Twin Tales by Jacqueline Wilson Page A

enchanted. ‘Let me hold one, please.’
    â€˜Well, be careful. Don’t drop it!’
    â€˜Of course I won’t.’ Connie held her hands out over the fence and Gerald gently dropped a soft little baby gerbil into her palm.
    â€˜Oooh, it’s so
sweet
!’ Connie whispered.
    â€˜You can have one if you promise to look after it properly,’ said Gerald.
    â€˜I don’t think my mum would let me. I don’t think she likes gerbils. She’s mad. They’re the cutest little animals ever. But ever so tickly!’ The gerbil was running up her arm and into the tunnel of her T-shirt sleeve. ‘Hey, come back!’ said Connie, giggling. ‘Gerald, it’s escaping!’
    Gerald sighed. ‘I told you to hold on to it. Wait a minute. I’ll have to secure the others before I can help.’
    Connie’s gerbil was whizzing down her leg and was off up the lawn before she could stop it.

    â€˜Come back, little gerbil!’ Connie called, running.
    The gerbil scampered across the patio and in through the open back door. There was a sudden scream. A very loud frantic s-c-r-e-a-m.
    â€˜That’s Mum,’ said Connie, running harder.
    Mum was in the kitchen, climbing right up the cupboards, her head nearly banging the ceiling. She was yelling her head off.
    The gerbil was on the tiled floor, peering up at Mum. It didn’t look such a baby now. In fact it seemed very big for an adult gerbil. It seemed to be growing rapidly. It was a good cat-size now, with huge pointed teeth and an immense quivery tail.
    â€˜Run!’ Mum shouted desperately to Connie.
    The gerbil heard the word ‘run’ and decided to obey. It went charging across the kitchen, its claws gouging great tracks across the floor. It grew at every stride. It skittered to a halt at the kitchen unit. It could almost get its huge head over the edge.

    â€˜Aaaah!’ Mum yelledhysterically, hopping up and down.
    â€˜Calm down, Mum,’ said Connie cheerily. ‘I know you’re very scared. It must be horrible for you. I do understand, honest. But you must see that there’s really nothing to be scared of. It’s only a little baby gerbil!’
    As soon as Connie spoke the gerbil started shrinking.
    â€˜Come here, little gerbil,’ said Connie, bending to pick it up. The gerbil shrivelled right back to its meek mild self, far smaller than Connie’s hand.
    â€˜See?’ said Connie, holding it up to show Mum.
    â€˜Take it away,’ Mum whispered hoarsely.
    Connie did as she was told. Then she went back to the kitchen and helped Mum down from the cupboard. Mum was still shaking like a jelly.
    â€˜Nothing to be scared of now, Mum,’ said Connie reassuringly.
    â€˜Oh, Connie! You were so
brave
,’ said Mum. ‘The bravest girl in all the world.’

6. Exploding Video
    Gerald said the baby gerbil could be Connie’s special pet, even though it would have to live in a cage in Gerald’s back garden. She told everybody at school about George Gerbil.
    It was art first lesson so Connie drew a portrait of George. She drew him looking rather big and fierce, almost filling up the entire sheet of paper. Then right at the top Connie drew Mum shrieking and climbing up the kitchen cupboards.
    â€˜That’s very good, Connie,’ said Miss Peters. ‘But I think you’ve got the proportions all wrong. You’ve made your gerbil look much too big.’
    â€˜He did look as big as that, Miss Peters,’ said Connie. ‘Mum thought he did too!’
    Connie wrote about George Gerbil in the English lesson and she chose gerbils as the animal for her nature project.
    â€˜You seem to have a one-track mind today, Connie,’ said Miss Peters. ‘Well, it’s PE last lesson. I suppose you’re going to run as fast as a gerbil, right?’
    â€˜Maybe,’ said Connie, laughing. She wasn’t very good at running. Or jumping or