by Nancy Krulik
* * *
“You smell like fresh, chopped tomatoes,” Emma tells Tony a while later after he’s washed and shampooed himself with tomato juice. “It’s definitely better than smelling like a skunk.”
“Or garlic,” Oliver adds. “That stuff was nasty. Not as nasty as skunk, but pretty bad.”
I know for a fact that the tomato juice didn’t wash away the skunk’s odor. It’s masking the terrible smell. Under all that tomato, Tony still smells like a skunk. But I don’t say anything. I’m trying really hard not to share every fact that’s stored in my memory. There’s a difference between being smart and being a know-it-all.
Besides, Tony will find that out all on his own, when the tomato smell wears off.
“The smell of tomatoes is making me hungry,” Aiden says. “Is it lunchtime yet?”
Ms. Frogbottom glances at her watch. “We should be hearing the dining hall bell any minute now,” she tells him.
RRRRIIIIINNNNGGG.
Sure enough, the loud bell outside the dining hall rings throughout the campground. It’s time for lunch.
Ms. Frogbottom should be leading us up the hill to the dining hall. But instead of walking, our teacher stops in her tracks and begins to…
“Cluck! Cluck!”
Ms. Frogbottom is flapping her arms up and down. She’s kicking her feet backward. And moving her head back and forth.
The other class groups at the campground stop and circle around her. Some of the kids look confused. Others seem amazed. A lot of them are laughing.
“How long does this hypnosis thing last?” Emma asks me.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “But as soon as I’m someplace where I can get service on my tablet, I’m going to look up how to unhypnotize someone. Because this is just embarrassing.”
“Cluck! Cluck!” Ms. Frogbottom shouts again. “Clu-u-u-ck!”
* * *
“So, did you have a good time at science camp?” my father asks me later that afternoon when we meet up with our parents back at the Left Turn Alleyway Elementary parking lot.
“Definitely,” I tell him. “You know how much I love field trips.” I let out a big yawn.
“No one gets a whole lot of sleep on overnights,” my father says. “I remember when my friends and I would go on camping trips. We’d be up all night telling scary stories, and then we’d wind up napping the next day. It was like we became vampires for a few days.” He gives me a big smile.
Vampires?
I look over nervously at his mouth. Phew. No fangs there. I guess it was just a figure of speech.
Well, that’s a relief.
WORDS YOU HEAR ON A FIELD TRIP TO ROMANIA
ancestor: A relative who lived several generations before someone
capcaun: A four-eyed ogre with a dog’s head; according to Romanian folklore, capcauns kidnap children and princesses
citadel: A fortress built on high ground, meant to protect a city
cobblestone: A small, round stone used to cover the surface of a road
drawbridge: A bridge, often above a castle moat, that is hinged at one end so that it can be raised to prevent people from crossing over it
drob: A traditional Romanian dish, made of chopped lamb and roasted like a meat loaf
eternity: Endless time
fang: A large, sharp tooth
hypnotize: The act of putting someone into a trancelike state where they lose the ability to act voluntarily and will instead respond to suggestions as directed
impale: To pierce with a sharp object
landing: The level part of a staircase at the end of a flight of stairs
stake: A strong metal or wooden spear with a point at the end
terra-cotta: Brownish-red fired clay
undead: Fictional creatures that are technically dead but are still able to act and move as though alive
vampire: A dead person who, according to European folklore, leaves their grave at night to drink the blood of the living by biting their necks
More from this Series
Get a Hold of Your Elf!
Book 4
I Want My Mummy!
Book 1
Long Time, No Sea…
Book 2
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NANCY KRULIK is the author of more than 250 books for children and young adults, including three New York Times bestsellers. She is the author of several successful chapter book series and has sold nearly 10 million books worldwide. The popularity of her many series led the founders of the Morristown Festival of Books to declare that Nancy Krulik must reign as the queen of early chapter books. Nancy lives in Manhattan with her husband, composer Daniel Burwasser.
REALNANCYKRULIK.COM
Aladdin
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Nancy-Krulik
Also in the
MS. FROGBOTTOM’S FIELD TRIPS series
Book 1: I Want My Mummy!
Book 2: Long Time, No Sea Monster
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
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First Aladdin paperback edition July 2021
Text copyright © 2021 by Nancy Krulik
Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Harry Briggs
Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.
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Cover designed by Karin Paprocki
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.
Library of Congress Control Number 2020952957
ISBN 9781534454033 (hc)
ISBN 9781534454026 (pbk)
ISBN 9781534454040 (ebook)
