The Pet Goat

"The Pet Goat" (often erroneously called "My Pet Goat") is a children's story and classroom reading exercise written by American educationalist Siegfried Engelmann. It was published in a 1994 basal reader. The story, about a girl's pet goat who has a habit of eating objects, is designed to teach students about words with the letter E.

The story is notable for being read by U.S. president George W. Bush at a school in Florida during the September 11 attacks (9/11) in 2001. While he read it, and listened to a classroom of children read it aloud, he was discreetly informed of the crash of United Airlines Flight 175 in New York City—which confirmed that the prior crash of American Airlines Flight 11 there was deliberate. Bush quietly waited seven minutes for the students to finish before responding to the unfolding crisis. His wait has gained notoriety in the retrospective assessment of his response to 9/11.