Hallie’s Horrible Handwriting

Flutter By, Butterflies!

The next day, Hallie feels very sad. She’s sure she disappointed Miss Sparks. But when she walks through the doors, Miss Sparks is smiling. Hallie looks at her desk, and she sees there’s a butterfly sitting there. Miss Sparks shrugs, and says she doesn’t know where it came from.

Hallie steps closer. It isn’t a real butterfly, it’s made of paper. It’s attached to a pencil. When Hallie lifts the pencil, the butterfly’s wings open up. Interested to give the pencil a shot, she begins to write her name: Hallie.

Well, her name doesn’t look so bad. As the day goes on, she learns she doesn’t mind handwriting so much. She still has to erase a lot, but she doesn’t mind that either. She likes the way the wings flutter when she erases.

The next day, Hallie finds two sheets of paper on her desk. One has a butterfly border. The other has a ladybug border and it says “Keep trying, Hallie!”

The day after, Hallie finds a note in her pocket that says “Your letters will get better.” She loves the secret surprises. They’re like gifts good fairies might leave, and it cheers her up to have such kind friends in her class.

Then, she notices the writing on the notes isn’t perfect, so maybe she isn’t the only one struggling with their handwriting. She decides she’ll take the paper and pencil home so she can practice writing her name even more.

A few weeks later, the children are preparing for the butterflies to emerge. They need to make a goodbye card to sign for when they set the butterflies free. Maybe Hallie should make the card. Hallie’s surprised when the whole class agrees Hallie is the right person for the job. However, she says she’ll do it.

Hallie has to work very hard on the card. She has to erase and start over again many times. Even so, the letters aren’t perfect. But then she has an idea. When a letter droops below the line, she draws a little butterfly on it, as if the butterfly is weighing it down. When a letter rises above the line, she draws a butterfly on top, as if it’s lifting it up.

Soon, her card is ready, and the butterflies are ready to be set free. Hallie even wore her butterfly wings special for the release, so she’ll be ready, too. Everybody signs the back of Hallie’s card. When Miss Sparks opens the box, the butterflies fly up into the air. All the children watch in awe as the butterflies look like fairies dancing across the sky.

Miss Sparks points out how the butterflies don’t fly in a straight line, and some of them fall a little and have to pull themselves up again. It may take them a while, but eventually, they’ll all get to where they want to be. Hallie’s handwriting will get there, too. She looks back at her goodbye card. She likes the way the message looks, looping and swooping, just like the free butterflies.