9 A WORLD OF TROUBLE

A WORLD OF TROUBLE "We're going to starve," said Bean.

"I guess we could eat spiders," said Ivy. "Birds do it." Bean shivered. She didn't want to eat spiders. All those hairy legs. They were quiet. Now that she had started, Bean couldn't stop thinking about spiders. "Ivy?" "Yeah?" "Do you ever worry that there's a giant spider who's the grandma of all the spiders you've ever squashed and that she's going to come and get you in the middle of the night?" "I worry that there's a big potato bug inside my bed," said Ivy. "Not spiders so much." Bean squinted into the shadows. There were probably spiders crawling all over the attic. Spiders she couldn't see. Something brushed against her leg, and Bean jumped to her feet. "This is an emergency," said Bean. "This calls for action." "Okay," agreed Ivy. "What action?"

Bean gulped. "I think we need to scream for help." "Help from who?" asked Ivy. "Well," said Bean. "Nancy."

"She is the babysitter," said Ivy. "She's supposed to take care of you." "Right!" said Bean. "She's getting paid to take care of me." "Okay," said Ivy. "Let's yell for her. One." "Two," said Bean. "Three!" they said together. And then they screamed, They had to scream for a million years. That's what it felt like anyway. Finally, they heard Nancy. Nancy was yelling, too. "BEAN? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT'S HAPPENED? ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" They could hear doors slamming and Nancy's feet

running. "ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU IN THE BATHROOM?" Once Bean knew that she was going to be rescued, she stopped feeling spiders on her legs. After a minute, it was even kind of fun to hear Nancy freaking out. Bean felt cheerful again. "I've got an idea," she said, "Let's scream, but no words this time, just a scream." "She's going to have a heart attack," Ivy said. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH," they screeched. "OH NO!" Nancy shrieked. Bean took a deep breath and screeched, "WE'RE STUCK IN THE ATTIC! HELP!"

"Bean! Where are you?" Nancy opened the closet door. "WE'RE UP HERE! HELP!" "You're up there?" said Nancy in a surprised voice. "How'd you get up there?" Suddenly she didn't sound very worried. "HELP US! WE'RE STARVING! BUGS ARE EATING US!" hollered Bean. "Is that Ivy, too?" Nancy asked. "What's she doing here?" Nancy was beginning to sound more grumpy than scared. Ivy and Bean looked at each other. "HELLLLLP!" they howled. "Okay, okay. I'm getting the ladder," grumbled Nancy. "Hang on." She padded away and came back a minute later. "Sheesh. This thing is heavy." "Quiiiick," moaned Bean. "We're dying." She wanted Nancy to be leaping up the ladder. Something crashed into something else below them. "Ouch!" said Nancy. Then she said a bad word. Ivy and Bean giggled.