Chapter 17

John had light brown hair and a round head. He was Joe's best friend. John was one of the smartest boys in Mrs. Jewls's class. But he had one problem. He could only read words written upside¹ down.

Nobody ever wrote anything upside down.

But it was only a little problem. John was still in the high reading group. He just turned his book upside down.

It was easier for John to turn his book upside down than to learn to read correctly. But the easiest way isn't always the best way.
68Mrs. Jewls said, "John, you can't go on reading like this. You can't spend the rest of your life turning your books upside down."
"Why not?" asked John.

"Because I said so," said Mrs. Jewls. "Besides, what happens when I write something on the blackboard? You can't turn the blackboard upside down."

"No, I guess you're right," said John.

"I know I'm right," said Mrs. Jewls. "You are going to have to learn to stand on your head."

John couldn't stand on his head. He had given up trying. You would have, too, if you had fallen over as many times as he had.

Joe was John's best friend. He could stand on John's head. Every time John fell over, Joe stood on his head. After all, what are best friends for?

"My head is too round, Mrs. Jewls. I can't stand on it," said John.

"Of course you can, John," said Mrs. Jewls. "If Joe can stand on your head, so can you."

"It's easy, John," said Joe.

"I can't," John repeated. "I always fall over."

"Nonsense," said Mrs. Jewls. "All you have to do is find your center of balance. Now, up you go."

John put his round head on the floor and swung his legs up. He fell right over. Then Joe stood on John's head.

"See, John, it's easy. Nothing to it," Joe said.

"We'll help you, John," said Mrs. Jewls. "Joe, get off John's head and get me the pillow² from under my desk. Nancy, Calvin, come here and give us a hand."

Mrs. Jewls took the pillow from Joe and set it on thefloor.
69"All right, John, we'll surround you," she said.
"We won't let you fall."

John put his head on the pillow and swung his legs

up. He started to fall one way, but Nancy pushed him

back up. Then he started to fall another way, but Calvin

straightened him out. John kept falling a little bit this

way and that way until at last he found his center of

balance.

[Validator's note: the text that follows was printed upside-down³ in the original book.

"Hey, look at me. Look at me," said John. "I'm up. I'm really up. I'm standing⁴ on my head. I found my center of balance. It's beautiful. I can read the black-board! Hey Calvin, bring me a book, and you don't have to turn it upside down. Ha Ha. Hey, who, aaaaahhh????."]

BAMM!! While Calvin went to get the book, John fell flat on his face.

"You better stay off my head, Joe," he warned⁵.

"Are you all right, John?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

"Yes, I think so. I feel a little funny. Hey! I can still read the blackboard, and I'm not upside down. I can read right side up now. When I fell, I must have flipped⁶ my brain or something."

"That is wonderful, John," said Mrs. Jewls. "Here, put the pillow back under my desk. As a reward⁷ you may have a Tootsie Roll pop. They are in the coffee can on top of my desk."

John placed the pillow on top of her desk. Then he looked under the desk, but he couldn't find the Tootsie Roll pops anywhere.

1 upside   

n.上侧，上段，上部

参考例句：

• The children hung the picture upside down.小孩把画挂倒了。
• If you turn the envelope upside down, the key will fall out.你如果把信封倒过来，钥匙就会掉出。

2 pillow   

n.枕头；枕垫；vt.作…的枕头；垫；枕于；vi.靠在枕上

参考例句：

• He fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.他脑袋一碰枕头就睡着了。
• She was found asleep on a pillow of leaves.有人看见她枕着树叶睡着了。

3 upside-down   

adj.颠倒的，混乱的；adv.颠倒，倒置

参考例句：

• They left the room upside-down.他们把房间弄得乱七八糟。
• The world had turned upside-down.整个世界陷入一片混乱之中。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 warned   

v.警告( warn的过去式和过去分词 )；提醒；告诫；预先通知

参考例句：

• Motorists have been warned to beware of icy roads. 已经提醒开车的人当心冰封的路面。
• I've warned her countless times. 我警告过她无数次了。

6 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

7 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。