Don’t let the cat out of the bag Katharine said Aunt Chrissy No blabbing Me I asked in my very most innocent voice I kept the secret for a whole entire day But then Crockett’s lizard Hercules died Crockett got Hercules from his dad right before his parents got divorced He saw Hercules a lot more than his dad So losing Hercules made Crockett miss his dad even more Crockett said Hercules needed a funeral He dug a hole in the yard and buried him with three dead crickets He even wrote a poem It went To Hercules my lizard you had the best gizzard You lived through a blizzard If I were a wizard you’d still me my lizard The poem was per-fect-o 6
Crockett’s voice cracked as he read it and he sniffed a lot I’m a good friend and a great cousin because when he snuffled all that gunk I didn’t even tell him how disgust-o it was I wanted to cheer him up and knew exactly how to do it I blurted Guess what you’re getting for your birthday What Then I thought of Aunt Chrissy I didn’t want to be a blabbermouth so I covered my mouth with both hands and shook my head I can’t tell you I said in a muffled voice It’s a secret He shrugged and wrote R I P Hercules in the dirt with a twig That twig gave me an idea I wouldn’t tell him I’d show him Having a blabberhand is much better than being a blabbermouth isn’t it 7
the twig I used to sketch a skateboard on top of Hercules’s grave As soon as I added wheels Crockett’s eyes lit up He jumped up and down I’m getting a skateboard I nodded but got twitchy Then itchy Then my mouth had a little explode-a-rama drama A-red-one-with-lightning-bolts-on top-and-Tony-Hawk’s-autograph-on-the bottom I sucked in my breath Don’t tell anyone It’s our secret But who knew Crockett had loose lips When he opened his present after dinner he looked confused It’s blue Katharine Not red I mouthed sorry to Aunt Chrissy and skedaddled out of that room fast After that no one told me a secret for a long time months even 8
So during breakfast today I hugged Dad when he said that Mom had a secret to share Is it a super-duper secret I asked He gave me two thumbs-up Wow I did a happy dance I was starting to think no one would ever share another super-duper secret with me And that would have been too bad because how can I practice my secret without super duper secrets keeping But I had to wait until Mom got back from her walk with my little brother Jack 9
