"Today is going to be so much fun," thought Mark Smith, age 4, of Denver, Colorado. "That's because today, I get to go to school."

Earlier that morning Mark had dressed quickly and rushed through his breakfast. "Slow down, Mark," Steve, Tracy and Aunt Susan said laughingly. Mark seemed more excited now than he had ever been before.

When Mark arrived at school, he ran up the steps to catch up with the other children.

Mark ran to his very own locker. As he opened the locker, Mark thought he heard a rustling inside.

"Is there something inside my locker?" Mark wondered. "What could it be?"

Just then, the teacher walked up and said, "You'd better hurry to class, Mark."

Mark decided to close his locker and investigate the noise later.

Mark was curious about the strange noise, but he joined the other children in the classroom. It was time for reading class - one of his favorites! The teacher opened a big book and said, "Today we're going to study the raccoon. And at the end of the day, I have a special surprise for you!"

Mark forgot all about the strange noise and tried to figure out what the surprise was going to be.

After learning all about raccoons, the children went to the art center.

"I want everyone to paint a picture of a raccoon," said the teacher.

Mark worked very hard on his painting. When he was done, all the other children admired his painting.

"Mark, that is a wonderful painting of a raccoon," said the teacher. "You are a very talented artist."