FOR MY AMAZING EDITOR, ANDREA,

AND HER FAVORITE READERS, KAREN AND MAXINE

K. M.

FOR EVERYONE AT PECK SLIP SCHOOL

H. R.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either
products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

Text copyright © 2020 by Kate Messner

Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Heather Ross

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information
retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including
photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

First edition 2020

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending

ISBN 978-1-5362-0202-1

20 21 22 23 24 25 CCP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

This book was typeset in Minion.

The illustrations were created digitally.

Candlewick Press
99 Dover Street
Somerville, Massachusetts 02144

visit us at www.candlewick.com
 cont ent s
CHAP TER 1
mice in training
•1•
CHAP TER 2
too small
• 15 •
CHAP TER 3
TUG-Of-mouse
• 27 •
CHAP TER 4
lOCKED out
• 37 •
FERGUS AND ZEKE always had fun in
Miss Maxwell’s room. They did everything
the children did.
When it was time for science, they
conducted experiments.

1
 When it was art time, they sculpted
with clay.

And when it was time for gym, Fergus

and Zeke did their exercises.

2
 One day, Miss Maxwell told the class,
“Tomorrow will be our school field day.
We will have lots of outdoor fun. There
will be games and contests and races.
Look!” She pointed out the window.
“Ms. Khan is outside now, getting things
ready. This afternoon, we’ll go out to see
what the events will be!”

3
 After lunch, the children lined up to go
outside. Fergus and Zeke hitched a ride in
Emma’s backpack. They wanted to see what
was happening, too!
 Ms. Khan, the gym teacher, was spread-
ing a big plastic tarp on the playground.
“This is for the waterslide,” she said.
Next, Ms. Khan marked a course with
bright orange flags. “That is for our relay
race,” she said.
Ms. Khan set up bars for the high jump,
limbo, and hurdles. Then she unloaded a
big box from her pickup truck.
“What’s in there?” asked Neela.
“Lots of things,” Ms. Khan said. “Potato
sacks for our potato sack race. Hula-Hoops
for the Hula-Hoop contest. Ropes for the
tug-of-war. Balloons for our water balloon
toss. And a big, bright parachute for our
parachute game. At the end of the day, we’ll
all go inside for ice pops.”
6