4 No Laughing Matter

Chapter 4 NO LAUGHING MATTER "Cheese Louise!" said Judy. "Just when we need Uncle Al, he's not there!" Andrew tightened his grip on the peppermint- stick insect. "For now, I guess we should stick with this bug," he said. "At least it's got a way to defend itself, and us too." As the stick insect climbed higher, the tree trunk became a forest. Mosses grew in velvety green patches and hung in gray strands. Fern fronds leaned over Andrew and Judy like lacy green umbrellas.

As they passed dark holes in the tree trunk, Andrew heard noises—scratching, tapping, hissing. Andrew imagined what was living deep inside the tree. He shivered. Ha! Ha! Ha! Hee! Hee! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! came a sound like a wild party from the treetops. meep… "Laughing kookaburra bird!" said Thudd, pointing way above. A bird the size of a seagull landed on a branch nearby. "Jumping gerbils!" said Andrew. "It looks as big as a pterodactyl!" Then another kookaburra flew down, and then another. "I'll bet they're looking for bugs," said Judy. The peppermint-stick insect scuttled onto a branch and was scurrying around a mountain of brown fur. Ha! Ha! Ha! Hee! Hee! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Andrew turned to see the kookaburras swooping toward them. Hope this bug has a lot of peppermint spray left, thought Andrew. The fur mountain next to them shook. In an instant, it unfolded itself into a black-faced, sharp- clawed creature that towered over them like King Kong!

"Yaaaaah!" hollered Judy. "Uh-oh," Andrew gulped. meep… "Tree kangaroo!" squeaked Thudd. "Kinda kangaroo that always live in trees. Tree kangaroo leap far, far, far! Leap from tree to tree." The tree kangaroo crouched down, then sprang through the leaves.

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! The kookaburras scattered. The tree kangaroo's jump made the branch dip low, then spring up high and hard. It's like I'm on a bucking bronco! thought Andrew, trying to hang on to the bug. But the branch bounced into a dangling vine that scraped Andrew and Judy off the stick insect. They were falling through the branches of the tree! "Yaaaargh!" hollered Andrew. "Yiiiiiikes!" screamed Judy. "Oof!" shouted Andrew, landing on a leaf lower down in the tree. "Uuuuuck!" came a muffled screech from below. It was Judy. It sounded like she was inside a bottle. "Get me outta here!" Andrew peered over the edge of the leaf, but he couldn't see Judy. "Where are you?" hollered Andrew.

"Here!" shouted Judy. A hand shot out of a hole in a giant white lump on a tree branch below. The lump was covered with long, sharp thorns taller than Andrew. "Erk!" yelled Judy. "Hurry up, Bug-Brain! A monster ant is trying to bite off my leg!"