9 Super-Duper Pooper-Scooper!

Chapter 9 SUPER-DUPER POOPER- SCOOPER! "Let's get out of here, Judy!" he said. "Now!" They scrambled out. Andrew felt something scraping the rear of his Wannabee pants. Andrew turned and squinted. Through the murk, he glimpsed one of the scariest things he had ever seen. It was a huge, dark head with wide-open jaws that looked like giant pliers. Long legs with claws

at their tips jutted from its centipede-like body. Eek! "Hellgrammite!" squeaked Thudd. "Larva of big, big fly." Andrew spied one of the skipping stones and started paddling toward it. "Let's hide under that pebble, Judy!" he said. "It's our only chance!" As they buried themselves under the pebble, the hellgrammite reared up. Its jaws stabbed at a caddis-fly larva inside its case. The hellgrammite crushed the case, dragged out the larva, and stuffed it between its twitching jaws. "How will we ever get out of here alive?" asked Judy. Andrew scratched behind one of his antennas. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a tiny cube wrapped in white paper. Blue letters on the wrapper spelled out UMBUBBLE. Andrew had invented the Umbubble as a way for Judy and him to protect themselves if they were caught in a watery environment. The umbubble had worked very well when they were flushed down the toilet.

Andrew unwrapped the cube, crammed it into his mouth, and chewed. Then he tried to blow it up like bubble gum. But it was much harder to blow the Umbubble up in water than in air. Andrew huffed and puffed. The Umbubble blew up to the size of Andrew's tiny nose. Then it blew up to the size of his little head. But Andrew couldn't get it any bigger. "Help me blow up the Umbubble, Judy," said Andrew. "Eeeeuw!" complained Judy. "I'm not putting my mouth on anything you've had in your mouth!" Andrew cocked his head. "Would you rather be a hellgrammite snack?" he asked. Judy rolled her eyes, chomped down on the Umbubble, and they both began to blow. The Umbubble started to puff up. Suddenly it was as big as a Ping-Pong ball. When Andrew and Judy stopped for a breath, it sucked them both inside! The Umbubble slowly rose up through the green pond. It passed fish and tadpoles and bristly

bugs chasing prickly bugs. I hope the Umbubble doesn't look tasty, thought Andrew. A few seconds later, they popped to the surface. The sun had disappeared behind dark, fast-moving clouds. Putt putt putt putt putt… VRRRROOOOOOM!

Through the pale blue wall of the Umbubble, Andrew could see boats on the water—toy boats. There was a tugboat, a speedboat, and a big sailboat—with a helicopter on the back deck. "People!" yelled Judy, pointing toward the shore. On the edge of the pond, four kids about Andrew's age were laughing and using remote controls to guide the boats. A boy with curly red hair was skipping stones. "If only we could get on one of those boats," said Judy. "But they're moving so fast." "Wait a minute!" said Andrew. "I still have the remote from the GNAT. It works on all kinds of things. Maybe it will work on these boats—or the helicopter!" Andrew pointed the remote at the helicopter and clicked. The rotor at the top started to turn, slowly at first, then faster and faster, till it was almost invisible. Andrew pressed the controls. The helicopter lifted off the deck of the sailboat.

"What is that?" came a voice from the edge of the pond. "It's the helicopter!" came another voice. "It took off by itself!" Andrew steered the helicopter toward the Umbubble and guided it down till it touched the water. "Do you think it's gonna sink?" said someone on the shore. Andrew and Judy punched their way out of the Umbubble and paddled to the helicopter. They climbed in through the open window. It was only mid-afternoon, but the sky was getting dark fast. Fat raindrops began to pelt the water. Water splashed into the helicopter's cabin. Using his remote, Andrew made the helicopter lift into the air. "Woofers!" he cried. They were flying! Even though it was raining hard now, the kids on the edge of the pond stood perfectly still. All eyes were on the helicopter.