02 Electrikitty

Electrikitty The next day, Judy went to find Mom. Mom was on the back deck, painting a chair blue. "Mom?" Judy asked. "Can I ride a horse or go to camp or see all of London from the tippy-top of the London Eye?" Mom did not even look up from her painting. "Ask your father." Judy went to find Dad. Dad was under the kitchen sink, fixing a pipe. "Hey, Dad, can I ride a horse or go to camp or see all of London—" Dad did not even pop his head out. "Go ask your mother," he said before Judy could finish

her sentence. Sheesh. Weren't moms and dads supposed to listen to their kids? Judy went out to the back deck. She sat on a bench, her head bent, studying her kick-thebucket list. Cartwheel, invention, triple stickers... Her hair fell down over her face in a tangle. "Judy," Mom said, finally looking up, "remember when you were in a good mood for a whole week and you brushed your hair every day? I liked that week." Judy pointed to the mangle of tangles in her hair. "Show me a hairbrush that doesn't hurt, and I'll show you hair that is brushed." Lightbulb! She, Judy Moody, could not believe her own genius idea. A brush that doesn't hurt! On her bucket list, it said Invent something. She, Judy Moody, would invent... the Ouchless

Hairbrush. No more knots. No more hurt. Who wouldn't want one? "Never mind about camp," she said to Mom. She raced upstairs. Mouse was sitting on her brush. "Move it, Mouse," she told her cat. Judy grabbed her hairbrush and pulled all the cat hair off of it first. She stared at the spikes sticking up out of her brush. So many spikes. No wonder hairbrushes were such a pain. Her brush was half porcupine! Judy tried to yank the brush through her hair. Youch! Attack of the Porcupine! If porcupines had thirty thousand spiny quills, Judy's brush must have had at least three thousand spiky bristles.

All she had to do was to get rid of all the hurty spikes. Pop! Pop! Pop! One by one, she popped out all the bristles. Wa-la! The Ouchless Hairbrush was born. No

more porcupine! From now on, every day was Be Kind to Your Hair Day. Judy deserved to award herself a Bright Idea sticker for this invention. She would call it... the Spineless Porcupine. The Porcu-pineless. The Porcu-painless. Judy could not wait to show off her new invention. First to her family, then the world! She could already see the headlines:

Showtime. Judy gathered her family on the couch, including Mouse. Mouse curled up on her mood pillow. Her invention sat on the coffee table, covered with a dish towel. But even a dish towel could not hide its genius. It was practically pulsing with possibility. And Judy was popping with pride.