8 Time to Flea

chapter 8 TIME TO FLEA An instant later, it was above them. Its claws gripped the tops of the dog hairs. Above the claws, six long legs bristled with sharp hairs. One by one, the legs slipped down to Harley's skin. Andrew and Judy ran. But one of the legs caught the belts that held them together. They were trapped! Andrew looked up. A huge armored creature towered over them. Pointy hairs stuck out all over its body. A snout hung down in front. It was a sharp, prickly snout! Above the snout were two black cannonball eyes. meep… "Flea!" Thudd said. "Flea not see Drewd and Judy. Flea not see much. But flea feel

living thing move. Flea jump on! Flea need blood to live." The flea lowered its needle-sharp snout-mouth to Harley's skin. Andrew and Judy yanked at their belts, trying to get free. Maybe the flea felt something. Instead of biting Harley it jumped! Up and up they went! Andrew had the feeling in his stomach that he got when an airplane took off.

The wind whooshed by their faces. It was scary to see how high they were! meep… "If human jump like flea, human jump six hundred feet high!" Thudd squeaked. Then they were zooming down, down, down! They could see the top of Harley's head and the furry brown hilltops of his ears. "Hold on, Andrew!" screamed Judy. "We're going to crash!" The flea landed on top of Harley's head. Andrew and Judy were jolted loose from the flea's leg. They tumbled down through the hairs to Harley's skin. A dark shadow passed over them as the flea crept along the hairs above. "Let's head for Harley's ear," said Judy. "It's high, so we can look around. And if anything nasty comes along, we can hide inside. I'll bet it's like a big cave in there." Judy and Andrew trudged through the dog hair. Suddenly Andrew felt like he was on an elevator

going up! Harley wasn't sleeping anymore. He was on the move. And so were his ears!