2 Ssssssss keekeekee keekeekee

Chapter 2 SSSSSSSS… KEEKEEKEE KEEKEEKEE "Yaaaargh!" hollered Andrew, tumbling down and down. He waved his hands, frantically trying to grab a leaf or a vine. Finally, he snagged something with his right hand. "Wowzers schnauzers!" cried Andrew. He was clutching a tall blade of grass. The forest floor was inches below. But he was dangling above something strange. It looked like a red-and-white tub covered with hairs. It was so big that beetle-sized Andrew could have taken a bath in it.

"Holy moly!" said Andrew. "What's that?" meep… "Pitcher plant!" said Thudd. "Pitcher plant carnivorous. Eat meat. "Got special juice at bottom of pitcher. Juice digest bug meat that fall inside plant. Like stomach digest pizza inside Drewd." "Jumping gerbils!" said Andrew. "A meat- eating plant, and I'm meat!" He began walking his hands along the blade of grass to get away from the pitcher plant. Suddenly the blade bent. Andrew dipped lower. One of Andrew's legs slipped inside the pitcher! Uh-oh, thought Andrew. He tried to pull his leg out, but the inside of the pitcher was too smooth and slippery. Andrew was sweating. The screeching, cackling jungle noises made it hard to think. With his free leg, Andrew gave a mighty push against the outside of the pitcher plant. He got his other leg out! "Whew!" he sighed, still dangling from the grass. His ears picked up a new sound nearby.

Ssssssss… keekeekee… keekeekee… On the ground beside the pitcher plant, two gigantic black beetles were creeping toward each other. They were hissing and clicking. At the front of each beetle's head was a curved horn as long as the rest of its body. "Holy moly!" whispered Andrew. "Those guys look as big as trucks!" meep… "Rhinoceros beetles!" said Thudd. Now the beetles' enormous horns were almost touching. They stopped. They stamped their clawed feet and wagged their armored heads.

One beetle charged the other. They locked horns under Andrew's blade of grass. They shook their giant heads from side to side. The bigger beetle flipped the smaller one on its back. The feet of the smaller beetle clawed at the bigger beetle's head. meep… "Male rhinoceros beetles fight to get mate," said Thudd. "Horn strong, strong, strong! Can cut off head of other rhinoceros beetle!" "Watch out below!" came a yell from above. Andrew looked up to see Judy tumbling through the air. "Ooomph!" Judy landed on a taller blade of grass right next to Andrew. Her feet smacked the top of Andrew's head. "Youch!" he hollered. His stem bent lower. His feet clunked against the horn of the bigger beetle! Ssssssssss… hissed the beetle. It reared up on its back legs. Its front legs clawed the air. The tip of its terrible horn touched Andrew's nose! "YAAAAARGH!" screamed Andrew.

"Andrew!" shouted Judy. "There's a bright green twig sticking out from the tree trunk behind you. Grab it!" Andrew swung himself toward the tree. He spotted the twig and wrapped his legs quickly around it. "Make room for me," yelled Judy, swinging herself at the twig. She slammed into it and scrambled on behind Andrew. "Now climb a little way up the tree trunk," said Judy. "Before we fall into the middle of this stupid beetle battle. Then we've got to call Uncle Al again." Andrew felt a jolt. "Um, maybe we don't have to climb up the tree trunk," said Andrew. "This twig is climbing."