Lincoln Abraham - Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler

ILLUSTRATED BY NEIL SWAAB The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.For Braiden Whites second-grade class at
Division Street Elementarythanks for
all the great ideas! Ms. Maybee said, Okay, guys, lets get out our history books! The whole class groaned. Doc tilted his head back and started snoring.

Very funny, Ms. Maybee said. This is going to be fun, trust me. Abby? How about if you get us started. Abbyshes the one who broke history. It was Abby and her stepbrother, Doc.

You can thank them later. Everyone took out their textbooks. Thick books. Heavy. Kids lifted them high and let them drop onto their desks. Ms. Ms.

Maybee just shook her head. Page one twenty-five, she said. Today well read about Abraham Lincoln. More groans. And Doc sang out, Boring! Ms. Maybee glared at the class.

Who said that? Everyone knew. But no one said. Well, whoever it was, Ms. Maybee said, looking right at Doc, you should be aware that you are not only rude, but also totally wrong. She pointed to a poster of Abraham Lincoln taped to the classroom wall. Abraham Lincoln is one of our most important presidents, she said.

He basically saved the country and ended slavery. And hes certainly not boring. Come on, youll see. And she said, Abby, when youre ready. Abby opened the textbook to page 125. There was an old black-and-white picture of a house with a horse and wagon driving by.

She read what it said at the top of the page: Lincoln: from Lawyer to President. A little louder, Abby, Ms. Maybee said. Were going to show these people how exciting history can be! She read louder: Abraham Lincoln sat at a large desk in his office in the city of Springfield, Illinois. He was reading a newspaper. After a little while, he put the newspaper down and stood up.

He walked out of the room. He came back carrying a cup of coffee. He sat down again. He picked up the newspaper and began to read. Abby looked up from the book, pretty confused. Nap time. Nap time.

For once, Ms. Maybee didnt yell at him. Okay, she said, that wasnt the most thrilling part, Ill admit. Doc, since youre so interested, why dont you see what comes next? He read aloud: Abraham Lincoln turned to the next page of the newspaper. He took a sip of coffee. He put his feet up on his desk.

He read some more. Every few minutes he sipped his drink. Doc stopped. Do I have to keep going? he asked. No, thats fine, Ms. Maybee said.

She looked at her own copy of the textbook. According to what it says here, he just sat at his desk all day. He read the paper, drank coffee, and, um, thats it. Thats all he did. Why do we have to know this stuff? Doc asked. Its important, Ms.

Maybee said. Why? It just is, she said. Hmmm She was still looking at her book. This really doesnt seem right. I remember Lincoln doing a lot more. But to be totally honest, history was never my favorite subject.

Because its boring! Doc said. Well, this book is a little dry, Ill admit, Ms. Maybee said. She closed the textbook and said, Lets do a math worksheet. And a few kids actually cheered.

When the school day ended, Abby walked through the library to the storage room in the back.

It was a small room packed with booksbooks on shelves, in cardboard boxes, and stacked up on the floor. There were two chairs and a table and one small window. Abby sat and started taking stuff out of her backpack. This happened every day. Abby and Docs mother was a teacher at the school and ran an after-school program for younger kids. Their dad taught at the middle school and stayed late to coach track.

So every day, after school, Abby and Doc had to stick around for about an hour, until their mom was ready to leave. They were supposed to sit in this room and do homework or read. It was usually the longest hour of the day. Not this time. Doc came in and tossed down his backpack. He stepped onto a chair, then onto the table, and from there he climbed onto one of the stacks of boxes.

His head almost touched the ceiling. He pointed to a tall box about six feet away. Probably, Abby said. But Im not saying youd live. Im the Amazing, um, no, Im Doctor Frog-Leg! You are? Well, thats my pro-wrestling name, he said. That was the big thing in school that week.

There was going to be a pro-wrestling tournament in the gym Friday night, and kids were joking about what their wrestler names would be. Watch this! Doc said. Abby looked down at her notebook. Her mom had married Docs dad three years before, so she was used to him. They mostly got along. But sometimes she felt it was best to ignore him.

For example, any time he said Watch this! Im really gonna do it, he said. Im trying to read, she said. Here goes! he said. Hold on! a voice shouted. Dont jump on me! Doc looked at Abby. That wasnt me, she said.

Dont jump! the voice said again. A mans voice. Abby pointed to the big box. Almost sounds like it was coming from The box shook. Something was moving around inside it. The voice said, Its so dark in here.

The box flaps flipped open, and the voice said, Ah, thats better. Then a black hat appeared, then a head, then a chest. It was a tall man in a black suit. He had a thin, bony face and wild hair sticking out from under his hat. He looked a lot like Abraham Lincoln.

Abby stood so fast her chair fell over.

Doc was frozen in pre-jump position, knees bent and arms out in front of him. The man in the box lifted a very long leg and tried to step out, but the whole thing tipped over. He tumbled to the floor with a loud thud. His tall hat went flying and a few pieces of paper fell out.