Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Eventually, most people, if they are wise enough, learn that you are better off dealing with problems sooner rather than later. A problem hardly ever just goes away. Even some kids have learned this lesson. Sadly, Michael was not one of them. No sooner had the broken pieces of the elephant settled on the floor than Michael had collected them in a box and moved them to the garage workshop. "Maybe Mom doesn't need to find out," Michael said. "How could she not?" asked Merle. "This elephant is in a million pieces." "Glue." Michael started pulling drawers open. "What's glue?" Merle asked. "Nothin'. What's glue with you?" Michael laughed. Merle looked puzzled. "What's so funny?"

"Never mind. Just a silly joke. Glue is a sticky liquid that you can use to put things back together." "Like sap?" "Sap?" Michael said. "Not much. What's sap with you?" Merle and Michael both laughed. "That actually kind of works," Michael said. "You two are hilarious." Pearl shook her head. "How is glue going to keep your mom from finding out you broke her elephant?" "We'll glue it back together, and hopefully she won't be able to tell it was ever broken," Michael said. "She'll never need to know what happened." Pearl frowned. "Like not telling your dad you smuggled two rodents out of Israel? I'm sensing a pattern here."

It took the better part of two hours, but with Merle's help, Michael was able to put the elephant back together, piece by piece. In the end, it mostly looked like an elephant, depending on where on an elephant you expected the trunk to be. Merle had become fascinated by glue during the process and had succeeded in creating a rather interesting sculpture out of items he found lying around the garage. "Okay!" Michael dusted off his hands. "Help me put the elephant back, guys. Be careful, the glue isn't completely dry."