3 Bug-Goo, Where Are You

Chapter 3 BUG-GOO, WHERE ARE YOU? The monster's green legs seemed to go up forever. Way, way up, its front legs were folded. At the top, its head was the shape of an upside- down triangle. Huge green eyes seemed to be staring down at them. "It looks like those pictures of aliens," whispered Judy. meep… "Praying mantis!" squeaked Thudd. "Praying mantis eat bugs. Even eat lizard!" The mantis slowly raised a rear leg. Judy shivered. "We're not big enough for a praying mantis snack," she said. "But it could

stomp us like a Tyrannosaurus." "If only I had some Bug-Goo," said Andrew, digging through his shirt pockets. "Bug-Goo!" said Judy. "Sounds like one of your stupid inventions. It better be bug repellent!" Andrew looked away. "Um, actually, it smells like pizza to bugs," he said. "They'll come from miles away to get it." "Super nutso!" said Judy. "You want the praying mantis to come and get us?" Andrew unzipped a pocket on the leg of his shorts. Nothing was there. But at the back of that pocket was another pocket. Andrew felt a little lump. He pulled out a tiny plastic squirt bottle. "Watch this," said Andrew. He flipped the lid off the bottle and aimed behind the praying mantis. He gave a quick squeeze. One gloppy green drop of Bug-Goo squirted out toward the shadowy leaves.

The mantis wagged its head. Its praying legs twitched. Then it turned and lurched toward the Bug-Goo! "Look!" said Andrew. Overhead, flies and bees and mosquitoes were zooming toward the Bug-Goo. Shiny brown

beetles hopped off leaves and trudged toward the Bug-Goo, too. Besides the buzzing of the bugs, there was another sound. It was coming from Judy's yard. KAPOCKET… kapocket kapocket KAPOCKETA It got louder. POCKETA… POCKETA POCKETA "What's that weird noise?" asked Judy. "Uh-oh," said Andrew. Judy glared at Andrew. "'Uh-oh' is not a good answer," she said. "It could be the Atom Sucker," said Andrew. "Um, it might mean it's getting kind of hot." Kraaaack! The screen door slammed. Mrs. Scuttle's giant feet clomped toward them in flip-flops. Andrew and Judy looked up to see Mrs. Scuttle towing a bunch of colored balloons. A white banner trailed from her hand.

She went over to the fence and tied the balloons to it. She hung the banner between two trees. Big red letters said: HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY BOOT-A-PEST. "Boot-a-Pest" was the name of Mrs. Scuttle's business. Boot-a-Pest got rid of bugs and anything else people didn't want living in their houses. Mrs. Scuttle stepped back to take a look at her decorations. "Lovely!" she said. "This has been a terrible day, but I shall have a perfect garden party." She turned around and clomped back toward the kitchen door. One of her flip-flops almost flapped onto Andrew and Judy and Thudd! Judy pointed to a leaf farther away from the path. "Let's climb onto that leaf before Mrs. Scuttle stomps us." To get to the leaf, they had to climb over chunks of dirt the size of doghouses. Dirt creatures tried to suck their feet. And the ground was a junkyard of other weird stuff. Andrew stopped in front of something that looked like a piece of an orange wall. It was

covered with scales, like the skin of a fish. meep… "Butterfly wing," said Thudd, pointing to his face screen. "Bright orange color tell birds, 'Don't eat! Taste bad! Poison!'" Andrew was looking toward the top of the wing when he saw something spinning down through the air. It was enormous! And it was spinning straight toward them! "Run!" yelled Andrew.