No Russell had insisted I’ll keep it in my pocket where it will be safe He felt better knowing that he had his car with him If he got lonely or sad during the morning he could take it out of his pocket and play with it He ran the wheels of the little car along his arm It might get lost his mother said I’ll be careful Russell told her Somehow during the morning the car did get lost Russell didn’t even notice it was missing until he came home and was eating his lunch At first he was very upset but his mother said that perhaps he would find it the next day So the following morning Russell returned to school hoping to find the little car He looked for it in every box of toys and in each corner of the room but he could not find it It was lost 12
The second week of school Russell had worn a red baseball cap that his grandfather had sent him in the mail He was very proud of it Eugene Spencer had a baseball cap that was blue but Russell liked red even better He wanted to wear his hat in class but Mrs Lane who was the teacher said that a gentleman never wore a hat indoors I’m not a gentleman said Russell I’m a boy But Mrs Lane had insisted so Russell put his cap in the cubby in his classroom Later in the morning when the children went to the little play area on the building’s roof Russell proudly put on his baseball cap again Up on the roof there were swings and a slide and even a sandbox The playground was just like the one in the park except it 13
was high above the street There was a tall fence all around the roof so that even if the children ran and jumped about they were in no danger of falling Russell liked to swing high and look at the rooftops nearby It was much more fun than swinging in the park which he had been doing since he was a very little boy Suddenly as Russell was swinging a gust of wind blew his red baseball cap off his head The wind carried the cap through the air and there was no way to chase it Look Look the children shouted to one another They thought a hat flying in the air just like a red bird was funny Russell didn’t think it was funny at all Losing his baseball cap made him cry When his mother came to pick him up Russell told her what had happened Let’s 14
look while we’re walking home she said Perhaps it landed in the street and we’ll find it But although they walked home very slowly looking all over the sidewalk and at each curb as they crossed the street they could not find Russell’s cap that had blown away It was really lost One day in October Russell lost his temper He punched a boy who kept coming too close to him while he was building in the block corner Go away shouted Russell He was afraid the boy would knock down his building Mrs Lane saw him We don’t hit people in this class she said She made Russell put all the blocks away and sit by himself for a few minutes Russell was very angry The next day when Mrs Lane was busy 15
