two dozen children looked up pleadingly at the firefighters and the zoologist. Occasionally a snifflecould be heard from the back of the group.
“Have you found them yet? Have you found our pets?” asked Willa Malloy, whose green bike was at the front of the pack.
Little Annie Krump covered her face with her hands and muffled a sob. Willa cast a sympathetic look over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, young lady,” said a firefighter, “but we haven’t found a trace of them. We may have to accept the worst.”
“
No!
We don’t believe our pets were eaten! Not
all
of them, they couldn’t have been!”
“Now, kids, I know it’s hard…,” said the firefighter.
“Well, did you find the snake? Was its stomach huge?” asked Willa.
“Uh, no, we haven’t located the snake yet,” Von Barlow admitted, “but we’ll catch it soon!”
Willa hung her head between her handlebars for a moment and then straightened up again. “You expect us to believe that all our pets just up and ran away, or that some huge snake ate every single one of them? That’s crazy!”
The firefighters and Dr. Von Barlow looked away, unable to think of anything that could possibly console the children.
But Edgar and Ellen thought of something to say.
“We’re very sorry to hear about your misfortunes, but maybe a sweet new pet is just what you need to take your minds off your losses,” said Edgar.
“We happen to have some very nice exotic pets for sale right here,” said Ellen.
The twins smiled, doing their best to appear sympathetic. Willa swung off her bike and let it fall with a clatter. She snapped at them, pointing her finger accusingly. “What makes you think we’d want
new
pets? And why would we want them from the two of you? We remember the mean tricks you’ve played on us!”
“Yeah!” yelled some of the other children.
“Our animals are out there somewhere, trying to find their way back to us, I just know it! We’ve been searching all day, and we’re not going to give up now!” Willa pointed to a young girl covered in puffy red welts, “Heather searched the edge of the Black Tree Forest, and all she found were hundreds of mosquitoes.
“Seth and Burl Turkle spent the morning looking in disgusting sewer pipes….”
Edgar and Ellen recognized the two boys from earlier that day, still covered head to toe with slime and glop.
“They smell so bad, we made them ride in the back.
“Amy, Frannie, and Ronnie turned up nothing in the alley behind the school—well, except for a few fat rats, but who likes
rats
?”
At the mention of rats, Edgar nodded at his sister. They’d had some fun times with rats.
“Leanne and Bruno didn’t have any luck at the construction sites, and Sondra looked under every car and truck in town.”
Willa let out a sigh of despair, and the children behind her made little choked-up sounds.
The tall girl leaned toward the twins and waved a finger under their noses. “We’re not going to let you two pull anything on us.”
“Pull something on you?” said Ellen sweetly. “Why—we’d never! Why don’t you just take a peek at what we’ve got. No pressure to buy, of course…” She trailed off and took a step back to reveal the rare beasts.
Willa resisted for a moment, but curiosity won out, and she reluctantly approached the wagon. The rest of the children parked their bicycles and followed her.
Muzzled, the exotic beasts purred and whined desperately, but their beloved owners didn’t recognizethem. The animals strained against their leashes and hopped in place, all except for the lethargic Mondopillar, who napped in the back.
“Hey, look at this,” squealed Carolyn South as she squeezed the bulbous nose of a crusty yellow Guttlebug.
“Gross!”
Calvin Hucklebee lifted up the rubbery forked tail of a Shump and whistled.
“Freaky!”
Willa rapped her knuckles against the hard, shiny head of a Hootlet, and the metallic clang made her wonder aloud, “What is this
“Have you found them yet? Have you found our pets?” asked Willa Malloy, whose green bike was at the front of the pack.
Little Annie Krump covered her face with her hands and muffled a sob. Willa cast a sympathetic look over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, young lady,” said a firefighter, “but we haven’t found a trace of them. We may have to accept the worst.”
“
No!
We don’t believe our pets were eaten! Not
all
of them, they couldn’t have been!”
“Now, kids, I know it’s hard…,” said the firefighter.
“Well, did you find the snake? Was its stomach huge?” asked Willa.
“Uh, no, we haven’t located the snake yet,” Von Barlow admitted, “but we’ll catch it soon!”
Willa hung her head between her handlebars for a moment and then straightened up again. “You expect us to believe that all our pets just up and ran away, or that some huge snake ate every single one of them? That’s crazy!”
The firefighters and Dr. Von Barlow looked away, unable to think of anything that could possibly console the children.
But Edgar and Ellen thought of something to say.
“We’re very sorry to hear about your misfortunes, but maybe a sweet new pet is just what you need to take your minds off your losses,” said Edgar.
“We happen to have some very nice exotic pets for sale right here,” said Ellen.
The twins smiled, doing their best to appear sympathetic. Willa swung off her bike and let it fall with a clatter. She snapped at them, pointing her finger accusingly. “What makes you think we’d want
new
pets? And why would we want them from the two of you? We remember the mean tricks you’ve played on us!”
“Yeah!” yelled some of the other children.
“Our animals are out there somewhere, trying to find their way back to us, I just know it! We’ve been searching all day, and we’re not going to give up now!” Willa pointed to a young girl covered in puffy red welts, “Heather searched the edge of the Black Tree Forest, and all she found were hundreds of mosquitoes.
“Seth and Burl Turkle spent the morning looking in disgusting sewer pipes….”
Edgar and Ellen recognized the two boys from earlier that day, still covered head to toe with slime and glop.
“They smell so bad, we made them ride in the back.
“Amy, Frannie, and Ronnie turned up nothing in the alley behind the school—well, except for a few fat rats, but who likes
rats
?”
At the mention of rats, Edgar nodded at his sister. They’d had some fun times with rats.
“Leanne and Bruno didn’t have any luck at the construction sites, and Sondra looked under every car and truck in town.”
Willa let out a sigh of despair, and the children behind her made little choked-up sounds.
The tall girl leaned toward the twins and waved a finger under their noses. “We’re not going to let you two pull anything on us.”
“Pull something on you?” said Ellen sweetly. “Why—we’d never! Why don’t you just take a peek at what we’ve got. No pressure to buy, of course…” She trailed off and took a step back to reveal the rare beasts.
Willa resisted for a moment, but curiosity won out, and she reluctantly approached the wagon. The rest of the children parked their bicycles and followed her.
Muzzled, the exotic beasts purred and whined desperately, but their beloved owners didn’t recognizethem. The animals strained against their leashes and hopped in place, all except for the lethargic Mondopillar, who napped in the back.
“Hey, look at this,” squealed Carolyn South as she squeezed the bulbous nose of a crusty yellow Guttlebug.
“Gross!”
Calvin Hucklebee lifted up the rubbery forked tail of a Shump and whistled.
“Freaky!”
Willa rapped her knuckles against the hard, shiny head of a Hootlet, and the metallic clang made her wonder aloud, “What is this
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