Iguana Goes to School

There once was a green and brown striped iguana who lived on the rock coast of Guatemala. He enjoyed his life, basking in the sun, taking a dip in the sea whenever he felt a little too dry. Iguana's only regret was that he could not go to school. "But Mom," he would say, "Why can't I go to school with all the other kids?"

"Dear child," replied his mother. "You are an iguana, not a boy. Besides, everything you need to know you will learn right here." Iguana was not content, but he could not think of a reason to argue with his mother.

One day, a little boy named Ludwin caught Iguana sunning himself on a dry, flat rock. Ludwin, excited to have a new pet, put Iguana on his shoulder and went for a very long ride. Poor Iguana! He was so scared, but all he could do was hang on for dear life through the twisty curves on a road that went up, up, up. Soon, Iguana and his boy Ludwin arrived at a big white building where there was a vast, dirt yard to run around. There was hardly a rock in sight!

Fortunately for little Iguana, who realized his name was probably Lui since Ludwin kept calling him that, there was still the nice cool shade of a tree near the house when he needed to rest. He had not yet found his warm spot, although his boy Ludwin's stomach seemed to be the next best thing to his rock back home.

Lui adjusted to his new home rapidly; the only thing he hated was his little rope leash. Oh, how he yearned for freedom when his boy put that on him!

One day, Lui found himself inside a big bag. If he peered up, he could see his boy Ludwin's face through the crack at the top, but suddenly his face started to disappear and zip! just like that Lui found himself in darkness. The bag swayed back and forth, nearly lulling Lui into a deep slumber. Suddenly, light poured in again and his boy Ludwin was back, pulling him out of the dark chamber.

His boy Ludwin let him explore all sorts of new things--new hands, new table tops, new clothes--when suddenly Lui realized...wait, was that a whiteboard? were these desks he was climbing on? were the students listening to a teacher? Oh, joy! He was in a classroom. He, Lui the Iguana, would be the first Iguana in his family to go to school.

Realizing what an accomplishment this would be, Lui sat patiently on his desk and did his best to listen and blend in. When he got cold, his boy Ludwin kindly placed Lui on his stomach where Lui could feel the boy's breathing and the soft touch of his boy's shirt. When Lui needed a new view, his boy Ludwin let him lie in a nice, comfortable bed of a jacket on the girl Paula's desk. The only distraction occurred when his boy Ludwin kept shoving his face into the hand of the lady who talked so much. Lui wanted to cry, "No licking hands now! I'm here to learn!" Alas, the boy Ludwin had not yet learned to talk Iguana and did not understand.

Before long, the school day was over, and Lui looked forward to sleeping on all he had learned that day: reading, writing, numbers, addition. So much to think about! But how exciting it was--and just to think! Tomorrow was a new day, and he could learn even more things then. Lui the Iguana could hardly wait as he curled up to sleep on his boy Ludwin's stomach for the night.