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This is Jack. Today Jack is in a moochy mood. When he is in a moochy mood, Jack likes to play all by himself. Jack is playing with his Lego. He has built an enormous castle with a moat. Now he must save all the people in the castle from the

fierce dragon. Jack’s dad knocks on the door. ‘Hey, Jack,’ he says. ‘Don’t forget that your cousins are coming over today. You had better get dressed!’ Jack sits up. His cousins? Oh no! He had forgotten! Jack has the noisiest, messiest cousins in the whole world. He is definitely not in the mood for his cousins today.

Jack frowns. ‘Do they have to come?’ he asks his dad. ‘Last time David broke my remote-control car. Stella drew on my maths book. And Ivy picked all Mum’s flowers!’

Jack’s dad smiles. ‘They’re your cousins, Jack.’ ‘And we don’t see them often,’ his dad adds. ‘You’ll have to try to get along. Why don’t you invite Billie over, too?’ Billie is Jack’s best friend. She lives next door. ‘Good idea,’ says Jack. He pulls on some clothes and runs downstairs. But then he remembers. Billie said she was going to play at Rebecca’s house today. Oh no! Three annoying cousins and no best friend. What a disaster.

Jack’s tummy begins to jump about like a frog. Soon it starts to hurt. Jack creeps upstairs and crawls into bed. He pulls the blanket up over his head. All he wanted was a quiet, moochy day. Now the noisiest, craziest cousins ever are on their way over. Jack lies in bed and imagines all the terrible things they will get up to this time.

Soon, Jack’s dad knocks on the door. ‘Jack?’ he calls softly. ‘Come on. Your cousins have arrived!’ ‘Tell them I’m not here,’ Jack says from under the blanket. Jack’s dad comes into the room. He sits down on the end of the bed. ‘They’re here to see you, Jack,’ he says. Jack sighs. Then he kicks off the blanket and follows his dad downstairs. In the kitchen, Jack’s uncle and aunt are talking with his mum. Suddenly they hear a scream. Everyone looks outside. David is chasing Stella and Ivy with a stick. ‘David!’ calls Jack’s Uncle Bob.