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“Yowza!” Bebe exclaimed.
“Why didn’t he just use Velcro?” asked Jason.
“Howard lived in Africa,” explained Mac. “Velcro trees only grow in Australia. So then they tried gluing his shoes to his feet. And that seemed to work. But then, whenever he took off his shoes, like to take a bath or something, he’d peel off a layer of skin.”
“Yuck-ola!” shrieked Allison.
“But finally Thomas Edison invented the shoelace, and Howard never ran out of his shoes again.”
“Did he win all his races after that?” asked John.
“Well,” said Mac, “the next race was for the championship of the whole world. Howard got off to a real fast start. It looked like he would win for sure. But shoelaces were still a new inventi
on, and Howard wasn’t quite used to them yet. Right before he reached the finish line, his shoelace came untied. He tripped over it and fell flat on his face. He broke his nose, lost all his teeth, and had two black eyes!”
“Wow,” said all three Erics together.
“So remember,” said Mac, as he held his shoelace high in the air. “Never laugh at a shoelace!”
Everyone applauded.
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Chapter 27
Way-High-Up Ball
Eric Fry, Eric Bacon, and Eric Ovens were playing way-high-up ball. They had made up the game themselves.
All you needed were two things — a pink rubber ball, about the size of a tennis ball, and a real tall school.
Eric Ovens threw the ball way high up. It bounced off the school, just above the third-story window.
“Three-pointer,” called Eric Bacon.
They shoved and elbowed each other out of the way as they waited for it to come down. At the last second, Eric Fry jumped and caught it.
He got three points. Eric Ovens also got three points since he was the thrower.
Eric Fry threw the ball way high up. It bounced off a window on the fifth floor.
“Five-pointer!” called Eric Ovens.
All three Erics jumped for it. It bounced off their fingertips and hit the ground.
The teacher on the fifth story stuck her head out the window. “Hey, what’s going on down there?” she shouted.
The three Erics looked away and whistled.
There’s one more thing about way-high-up ball I haven’t told you. You’re not allowed to play it. The Erics had already broken one window.
Eric Bacon looked up, surprised. “Are you talking to us?” he asked.
“Something just banged against my window,” said the teacher.
“Was it a bird?” asked Eric Ovens.
The teacher stared at the children a moment longer. Then she pulled her head inside.
