Professor Bumble was widely known across Maplewood Elementary as the world’s most brilliant, forgetful, spectacularly clumsy inventor. He could build a solar-powered sandwich maker and a self-walking backpack, yet he could not remember where he left his shoes—which were usually on his feet.
One Tuesday morning, Professor Bumble arrived to teach his favorite subject: math with a dash of chaos. Today, he brought a brand-new invention—the Curious Calculator 3000, a small cube with glowing buttons and a tiny screen that looked suspiciously judgmental.
“Today,” Bumble announced, tripping over absolutely nothing, “we will learn how math helps us solve real-world problems!”
The class stared. The cube blinked. A soft electronic voice chimed, “Ready to calculate… or cause mild confusion!”
Bumble cleared his throat. “Let’s begin with multiplication. Suppose we have three boxes, each containing four cookies. How many cookies do we have in total?”
Before any student could answer, the Curious Calculator beeped, “Forty-two!”
Professor Bumble frowned. “Forty-two? No, no, that’s not right.”
“I’m sorry,” the calculator replied. “I panicked.”
Giggles erupted across the classroom.
Trying again, Bumble typed the equation. The calculator hummed, sparked, and proudly displayed, “Twelve cookies—unless someone eats one. Then eleven. But who am I to judge?”
“See,” Bumble said, “math helps us plan! If we know how many cookies we have, we can fairly share them. And absolutely no one should secretly eat one.” He stared suspiciously at the cube.
Next, Bumble moved to division. “If we have twelve cookies and four hungry students, each gets—”
The calculator blurted, “Two and a half!”
“That’s impossible,” Bumble sighed. “You cannot divide cookies into half unless you make crumbs everywhere.”
The cube vibrated indignantly. “I like crumbs.”
As if to prove its point, it began dispensing crumbs from an unknown internal compartment. Students laughed so hard they nearly fell out of their chairs.
At this moment, Principal Peabody entered, dodging a flying crumb. “Professor Bumble! What is happening?”
“Education!” Bumble declared proudly. “The hands-on kind!”
The principal eyed the calculator as it whirred, clicked, and announced, “Now performing advanced dance mode!” It began hopping across the desk like a caffeinated toaster.
“Professor Bumble,” Principal Peabody whispered through clenched teeth, “you and I need to discuss appropriate classroom tools.”
“Of course!” Bumble agreed as the calculator spun in circles. “But first, observe the practical lesson: when technology misbehaves, humans must problem-solve!”
He lunged at the cube. The cube dodged expertly.
Finally, a clever student named Mia grabbed a large plastic bin and dropped it over the Curious Calculator. The cube clunked in defeat. “Error. Error. Existential crisis beginning.”
Professor Bumble turned to the class. “And that, students, is teamwork!”
The class applauded. The principal sighed. The bin wobbled.
And from underneath it, a muffled voice muttered, “Forty-two.”
