Monster Nanny

by Tuutikki Tolonen

  Koby threw down his blanket, book, and flashlight. He grabbed the zipper on the tent flap and opened it with a quick tug. But before he had time to dive into the tent, something flew out the door. Oscar had thrown a sock at him!

  Or not. Unlike a thrown rolled-up sock, this ball did not fall toward the ground. On the contrary, it rose higher and higher. What on earth? Koby managed to think, when the ball lit up. Then he knew.

  “No!” he cried.

  Suddenly the flying ball broke up into many small parts, as if exploding, and each little part lit up. One, two, three . . . Koby managed to count at least six before the flying dots of light vanished in the night sky.

  Oscar’s sleep-muddled head appeared in the tent doorway.

  “What was it?” he asked, frightened, hair sticking up in all directions. “It bit me.”

  The door of the next tent opened, and Halley’s head popped out.

  “What are you yelling at?” she demanded.

  “The fairy-frog escaped,” Koby explained darkly. “Or fairy-frogs. There were at least six of them.”

  “What? Give me the flashlight,” Halley said, crawling out of her tent.

  Half a minute later, Halley had the spike fairy’s empty cookie jar in one hand, the lid in the other.

  “Look at this.”

  Halley shined the light at the inside of the lid. The underside was full of little gouged dents, circling the inside edge of the lid like a string of pearls.

  “I thought it was just banging on the sides. It was much cleverer than I thought. Using those dents, it managed to unscrew the lid from below,” Koby said, and took the lid from Halley to examine it more closely.

  “What is that?” Oscar asked, pointing at little light-colored piles on the bottom of the jar, under the cotton-ball nest. Halley aimed the flashlight.

  “Looks just like . . .” she began, puzzled, and bent closer.

  “They look like eggshells,” Koby said.

  “Eggshells?” Oscar echoed. “How is that possible? The jar was closed all the time. How could some bird get in there to lay eggs?”

  “Well, it couldn’t, dumbo,” Halley asserted. Silent and pondering, Koby stared at the eggshells on the bottom of the jar.

  “I’m thinking . . .” he began, and fell silent again.

  “What?” Halley asked.

  Koby frowned and said: “What if these are its own eggshells?”

  “Did anyone see eggs with it?” Halley was doubtful. “It was in a glass jar. A transparent glass jar.”

  “The jar was covered up all day,” Koby said. “Last time we saw the mosquito-fairy, it was lying in a ball like a cat, not moving at all. Perhaps it was hatching the eggs.”

  Halley wrinkled her brow.

  “Oh, so it would have laid eggs and hatched them at lightning speed in one night into babies?”

  “It’s possible,” Koby said. “Maybe it already had the eggs in its pocket.”

  “In its pocket!” Halley scoffed. Of all the mad ideas.

  “So are there lots more of them now?” Oscar was alarmed.

  “Could be,” Koby said, looking up at the blue-gray night sky. No more spots of light were flying anywhere.

  “What if they attack us? What if they’re angry because we put their mom in a jar?” Oscar asked quietly.

  “Of course they won’t attack us. They’re monster mosquitoes. We’re not monsters,” Koby replied.

  “It stung me,” Oscar said.

  “Self-defense,” Koby said.

  “What did I do to it? I was asleep,” Oscar insisted.

  Just then they heard it. A tiny, determined voice squeaked somewhere very close: “Ah-ah-ah! Ee-ee-ee!”

  “Shhh,” Halley hissed. “There’s one more in here! We must find it.”

  Oscar was paralyzed on the spot.

  “Ah-ah-ah!” the voice squeaked.

  “Where is it?” Oscar began to panic.

  “Ee-ee-ee!” came again.

  “The sound is coming from the jar,” Halley whispered. The fairy’s cookie jar was still in her hand. “Quick! Where’s the lid?”

  The lid was in Koby’s hand. He slammed it on the jar and screwed it tightly shut. Oscar sighed with relief.

  “Look,” Halley said. “Koby was right.”

  Halley shined the light in the jar. On the bottom, a tiny, partly split fairy egg had rolled from the ruins of the cotton-ball nest. It was pink and very small, and it cracked. The split opened up more. From the crack emerged a tiny greenish head, which stared at the children belligerently and squealed: “Ah-ah-ah!”

  “A newly born monster mosquito,” Koby whispered. “Incredible. Even Runar knew nothing about this.”

  “Why is it yelling so much?” Oscar asked. “The first one wasn’t as cross as this.”

  “It may be missing its mom,” Halley said. “Or it’s hungry. I’ve heard that babies get cross if they’re hungry.”

  “Should we feed it?” Oscar asked.

  “Why not let it out of the jar and it can fly to the others?” Halley suggested.

  “It won’t find the others anymore,” Koby said. “What on earth are we to do with it?”

  CHAPTER 22

  Mimi and Grah

  THE BIRDS WERE TWITTERING their morning songs, and the sun was waking up the bumblebees and other buzzing insects of a summer day. The grass behind the bush, under the balconies, was cool but suitably sheltered for Mimi and Grah. Ten o’clock in the morning was an unusual time to be out in the yard with a monster, even if they were partially hidden in a bush.

  But they could not stay inside. Not now that Invisible Voice had become a visible Dad. He was sleeping soundly in his own bed, but it had been quite a job to get him to calm down and to believe that everything was fine. That there was a good reason why Alice and Mimi were home alone and Mimi was in the bath in the middle of the night. And that it was not at all terrible for Halley and Koby to be camping somewhere in the yard.

  Grah had turned up at the door in the morning, at 6:12, to be precise. It had knocked very quietly, but Mimi had woken instantly and crept out to open the door.

  “Good thing you didn’t ring the bell,” Mimi had whispered as Grah slipped straight into its closet. Maybe it was embarrassed. Or else just tired.

  But now they were in the yard and the sun was shining. Mimi patted Grah’s arm.

  “Just try it,” she coaxed. “You know how!”

  Grah watched Mimi with its yellow eyes, a blank look on its face. Mimi sighed. She wanted Grah to show her how the invisibility dust worked. She wanted to see how the monster disappeared from sight, like Halley had said.

  But Grah, who was usually so agreeable, wouldn’t do anything at all.

  “Mimi,” came a tentative call from above.

  A small blond head peeked over the balcony rail. It was Alice. She had stayed on Dad watch. Her job was to tell Mimi when Dad awoke.

  “Is Dad awake?” Mimi asked.

  “Not yet. Are you finished? Are you coming back in now?”

  “Not just yet,” Mimi said, frowning. “Grah is really stubborn today. It won’t do anything.”

  Grah grunted.

  “What do I say when your dad wakes up?” Alice said. “He’s sure to ask me where you are. And why I’m at your house on my own.”

  “Tell him that I went out to the yard,” Mimi said. “Go in now!”

  “So you’re allowed out in the yard alone, without telling anybody?” Alice went on up above.

  “Course not, but Dad doesn’t know that,” Mimi answered. “I bet he can’t even remember how old I am.”

  “Can I tell him if he asks?” Alice asked.

  “Asks what?”

  “Well, how old you are?”

  “Oh, Alice! Go in now, I’m in the middle of something here,” Mimi snapped.

  Reluctantly, Alice vanished from the balcony. It was not always easy to be Mimi’s helper.

  Behind the bush, Mimi turned back to the monster, who was staring
blankly at the forest.

  “What are you thinking?” Mimi asked.

  Grah’s eyes moved so fast that only the end result of the motion was noticed: suddenly the eyes were no longer looking at the forest but were fixed on Mimi. Mimi recalled the bathrobe’s words.

  “Are you missing that . . . your own home?” she asked.

  Grah stared at her, motionless.

  “Where is your home?” Mimi went on.

  Grah moved restlessly and turned to look back toward the forest.

  “There in the woods?” Mimi asked. Grah said nothing, as usual.

  “Don’t you like staying with us?” Mimi asked. “I think it’s nice to have you with us.”

  Grah looked at Mimi. Perhaps it did not want to answer.

  “I feel silly talking to myself here,” Mimi said. “I wish you would answer.”

  Grah stared.

  “But I do understand.” Mimi sighed. “I understand now that the bathrobe explained it. This is not your home. Everybody wants to go to their own home. You need to get back to your own home too.”

  Out of the blue, Grah put out its huge, thick-fingered hand and poked Mimi very gently in the cheek.

  “Ouch,” Mimi said, surprised.

  Very slowly and carefully, Grah placed its hand against Mimi’s cheek. Or actually against her head, because Mimi’s head was quite small and Grah’s hand was very big. Suddenly Mimi understood what the monster was doing: it was stroking her cheek!

  “Aww.” Mimi sighed and without a moment’s hesitation threw herself into the monster’s arms and hugged the thick, dusty, heavy monster as hard as she could.

  “Oh, Grah! We can still be friends, even if our homes are in different places! But how on earth can we find our way to your monster home? I don’t know. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out!”

  Grah patted Mimi’s hair fondly.

  Suddenly there was the sound of shuffling. Someone was walking on the other side of the bush that Mimi and Grah were behind. Mimi let go of Grah and held her breath. Grah was quite still.

  The ominous silence lasted a few seconds. Then it started: an awful yapping and roaring.

  “It’s Eric,” Mimi whispered. “Perhaps he’s on his own.”

  Of course Eric was not on his own. He was never on his own. Behind him Pattie Newhouse walked daintily in her fuchsia tracksuit, which made a swishing noise as she moved.

  “Eric, be quiet,” the lady shushed.

  “Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof!” Eric roared.

  “What’s there in the bush? Can you smell a pussycat or a wee squirrel?” the lady chatted, stopping by the bush.

  “Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof!” barked Eric.

  “Go!” Mimi whispered to the monster.

  She tried to nudge the monster to move, but Grah seemed bolted to the ground.

  “Go on!” Mimi urged. “Run and hide!”

  Grah bowed its head and began to shake, trembling from head to toe.

  “Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof!” Eric barked on the other side of the bush.

  “Shush now, boy,” Mrs. Newhouse said, trying to calm him down.

  Grah’s ragged and matted coat began to emit dark smoke in big swirls. The swirls quickly turned as transparent as air. Mimi watched, fascinated. It all happened with amazing speed.

  “You can . . .” Mimi whispered. All she could see was green: forest, leaves, moss. Grah had disappeared from view, and not a moment too soon.

  “Let’s take a look, then, silly dog,” said Mrs. Newhouse as she shoved a part of the bush aside. Mimi was staring straight at the lady’s surprised blue eyes. Even Eric was surprised and stopped barking. Mimi did not dare to look to her side. She was afraid a bit of Grah, a toe or finger or something, was showing.

  “Mimi, why are you sitting in a bush in your bathrobe?” the lady asked, puzzled.

  “I am sitting behind the bush,” Mimi answered haughtily. “It’s nice and shady here. I’m studying beetles.”

  “Beetles, is it?” the lady said. “Are you all alone? Would you like me to take you home?”

  “No, thank you,” Mimi said. If only Mrs. Newhouse would be on her way quickly.

  “Beetles are really easily frightened by dog barking,” Mimi went on.

  “Is that so? I didn’t know that beetles have ears and everything!” the lady exclaimed, marveling at the notion.

  “Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof!” Eric was off again.

  “Eric, mind your muzzle, now—you’ll frighten the beetles, did you hear? Shush, shush!” the lady scolded.

  “What’s the racket out here?” a sleepy shout came from up above. Invisible Voice—in other words, Dad—had woken up. Alice had not raised the alarm! Mimi frowned.

  “Anything wrong?” Dad called. “The dog is barking so much that I can’t sleep. Is Mimi there?”

  “Here!” Mimi called back. “I’m studying nature.”

  “Woof-woof-woof!” called Eric.

  “Eric, now shush once and for all!” Mrs. Newhouse told him sternly, and Eric finally stopped barking.

  “Nature, is it,” Dad said, scratching his head. “Good job. Are you coming in for breakfast soon? Alice seems to be here already.”

  “Quite soon,” Mimi said. “Two minutes.”

  “Well, now, we must go and have our breakfast, too,” Mrs. Newhouse said to Eric. “Bye-bye, everybody!”

  Dad waved his hand and disappeared from the balcony. Silence fell in the bush. At last Mimi dared to look at the spot where Grah had sat. Nothing. The spot was empty.

  Mimi screwed up her eyes and blew into the air. Nothing. She blew harder. The scenery began to quiver, just slightly, barely noticeably. Like the surface of water. You would not have noticed unless you were looking for it.

  Mimi blew some more. The air moved, and the scenery folded like a curtain at the theater. There was a flash of something browny-black. A hairy arm!

  “Grah!” Mimi sighed. “There you are.”

  The monster’s arm waved in the air, first once and then many times. With each wave of its arm, the air moved aside and the monster gradually came into view. Finally it sat next to Mimi fully visible.

  “You can, you can!” Mimi whispered excitedly, and clapped. Then she threw herself into the monster’s lap and squeezed as hard as she could. The monster’s huge chest echoed with something that sounded a bit like a giant cat purring.

  CHAPTER 23

  Where Are the Monsters?

  MEANWHILE, IN THE MONSTER camp, Koby had just woken up and was sitting behind the tent, answering Mom’s text messages, more of which were coming all the time. It had all begun well but quickly turned bad.

  Mom, 9:35 a.m.:

  Morning, darlings! Hope I didn’t wake you. When you go to bed early, you wake up early. It’s so pretty and carefree here. Remember to get fresh air. How is it going with that creature?

  Koby, 9:53 a.m.:

  You didn’t wake us. Weather fine here. We are outside all the time. Would be nice if you came home.

  Koby deleted the last sentence so that Mom wouldn’t think she really should come home. “We miss you,” he wrote instead. He sent the message. His tummy rumbled.

  Mom, 10:06 a.m.:

  Koby, how are things really going there? One of the moms here said she got a message from her child saying that a big gang of children are living in tents in the yard with you. And that the creatures have gone away and you are there on your own. Is this true?

  Koby, 10:07 a.m.:

  Ha-ha! Of course not. We do have tents set up but nobody LIVES in them. We’re just playing. All is well! The monster must be at home with Mimi.

  At least, that was what Koby hoped. In truth, he had no idea where Mimi was. The thought was stressful. Koby deleted the words “must be.”

  The monster is at home with Mimi. Tell the other parents that all the kids are here playing with us. We’ll have a picnic soon. Have a nice day.

  His belly gurgled. If only they were having a picnic! But all the food was gone,
Mimi and Alice were lost, and the monsters had run off. There was a cross mosquito-fairy baby in the cookie jar, for which they should find some food. When would he be forced to tell Mom the truth? Bleep-bleep! Another message.

  Mom, 10:13 a.m.:

  Good to hear! Called home and they were just having breakfast. All sounds well. I just worry when I can’t see for myself that everything is OK. I should have known that you are sensible and reliable kids. Bye-bye, Love, Mom

  What on earth? Koby thought. Who had Mom spoken to? Mimi and Alice?

  Tousled, sleepy kids were crawling out of the tents. Koby slipped the phone into his pocket.

  “Where’s breakfast?” Oscar asked Koby, and yawned.

  “Haven’t got any,” Koby said. “The monsters haven’t brought anything.”

  “Good.” Luke was pleased. “No more potatoes!”

  “What can we eat, then?” Jemima asked sleepily.

  “We’ll have to go home to eat. And to see if the monsters have gone there. We must find them,” Koby said.

  “Are they lost?” Halley asked. “I thought they were running around the forests and rolling in puddles.”

  “They haven’t been seen in twenty-four hours. I think they’ve left. They should be looking after us. And one of you has told your mom that we have a camp here with not one adult or monster to take care of us. We all agreed that we wouldn’t tell anybody,” Koby went on dryly.

  “Oh dear,” Leo said. “Who told?”

  Minnie blushed. “It might have been me. It was an accident, I . . .”

  Minnie went quiet. Koby said: “I just wrote to our mom that we’re in tents in the yard playing at camping. Maybe you should tell your parents the same.”

  “Playing at camping!” Halley spluttered.

  “Do you have a better suggestion?” Koby snapped. He hadn’t slept enough. Everything was going wrong. This was not a good time to criticize his choice of words, unless you wanted a fight.