9 Attack of the Cones

Chapter 9 ATTACK OF THE COONS "Eek!" squeaked Thudd. "Not touch! Not touch!" "Cheese Louise!" said Judy. "Don't get your shorts in a knot, Thudd. It's just some silly little snails." meep… "Cone snail!" squeaked Thudd. "Got tongue with tooth on end. Like harpoon! Snail shoot tooth into prey animal. Tooth got lotsa poison! Strong, strong, strong!" "Aaaack!" said Judy. She started turning underwater somersaults to keep the snails off.

"Yaaargh!" said Andrew. He shook himself like a wet dog to get rid of the snails. Suddenly Thudd's big purple button sprang open. The purple beam zoomed out with the hologram of Uncle Al at the end of it. "Hey, guys!" said Uncle Al. He was smiling, but his eyes looked worried. "It's been hard to reach you. Are you okay? At least you're back in the Water Bug." "Um, sorry, Uncle Al," said Andrew, spinning like a top. "Soggy Bob captured the Water Bug. Now we're hiding inside the reef. But we're going to sneak back and get the Water Bug." "Harry Potter on a ham sandwich!" said Uncle Al. "You kids are danger magnets! Could you please try to be a little bit boring? You'd be safer…. You haven't seen any more blue-ringed octopuses, have you? Or sea wasp jellyfish? Or snails with beautiful shells? I didn't get a chance to warn you about the cone snails." "Um," muttered Andrew, squirming like a nervous worm, "we did get attacked by blue

ringed octopuses. Soggy Bob trained them to attack us. We haven't seen any sea wasps, but—" "But," interrupted Judy, doing backflips, "we're getting mobbed by cone snails!" Judy saw an umbrella-shaped coral ahead and dragged Andrew under it. "That's stranger than penguins on bicycles!" said Uncle Al. "Cone snails are usually very shy. They sit in the sand and suck in water through their mouth tube." meep… "Called siphon!" said Thudd. "The taste of the water tells them if a little fish or worm is close. Then—" Judy interrupted. "Then the snail shoots out a harpoon tooth filled with poison. We know. Thudd already told us." Uncle Al rubbed his chin. "There is something that can make snails do weird things," said Uncle Al. "It's when creatures called parasites get inside them. For example, snails that live on land stay in dark, damp places. They like to be wet and they need to hide from

birds that eat snails. But when a certain kind of tiny parasite gets into a snail, it takes over the snail's body and brain." meep… "Brown snail turn lotsa bright colors," said Thudd. "Snail go out into sun! Flash colors!" Uncle Al nodded. "The flashing colors attract a bird, which will eat it. All this happens because the parasite needs to get inside a bird. It has to do that to make more parasites, to complete its life cycle." meep… "Cone snail got weird parasite, maybe," said Thudd. "Yup," said Uncle Al. "The parasite could be taking over their tiny snail brains. It could make

them do things they wouldn't usually do, like attack people!" "Euw!" said Judy. "I don't want to be part of anything else's disgusting life cycle." "Hmmm…," murmured Uncle Al. "Two things that keep snails away are marigold flowers and onions." "Oh great!" said Judy. "Like we have a garden down here!" "Super-duper pooper-scooper!" said Andrew, reaching into a pocket of his Bubble Duds. He pulled out a pile of soggy onions. "These onions are from a pizza you left in the refrigerator of the Water Bug," said Andrew. "But I don't like onions. So I put them in my pocket." Judy rolled her eyes. "Andrew, you are the sloppiest person in the universe!" Uncle Al's eyes lit up. "Sometimes a little sloppiness is just what you need," he said. "Rub yourselves with the onions."

Andrew handed Judy half of his onions, and they rubbed them on their Bubble Duds. The cone snails waved their tube mouths through the water. Then they began to creep away. "They're leaving!" said Judy. Uncle Al smiled. "I've told you before. You have everything you need in your heads and in your pockets!" "Are you almost finished with the See Horse?" asked Judy impatiently. The See Horse was a new underwater vehicle Uncle Al was building. He was going to use it to find Andrew and Judy and help them save the giant squids. "I had a problem with the Nose-O-Matic," said Uncle Al. "It's a new, improved Super-Sniffer. But I think I've got the nose licked." "Well, hurry up!" said Judy. "This stupid coral reef is scary and dangerous!" Uncle Al nodded. "I'll be there just as soon as—"