Judy Moody Saves the World!

by Megan McDonald

  The next day, Judy came home from school and climbed a tree.

  She, Judy Moody, was in Trouble with a capital T. Why was her whole family mad at her for letting a toad go free? She was just doing her part to save the world.

  Stink saw her up in the tree. “Hey. No fair! Mom and Dad said you had to go straight to your room!”

  “This is my room,” Judy said. “I’m going to live up here now. Like Julia Butterfly Hill.”

  “Who?”

  “The girl who lived in a tree for two years. Mr. Todd told us. They were going to cut down some ancient redwoods in California. So Julia Butterfly Hill climbed one of the trees and stayed there. They couldn’t cut down a tree with a person in it. She even named the tree Luna.”

  “You can’t just live in a tree, Judy,” said Stink.

  “Judy Monarch Moody to you.”

  “Oh, brother,” said Stink.

  “If I live in this tree, newspapers will come. And TV people. Everybody will learn how important trees are. I’ll call my tree Luna Two.”

  “How about luna-tic,” said Stink.

  “Hardee-har-har,” said Judy. “Stink, you will have to be the gofer.”

  “Gopher? A gopher sounds like a rat.”

  “An important rat,” said Judy. “Go get me my walkie-talkies. It will be like Julia Butterfly Hill’s solar-powered cell phone. That’s how I’ll talk to people.”

  Stink came back with the walkie-talkies. Judy climbed down to a lower branch and Stink stood on a milk crate to pass them up to her.

  “Now get me a flashlight. It’s going to get dark up here.”

  Stink went and got the flashlight.

  “Now can you get me a glass of water?” asked Judy.

  “Water? What’s the water for?” asked Stink.

  “I’m thirsty!”

  “Forget it,” said Stink.

  “I’ll pay you fifty cents.”

  “How long are you going to be up there?” Stink asked, thinking of all the money he could make.

  “Julia Butterfly Hill was in her tree for seven hundred and thirty-eight days. Sooner or later, Stink, you’re going to have to get me some water. And lentils. Julia Butterfly Hill ate lentils.”

  “Lentils! You never ate a lentil in your life!” Stink said. He got a bottle of water. “You owe me fifty cents,” said Stink. “We’re all out of lentils. I forgot I used them to make my Empire State Building in Social Studies.”

  “I guess I’ll learn to like lima beans,” said Judy. “Ick.”

  “Rocky’s on his way over,” said Stink. “He called and I told him you live in a tree now. I told him you are going to be in big trouble when Mom and Dad find out you didn’t go straight to your room.”

  “This is my room.”

  “Then can I have your room inside the house?”

  Rocky raced around the corner into the backyard. “What’s up, Judy? Besides you, I mean?” He cracked himself up.

  Judy didn’t laugh. Judy didn’t say a word.

  “You have to call her Judy Monarch Moody,” said Stink.

  “Oh, I get it,” said Rocky. “Like that girl who lived in the tree. What are you going to do if it rains?”

  “I’ll stay under the leaves,” said Judy.

  “What about when it gets dark?” asked Rocky.

  “I have a flashlight,” said Judy.

  “See what I mean?” said Stink. “First she went crazy over some trash. Then it was a weird beetle. She’s driving me up a tree!”

  “Oh, no! Not you too?” Rocky and Stink fell on the ground laughing.

  “How are we going to get her to come down?” Stink asked Rocky.

  “Mr. Todd said the tree cutters tried playing loud music and shining bright lights at Julia Butterfly Hill all night to make her come down,” said Rocky.

  “Time for Operation Boom Box,” said Stink.

  They blasted loud music to annoy Judy into coming down. She just put her hands over her ears and hummed, “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies.”

  “What else did they try on Julia?” asked Stink.

  “Lawsuits,” said Rocky.

  “I’ll sue you if you don’t come down!” yelled Stink.

  “For what?” asked Judy.

  “For staying up in a tree and getting out of your punishment or something.”

  “Or something,” said Judy.

  “Let’s try shaking the tree,” said Rocky. They put their hands around the tree and shook, but the tree did not budge one leaf.

  “Tree bark is worse than bug bites,” Stink said, showing his scraped-up arm. “Hey, Judy, I need a doctor. For real. Go get your doctor kit.”

  “Nice try,” said Judy Monarch Moody.

  Just then, Mouse came outside and bolted up the tree.

  “Thanks for the company,” called Judy. “Now I won’t get lonely up here.”

  “Great,” said Stink. “Now Mouse won’t come down either. And we’ll have to call her Mouse Swallowtail Moody or something.”

  “I have to stay up here,” said Judy. “For the sake of all trees. And owls and flying squirrels and all the things that need trees. Even people. And toads.”

  “Let’s just leave her up there,” said Stink. “Who cares if she falls? Who cares if she gets in big trouble?”

  “Even Judy Monarch Moody can’t stay up there forever. You have to go to school,” called Rocky.

  “Julia Butterfly Hill got a Ph.D. from a college while she was up in the tree,” Judy called back.

  “Maybe if we ignore her she’ll come down,” said Rocky.

  “Operation Ignore Judy,” said Stink.

  Stink and Rocky went inside. Mouse leaped down from a branch and followed them. “Traitor!” Judy yelled after her cat.

  Living in a tree was a little lonely. Judy wondered if Julia Butterfly Hill got lonely, too. Seven hundred and thirty-eight days was a long time. Judy had hardly lasted seven hundred and thirty-eight seconds.

  A few minutes later, Stink and Rocky ran back outside. Stink waved an envelope in the air. “Hey you, up there,” said Stink. “Judy Monarch Moody.”

  “What now?” asked Judy.

  “You got a letter from the Crazy Strips Contest!” Rocky yelled up at her.

  “Really?” said Judy, looking down from her perch. “Open it and read it to me.”

  “No way,” said Stink. “You have to come down and find out for yourself.”

  “I’m not going to fall for that trick, Stink,” said Judy.

  “I’ll read it,” said Stink. He opened the envelope. He unfolded the letter. “Dear Judy Moody,” read Stink. “I guess they don’t know your middle name is Monarch.”

  “Just read it!” said Judy.

  “Congratulations! You are a winner of the Crazy Strips Design Your Own Bandage Contest.”

  Judy could not believe her ears! She dropped down from her branch in Luna Two like a leopard to its prey. “Let me see that!” Out loud, she read,

  Stink and Rocky cracked up as bad as a Brazil nut.

  “STINK!” Judy wailed. “You tricked me. This is not from the Crazy Strips Company. You got me out of my tree because the dentist missed my smile?”

  “It worked,” said Stink.

  “Take a good look at this smile,” said Judy, baring her teeth, Siberian tiger–style.

  “Does this mean I can’t have your room?” asked Stink.

  “ROAR!” said Judy.

  When Judy, Stink, and Rocky got off the bus after school the next day, Stink called, “Race you to the mailbox!” But Judy did not run after Stink. She stayed right where she was so she could watch Rocky do his new disappearing-bubble-gum trick. That’s when they heard Stink yell from across the street, “The Crazy Strips Contest! Judy, you won!” He waved an envelope in the air.

  “Stink, you lie like a rug!” Judy said. “I’m not falling for that trick again.”

  “It says CONTEST WINNER. Right here in fat red letters. See?”

  “If this is a trick, you’re
up a tree,” Judy said, crossing the street.

  “Maybe it’s not a trick this time,” said Rocky, walking beside her. “What did she win?”

  “Rollerblades!” said Stink.

  “Rollerblades do not fit in an envelope, Stink.”

  “Maybe you’re a runner-up, then,” said Stink. “Maybe you won sunglasses.”

  “Sunglasses don’t fit in an envelope either. Give it.” Judy grabbed the envelope and tore it open.

  “Certificate?” yelled Judy. “That’s all I get for HEAL THE WORLD? One crummy certificate? A certificate is not even close to Rollerblades. A certificate will not decorate the ankles of millions.”

  “An Honorable Mention certificate is like winning second place,” said Rocky.

  Judy covered up her ears. “Don’t even mention the word certificate again.”

  “At least you got something,” Stink said.

  “Yeah,” Rocky said. “Stink didn’t even get a certificate.”

  That cheered Judy up a little. “Well, at least I get to hang something in the Moody Hall of Fame on the fridge.”

  Just then, Stink dropped the mail. Catalogs and envelopes blew every which way. “Help!” yelled Stink. A letter flew out from inside a catalog and landed on the driveway.

  “Wait!” called Stink, picking up the letter. “I got one too!”

  “Let’s see if you still think certificates are so great,” said Judy.

  Stink took his time opening the envelope.

  “Stink, I’ll be in fourth grade by the time you get that open. Hurry up. Read it!”

  Stink read the letter.

  “Crazy Strip of the Month!” said Stink, jumping up and down and waving the letter in the air. “I got Crazy Strip of the Month!”

  “Let me see that.” Judy read the letter with her own eyes. How could this happen? Her very own stinky little brother won Crazy Strip of the Month!

  “What’s wrong with these people?” cried Judy, shaking the letter. Did they have bats in their belfries? Band-Aids for brains? “Don’t they know bats have beady little eyes and squished-up noses like pigs? Don’t they know bats look like vampires?”

  “At least they don’t look like flying footballs,” said Stink.

  “Don’t they even care about healing the world?” Judy said.

  “Big-eared bats are endangered,” said Stink. “Putting them on a Crazy Strip is like healing the world.”

  “ROAR!” said Judy. Big-eared bats were going to decorate the ankles of millions. Meanwhile, the entire state of Virginia would be stepping on northeast beach tiger beetles and not even knowing it.

  “Hey! What about your Rollerblades?” asked Rocky.

  “It says here I won a pair of Crazy Strips sunglasses,” said Stink.

  “That must be your prize,” said Rocky, pointing to a big box on the porch. Stink and Rocky ran over, with Judy right behind them.

  “It’s from the Crazy Strips company!” said Stink. “My sunglasses!”

  “They must be sunglasses for a rhino,” said Judy.

  “Maybe they messed up and sent you Rollerblades by mistake,” said Rocky.

  “I hope they’re black with a red racing stripe and a silver —”

  “Stink! Just open the box!” said Judy.

  Stink ripped into the box. It was not Rollerblades. It was not sunglasses for a rhino. It was Crazy Strips. Tons of Crazy Strips. Gazillions of Crazy Strips. A lifetime supply! At least ten boxes!

  “Rare!” whispered Judy.

  “Wow-wee!” said Rocky. “I’ve never seen so many Crazy Strips.”

  “I have,” said Stink, pointing to Judy, Queen of the Crazy Strips. “But these are M-I-N-E, mine.”

  “You drew this?” asked Rocky, looking at Stink’s design. “Double cool.”

  “Wow, your very own original Crazy Strip,” said Judy. She couldn’t help feeling like a green bean. Green with envy.

  “Hey! Here’s my sunglasses,” said Stink, digging down to the bottom of the box. They were shaped like a Band-Aid. He put them on and looked at the sun. “They really work!” said Stink.

  “Luck-y!” said Judy. “Those will protect you from that giant hole in the ozone over Antarctica.”

  Stink had his own Crazy Strip! Her very own batty little brother was now as famous as Josephine Dickson, Inventor of the Adhesive Bandage. If it weren’t for that giant hole in the sky, she, Judy Moody, would move to Antarctica.

  “Do you think they have bats in Antarctica?” Judy asked.

  “Frozen bats,” said Stink.

  Ow-oooo! Judy tipped her head toward the ozone and let out one long howler-monkey howl.

  The next morning, and the next one after that, Judy woke up feeling like a sloth moth. She could hardly make herself get out of bed.

  Saving the world was not going so well. She hadn’t done anything really important. Like heal the world with her own Crazy Strip. So far, she had only saved four banana peels, a lunch bag, and a toad.

  On Friday morning, Judy ate her no-garbage breakfast in silence. She packed her no-garbage lunch by herself. She didn’t say a word when Stink stuck Crazy Strips all over his arms, elbows, knees, and chin.

  “These Crazy Strips itch,” said Stink, peeling off the one on his elbow. Judy couldn’t stand it one more minute.

  “If those were my Crazy Strips,” said Judy, “I’d be happy to itch. I would not scratch once. And I would never not ever peel it off. Not even in the bathtub.”

  In school, Judy did not raise her hand once. She did not pass a note to Frank. She did nothing but chew her Grouchy pencil all through Spelling.

  She, Judy Moody, was in a pencil-snapping mood.

  When it was time for Science, Mr. Todd took off his watch and said, “I want everybody to sit still for sixty seconds. I’ll time you.” When the minute was up, Mr. Todd said, “In that minute, one hundred acres of trees in the rain forest were just destroyed. That’s seventy football fields.”

  “No way!” went through the class.

  “We all depend on the rain forest,” said Mr. Todd. “For things we eat and wear and use every single day. Think about it. Even your wooden pencil and rubber eraser could be from the rain forest. Ninety-eight percent of the cedar wood used for pencils comes from rain forest trees.”

  Judy stopped chewing on her Grouchy pencil. She stared at it. The grouchy face looked even grouchier. This pencil used to be a tree. A rain forest tree!

  She, Judy Moody, would never, ever use a pencil again. Not even a Grouchy pencil.

  “If we help save the rain forest, we help save the planet,” said Mr. Todd.

  Suddenly, Judy had a plan. A perfect Save-the-World plan. All she had to do was skip recess.

  When all the kids hurried outside to the playground, Judy sneaked back to the classroom. This was her big chance. Inside each desk was a pencil holder. Judy raced around the room and took the pencils from each desk. Then she hid them inside the flower vase.

  As soon as recess was over, it was time for Math. “Take out your workbooks,” said Mr. Todd. “Let’s get those pencils working.”

  Uh-oh! Judy thought.

  “Hey, my pencil’s gone!”

  “Mine too!”

  “Mine was right here!”

  “Mr. Todd! Mr. Todd! Somebody stole our pencils!” The whole class was in an uproar.

  “Okay, is somebody playing a joke?” asked Mr. Todd. Nobody answered. “Do any of you know anything about the missing pencils?”

  Judy kept her head down and pretended to work out math problems. Brad looked at Judy. She was the only one NOT complaining about her missing pencil. And she was doing math problems with a p-e-n.

  “Pencil thief!” Brad yelled, pointing at her. “Judy Moody stole our pencils!”

  Judy felt the eyes of twenty-one third-grade pencil lovers turn to glare at her.

  “Judy?” Mr. Todd came over to her desk. “What do you know about these missing pencils?”

  “Okay, I took them,” Judy confesse
d. “Because I think we should stop using pencils.”

  “Stop using pencils? That’s nuts!” Brad said.

  “To help save the rain forest,” said Judy.

  “Hmm. Class, what do you think?” asked Mr. Todd.

  “We just want our pencils back,” said Leo.

  Judy could not believe these third-grade pencil freaks! Were they in the ozone? Didn’t they care that seventy football fields of trees a minute were being cut down? She wished they would all move to PENCILvania.

  “I think we should save the rain forest,” said Frank.

  “Me too,” said Hailey.

  “Me three,” Rocky said.

  “Yeah, but we can’t just give up pencils forever,” said Randi. “We have to write stuff, and erase. Like in Math. How can we save the world without math?”

  “Maybe we don’t have to use so many,” said Jessica Finch. “One pencil can draw a line thirty-five miles long. We could all promise to use the same pencil until fifth grade.”

  How did Jessica Fink Finch know so much about pencils? Maybe she wasn’t such a fink after all.

  “How many pencils can you get from a tree?” Judy asked.

  “None,” said Brad. “Pencils don’t grow on trees.”

  “Hardee-har-har,” said Judy. “I mean it. You can get a lot of pencils from one tree. For real.”

  “One tree can make 172,000 pencils!” said Jessica Finch. “I read it in my Ranger Rick magazine.”

  “Wow! One tree could make all the pencils in our school.”

  “All the pencils in Virginia!”

  “We could plant a tree in the rain forest, then,” said Judy. “You know, for the Virginia Dare School. To make up for all the pencils we use.”

  “Kids all over the world raise money to protect rain forests,” Jessica told the class. “It only costs a dollar to have one tree planted in the Children’s Rain Forest in Costa Rica.”

  “If it only costs a dollar,” Judy said, “then we could send money for them to plant trees, and our class can adopt them.”

  “Wow!” everybody said. “Let’s do it.”

  “Class? Any ideas about how to raise some money?” Mr. Todd asked.