Derek is so excited! Today is Show and Tell at school and boy does he have a show to tell!  Well, he can't exactly bring the show to school, and, because nobody would believe him unless they could see it for themselves, he will bring the next best thing - a picture!  Bu, shh, it's a secret until his turn in class.

"Derek, time to get up for school," his mom said from his bedroom doorway.

"Okay Mom," Derek replies.

Derek gets out of bed and gets dressed.  He then goes to the kitchen, where his mom is making breakfast for him, and his sister, Sally,  is finishing her breakfast.

His Mom asks, "Are you ready for Show & Tell today at school Derek?"

"Yes," he says. "I have a great Show & Tell today. Nobody is gonna believe it!"

"What are you showing and telling about?" His mom asks.

"The picture you took last month," replies Derek.

"Oh, that's a good one!" His mom exclaims.

Derek and his sister finish breakfast, then they go to brush their teeth and hair, and finish getting ready for school.

After Derek's mom drops him & Sally off at school, he sees his two best friends, Matt and Jack, walking down the hall.

Matt asks, "Whatcha to for Show & Tell?"

"It's a secret until Show & Tell," says Derek.

Jack says, "Aww, come on, tell us.  I brought my most favorite toy, my Megatron Transformer."

"I brought my lucky soccer ball," says Matt. "I always get the goal with this ball, I never miss."

But, Derek stays quiet. He knows it's a good one.

When they boys get to their classroom, they see their teacher, Miss Newman, standing in the door.

"Good Morning boys, are you ready for Show & Tell today?" Miss Newman asked.

"Yes!" Derek, Matt, and Jack all reply at the same time.

"Okay, go ahead and take your seats, class will begin in a few minutes," she says.

Later that day, right after lunch, Miss Newman says it's time tor Show & Tell.

Derek waits his turn. He is so excited, he can't wait to tell his friends his news and show them the picture.

But, he won't tell them everything - at least not yet.

Then, it's Derek's turn

See, one day last winter when it was really, really cold is when it happened.

Derek and his sister, Sally and their parents came home to a very unusual sight.

Never seen before, and, Derek was sure, never to be seen again.

This is how it happened.It was a very cold and rainy winter night.  They turned off the main highway onto their driveway. Since their driveway is a very steep and winding driveway, Derek's dad was driving so very slowly, trying to avoid the pot holes and huge rocks that lined both sides of the dirt and mud driveway. This seemed to go on forever since their driveway is almost a mile long. At least that's what Derek heard his Dad tell his Aunt Dolly not too long ago.

And going this slow, a mile sure does seem like a long way.  Derek's Dad said he had to go extra slow tonight because of the rain and the cold. That maybe, because of the cold and rainy weather there might be some ice on the driveway and they might slide into the woods.

They lived so far back in the woods that Derek's Dad had put in motion sensor lights all along the driveway to light the way.  And they sure helped too.  Like tonight, they lit up as Derek and his family went down the long driveway.  Down, down they went, passing Pine, Oak and Sweet Gum trees on both sides, around the curve, then up a small hill, then down again, and over the small bridge that was just a grate over a ditch really.  They kept going, down and up again, around and down again, staying between the thick trees and bushes that lined this long, long, long, winding driveway.

And, just when you thought you would never get there at all, you go around a last curve, and WHAM, just like that, all those trees and bushes just moved away and you saw Derek's house.

But, tonight Derek, his Mom, Dad & sister Sally got a surprise!

When the headlights from the car lit up the doghouse, there were 10 pairs of eyes looking out at them!

Derek, his sister and their parents couldn't believe what they were seeing!

His mom got out of the car and took a picture with her phone while the lights were still shining on the doghouse.

They were all amazed at what they saw, and Derek couldn't wait to take the picture to Show & Tell.

What did they see?

They saw:  2 dogs, 3 cats, a rooster, 3 hens and a rabbit all looking at them from the inside of the doghouse.  All snug as a bug in a rug, keeping each other warm on this cold, rainy night.