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“Zig’s just a little hot,” said X-Ray. “Out in the sun all day. You know how it is. The blood starts to boil.”
“Is that what happened, Zigzag?” asked the Warden.
“Yeah,” said Zigzag. “Like X-Ray said. Working so hard in the hot sun, while Caveman just sits around doing nothing. My blood boiled.”
“Excuse me?” said the Warden. “Caveman digs his holes, just like everyone else.”
Zigzag shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Zero’s been digging part of Caveman’s hole every day,” said Squid.
The Warden looked from Squid to Stanley to Zero.
“I’m teaching him to read and write,” said Stanley. “It’s sort of a trade. The hol
e still gets dug, so what does it matter who digs it?”
“Excuse me?” said the Warden.
“Isn’t it more important for him to learn to read?” Stanley asked. “Doesn’t that build character more than digging holes?”
“That’s his character,” said the Warden. “What about your character?”
Stanley raised and lowered one shoulder.
The Warden turned to Zero. “Well, Zero, what have you learned so far?”
Zero said nothing.
“Have you just been digging Caveman’s hole for nothing?” the Warden asked him.
“He likes to dig holes,” said Mr. Pendanski.
“Tell me what you learned yesterday,” said the Warden. “Surely you can remember that.”
Zero said nothing.
Mr. Pendanski laughed. He picked up a shovel and said, “You might as well try to teach this shovel to read! It’s got more brains than Zero.”
“The ‘at’ sound,” said Zero.
“The ‘at’ sound,” repeated the Warden. “Well then, tell me, what does c – a – t spell?”
Zero glanced around uneasily.
Stanley knew he knew the answer. Zero just didn’t like answering questions.
“Cat,” Zero said.
Mr. Pendanski clapped his hands. “Bravo! Bravo! The boy’s a genius!”
“F – a – t?” asked the Warden.
Zero thought a moment.
Stanley hadn’t taught him the “f” sound yet.
