10 Buzzing Off

Chapter 10 BUZZIG OFF The slice of toast paused in midair while Mrs. Scuttle took a sip of tea. Bzzzzzz… Andrew looked up to see a humongous, hairy fly dive-bombing the toast! The next thing they knew, Andrew and Judy were staring at two gigantic, glistening domes! meep… "Fly eyes!" said Thudd. Then he pointed at the fly's hairy feet. "See claw? Help fly climb. Fly got hairy foot pad. Make fly stick to slippery thing. Walk on glass! Walk on wall! Walk on ceiling! Fly taste with foot pad, too!"

A long, thick, rubbery tube uncurled from beneath the fly's eyes. meep… "Fly mouth!" said Thudd. Something watery drooled out of the tube. "Ewww!" said Judy. "What's it doing?" meep… "Fly not eat solid stuff," said Thudd. "Fly throw up on food first. Turn food to mush. Fly suck mush through tube." "EWWW!" said Judy with a shudder. "Think of that fly as our new best friend!" Andrew said. "Quick, get behind me and hang on! We're taking off!" "That's a disgusting idea!" Judy groaned. "It's less disgusting than taking a tour of Mrs. Scuttle's insides," said Andrew. Judy got behind Andrew and wrapped her arms around his chest. Andrew tied one end of the Drastic Elastic around himself and Judy. He twirled the other end of the Drastic Elastic like a lasso and swung it toward the head of the fly. It wrapped around behind the fly's gigantic eyes!

Andrew tugged sharply on the Drastic Elastic. The next instant, Andrew, Thudd, and Judy snapped to a hairy patch behind the fly's head! "A fly again!" bellowed Mrs. Scuttle. She dropped the toast, and the fly zoomed off. Andrew felt like a jet pilot! The wind pushed them into the hairs behind the fly's head. The kitchen was a dizzy blur of colors and shapes. Bzzzzzz… The fly's wings were buzzing right behind them! Mrs. Scuttle's angry voice boomed below. "Wait till I get my fly swatter!" she said. The fly zigged and zagged and roller-coastered around the room. I was getting hungry, thought Andrew, but I'm sure glad I haven't eaten anything.

Then the fly came to a jolting stop! Andrew and Judy would have flown off the fly's back if they hadn't been held on by the Drastic Elastic. The fly was upside down! "Andrew!" said Judy. "We're on the ceiling!" "Wowzers!" said Andrew. "I always wondered how flies landed upside down!" meep… "Flying fly put up front legs," said Thudd. "Front legs stick to ceiling. Then rest of

fly stick to ceiling! What happen to duck that fly upside down? Quack up! Hee hee!" Andrew sighed. "I guess you're not totally cured yet." "Eeeyaaah!" screamed Mrs. Scuttle. They looked down. Mrs. Scuttle was coming after them, waving her yellow fly swatter! "I'll get rid of these filthy beasts if it's the last thing I do!" The fly zinged off the ceiling like an arrow from a bow. A second later, they slammed to a stop. When Andrew's head stopped spinning, he saw green leaves. He was looking into Mrs. Scuttle's yard! The fly had landed on Mrs. Scuttle's screen door. Behind them, Mrs. Scuttle was swishing the fly swatter.

"Gotcha now!" yelled Mrs. Scuttle. The yellow blur of the fly swatter was coming straight at them! We didn't drown in Mrs. Scuttle's bathtub, thought Andrew, but now we could drown in squished-up fly juice! The fly zig-zagged across the screen door. It was heading for a hole in the screen! The fly folded its wings and squeezed through the hole! The next second, they were flying at top speed through Mrs. Scuttle's garden! I wonder if I have any Bug-Goo with me, thought Andrew. If I do, I sure hope it's not leaking….