The Twenty-One Balloons
by William Pene du Bois
After forty years of teaching math, Professor Sherman never wants
to set foot in a classroom again. So he does what any retired teacher does, he travels. He
decides to see the worldby hot air balloon. It's a wonderful trip, using a fishing
pole with a very long line he washes his clothes and dishes in the ocean. But then the
professor crashes on an island where his every wish is granted except his freedom.