Johnny lived on a farm.
Every day, he chased the chickens, brushed the horse, and fed the cows sweet grass.
Johnny loved animals.
He spoke to them as though they were his friends.
When the cow tossed her head or the chickens all scratched at once, he laughed so hard that
Mother would ask him, “what's the joke, Johnny?”
One day, Mom came into the yard.
“John,” she called, “put down that chicken feed.
We've got to get ready for your birthday!”
“My birthday?” Johnny asked.
“Of course!” Mom said.
“Today, you are six years old!”
Johnny had never been six before.
“Wow!” he shouted.
This was a special event!
“You know what that means?”
Mom asked as she bundled Johnny into his best clothes.
“What?” Johnny asked, his voice muffled by a shirt.
“This fall, instead of helping your dad with the corn, you're going to school!”
“School!”
“You'll be in first grade!”
“Woohoo!” Johnny jumped for joy, forgetting that his shoes were still untied.
Crash!
“Whoops,” said Mom, “looks like you've got a lot to learn!”
On the way to Grandma's house, Johnny had a lot of questions.
“Why do they call it 'first grade'?”
“Because it's the first of many, Johnny.”
“How many?”
“Twelve.”
“What happens then?”
“You graduate!”
“And then?”
“Johnny!” Mom laughed.
“You're so full of questions, you sound like a student already!”
“I'm going to first grade!”
Johnny sang out joyfully.
When they finally got to Grandma's house, there was a big banner hanging on the fronporch.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FIRST GRADER!”
Grandma and Grandpa were even more excited about first grade than Johnny was!
They had cooked a great, big birthday dinner.
Everyone Johnny knew came.
Alice Hodgson brought a notebook.
“It's from when I was in first grade last year,” she told Johnny.
Billy Freihoffer was in high school, so he didn't really use his crayons much anymore.
“Actually, I never opened them at all,” he admitted, “but you'll probably use them in art class!”
Little Tina and her mom Amanda brought a big gift: a brand-new game of Trouble.
Johnny loved playing Trouble when Amanda babysat him.
“Thanks, Amanda!”
“Make some friends with that,”
Amanda winked.
Grandma and Grandpa had gifts for Johnny too.
“I thought blue was your favorite, but your Grandpa thought it was green,” Grandma said, “so we compromised.”
“I love it,” Johnny told them, not mentioning that his favorite color was actually orange.
“Look inside!” Grandpa said, and Johnny opened the bag to see that it was filled with pencils, a ruler, a big eraser, and a big pair of safety scissors.
“This is the best birthday ever!”
When all of the gifts were given, Mom brought out a giant chocolate cake.
She'd decorated it to look like a boy carrying a backpack.
There were six glowing candles on top.
Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to John, who just beamed.
“Make a wish!” little Tina screamed.
Johnny shut his eyes and wished for the best school year anybody had ever had.
Then he blew out all of the candles!
Everyone cheered.
That night, Johnny felt like the luckiest boy in the world.
He couldn't wait for school to start.
When Mom and Dad looked in on him, he was fast asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around his new backpack.
Every day, Johnny told the farm animals all about school.
“Alice says I'm going to learn how to add,” he told the cow.
“I'll be able to add up your spots.”
To the chickens, Johnny said,
“When I learn to write at school, I'll come home and teach you.”
Finally, the day before school arrived.
Johnny could barely contain his excitement.
Mom said, “tonight, you're going to bed early! First grade starts tomorrow.”
Suddenly, Johnny realized that while he was in school, he wouldn't be able to see the farmanimals anymore.
“I've got to say goodbye!” he cried.
Johnny ran out of the house and over to the chicken coop.
“Chickens,” he said, “you won't see me tomorrow because I'll be in school.
But I'll come back and read you stories!”
The chickens clucked.
Johnny imagined them saying, “we'll miss you, but we do like stories.”
Next, Johnny ran to the horse's stable.
“Silver,” he said to the horse, “tomorrow I can't give you a sugar cube like I always do. But Dad will come by to give you hay, and I'll make sure he knows.”
Johnny imagined the horse saying, “I'll miss you, but you go to school and learn to count right!
Myself, I could never make it past ten.”
Finally, Johnny ran to the barn to say goodbye to the cows.
“I've had so much fun with you,” he told the cows.
“I wish I could stay forever, but I have to go to school.”
The cows mooed softly. Johnny imagined them saying, “we'll still be here when you come home.”
That night, Johnny fell asleep thinking about his animal friends and everything they had taught him.
The next morning, Mom got Johnny up early.
They climbed into the truck and began the long drive to school.
As they drove over hills and through valleys, they passed the farms where their friends lived.
Some of them were going to school too.
Mom pulled over at the Hodgson's farm so that Alice could climb in.
“Hello, Johnny!”
“Are we picking up Billy too?” Johnny asked Mom.
“No,” Mom said, “Billy took a special class over the summer.
He's allowed to drive himself to school now.”
The sun rose slowly over the fields.
Johnny watched the light on the cornfields.
The world seemed fresh and new.
Finally, the truck rounded the last corner.
“Here we are,” Mom said.
The school was full of children!
Johnny had never seen so many people his own age before.
He was so excited that he nearly forgot his new backpack in the truck.
Mom gave him a kiss.
“Be nice to the other first graders,” she said, “and meet me back here at 2:45 sharp!”
Johnny hugged his mom.
“Don't worry about me,” he said,
“I'm going to have a great day!”
For a moment, he thought about the farm, but suddenly the bell rang and all of the children rushed into the school.
Johnny ran after them.
He found his classroom and arranged all of his new school supplies on his desk.
“Wow,” said a boy sitting next to him, “you have awesome stuff!
Can I trade you a green crayon for this sparkly pen?”
But before Johnny could answer, the teacher rang a bell.
“Time to learn, class!”
All day, Johnny learned about the world and everything in it.
When Mom picked him up, she asked, “how did you like school?”
“I loved school!” Johnny cried.
“I can't wait to go back tomorrow.”
And so he did.
