Heidi Heckelbeck Gets Glasses

by Wanda Coven

  Heidi, Lucy, and Bruce high-fived. Heidi mostly slapped air because everything was so fuzzy.

  Everyone swarmed around Heidi until Mrs. Welli asked the class to take their seats.

  “Heidi, your glasses look lovely,” said Mrs. Welli. “Come see me during snack time, and I’ll take your picture.”

  Heidi nodded.

  That means I’m going to make the Wall of Fame! thought Heidi. She felt so important. The only problem was, she couldn’t see much with her new glasses.

  When Heidi wrote in her journal, her sentences came out slanted. In art, the class had to draw a bowl of fruit. Heidi’s looked more like a bowl of garbage.

  “Why did you paint red bananas and purple apples?” asked Lucy.

  “Those are bananas?” Bruce asked.

  “Mr. Doodlebee called it ‘artistic interpretation,’” said Heidi.

  “What’s that?” Lucy asked.

  “It means that the artist has completely lost her marbles,” replied Melanie.

  Heidi covered her ears to drown out the laughter. To make matters worse, Mr. Doodlebee didn’t even draw a picture of Heidi in her new glasses.

  At lunch Heidi bumped into the table with her tray. She took off her glasses so she could wipe up the juice that had spilled all over.

  “Are you sure you need glasses?” questioned Lucy.

  Heidi shoved her glasses back on. “Of course I’m sure,” she said. “I’m just getting used to them.”

  “Mine felt good on the very first day,” said Lucy.

  “Well, lucky for you!” said Heidi.

  Lucy and Bruce gave each other a look. Heidi pretended not to notice.

  At dinner that night Heidi poured milk all over the floor.

  “You’re such a klutz!” said Henry.

  “Am not!”

  “Are too!”

  “Enough,” said Dad.

  “Heidi,” said Mom, “are your new glasses bothering you?”

  “No,” lied Heidi. “I love them.”

  But the truth was, Heidi’s eyeballs were killing her. She skipped dessert and went to her room. That night Heidi fell sound asleep in her tights, shoes, clothes—everything except her glasses, which had fallen on the floor.

  Heidi peeked out from under her covers. Had she dreamed she had gotten glasses? No such luck. There they were on her bedside table. Someone had picked them up during the night.

  Then Heidi’s door burst open.

  “Race you downstairs!” shouted Henry. “Dad made apple fritters for Saturday breakfast.”

  Heidi pulled the sheet over her head. Henry was too loud, too happy, and way too awake for her. But since it’s Saturday, she thought, I get to visit Aunt Trudy. Heidi loved her aunt Trudy. She taught Heidi spells and showed her how to use her gifts as a witch.

  Heidi got out of bed and got ready for the day. After brushing her teeth, she put on her black jeans and her I ♥ BABY ANIMALS T-shirt. Then she trotted downstairs with her glasses in her pocket.

  “I’m off to Aunt Trudy’s,” Heidi said as she grabbed an apple fritter.

  “Be back for lunch,” said Mom. “Remember, Lucy’s coming over. And don’t forget to wear your glasses.”

  Heidi nodded. On her way to Aunt Trudy’s she nibbled her apple fritter and kicked an acorn along the sidewalk. It sure is nice to be able to see, Heidi thought. When she got to Aunt Trudy’s, she put on her glasses and rang the bell.

  “Oh my,” said Aunt Trudy as she opened the door. “Don’t you look smart!”

  Aunt Trudy gave Heidi a big hug. Her aunt smelled like flowers—because she had her own perfume business. Heidi followed Aunt Trudy into the kitchen. She peeked out from under her glasses so she wouldn’t trip.

  “You know what’s odd?” asked Aunt Trudy.

  “What?” Heidi said.

  “None of the witches in our family have ever needed glasses. I mean, sometimes I use magnifying glasses to read very fine print, but that’s not the same as real glasses.”

  Heidi shrugged, then changed the subject. “What are these?” she asked, picking up one of the little bottles on the kitchen table.

  “Those bottles are for Percy,” said Aunt Trudy.

  Percy was Aunt Trudy’s beloved parrot. Most of his feathers were bright red, and his wings were yellow and blue.

  “Is Percy okay?” Heidi asked.

  “I’m afraid he’s under the weather,” said Aunt Trudy. “Would you like to mix him a get-well potion?”

  “Would I ever!” said Heidi.

  “Then let’s get right to work,” said Aunt Trudy.

  She opened her Book of Spells and placed it in front of Heidi.

  Heidi did her best to figure out the words with her glasses on. “Bird stew?” she asked uncertainly.

  Aunt Trudy laughed. “No, silly. We’re going to make Percy a get-well brew.”

  “Oh—I see,” Heidi said.

  “Well, I should hope so, with those fancy new glasses!” said Aunt Trudy.

  Aunt Trudy lifted Percy out of his cage and set him on his perch. Heidi measured the ingredients.

  Three tablespoons of pepper, Heidi read to herself—or at least, that’s what she thought she read. Heidi measured three tablespoons of pepper and dumped them in the bowl. She tried to read the next ingredient. Eight tablespoons of ground sunflower seeds—or is that a three? Heidi wondered. No, it looks more like an eight. She added the seeds to the mix and looked at the next item. A half cup of maple syrup. Heidi poured the maple syrup into the mix and stirred it together.

  “The brew’s ready,” Heidi said.

  “Good work,” said Aunt Trudy.

  Aunt Trudy picked up the bowl and brushed the brew on Percy’s feathers. Then she held her Witches of Westwick medallion in her left hand and placed her right hand over Percy.

  She chanted the words of the spell.

  Percy ruffled his feathers and squawked.

  “Are you feeling better, sweet boy?” asked Aunt Trudy.

  Percy squawked again.

  Then something odd happened. Percy began to grow.

  He grew and grew and GREW.

  Crack!

  Percy’s perch snapped in two, and he kept on growing.

  He became the size of a cat.

  Then the size of a dog. Soon he was as large as a pony.

  “Oh, goodness me!” Aunt Trudy cried nervously.

  “What’s happening?” asked Heidi.

  “It seems that something’s gone wrong with our get-well brew,” said Aunt Trudy. She grabbed the Book of Spells and began to read the ingredients out loud.

  “Eight tablespoons of pepper . . .”

  “No, three,” corrected Heidi.

  “And three tablespoons of ground sunflower seeds . . .”

  “No, eight,” Heidi said.

  Aunt Trudy handed the book to Heidi and folded her arms. Heidi took off her glasses and read the ingredients. She had mistaken the number three for the number eight and the number eight for the number three. Oh no, thought Heidi. I totally blew it.

  “Br-r-r-r-ock!” squawked Percy, whose head now touched the ceiling.

  Heidi felt like a complete birdbrain.Percy was the size of an elephant. Aunt Trudy was afraid he might grow even more and burst through the roof. She had to reverse the spell—and fast. Aunt Trudy held her medallion in her left hand and chanted:

  Swoosh! A great gust of wind swirled around Percy.

  “B-r-r-r—ock!” he squawked.

  Heidi covered her eyes. Some of the potion bottles on the table clinked and fell over. Then it became quiet.

  “You can look,” Aunt Trudy said.

  Heidi peeked between her fingers. Percy was sitting on the kitchen table. He was just the right size for a parrot. Heidi stroked his head with her finger.

  “I’m glad he didn’t go through the roof,” said Heidi.

  “Me too,” said Aunt Trudy. “But he still needs the bird brew treatment.”

  Heidi whipped up another batch of th
e bird brew and brushed it on Percy. This time she didn’t wear her glasses, and this time Heidi chanted the spell herself. I hope it works, she thought. When she had finished chanting, she looked at Percy.

  Percy fluffed his feathers and flew onto Heidi’s shoulder.

  “He’s nuzzling my hair,” said Heidi.

  “That’s his way of saying thank you,” said Aunt Trudy.

  Heidi and Aunt Trudy laughed.

  Then Aunt Trudy picked up Heidi’s glasses. “So what’s the story behind these?” she asked.

  Heidi bit her lip. “The story is . . .,” Heidi began. “The story is . . . I never really needed glasses.”

  “I knew it!” said Aunt Trudy. “None of the Witches of Westwick have ever needed glasses.” Then she looked into Heidi’s eyes. “So what’s the rest of the story?”

  “I wanted to be cool,” Heidi said.

  Aunt Trudy laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Heidi.

  “It reminds me of when I was your age,” said Aunt Trudy. “I wanted to be cool too, so one time I wore a strip of tinfoil on my top teeth for a whole day.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I thought braces were cool.”

  “So you made fake braces out of tinfoil?” Heidi asked.

  “That’s right,” said Aunt Trudy.

  Heidi laughed. “That’s even dumber than what I did!”

  “Well, I’d say it’s more of a tie,” said Aunt Trudy with a wink.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Heidi said.

  “And let’s be thankful we don’t need glasses or braces,” said Aunt Trudy. “And above all, remember this. . . .”

  “What?”

  “That you already are a very special girl. Just think—how many girls have special powers like you?”

  “None that I know of,” said Heidi.

  Aunt Trudy gave Heidi a big hug. Then Heidi shoved her glasses into her pocket and skipped all the way home for lunch.

  “Heiii-diii!” called Dad from the back door. “Lucy’s here!”

  Heidi and Henry had just found four rocks to hold down the corners of the tablecloth on the picnic table. They put the rocks in place and ran to the house.

  “The picnic food is all ready,” said Dad.

  Heidi carried a platter of sand­wiches. Lucy carried the brownies. Henry got the chips. Dad grabbed two bottles of his homemade fizzy lemonade, and Mom brought plates, napkins, and cups.

  They all sat at the picnic table under the shade of a maple tree.

  “Everything looks so good!” said Heidi.

  “How do you know?” asked Henry. “You’re not wearing your glasses.”

  “Who needs glasses?” Heidi asked.

  Everyone stared at Heidi.

  “What do you mean?” asked Lucy.

  “Well, the truth is,” said Heidi. “I don’t really need glasses.”

  “You’re kidding!” said Dad.

  “I wondered!” said Mom.

  “I KNEW it!” said Henry.

  “So why’d you get them?” asked Lucy.

  “Because I wanted to be cool, like you and Bruce,” Heidi said.

  “Wow—you must be CRAZY!” said Lucy. “Because I wish I didn’t need glasses.”

  “No, YOU’RE crazy!” said Heidi. “Because glasses look really good on you.”

  “You know what?” Henry said. “You’re BOTH crazy!”

  “That means we must be TWINS!” said Heidi.

  Heidi and Lucy slapped each other five.

  Henry rolled his eyes. “See what I mean? TOTALLY bonkers.”

  “Heidi may be a little bonkers,” said Dad, “but she’s also very special.”

  “It’s true,” said Mom, giving Heidi a hug. “You don’t need glasses to make you more special. We love you just the way you are.”

  Heidi opened her desk and found a blank piece of paper with a happy-face border on top of her math book. The paper was crinkly in the middle, like it had been wet. Heidi sniffed it. The paper smelled like lemons. It had a folded note attached to it with a paper clip. Heidi undid the paper clip. A few scratch-’n’-sniff candy stickers floated to the bottom of her desk. Can this be from my secret admirer? wondered Heidi. Then she unfolded the note and read it.

  Hold the paper with the happy faces close to a lightbulb and find a secret message.

  “Hei-di!” called Mrs. Welli. “Kindly close your desk and pay attention.”

  Heidi shoved the note, the stickers, and the piece of paper inside her math book and closed the lid of her desk. Then she tried to work on double-digit subtraction, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the note. Who can it be from? Maybe it’s Charlie Chen. Charlie’s working on a lemon battery, and the paper smells like lemons. Plus Charlie gave me a cookie yesterday. It HAS to be Charlie!

  During silent reading Heidi took her secret message—and a book—to the reading corner. She switched on a lamp and held the paper to the light. The message said:

  Heidi quickly stuck the paper back inside her book and sat in the Comfy Chair. I never knew Charlie liked me, thought Heidi. I’ll have to thank him for all the cool stuff.

  In art Heidi tapped Charlie on the shoulder. He was molding a swan out of clay.

  “I really liked your poem,” said Heidi.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Didn’t you leave a poem and stickers in my desk?” asked Heidi.

  “Huh?” he asked.

  “Oh, uh, never mind,” said Heidi. “Gotta go.”

  Heidi returned to her seat. If Charlie isn’t my secret admirer, then who can it be?

  WANDA COVEN has always loved magic. When she was little, she used to make secret potions from smooshed shells and acorns. Then she would pretend to transport herself and her friends to enchanted places. Now she’s able to visit other worlds through writing. Wanda lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and son. They have three cats: Hilda, Agnes, and Claw-dia.

  PRISCILLA BURRIS has illustrated numerous books and materials for children, parents, and teachers. She enjoys painting cakes and creating art for products, which include murals, greeting cards, and rubber stamps! Priscilla lives with her family in Southern California.

  Jacket design by Aviva Shur

  Jacket illustrations copyright © 2012

  by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  Meet the author and illustrator and get activities at

  KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

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  Copyright © 2012 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Coven, Wanda.

  Heidi Heckelbeck gets glasses / by Wanda Coven ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris.

  p. cm.

  Summary: When she gets glasses, Heidi’s friend Lucy gets a lot of attention at school, and eight-year-old Heidi decides that she must have glasses too, until her Aunt Trudy helps her to see that she really does not need them.

  ISBN 9
78-1-4424-4171-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4424-4172-9

  (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4424-4173-6 (ebook)

  [1. Eyeglasses—Fiction. 2. Self-acceptance—Fiction. 3. Aunts—Fiction.

  4. Family life—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction. 6. Witches—Fiction.] I. Burris, Priscilla, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.C83392Hd 2012

  [Fic]—dc23

  2011023408