7 Mite-y Big Problems

chapter 7 MITE-Y BIG PROBLEMS "Nooooo!" Andrew screamed. He tumbled down Harley's eyelid and crashed into one of his eyelashes. "Are you okay?" Judy shouted down. "I think so," said Andrew. He tried to get to his feet. But he started sinking! "Help!" Andrew hollered. meep… "Deep eyelash follicle!" said Thudd. Before Andrew could do anything, he was up to his waist in an oil pit! "I'm coming!" Judy yelled. Andrew pulled Thudd out of his pocket to keep him out of the oil. With his other hand, Andrew

grabbed the edge of the follicle. But it was too slippery to get a grip. Judy climbed down Harley's eyelid and crawled to the edge of the follicle. Andrew's head was bobbing just above the oil! "Yikes!" Andrew cried. "There's something slithering around in here! It feels like this pit is full of snakes!"

meep… "Eyelash mites," Thudd said. "Eyelash mites live upside down in follicle. Eat oil and skin flakes. Humans got eyelash mites, too. See!" "I've got to get out of here before these mites think I'm a skin flake!" said Andrew. Judy grabbed Andrew's hand and tried to yank him out. She groaned. "You sure are heavy," she said. "I can pull better if I stand up. Whoops!" Judy slipped and tumbled into the follicle. "Yikes!" she yelped. "I got pinched!" meep… "Eyelash mites got claws," said Thudd. "Cousins of lobsters!"

"Do these stupid mites ever leave a follicle?" asked Judy. "Yoop," said Thudd. "When follicle too crowded, mites leave." "So let's make this follicle feel like an overstuffed school bus!" said Judy. "If a mite tries to get out, we can hitch a ride." Judy and Andrew started shoving their prickly neighbors. The mites thrashed back. "I think this mite is getting out!" said Andrew. Andrew wrapped his arms around the slippery tail of the mite next to him. It squirmed tail-first toward the top of the follicle.

"Grab on to me, Judy!" said Andrew. Judy caught hold of Andrew's belt. The eyelash mite gave another squirm and slithered out onto Harley's eyelid. Judy and Andrew flopped off the mite. It wriggled over to another follicle. "Woofers!" said Andrew. "That was awful!"

"That's the first time you've been right today" said Judy. Judy and Andrew picked up some soft skin flakes and started wiping the oil off themselves. Thudd grabbed on to Andrew's shirt and pinched his way back into Andrew's shirt pocket. "Ah… ah… ah-choof!" Judy sneezed. "It's my dog allergy." meep… "Bless oo!" said Thudd. "Oody not lergic to whole dog. Oody lergic to skin flakes and these." Thudd pointed to the scales on the hairs. Some of them had cracked off. Hair scales were floating into the air with the skin flakes. Judy looked up at Harley's head. "I've got an idea," she said. "This time, let's do what mountain climbers do." Judy took off her belt and threaded it through one of the loops on her jeans. Andrew looped his belt the same way. Then Judy buckled the ends of the two belts together.