The Clean Letter R
by Daniel Errico
Illustrated by Michiko Cayce
The Letter R lived in the Land of Words.
She was very clean.
She cleaned her house every day.
She waxed her floors so well that she slid from room to room.
In the fall, she caught every leaf before it even fell on her lawn.
She brushed her teeth so well that they shined when she smiled.
When she got her teeth cleaned, Letter T the Dentist had to wear sunglasses because they were so bright.
She didn’t allow any of her friends over to her house because she was afraid they would get it dirty.
One day she decided to go to the store to buy shoes.
She looked around and picked out a shiny red pair.
On the way back home, she passed by her friend, the Letter P, and said hello.
Just then, she stepped into a puddle by accident.
Her shoes were soaked and covered in water.
“You can’t wear those shoes home,” said the Letter P, “You’ll get water on your floor!”
She knew that he was right.
She turned around and bought a brand new pair.
The new shoes were bright green.
On the way back home, she passed by the Letter P again.
She walked around the puddle this time.
Then the chocolate cart came by and hit a rock in the road.
Chocolate syrup flew right off the cart and onto her shoes.
“That won’t do at all,” said the Letter P, “You wouldn’t let me on your lawn because I had a stain on my hat. You can’t go home with those messy shoes on.”
She knew that he was right.
She turned around and bought a new pair of shoes once again.
This pair was yellow.
On the way back home, she again passed by the Letter P.
She walked around the puddle and watched out for flying chocolate.
But just then, it began to rain.
The dirt on the ground turned into mud.
Every time she stepped, her shoes got more and more muddy.
The Letter P began to laugh a little.
He had never seen the Letter R so muddy before.
The Letter R was tired of buying new shoes.
She saw the Letter R laughing and looked at the mud.
“I’m already muddy,” she said, “No harm in getting muddier!”
She reached down and grabbed a handful of mud, made it into a mud ball, and threw it at the Letter P.
She hit him right in the face.
He was so surprised that he didn’t know what to say.
He wiped the mud off and then yelled, “MUD FIGHT!”
The Letter R, the Letter P, and all the other letters got into a big mud ball fight.
Every one of them was covered in mud by the end, and the Letter R didn’t mind at all.
She had so much fun that she invited everyone over to her house afterwards for a party.
There was quite a mess by the time they were done.
The other letters were so happy that she had let them come over even though they were muddy…
that is, until she sent them the cleaning bill!
In the Land of Words, it’s okay to be messy sometimes.
