“But how many cookies are in five dozen?” asked Mrs. Drazil.
“Huh?” asked Joe.
“How much is twelve times five?” asked Mrs. Drazil.
“Uh, just a second,” said Joe. “Can I use pencil and paper?”
“Certainly,” said Mrs. Drazil.
Joe took out a piece of paper and a pencil. He wrote the number five on the piece of paper, then tore it into twelve pieces. “Sixty!” he said.
Nobody quite understood Joe’s mathematical methods.
4. She was fair.
“Yes, there are sixty cookies,” she said. “And there are twenty-eight children in the class. So, how many cookies should each child get?”
Bebe raised her hand. “A hundred,” she said.
“You can’t have a hundred cookies,” said Mrs. Drazil. “I only made sixty.”
“Make some more,” said Bebe.
“I made sixty,” said Mrs. Drazil. “I’m not making any more.”
“Okay,” Bebe said with a sigh. “I’ll take sixty.”
“We have to divide them evenly,” said Mrs. Drazil. “How many cookies should each child get, so that every child gets the same amount?”
John raised his hand. “Everyone can have two cookies,” he said, “and there will be four left over.”
“Can I have them?” asked Bebe.
Allison raised her hand. “Everyone can have exactly two and one-seventh cookies,” she said.
“Very good, Allison,” said Mrs. Drazil. “And John, you were right too.” She gave everyone exactly two and one-seventh cookies.
5. She was a good cook.
“Best cookies I ever had in my whole life!” said Stephen.
Everyone agreed.
“I got the recipe from Miss Mush,” said Mrs. Drazil.
“You did?” several kids said together.
“I just added a pinch of this and a little of that,” said Mrs. Drazil.
6. She knew what a goozack was.
“Jason, would you please open the door?” she said.
Everyone gasped.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“You said the D-word!” said Dana.