Contents
Title Page ii
PART 1 1
Chapter 1 2
Chapter 2 7
Chapter 3 10
Chapter 4 14
Chapter 5 21
Chapter 6 24
Chapter 7 32
Chapter 8 36
Chapter 9 43
Chapter 10 48
Chapter 11 53
Chapter 12 54
PART 2 61
Chapter 13 62
Chapter 14 68
Chapter 15 77
Chapter 16 81
Chapter 17 87
Chapter 18 90
Chapter 19 92
Chapter 20 96
Copyright Information 100
More Curiously Good Books 101
PART 1
Chapter 1
The summer break was over and it was time for
Dani to start her second year of school.
“I can’t understand how you’ve grown so big!”
said her grandmother as they walked to school on
the first day.
Dani wasn’t sure how it had happened, either.
But by the second day she was already used to it.
And by the time the class went to Skansen Zoo, as students Dani’s age usually did, it was as if Dani had always been in her second year of school.
2
By then, Dani’s father was home from the hospital, where he had been the whole summer after his
traffic accident.
One of his legs would never be completely
right, the doctor said.
But for Dani the main thing was having him
home again in the yellow house on their street, so her life could be happy again.
3
With spaghetti for dinner.
And stories in bed…
…and then: “Good night, good night! And sleep
well, Amore!”
That’s what they say in Italy, where Dani’s
father comes from.
On the first evening home for Dani’s father Gianni, everything was exactly as Dani wanted it to be,
except that he was in a bit of a hurry over her
third goodnight hug.
4
Suddenly he wanted to watch Italian football on
TV.
In Italy they are very good at football.
They have three top teams: Juventus, Napoli
and Milan, and Milan was playing, the team her
father liked best.
Of course he had to watch the game! Of course
she understood.
After a little while Dani tiptoed out of bed to give him another hug.
When she came into the living room he had
turned down the TV and was talking on the phone.
He stopped, surprised.
“You’re not asleep yet?”
5
But just then Milan’s forward scored a goal!
Dad was excited and Dani left him with the TV
and his phone.
6
Chapter 2
Next morning he made her lunch and followed her
out to the gate.
“Bye, Dani! Have fun at Skansen!” he called,
waving.
Dani walked backwards, waving, till she
bumped into a lamp post…
7
…and fell flat on the ground!
Her father came limping after her.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Dani smiled and picked herself up.
She was about to carry on her backwards walk
when her father stopped her.
“Dani…” he said, “would you mind if Sadie
popped in to see us after work?”
He meant the nurse he’d met at the hospital
over the summer.
“What for?” she asked.
“She’d love to make us a delicious meal!”
8
“Doesn’t have to,” said Dani. “You’re such a
good cook yourself!”
That was true. Dani’s father is phenomenal at
cooking. Especially spaghetti.
“Please, Dani,” he pleaded, “tell me Sadie’s
welcome.”
Dani looked at him.
Then she turned around and kept walking.
Forwards.
Without looking back.
9
Chapter 3
When she got to school the whole class was
gathered in the playground. The teacher was
telling everyone the rules of the trip.
“No one is to run off on their own and get lost,”
she said. “But in the unlikely event that this should happen…”
She broke off and looked at them sternly.
“What should you do?”
10
Cushion put up his hand. “Panic.”
That wasn’t right.
“You wait where you last saw the class until
someone comes and finds you.”
Everyone nodded.
“Wait there, even if it takes a little while. Just be patient!”
Everyone nodded again.
“Then let’s go!”
They formed a line and headed for the bus.
Walking in line is something Dani’s class is
good at. No other class does it so nicely.
Hand in hand they went, walking briskly.
Cushion’s father was driving them. He has his own bus company.
Cushion was allowed to sit in the seat beside
him and speak into the microphone.
“Welcome aboard!” he said once the bus had
started.
“Now we’re leaving Solna and heading towards
Skansen,” he continued, when the bus was out on
the main road. “Skansen is Stockholm’s largest
zoo, where you can see woolly bears and wolves
and old houses from the olden days.”
11
Everyone was impressed by how good he sounded.
To start with, the trip went well. They all talked and sang.
Then Jonathan started to feel sick.
Then everyone started to feel sick.
Cushion handed out bags in case anyone
vomited.
12
Luckily they soon arrived and they could all get off.
13
Chapter 4
First they went and looked at the old buildings,
which had been moved to Skansen from different
parts of Sweden.
For example, there was a schoolhouse from the
days when no one had money for paper and pens.
“Children had to write on a blackboard,” said a
guide, dressed as an olden days schoolteacher.
“And they had to rub things out with a rabbit’s
foot.”
She passed around some blackboards and
cut-off rabbits’ feet so they could really
understand what things were like then.
“Imagine sitting with your backside on the seat
where someone sat a hundred years ago!” said
Vicky.
“Yeah, imagine you sitting there farting!”
giggled Benny.
“We’re not farting!” Mickey shrieked, and flew
up from her seat to clonk him with her blackboard.
“We never fart!” Vicky hissed.
They were behaving so badly, the guide
intervened.
“Let’s focus on how it was in the old days,” she
ur
ged them, raising her pointing stick.
14
“Back then, if children misbehaved, they were hit over the fingers with a ruler,” the guide continued.
“Does anyone want to try that?” their teacher
asked.
They all calmed down.
Then they all went to look at the animals.
They saw the wolverines, the wild boars, and
the seals.
15
And then they ate their picnic lunches, before
the highlight of the day: the Skansen aquarium!
There were not just fish. There were frogs and
spiders and snakes.
Some snakes lay tangled up in one big ball.
16
A little way away stood a zookeeper with a boa
constrictor.
“I’ll bet there’s no one here who dares to pat
this cutie,” she said.
The class answered with silence.
But suddenly there was a voice: “Yes, me!”
It was Dani.
The class looked admiringly at her.
“Good for you!” said the zookeeper.
Dani touched the boa constrictor carefully. It
felt smooth and dry.
“Bravo!” said the zookeeper. “Does anyone else
want to try?”
No one did.
“Then I appoint you the bravest in the class,”
said the zookeeper.
Everyone nodded, except Vicky and Mickey.
17
Then, when Dani went to look at the monkeys,
they stood in front of her.
“Don’t come here!” giggled Vicky. “Don’t bother
looking.”
18
“Why not?” Dani asked.
“Because you might as well look in the mirror,”
giggled Mickey.
Why did they say that?
Did they think Dani looked like a monkey? In
that case it was not a nice thing to say!
Dani likes monkeys a lot, but that doesn’t mean
she wants to look like one.
It wasn’t nice for the monkeys either!
Surely they don’t want to look like people?
Everyone wants to look like themselves.
19
When Dani felt tears welling up, she turned and
rushed away.
Her eyes were blurred.
20
Chapter 5
She ran until she almost fell over a big fat goose waddling along the path.
She slowed down and walked beside it.
Dani had been to Skansen many times before.
Especially when she was living with her
grandmother and grandfather.
That was when her mother had died and her
father was so unhappy that he couldn’t look after her.
Grandma and Grandpa had done it instead.
21
They tried lots of things to keep Dani from
being unhappy too.
Every Sunday they took her to Skansen. That’s
how Dani knew all the animals.
But she hadn’t met this goose before.
It was black and white with some red on its
beak.
A group of tourists asked if they could take a
picture of the pretty pair.
When they’d finished they bowed and thanked
Dani and gave her a bag of sweets.
22
And the goose waddled on.
Suddenly Dani remembered: the class!
Where had they gone to? Was she separated
from them now?
She did exactly what Cushion had said—she
panicked.
But then she remembered the teacher’s words:
“Wait where you last saw the class until
someone comes and finds you!”
23
Chapter 6
Dani ran all the way back to the aquarium…
But the class was no longer there.
She went out again and looked around.
Where had they all gone?
The sun was hot. It was autumn, but today it
was as if summer had returned to say a really
warm farewell.
Dani wiped her forehead and sat in the shade of
a tree. She had a good view of the aquarium.
Now she mustn’t panic but wait calmly until
someone came to find her.
Just be patient, the teacher had said.
24
Soon someone in the class would wonder:
“Where’s Dani?”
And the teacher would ask who had seen her
last.
25
And Vicky would put her hand up and call out:
“Me and Mickey!”
And Mickey would say: “It was when she
wanted to look at the monkeys and we happened
to say something stupid…”
And Vicky would say: “But we were only
joking.”
And the teacher would say: “Stop talking now.
Run and look for her!”
Then Vicky and Mickey would find her and say
sorry and everything would be fine, Dani thought, and she ate a sweet.
But no one came. It seemed no one had missed
her.
Dani ate another sweet and desperately tried to
think of something else.
Of Ella, her friend who had moved away.
And everything immediately felt a bit better.
That’s always the way when Dani thinks of Ella.
The sweets tasted very good. She took a third. And a fourth. And a fifth. And then she wiped her
forehead again.
But nothing happened, except that some crows
started squabbling over a bit of sausage someone
had dropped.
After a while an angry woman came over and told
Dani to pick up all the papers and scraps she’d
scattered around her.
Dani did as the woman said.
“Gosh it’s hard to be patient,” she muttered as
she picked up everyone else’s mess.
26
Then her patience ran out. So did the sweets.
And at last something happened!
A school class came charging up the hill, but it
wasn’t hers. It was another one with children who shrieked and shouted.
27
I wouldn’t want to be in that class, Dani thought, taking care not to get in the way of the wild
crowd.
28
But right at the back she caught sight of
someone who seemed familiar. A girl who didn’t
walk like the others, but hopped instead.
First two steps and then hop! Then two steps
more and hop!
There was only one person Dani knew who
moved like that.
It wasn’t… No, it couldn’t be true!
Or, maybe!
Yes…
YES!!!
“ELLA!” shrieked Dani.
The girl stopped. When she saw Dani she let out a shriek of delight.
And they flew towards each other!
“What are you doing here?” cried Dani.
“I’m on a class trip.”
“I’m here with my class, too!”
29
Ella looked around her.
“What have you done with them?”
Dani was serious again.
“They lost me. Or rather, I lost them!”
“How lucky that you found me! What shall we
play?”
Ella always asked that. As soon as they saw
each other!
Dani didn’t know what to answer. She was still
too surprised.
Ella
was hopping impatiently up and down.
“Come on, let’s hide.”
Dani hesitated.
“Can you? What if your teacher notices…”
“She never does!” Ella assured her. “As long as
the others don’t see me leaving the line.”
That made Dani smile.
“Do you call that a line?”
30
Five boys had fallen into a heap on the ground,
where they lay wrestling, almost as tangled as the aquarium snakes.
When the Northbrook teacher rushed over to
pull them up, Ella grabbed Dani.
“Now. No one will see us. Are you ready?”
Without waiting for an answer, she was off.
What should Dani do?
Follow her best friend in the whole world or do
as the teacher had said?
The first, of course!
Dani let go of her worries and followed.
31
Chapter 7
Every time Ella and Dani get together they find a fun new game to play.
This time they rushed to the old schoolhouse
where they decided that Ella was a strict
schoolteacher from the olden days and Dani was a
pupil who hadn’t done her homework.
“What’s seventy-eight times eighty-nine?”
asked the teacher from the olden days.
32
When Dani couldn’t answer she got a rap on the
knuckles with a pretend ruler.
Then she had to stand in the dunce’s corner and
pretend to cry. She was good at that.
33
She cried so hard that a security guard came in
to see.
“Little friend,” he said anxiously, “what’s the
matter?”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” said Ella. “She’s just pretending.”
“Are you sure?”
Ella nodded and put a protective arm around
Dani.
The guard muttered something and turned to
go, but stopped in the doorway.
“Have you by any chance seen a girl who’s lost
her class?” he asked.
“No,” said Ella decidedly. “We have not!”
And the guard went away.
“We’re best friends!” Ella called after him.
“Best friends in the whole world!” Dani
corrected her.
That’s how she feels. And she thinks the words
See You When I See You Page 1
