The Judy Moody Double-Rare Collection - Megan Mcdonald [38]
On the bus, Judy told Rocky about the star-spangled bananas at the Giant Milk Bottle and the Sugar Packet Girl named Tori and about throwing tea off the Tea Party Ship. She could not wait to tell her teacher and her whole class.
“What are you going to tell your class about Boston?” she asked Stink.
“The musical toilet,” said Stink. “What else?”
When Judy got to school, she told Mr. Todd and the whole class all about Boston. “We went on the Freedom Trail and it was so NOT boring, and it’s okay I missed my spelling test because I learned stuff there, too, like about Mr. Ben Famous Franklin and Paul Revere and —”
“Judy! Take a breath!” said Mr. Todd. “We’re glad to have you back.”
Judy showed them her Paul Revere’s Ride flip book and explained all about tea and taxes to the class.
“My mom drinks tea, and she’s not a traitor,” said Rocky.
“I went to Boston once to visit my grandpa,” said Jessica Finch.
“Sounds like you had quite an educational trip, Judy,” said Mr. Todd. “Thanks for sharing with us. Maybe I’ll read your book aloud in our reading circle today. First, let’s take out our math facts from yesterday.”
Judy multiplied 28 × 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 until she thought her eyes would pop. At last, Mr. Todd announced it was reading-circle time.
“Today I’ll be reading a poem Judy brought to share with us from her trip to Boston, called Paul Revere’s Ride. This poem tells a story.”
“I saw his house and his real wallpaper and his false teeth and everything!” said Judy.
“This was my favorite poem when I was a boy,” Mr. Todd continued. “In school, we had to memorize it and recite it by heart. It’s by a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem tells about three men and their famous midnight ride during the American Revolution. One of those men was Paul Revere.”
Judy raised her hand. “And one was a doctor!” she told the class.
“Shh!” said Jessica Finch.
Mr. Todd lowered his voice to a whisper. Class 3T got super quiet.
“‘Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. . . .’”
The poem told all about how Paul Revere rode on horseback through the night to warn each farm and town that the British were coming.
Judy raised her hand again. “Mr. Todd, Mr. Todd! I saw Ye Olde Church where they hung the lanterns! For real! You know how it says, ‘One if by land, two if by sea’? Paul Revere said to light one lantern if the British were sneaking in by land, two if they were coming across the water.”
“Did that guy really ride his horse and do all that stuff?” asked Jessica Finch. “Because I never even heard about it the whole time I was in Boston.”
“It’s true,” said Mr. Todd. “Paul Revere warned two very important people, Sam Adams and John Hancock, to flee. But before he could warn everybody, he was stopped by the British and his horse was taken.”
“But the doctor escaped and warned everybody!” said Judy.
“That’s right,” said Mr. Todd. “You know, there’s also a girl who had a famous ride just like Paul Revere. Her name was Sybil Ludington.”
Star-spangled bananas! A Girl Paul Revere! Judy Moody could not believe her Bonjour Bunny ears.
“They don’t often tell about her in the history books,” said Mr. Todd, “but we have a book about her in our classroom library.”
“Huzzah!” said Judy Moody.
“Huh?” asked Frank.
“It’s Revolutionary for YIPPEE!” Judy said.
She, Judy Moody, was the luckiest kid in Class 3T. Mr. Todd let her take the Girl Paul Revere book home. Judy read it to Rocky on the bus. She read it to Mouse the cat. She read it to Jaws the Venus flytrap.
Sybil Ludington lived in New York, and her dad needed someone to ride a horse through the dark, scary forest to warn everybody that the British were burning down a nearby town. Sybil was brave and told her dad she could do it. She stayed up late past midnight and rode off into the dark all by herself. Sybil Ludington sure was grown-up and responsible. She showed tons of independence.
Judy would