4 The Super-Duper Sucker-Upperer

The Super-Duper Sucker-Upperer

"Hey, Terry," I said. "It's time to clean up the treehouse." "Why?" said Terry. "Because it's a mess, that's why," I said. "It looks like a tornado came through here." "That's because a tornado did come through here," said Terry. "Last night. Remember? If anybody should clean up, it's that tornado!" "Well, the tornado has gone now so I suppose it will have to be us." "But we can't do it!" said Terry. "Why not?" I said. "Because we only like doing fun things," said Terry. "And cleaning up is boring, and boring is not fun!" "We can make it fun," I said.

"How?" said Terry. "By singing a little song as we clean," I said. "Like this one: "DUMB!" shouted Terry. "I've got a better idea. I'm going to the secret underground laboratory to invent a cleaning machine to do all the cleaning for us." "I'm not sure that's such a good idea," I said. But he had already gone. Not for long, though. "I've done it!" he said when he came back. "I've invented the world's most amazing CLEANING MACHINE!"

"Well, where is it?" I said. "I can't see any amazing cleaning machine." "It's right here," said Terry, holding out his hand to reveal a small box. "Ta-da! Behold, the SUPER- DUPER SUCKER-UPPERER! It can suck up every piece of dirt, dust, and mud in the entire treehouse. It can also suck up banana skins, bread crumbs, dirty underwear, smelly socks, leaves, paper, cardboard, dead bugs, marshmallow molecules, popcorn kernels, chocolate stains, ice-cream drips, pizza droppings, and lollipop sticks."

"What about pens with no ink, blunt pencils, bird feathers, flying cat fur, and dinosaur scales?" I said. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!" said Terry. "The SUPER-DUPER SUCKER-UPPERER can suck up all of those things, and anything else that comes under the category of garbage." "Well, what are we waiting for?" I said. "Turn it on!" "Okay," said Terry. He put the SUPER-DUPER SUCKER-UPPERER on the ground. "Stand back and prepare to be amazed!" Terry squeezed the small box and it began to buzz. Then it began to shake. It buzzed and shook and made

a noise that sounded like a vacuum cleaner, except it was much, much louder. And then a long, wavy tube shot out of it and began to suck. It sucked. And sucked. The SUPER-DUPER SUCKER-UPPERER sucked up all the dust, dirt, and mud from the floor around it. Then it sucked up the scraps of food, bits of paper, and all the other garbage in the room. It was incredible. Within moments the entire room was clean and clutter- free. I was starting to think this might be the best thing Terry had ever invented when, without warning, it sucked up a chair. And then another chair. And then all the chairs. "Hey!" I said. "The chairs aren't garbage!" "What?" said Terry. "I can't hear you— the SUPER-DUPER SUCKER-UPPERER is making a lot of noise sucking up all the chairs!"