2 Bear-ly There

Chapter 2 BEAR-LY THERE Andrew landed next to Judy. He landed on something squishy! It was a transparent blob. And it was squirming! As far as Andrew could see, blobs and globs were wriggling over chunks of damp brown dirt! There were blobs that looked like hairy party balloons with mouths! There were globs shaped like rubbery pancakes that folded and flopped along. Wormy things wiggled over the others. meep… "Lotsa little guys live in dirt," said Thudd. "Billions! Eat germs and dead stuff. Recycle stuff. Make food for plants!"

"Look at this one!" said Andrew. He pointed to something shaped like a hairy basketball with a mouth. It was as clear as a plastic sandwich bag. In the middle, there was a much smaller, pillow- shaped creature tumbling around. Judy's eyes got wide. "I think this guy's lunch is still alive!" As Andrew bent over to get a better look, something whacked him from behind. "Oofers!" Andrew yelled. "Eeeek!" screamed Thudd. A black tentacle, long and fat and gummy, whipped around Andrew's chest. Parts of the tentacle puffed up like beach balls! The tentacle got tighter and tighter. Andrew could hardly breathe! THWUNK! Suddenly the tentacle started to go squishy! Thick yellow goo oozed out all over Andrew! The tentacle let go.

"Woofers!" said Andrew, catching his breath. He turned around. Judy wagged her ballpoint pen in front of Andrew's face. It was dripping with tentacle goo. "You owe me big-time, Bug-Brain," she said. "I just saved your annoying life!"

"Thudd, are you okay?" asked Andrew, reaching into his pocket. meep… "Okey-dokey!" said Thudd as Andrew wiped goo off of him. "Drewd caught by noose fungus! Noose fungus catch tiny worms. Squash 'em! Eat 'em!" Judy shook her head as she cleaned off her pen. "Fungus, shmungus. The only good fungus is a mushroom on a pizza." Just then, Thudd's antennas started to wag. Thudd pointed to a bushy clump of moss under the giant leaf. meep… "Want to go there, please!" he squeaked. "Okay, Thudd," said Andrew, surprised. He had never seen Thudd so excited. Andrew started toward the moss. "Hey, wait a minute!" said Judy. "Before we do anything else, we need a plan. We've got to get to the helicopter." Judy's parents kept a helicopter for their adventure-travel business. The helicopter got

shrunk when Andrew and Judy did. Judy was sure she could fly it back to the Atom Sucker—if they could find it. Judy tugged at a grain of pollen tangled in her hair. "I'm pretty sure it's stuck inside Harley's ear," she said. "The problem is, how do we get there?" Thudd's antennas waggled toward the moss. meep… "Think better over there," Thudd said. Judy groaned. "Oh, all right!" They hiked toward the moss. Every speck of dirt was as big as a boulder and covered with squirmy things. When they got closer to the moss, they could see drops of water caught between the dark green leaves. meep… "There!" said Thudd, pointing to a water drop. Thudd pinched his way up Andrew's shirt and crept onto his shoulder.

Andrew looked into the drop. It was like looking into a huge fishbowl. There was something moving inside! It looked like a chubby bear with eight legs and no hair. It was bigger than Andrew. It paddled toward the front of the water drop. meep… "Want pet, please!" said Thudd. "What is it?" asked Judy. meep… "Water bear!" said Thudd. "Water bear special! If moss get dry, water bear dry up, too. Not eat. Not drink. Can live for hundred years! Come back to life when moss get wet again. Good pet. Not need litter box! Want to take Spot home, please!"