Carly's Special Freckles

It was Carly’s first day of school. She was excited to be in first grade. She wore a striped skirt and a pink sweater.

During recess, Carly jumped rope with all of the other girls. She jumped up and down, fast and slow. Her friends said she was the best jumper in first grade!

At lunchtime, a boy pointed at Carly and laughed.

“Hey, jumping bean!” he said. “You’ve got funny spots all over your face! We should call you Polka Dots.”

Several other kids giggled, too.

Carly ran to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. She counted twenty-seven spots on her face. They dotted her nose and cheeks.

She wet her hands and scrubbed and scrubbed. Her face turned red from all the scrubbing. “Now I have red dots and a red face,” Carly said. She was feeling sad.