6. Bradley’s Monster Trap

Chapter 6 Bradley's Monster Trap "What's wrong?" Brian, Nate, and Lucy shouted. They all ran into the garden. "LOOK!" Bradley said. He held up a strawberry. Something had taken a chunk out of it. "I know this one was perfect when we went in the house. I picked all the ones that had been bitten!" "I guess the mystery creature was snacking on this while we were snacking on cookies," Brian said. "Mr. Scarecrow isn't scary enough," Lucy said.

"What do we do now?" Nate asked. "We get smart!" Bradley said. He ran into the house and came back with the J encyclopedia book. He turned to the jungle section and flipped pages. "Um, what are you doing, bro?" Brian asked. "We need to set a trap!" Bradley said. He showed them a picture of some people digging a hole in the ground. Another picture showed them covering the hole with branches and big leaves. A third picture showed a large animal falling into the hole while the people hid and watched. The last picture showed the people cooking the animal over a fire. "We're gonna catch a water buffalo and eat him?" Nate asked. "No, silly, we'll dig a smaller hole," Bradley said. "When we catch the creature, we'll take him out to the woods and let him go." Lucy looked at the fence around the garden. "I still don't know how it got in here," she said. "Maybe it's invisible!" Nate whispered. "He could be standing next to us right now, licking his

lips! His fangs are long and shiny, his claws are sharp, and he's watching us!" "And you're watching too much TV," Lucy said. "Bradley, we need a shovel." "I'll get one," Brian said, and ran toward the barn door. "Nate, can you find some thin branches or weeds to cover the hole?" Bradley asked. "Back in a flash!" Nate said as he took off. "Where should we dig the trap?" Brian asked when he returned with the shovel. "Near the strawberries," Bradley said. "I'll dig first." They all took turns digging in the soft garden soil. Soon the hole was round and deep. Nate brought back a bunch of thin branches and weed stalks. The kids placed them across the hole carefully. Then Bradley sprinkled some garden mulch over the branches.

"It looks just like the rest of the ground," Lucy said. "I wonder what we'll catch," Nate said. "Whatever is eating the strawberries will never know there's a deep hole under there," Bradley said. "Mom and Dad won't know there's a hole, either," Brian said. "If they step in it, they won't

be very happy." "You're right," Bradley said. "So we'll leave a note. Humans will know it's a trap, but…" "THE MYSTERY CREATURE CAN'T READ!" the other kids yelled. They all did a quadruple high five in the garden. Bradley wrote a note and left it on a stick next to the trap. The note said: DANGER! ANIMAL TRAP. DO NOT WALK HERE! He set a fat, ripe strawberry in the middle of the trap. "Let's wait in the barn," Brian said. The air in the barn was much cooler than outside in the sun. The floor was swept clean, and the workbench was neat. Bradley set his encyclopedia on the bench. Polly the pony let out a loud whinny from her stall. "She looks lonely," Lucy said. She ran over to pet the pony. "And dirty!" Nate said. "Look at her coat!" "It got real dusty in here when Josh and the guys were sweeping," Bradley said. "The dust blew all over poor Polly!"

"Let's wash her," Brian said. He went to the barn wall and turned on the spigot. Bradley picked up the hose and sprayed Polly's coat. "There's some pony shampoo and brushes on the shelf," Brian told Nate and Lucy. Soon Polly's coat was covered with shampoo suds. The kids washed her whole body, even her tail and mane and hooves. Then Bradley rinsed her off. "Let's take her out in the sun," he said. Bradley led Polly out of the barn. She shook her head, wetting them all with water flying off her mane. Brian brought a stack of old towels, and the kids wiped Polly until her coat gleamed. While Bradley was drying Polly's back legs, he glanced into the garden. He looked at his trap, but