The Story of Suzie Simon Stanley

Suzie Simon Stanley didn’t mean to get into trouble. She just couldn’t help it. Perhaps a result of eye-catching features, like her fiery red hair and piercing blue eyes, in combination with her perky ways, every teacher that Suzie had ever had called her a disturbance.

            Yet, on this rainy January morning, her sitting in the principal’s office was clearly not from usual events. Suzie had been emitting a peculiar noise ever since her second-grade teacher had called on her to answer a question from the history review ten minutes previous. Even after many warnings, she found herself physically incapable of ending the torturous sound.

            “So… Suzie?” began the principal. “Suzie, stop that noise right now!”

            The principal tried everything she could think of to make Suzie stop whistling but she soon ran out of ideas and was now relying on her office staff.

            After considering all of the suggestions, the principal finally concluded that the nurse was the most logical when she said that the whistling was probably a result of the placement of Suzie’s teeth. The nurse examined Suzie, but she found nothing wrong.

            “Still, I think you should visit a dentist to get a specialist’s opinion,” explained the nurse to the still whistling Suzie as the principal called Suzie’s mother.

            Forty-seven minutes later, Suzie and her mother were sitting in the over-crowded waiting room of the dentist. The room was so crowded that nobody noticed Suzie’s abnormality.

            Soon the nurse came out and shouted, “Doctor Washington is ready to see Suzie Simon Stanley!”

            Suzie walked through the bright hallways of the dentist’s, whistling, and she turned the corner, alone, following the nurse. She halted in front of a scary looking chair but she squeezed her eyes shut and told herself that she could do it. She opened her eyes and sat down as the dentist entered the room.

            Dentist Washington was old and tired-looking with deep blue eyes, chalk white hair, and a kind, comforting smile. He silently examined Suzie, and slowly a puzzled look grew on his face.

            “Never have I seen a seven-year-old develop such a strange condition. Perhaps we will try,” he said, “a historical treatment.” He smiled.

            Suddenly, the room tumbled away from the rest of the building and landed on a field of grass. The walls unfolded and a distant figure approached the dentist and Suzie. When he became distinguishable, Suzie suddenly stopped whistling. The man handed Suzie a piece of paper addressed to Martha Washington, the first First lady of the United States. As Suzie read, she noticed it was a love letter. At the end of the page, it was signed George. Suzie then shouted, “George Washington was the first president!”

            “Good, very good,” whispered the dentist as the walls refolded and the room flew back to the twenty-first century. Suzie was no longer whistling.

            Half an hour later, Suzie was arriving at school for the second time that day. She entered her classroom and everyone turned her way.

            “George Washington was the first president!” Suzie exclaimed in answer to her earlier history question.

            “Very good, Suzie!” cried the teacher. The whole class wanted to know how she knew.

            “I’ve experienced history,” she replied with a huge grin on her face.