--- title: "Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery" description: "Professor Penelope Picklebottom thinks she knows everything about Topsy-Turvy School until a wrong turn leads her into hallways where nothing makes sense. Generous classmates help her learn that asking questions is better than pretending to know all the answers." tags: ["Funny Stories", "curiosity", "kindergarteners", "early-readers", "funny", "talking-animals", "read-aloud", "rainy-day", "Professor", "SchoolStories", "Curiosity", "ChildrenStory", "BedtimeStory"] language: en source: "Stories for Kids" url: https://www.stories4kids.net/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery/ --- # Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery _Learning to Ask Together_ Professor Penelope Picklebottom thinks she knows everything about Topsy-Turvy School until a wrong turn leads her into hallways where nothing makes sense. Generous classmates help her learn that asking questions is better than pretending to know all the answers. Category: Funny Stories Topics: Funny Stories, Curiosity, Kindergarteners, Early Readers, Funny, Talking Animals, Read Aloud, Rainy Day, Professor, School Stories, Curiosity, Children Story, Bedtime Story ## Story Professor Penelope Picklebottom knew *everything* about Topsy-Turvy School. At least, that is what she told everyone. Every morning, like clockwork, she marched through the crooked hallways with her clipboard, her chin pointed skyward. She corrected the janitor's backward mopping technique. She informed the lunch lady that soup belonged in bowls, not teacups. She even told Principal Mumblejumble that his office was tilted three degrees too far left. - You are doing it wrong, she would announce, tapping her pencil. - I know the *proper* way. The other students would groan and walk on the walls to avoid her. Penelope did not notice. She was too busy being right about everything. ![Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery - Penelope strutting confidently with clipboard past eye-rolling students](../../../assets/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery-1.jpg) *Penelope strutting confidently with clipboard past eye-rolling students.* On Tuesday, Penelope decided to take a shortcut to science class. She had walked past the Upside-Down Staircase a hundred times and was *absolutely certain* she knew which door led to Mr. Fizzlebang's lab. - This way is much faster, she declared to nobody in particular. She pushed through the purple polka-dotted door instead of the usual green one. WHOOOOOOSH! The door swallowed her like a hungry vacuum cleaner. Penelope tumbled down a chute that twisted left, then right, then inside-out. Her clipboard flew from her hands. Her glasses spun on her nose. She landed with a soft *poof* in a hallway she had never seen before. The lockers wore tiny hats. The water fountain burped rainbow bubbles. A clock ran counterclockwise while humming opera. Even the floor felt wrong. Was she standing on the ceiling? Penelope's heart thumped like a rabbit's foot. - No problem, she announced to the empty hallway, her voice wobbling slightly. - I know *exactly* where I am. Science class is that way! She marched confidently down the corridor, trying to ignore how her shoes squeaked on the ceiling-floor. ![Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery - Penelope landing confused in bizarre hallway with singing clocks](../../../assets/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery-2.jpg) *Penelope landing confused in bizarre hallway with singing clocks.* Three turns later, she stood in the cafeteria. But it was completely upside-down. Students ate lunch while dangling from chairs bolted to the ceiling. Meatballs rolled upward. Milk poured into cups from below. Penelope's stomach did a somersault. - Excuse me, squeaked a voice. A tiny first-grader named Wendell hung nearby, clutching his tray with both hands. His peanut butter sandwich was wobbling away. - Could you help me catch my- *WHOOPS!* The sandwich launched toward the sky-floor like a rocket. Wendell looked at Penelope with hopeful eyes. Penelope opened her mouth to give advice. Then closed it. She had absolutely no idea how upside-down cafeterias worked. Her cheeks burned hot. - Um, she said quietly. - I do not actually know how to help you. A sixth-grader reached up-down and guided Wendell back to his seat. Penelope hurried away, her confidence crumbling like stale cookies. She tried another hallway. This one had doors that opened into other doors that opened into windows. She spotted a teacher she recognized, Ms. Zigzag, who taught sideways mathematics. - Ms. Zigzag! Penelope called, relief flooding through her. - Which way to science class? Ms. Zigzag was walking on her hands, her feet waving cheerfully in the air. - Depends, dear. Are you going forward or backward today? - Forward! Obviously! - Then you will want to go backward, Ms. Zigzag said brightly, pointing with her toe behind Penelope. Penelope's head spun like a dizzy top. Nothing made sense. The hallways twisted like pretzels. Every door looked identical. Her clipboard was gone, and without it, she felt completely turned around. Actually turned around. Not temporarily confused. *Turned around.* The word tasted new and strange in her mouth. Her throat felt tight. Her eyes stung. ![Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery - Penelope looking small and worried in twisting hallways](../../../assets/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery-3.jpg) *Penelope looking small and worried in twisting hallways.* She turned backward-forward-sideways and somehow ended up in the library, where books read themselves out loud and shushed the students. A group of kids huddled around a floating globe that changed colors. - Turned around? asked a girl named Maple, who was standing on the ceiling, her braids defying gravity. Every bone in Penelope's body wanted to say - no. - I am *not* turned around, she said, but her voice cracked. - I am temporarily misplaced. She could not finish. Because it was not true. Maple floated down and stood right-side-up beside her. - It is okay. Everyone gets turned around here. Even me, and I have been going to this school for three years. - Really? Penelope whispered. - Really. Want to see our map? The map was bonkers. It changed every three seconds. Roads became rivers. Classrooms swapped places. The gym appeared in seventeen different spots at once, like a game of musical chairs. - How do you use this? Penelope asked, her know-it-all voice completely gone. - We do not, said Maple. - We ask questions instead. Like: Has anyone seen the library? Or: Does music class meet in the basement on Tuesdays? A boy named Jasper nodded. - And then people share what they know. Or what they *think* they know. And we figure it out together. - But wait. Penelope's voice came out small and confused. - What if nobody knows the answer? - Then we explore until we find it, Maple said, grinning. - That is the best part. You discover all sorts of ridiculous things. Penelope thought about Wendell's flying sandwich. About Ms. Zigzag's backwards directions. About all the times she had been so absolutely certain she was right. About how tiring it felt to always have to know everything. Penelope took a slow breath. The words felt like jumping off a diving board. - I do not know where science class is. ![Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery - Penelope admitting she is turned around to smiling Maple](../../../assets/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery-4.jpg) *Penelope admitting she is turned around to smiling Maple.* Maple's whole face lit up like a firefly. - I do not either! But Jasper might. And if he does not, we can explore together until we find it! - I love exploring, Jasper said. - Last week I found a classroom full of singing frogs. Three more students joined them, eager and excited. None knew exactly where science class was, but everyone had ideas. They became a team of curious adventurers. They tried the singing staircase (wrong, but absolutely delightful; the steps hummed different notes). They checked behind the mirror hallway (nope, only infinite reflections of themselves making silly faces). They asked the janitor, who was mopping the ceiling while whistling. - Science? Try the door that smells like burnt popcorn and sounds like fizzing soda! Sure enough, the orange door *did* smell like burnt popcorn. And when Penelope pressed her ear against it, she heard bubbling and crackling. - I think this is it! she said. - Should we check? asked Maple. - Together, Penelope said, and smiled. They opened the door. Behind it, Mr. Fizzlebang's lab bubbled and sparked with colorful experiments. - Ah, Miss Picklebottom! And friends! You are right on time! Mr. Fizzlebang exclaimed, his wild hair standing on end. - Today we are learning about the scientific method: asking questions we do not know the answers to! Penelope looked at Maple, Jasper, and the others. They had helped her find her way by admitting they did not know everything. By being curious together. By being generous with their time and ideas. Then Penelope understood. Being turned around was not about not knowing. It was about being curious enough to ask, brave enough to explore, and kind enough to help each other discover answers together. ![Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery - Group opening door together to bubbly science lab](../../../assets/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery-5.jpg) *Group opening door together to bubbly science lab.* That afternoon, Penelope walked through the familiar crooked hallways of Topsy-Turvy School. But everything looked different now. Instead of problems to correct, she saw mysteries to explore. Instead of her clipboard, she carried questions. When she saw Wendell struggling with his math homework, she did not tell him the answer. - I am not sure about that one either, she said, sitting beside him. - Want to figure it out together? Wendell's worried face broke into a sunshine smile. - Really? You do not know? - Nope, Penelope said cheerfully. - But I would love to learn. They worked side by side, trying different solutions, making mistakes, laughing when numbers did absurd things. When they finally solved it, they high-fived so hard their hands stung. The next morning, Penelope arrived at school early. The Upside-Down Staircase looked different somehow, full of possibility instead of problems to fix. Full of friends instead of people to correct. - Good morning! called Maple from the ceiling, waving wildly. - Good morning! Penelope called back, waving with equal enthusiasm. - I am wondering, do you know if the art room is on the second floor or the third? - No idea, Maple laughed, flipping down to stand beside her. - But I heard it smells like crayons and sounds like tap dancing. Let us go find out! - Let us! said Penelope. And together, asking questions and sharing ideas and helping each other along the way, they did. ![Professor Picklebottom's Topsy-Turvy Discovery - Penelope and friends exploring joyfully through topsy-turvy hallways](../../../assets/stories/funny-stories/professor-picklebottom-s-topsy-turvy-discovery-6.jpg) *Penelope and friends exploring joyfully through topsy-turvy hallways.*