by Kathy Sattem Rygg -
JJ sprawled across the floor of his bedroom sorting super hero action figures. A tickly tingle snuck into his nose. He waited, hoping it might go away. It grew stronger and stronger until, “ACHOO!” the tingle sneezed its way out.
He dashed into the bathroom for a tissue, but the box was empty. He spun the roll of toilet paper hanging on the holder and used the wad to dab his nose. “That’s better,” he said, sighing. Uh oh, now the toilet paper roll was empty, too.
“Mom! We need more toilet paper in my bathroom!” he yelled. His mother walked in with a full, fresh roll. She took the empty roll and was about to throw it in the trash.
“No!” JJ said, grabbing her arm. “I want that.”
“Why do you want an empty toilet paper roll?” she asked.
“Because I’m going to make something out of it,” JJ said. His mother shrugged and handed him the brown cardboard tube. JJ turned it over in his hands. Then he brought it up to face and held one open end in front of his eye.
“Hey, I can see you,” he said to his mother. He looked around the bathroom, peeking through the toilet paper tube. “I can see the shower, and the towels, and the soap. It’s like a telescope!” JJ went back into his bedroom, spying through the empty toilet paper roll. He could see all kinds of things up close. He could see his lamp, his bed, and even his toes on the end of his feet, especially if he wiggled them. Then he looked out the window. He saw the tree right by his house, but he couldn’t see anything beyond that.
“I bet if I made my telescope longer, I could see farther away!” JJ said. He ran into his parents’ bathroom. Their roll of toilet paper was only half gone. He spun it until all the paper was in a heap on the floor.
“Mom! You need more toilet paper in your bathroom!” he yelled. Then he took the empty roll and ran downstairs. He taped the second tube to the end of the first. He held it up to his eye and peered through the hole. Now he could see the couch in the next room. He looked out the window. He could see clear to the mailbox. His toilet paper telescope worked! He could see twice as far with two empty rolls of toilet paper.
JJ didn’t want to stop there. He wanted to find out just how far he could see. He went into his older sister’s bathroom. She had a full roll of toilet paper on the holder and a second one sitting on the shelf. JJ bit his lip. He didn’t want to empty two full rolls, but it was for a good cause. He spun the first roll on the holder and carefully folded the paper into a pile. He removed the empty roll and placed the full one on the holder. Then he spun that one until it was empty and folded the paper up neatly.
“Mom! Sissy needs more toilet paper in her bathroom!” he yelled...
