First Published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2005
This electronic edition published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2015
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Text copyright © Ian Whybrow 2005
Illustrations by Steve May 2005
Ian Whybrow and illustrator assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of the work.
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Source ISBN: 9780007158768
Ebook Edition © MARCH 2015 ISBN: 9780007390625 Version: 2015-07-23
Contents
Gary Goody walked through the empty corridors of Muckabout School to his new classroom. He entered and stopped in his tracks.
“Oh no!” he thought. “I’m the first to arrive – again!”
He was just about to go back out to the playground when he heard a snort from behind the teacher’s desk. It was Mr Dawdle just waking up from a nap. The lazy teacher straightened his sunglasses and stared straight at Gary.
“Gary!” Mr Dawdle groaned. “You’re early again!”
Mr Dawdle dragged himself out of his comfortable armchair and stumbled over to where Gary was. In any other school, Mr Dawdle would have been a disgrace. He was as tall and skinny as a beanpole, with greasy hair scragged into a ponytail. His jeans and T-shirt were filthy and full of holes and he peered at Gary through sunglasses that were smeared with what looked like tomato ketchup.
“I’m sorry,” sighed Gary.
“You should know the rules by now, yeah?” the teacher said, producing a biscuit from his pocket. He dusted the biscuit off and popped it into his mouth, chewing the biscuit as he yawned. “Well? What are they?” the teacher asked, spraying Gary with crumbs.
“Run in the corridors,” Gary said.
“Uh-huh,” said Mr Dawdle.
“Don’t put up your hand. Be rude to teachers. Don’t mind your manners. Always eat in class.”
“And…?”
“…and never be on time,” Gary said, quietly.
“Never be on time. Exactly, man. So what’s so difficult? I haven’t seen you run once, you’re polite to everyone, you always say sorry and thank you (and please, come to think of it). And I haven’t seen you eating anything in class all week.”
“Sorry, sir,” Gary replied.
“There you go again,” Mr Dawdle grumbled. “You’re just so… nice. You’ll give Muckabout School a good name if you’re not careful. It really isn’t bad enough you know. Not bad enough at all. So maybe you should stay in at playtime and write the school motto one hundred times! Know what I mean?”
“Yes sir. Sorry sir.”
“And cool it with the ‘sorry’ all the time, OK?”
Gary was such a good, well-behaved child that his anxious parents thought there must be something wrong with him. That’s why they had sent him to Muckabout School. The “Muckabout Method” promised