5 Feeling Shaky

Chapter 5 FEELING SHAKY A long, bulgy thing was wiggling out. It looked like a Loch Ness Monster made of inner tubes. meep… "Earthworm!" said Thudd. "It's the size of a Brontosaurus!" said Judy. "I hope earthworms are vegetarians." meep… "Earthworm swallow dirt," said Thudd. "Eat dead stuff and little dirt animals." "Do you think it sees us?" asked Judy. "Maybe it thinks we're dirt snacks." meep… "Earthworm not got eyes," said Thudd. The front end of the worm wriggled toward their leaf. A patch of bright sunlight made the worm's damp skin look shiny.

meep… "Sun bad, bad, bad for worm," said Thudd. "If worm stay in sun, sun make poison inside worm skin. Worm die!" "Then why is it coming out?" asked Andrew. meep… "Worm feel stuff shake underground," said Thudd. "Maybe Atom Sucker noise make underground shake. Worm try to get away." "I feel kind of sorry for him," said Judy.

meep… "Worm not 'him,'" said Thudd. "Worm not 'her.' Earthworm is male and female!" "Hyper-weird!" said Judy. "What can we do to make it go back underground?" "Maybe we can make a noise that will really annoy it," said Andrew. "Thudd knows every tune he's ever heard. He can even play the music. Thudd, do that song by Stinky Feet." meep… "Worm not hear," said Thudd. "Worm just feel stuff shake when sound get loud." "It's a loud song," said Andrew. "Maybe it's loud enough for the worm to feel it. Try it." "Okey-dokey," said Thudd. He started to sing: Dirty socks, dirty socks! They never clean, They make you mean. They start at toes, And then they goes From there Up to your hair!

Thudd screamed the song as loudly as he could, but the worm kept coming. It lurched closer to their leaf. Judy and Andrew scrambled to their feet. They stepped back without looking and accidentally stepped right off the leaf! They drifted down to the dirt. clip-clop… clip-clop… flap… flap… flap Sandals and sneakers were stomping along the brick path. Mrs. Scuttle's guests were arriving. "Well, hellooo, Mrs. Snarfless!" they heard Mrs. Scuttle say. "Sooo nice to see you. I'm sorry Mr. Snarfless can't be here. It's too bad about his toe problem. I hope they won't have to cut it off." "Look what I got!" came the voice of a little boy. "Jeremy Snarfless," said a woman's voice, "put that water gun down right now!" Mrs. Scuttle clomped back to the kitchen. She had changed out of her flip-flops. Now she was wearing red sandals with high heels and bows on the front.

They heard Mrs. Scuttle mutter, "The invitation said 'no children.' She should have left that little rug rat home." Andrew and Judy felt the ground shake as she stomped by. The worm must have felt it, too. It stopped moving. Then, very slowly, it backed into its hole. Thudd wagged his antennas.

meep… "Hear something." "I just hear the Atom Sucker," said Judy. meep… "Rustle, rustle," said Thudd. Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew saw something move. He turned to see a dead brown