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Hello friends, and welcome to Sleep Tight Stories. Kitty enjoys school and thinks science is fun. Mr. Sheba passes back the latest science test and Kitty has not done well. She sees lots of red marks and cannot understand what went wrong. Kitty takes the test home to look over and talks to her mama about what happened and what she can do. Kitty and the very bad science test. Something sure smells yummy this morning, Mama, Kitty said as she washed the sleepers from her eyes with her paws. You will never guess what your papa got at the grocery store yesterday. Her mama said, placing a bowl of tuna on the table. Oatmeal cookies. He loves those. Especially the kind with liver in them. He did get those, but he also decided to get some tuna infused cream for you to try. He said since you've been doing so well in school, you deserved a treat. Wow. Can I have some for breakfast? I can't wait to tell my friends. I warmed some up for you. But eat quickly. You don't want to be late for school. You know how Principal Breezy feels about that. Yes, she's even more serious about punctuality than Papa, I think. After a very delicious breakfast, Kitty gave herself one more quick clean, put on her backpack and was ready to go. I'm okay to walk to school by myself this morning, Mama. I'm almost a grown up. You are being more responsible. Be careful and don't get distracted by that nest of birds in the old oak tree on Prince Street. They might want to play and that will make you late for class. I know Mama and Principal Breezy will be upset. Love you. Love you too. Kitty waved as she walked towards school. She could tell her mama was still watching from the doorway. That's what she always did, but Kitty knew the way really well and wouldn't be late. She passed some kittens playing with the birds across the street. Don't be late for school. She called out. You know how the principal is. In the distance, as she approached the intersection of Allie and Prince, she could see what looked like a mountain. Not a real mountain, of course. There were no mountains in the city. It was Brutus, the biggest dog in the whole world. Kitty was pretty sure. She used to think Brutus was really scary looking, but once she got to know him, she realized just how nice he was. Brutus was now Prince Street School's crossing guard and Kitty's friend. Good morning, Kitty. Brutus said in his kind of squeaky voice. It was the exact opposite of how he looked. Morning. Guess what I had for breakfast today. I'm not a Good guesser. Brutus said with a smile. So you better just tell me. Tuna infused cream. My papa finally got some. It was so so yummy. That does sound yummy. I haven't tried it yet. Maybe someday though. Tuna isn't really my favorite flavor. Liver infused cream would be a nice treat. Now let me help you cross. You don't want to be late because I know Principal Breezy. Have a nice morning, Brutus. You too. Kitty arrived early even before the principal came outside to bring all the cats in so they didn't become strays. She went straight to her classroom where Fluffy, Cooper, and Bella were already there. Hi Kitty, Fluffy said. She was washing her face again. She was always doing that. Morning. Guess what? My papa finally bought some tuna infused cream and I had some for breakfast. I that's great. Tasty, isn't it? Hooper said with a purr. Happy you're joining us big cats? I'm over trends, Bella said. You should try the salmon infused one next, bluffy added. It's even more yummy. The first class of the day was social studies, which Kitty thought was okay. Then math and now it was science, which Kitty thought was actually fun. It was interesting to find out how and why things worked. OK class, Mr. Sheba said. He was the science teacher and was very strict, but Kitty liked him anyway. I have your science test to hand back, he said as he walked around the classroom. Kitty sat up a little straighter. She always did well on tests, especially in science. He placed hers on the desk. It had red marks all over it. So many red marks. She had failed the test. Kitty stared at it for a moment and then turned it face down so nobody could see. Kitty stared at the paper again. Maybe she had read it wrong. She slowly turned it back over and looked at the first question. It was about the water cycle. She remembered that lesson. Mr. Sheba had drawn clouds and arrows on the board. Everyone had copied it into their notebooks. Kitty read her answer again. It didn't look quite right anymore. Around her, other kittens were flipping their papers over and whispering to each other. I got one wrong, cooper murmured quietly. I got three, Bella said. Kitty quickly turned her paper face down again. Her ears felt warm. How could she have done so badly? She liked science. She listened carefully. She even remembered answering every question. But the red marks were still there. Kitty folded her paws together on her desk and tried to listen to the rest of the lesson, but all she could think about was the test. After school, Kitty didn't stay to play in the playground with her friends. She Just wanted to go home. What's wrong, Kitty? Brutus asked as she passed. You look pretty down. I did really poorly on my science test, and I always do. Well, I don't know what happened. I'm sorry to hear that, Kitty. But you know, everyone does badly on a test sometimes. Just keep trying and I bet the next one will be better. And Mr. Sheba is really hard on the class sometimes, isn't he? Maybe, but I still like him. He even tries to tell jokes sometimes, even though not many cats laugh. Anyway, I better get home. Be careful walking. Kitty and those birds have been very frisky today. Two kittens were late this morning because of them. Thanks, Brutus. See you tomorrow. When she walked past the old oak tree, the birds tried to play with her, but she hardly noticed them. And usually when she got to the corner of Prince and Ally, she could already smell what Cookie Cat was cooking for dinner that day. It was something with fish and butter and herbs, which would usually make Kitty slow down without even thinking. Her mama always said Cookie was one of the best cooks she had ever met, and Kitty guessed that she was probably right. But today she walked right past without even turning her head. All she could think about was all the red on that test. Kitty made it home and sat down at the kitchen table for her afternoon snack of candied sardines. She didn't touch them. You look terribly sad today, Kitty. Did something happen at school? Sort of, kitty said quietly. We got our science tests back and I did really bad. I think I failed. And science is one of my favorite classes. I don't understand how it happened. Her mama sat down across from her. She was quiet for a moment. Can I tell you something? When I was about your age, I failed a spelling test, and spelling was the thing I was best at. I even won spelling competitions. I was so embarrassed. I didn't even want to tell your grandma. Did you tell her? Eventually. And do you know what she said to me? Kitty shook her head. She said, a bad test doesn't tell you how smart you are. It just tells you what to study next. Kitty thought about that for a second. So it's like a clue? Exactly like a clue, her mama said. Now what do you think happened? Were there parts of the test that surprised you? Yeah, kitty said quietly. The questions about the cycle stuff. I thought I knew that part. But then when I actually was writing, I got all confused. So now you know what to do. Study the water cycle. That's right. Kitty looked at her sardines and picked one up. Mama do you think I could ask Mr. Sheba for help? Of course you can. That's exactly what teachers are for. The next morning, Kitty stopped Mr. Sheba before class started. Her paws felt a little sweaty, but she went up to his desk anyways. Mr. Shiba, I was wondering if maybe you could help me understand the cycle that you taught in class. I thought I had it, but then on the test I got confused and I want to actually understand it properly. Mr. Shiba looked at her over his glasses for a moment. He wasn't smiling exactly, but it was close. Come by after lunch. We'll go through it together. She was there, right on time. Mr. Sheba pulled out a big piece of paper and drew a picture of clouds and rain and rivers and the sun, all connected by arrows. He explained how the water went up and came back down and went up again over and over, and had been doing that for millions of years. Kitty closed her eyes for a moment and tried to picture it. She imagined one tiny drop of water sitting in a river. The sun warmed it, and slowly it floated up into the sky, where it joined a soft white cloud. The cloud drifted over fields and trees and rooftops until the drop became heavy and fell as rain. So the same water that's in my bowl at breakfast, kitty said slowly, was maybe in a river a long time ago? Could have been, Mr. Sheba said. Or in a cloud. Yes. Or in the ocean? Quite possibly. Kitty blinked. Or in a dinosaur puddle, he added. Kitty giggled. Kitty looked at the drawing for a long moment. That's actually really interesting, she said, a bit surprised. Mr. Sheba did smile then. Just a small one. Yes, it is. That evening, Kitty got out her notebook and drew her own cycle diagram at the kitchen table. It wasn't as neat as Mr. Sheba's, but she labeled everything evaporation, condensation, precipitation, saying each word out loud as she wrote it. Her papa walked through and looked over her shoulder. What's all this? The water cycle, kitty said. I'm studying. Her papa didn't say anything, but he gave her a little pat on the head before he went to get his oatmeal cookies. She drew another one the next night, just to make sure. Two weeks later, Mr. Sheba handed back the next test. Kitty held her breath as he put it on her desk. Two small red marks. That was all. She read her answers over slowly. The water cycle questions were all correct, every single one. She didn't turn that one face down. Walking home that afternoon, she stopped at the crosswalk where Brutus was waiting you look cheerful today. What's up? Did they give out free candied sardines at lunchtime? He said no, though that would be really nice. Do you remember a while ago I told you I did poorly on my science test, which I thought was strange because I had always done well before? Yes, I remember. You looked sad that day, and you never looked sad. Well, I tried really hard afterwards, asked for help, and I got another science test back, and only two mistakes. Way to go, Kitty, brutus said in his squeaky voice, and he helped her cross the street. And that is the end of our story. Good night. Sleep tight, Sam.