behind me an ther wernt nobody round ta help me! I wernt gonna let him put a curse on Simon tho so I stood rite in front a him an tole that ole Crazy Man ta go away an leeve us be but he didnt listen an walked rite past me an nelded down by my dog. I thot fer sure he was gonna kilt Simon an got real mad an started pounden on him an yellin at him ta git away from my dog! Next thing I no he grabed hold a my arms an sudently I was lookin rite inta the Crazy Mans eyes! I was skeerd ta death an held my breath watin fer my tung ta start shrivilin up an my hair ta fall out but it didnt! He jist looked at me an ya no wats funy the longer I looked at his eyes the less crazy they seemd. Fact they wernt crazy at all jist sad like Mas wer wen my baby brother Miky dyed an him bein only two months old. He jist let me go an turnd bak ta Simon an this time I didnt do nothin cept jist watch him. Ya no wat he nowed exaktly wat ta do! He opened that trap rite up an got Simons leg out an then wraped it all up in the red kirchif he was wearin on his head an the wirdest thing was Simon. He jist layed ther not even cryin no more like he nowed the man wer tryin ta help him. I started thinkin Tommy must be wrong cauz he didnt look so crazy ta me now that I was aktualy lookin at him. Sides he was helpin Simon. An then I started feelin reel bad fer all the mean things Id sayd ta him an so I disided Id beter come clean like Mas always tellin me so I looked rite at him an sayd I was mighty sory bout wat Id sayd an that I reconed he wernt crazy at all. He didnt git mad at me like I expekted but just smiled an it wer a nice smile like Pas so I tole him my name wer Nate and my dog wer Simon an we wer sorta lost. Then he did somthin reel funy. He leent down an started ritin in the dirt an I got thinkin Tommy must a been rite bout that witch getin his hair an tung after all! But hed fixed up Simon so I gived him a chance an leent over an red wat he rote. He rote that his name was Ike an he jist culdnt talk but hed take us home iffn wed show him the way. I asxed him why he culdnt talk cauz I was sorta hopin a witch reely had cursed him cauz that wuld be exsitin an Tommy wuld be reel gelaous wen I tole him Id found out it wer true but the Crazy Man I meen Ike jist rote that hed been sik wen he wer little. I looked at him reel good an jist ta be shur asxed him if he wer shur a witch didnt steel his tung an gues what he stuk his tung out rite ther an I seed that he got one alrite! I was a bit diserpointed but I tole him it was alrite that he had one even if it wernt as exsitin an he started ta lauf like Pa does an I niver no wats so funy. Then Ike had me pik up Simon an he put us both up on his horse and got up behind us an took us home. Ma was lookin like a boyalin ketel wen we got ther an I nowed I was gonna katch it fer shur but Ike done got her ta calm down an gues what I didnt even git a lickin! An Ike cam an visited me n Simon evry day ta see how he was doin an I nowed now that he aint crazy jist differrent. So I gues thats wat I lernt this year Teacher that ya shuldnt be mean ta peeple an call em names an stuff cauz maybe they be reel nice folks who are jist a little unusueal. I no it aint reedin er ritin er rithmatic like ya wanted me ta rite bout but its somthin I lernt jist the same. Maybe its wat Grandad ment by reel lernin aint done at skool. -Nate age 9 NOW can I go out ta reeces Teacher? Email Jill HOME