Three Cheers for John!
Three Cheers for John!
At john's school they did a great many exciting things in nature lessons. They grow seeds, they kept caterpillars, and there was a big aquarium tank, too, where two little sticklebacks were making a nest. John loved the nature lesson, and he was always going out for walks to find flowers or to watch the birds building their nests and fetching grubs for their little ones.
One child each week took the caterpillars home at the weekend to look after them, for they could not be left on the classroom windowsill from Friday to Monday. John had had his turn, and dear me, the teacher thought they had grown twice as large in John's care! He was very good with everything alive, big or little.
This week it was Billy's turn. He was a careless little boy, and the teacher spoke to him sharply.
'Now, Billy, it's your turn to take the caterpillars home this weekend and feed them and clean out their box. See you do it well, for they are growing big now and will soon turn into chrysalides.'
'Yes, Miss Brown,' said Billy.
But do you know, he forgot all about taking them home that Friday afternoon! A circus was coming to their village, and all the children were so eager to see it coming through the streets that everyone rushed off and nobody thought of the caterpillars at all. Even the teacher forgot, for it was prize-giving day on Monday, and she was busy arranging all the prizes and putting out the little silver mugs and cups that had been won at the sports by the children. There was a lot to do. She arranged all the things on a table, ready for the parents to see, and went home.
Billy didn't think about the caterpillars that night, nor all the next day, which was Saturday _ but John did. He wondered if Billy was treating the little things properly, for he quite thought that Billy had taken them home. So he went round to Billy's house to ask him if the caterpillars were all right.
'Ooh, my!' said Billy, at once. 'I forgot to bring them home!'
'Forgot to bring them home!' said John, in dismay. 'Oh, poor things! Their leaves will be dead, and they won't have anything to eat. I do think you are unkind, Billy.'
'Well, let them!' said Billy unkindly. 'They are only caterpillars.'
'I don't like you, Billy,' said John in disgust, and he turned away to go home. But those caterpillars worried him. He couldn't bear to think of them dying because their leaves were dead and dry. He wondered what to do. He was going to the circus that night _ perhaps he could leave early, get the key from old Mrs White and fetch the caterpillars home himself. He could feed and clean them that night and they would be all right. If they were left till the next day they would certainly die.
So he went to the circus with the others, and slipped away before it was finished, thought he badly wanted to see the end of it; but he was afraid that old Mrs White would have gone to bed if he got to her house too late.
But dear me, when he did get there, there was no answer! The old lady had gone away for the weekend and her house was empty. Now what was John to do? There didn't seem anything to be done at all!
‘I’ll just go and peep in at the schoolroom window,’ thought john. ‘I’ve got my troch with me and I can shine it down on the caterpillar box and see if they are all right or not.’ So he went round to the school and walked over to the window.
Them he stopped in the greatest surprise _ for there was someone in the classroom _ someone with a troch that shone on to the prizes all so neatly arranged on the table. And that someone had come to steal the silver cups!
John crept away from the window and ran to the police station. “There’s a burglar in my classroom at the school!’ he cried. ‘Quick, sir, he’s stealing all our prizes!’
The policeman put on his coat and came at once _ and he was just in time to catch the thief as he climbed out of the window with his bag full of the silver cups and other prizes! He was taken to the police station and locked up.
John didn’t forget the caterpillars in his excitement. No, he went back to the school, took the box of caterpillars from the open window, shut the window down and went home. He cleaned out the box before he went to bed and gave the poor caterpillars some fresh leaves, for they looked ill and feeble. The next day they were perfectly all right again.
John took them back to school on Monday, and the teacher didn’t notice that it was john who brought them back and not Billy. Billy looked ashamed of himself, and thanked John in a whisper _ but John wouldn’t smile at him. He thought Billy was mean and unkind.
What a surprise at prize-giving time! In the middle of it, when all the parents were sitting watching the boys and girls go up for their prizes, the police man walked in and spoke to the headmaster. Then he handed a little parcel to him and went out.
The headmaster turned to the waiting people. ‘You have all heard,’ he began, ‘how the prizes were nearly stolen from us on Saturday night and how John Watson helped the police to catch the thief and give us back our prizes. I should like to say that the reason John was here that night so late was because, being a kind-hearted lad, he had remembered that he caterpillars in his classroom had not been taken home that weekend by the boy who should have looked after them _ and john had come to see if they were all right. That was how he saw the thief. The police are delighted to have caught the man, as they have been after him for some time _ and as a reward to John they have sent him this silver watch _ witch I now present to you, John, with my best wishes and thanks to you for saving our prizes!’
John came up, blushing bright red.
‘I am also pleased to say that John wins the nature prize,’ said the headmaster, and gave John – What do you think? _ a little camera! John was so delighted that he could hardly say thank you.
‘Now what about three cheers for the boy who came to find the caterpillars and caught a burglar instead?’ smiled the headmaster. ‘If it had not been for John we should none of us have been here at a prize-giving today _ for there would have been no prizes. Now then, all together _ hip, hip, hurrah! Shouted everyone. John was proud and happy _ and there was only one person there who was even prouder and happier. His mother!
