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
on the other side of the room Russell punched the boy again This time the boy punched back Russell lost his balance and fell hitting his mouth against a big pile of blocks It hurt so much that he started crying and didn’t even notice at first what had happened Mrs Lane wiped Russell’s face He thought she was wiping his tears but then he saw that there was red on the paper towels He was bleeding The sight of the blood was frightening so Russell cried still harder Several minutes passed before Mrs Lane and Russell and the other children realized that Russell had lost his top two teeth I hate that Germy said Russell to his mother who came as quickly as she could after Mrs Lane telephoned her I’m never 16
