Elizabella and the Great Tuckshop Takeover
Page 11
Her mum paused, digested what was going on, then spun around and gave her cheesiest media smile for the cameras.
“My Daughter! Wolf Whisperer!” she exclaimed. Little Red was impressed with how good her mum was on the spot.
Just then Grandma bustled out of her house. “What’s going on? I’ve been asleep for ages!”
“Say, Grandma, how does it feel to have a talking wolf in your house?” the reporter asked.
Grandma surveyed the situation and blinked from all the cameras flashing in her face. “Why is the news in my house and a wolf in my nightie?”
“Well Grandma,” Little Red began, “I bumped into this talking wolf on the way to your place. At first I thought she was nice, but then she snuck into your house and impersonated you. She was trying to trick me and eat us!”
“Oh my stars!” Grandma gasped.
“And now the wolf is mine!” said Little Red. “Five dollars a view!”
“What?” cried the wolf. “Don’t you care about animal freedom?”
“Normally, yes,” said Little Red. “But if I hadn’t busted you and called the news, you would have eaten me and my Grandma.”
“You’re right,” said Bigabadawolfatina. “Fifty-fifty split of any wolf-viewing profits?”
“Sixty-forty in my favour,” said Little Red.
“It’s a deal!”
And Little Red took Bigabadawolfatina on a tour of the land, charging five bucks a pop to see the talking wolf dressed up as an old lady. It went on for years, until the fame and fortune got the better of both of them and their relationship fell in a heap and ended in a pile of lawsuits and broken dreams and finally Little Red and Bigabadawolfatina both wound up on the daytime talk show circuit.
The End.
Thank you to the kids who came to visit us at the 2018 Melbourne Writers’ Festival and helped Georgia draw Elizabella’s house. There were so many awesome suggestions and now, thanks to you guys, Larry the Lizard has a cage on the roof for when he needs Me-Time.
ZOË NORTON LODGE is a writer, tv and radio presenter known for her work on ABC TV’s The Checkout and the live storytelling night and podcast Story Club, as well as her collected short stories Almost Sincerely. Elizabella and the Great Tuckshop Takeover is the second book in the Elizabella series.
GEORGIA NORTON LODGE is a Sydney-based graphic designer and illustrator. When she’s not creating brands she’s working on her own business, Georgia Draws A House, where she delights people by hand-drawing their homes. She’s also Zoë’s younger sister. This is their third book together.
First published in 2019
by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 22, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
www.walkerbooks.com.au
The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted.
Text © 2019 Zoë Norton Lodge
Illustrations © 2019 Georgia Norton Lodge
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The illustrations for this book were created digitally