* * *
Meanwhile, Candace was getting more and more frustrated with her brothers. “Ohh!” she groaned. “When I catch them . . .” Suddenly she gasped. The giant bubble-gum-filled ball was rolling toward her! She screamed and grabbed an overhead pipe so she could swing herself out of its path. But that trick didn’t work as well for her as it had for Ferb. The pipe came right off in her hands! She tossed it to the side and reached up, managing to grab another pipe. This time she was able to flip herself up into the vent. Crash! Bang! Boom! When she emerged from the other end, her hair was tousled, she had a bump on her head, and her clothes were ripped and stained. And the ball was still right behind her! “Oh, give me a break!” she screeched.
Frantically, she turned the corner, running as fast as she could. To her surprise, the ball suddenly moved ahead of her. She watched it roll away, then she walked off in the other direction. Whew, she thought. That was close!
The ball bounced up the handrail to a set of stairs, then bounced onto a landing in front of an elevator door. It rolled forward, hit the elevator button, rolled back, and hit the handrail. The timing was perfect—the ball shot right into the open elevator doors. The doors closed behind it.
Candace spotted the elevator. She was anxious to get back inside the theater, where she could watch the rest of the movie and be safe. She hit the elevator button, and the doors opened. She stepped inside, the doors closing behind her. She faced forward, and then realized she was sharing the elevator with the giant ball! She screamed and ran out before the doors closed, the ball still right behind her. She raced down one flight of stairs, jumping down the last few to the landing, and then hurtled down another set of stairs. The ball was still chasing her—it bounced on the landing and headed down the next flight of stairs. At the bottom of the steps Candace ran straight down a hallway. Suddenly the ball shattered, scattering small, colorful, round objects everywhere!
Candace ducked into a door marked SUPPLIES and plopped down on the floor to rest. What were those strange round objects all over the floor? she wondered. She reached forward, picked one up, then popped it into her mouth.
It was sweet with a candy coating. And it was very, very sticky. “Bubble gum?” she said in disbelief as she tried to pry her teeth apart. But they were stuck firmly together. “Oh, really old, stale bubble gum!” she realized. “Blech . . .”
Candace reached out to pull herself up and grabbed onto a nearby storage shelf. It started to shake. A tin of popcorn butter fell from the top shelf, drenching her. Then a large cardboard box opened up, and rolls of toilet paper fell down on her, sticking to the butter and wrapping around her body. The empty box fell on her head, and she stumbled forward blindly, her arms outstretched. She looked just like a mummy.
This was terrible! And there was only one person to blame. One person who had gotten her into this ridiculous mess . . .
“Phineas!” she bellowed through a mouthful of bubble gum.
Chapter 4
It was, at first glance, a beautiful scene. Crystal clear waters surrounded by rolling green hills. Several beavers busily building a dam. Snowcapped mountains in the distance. Above it all a cloudless blue sky . . .
And a large metal machine smack-dab in the middle! Dr. Doofenshmirtz hummed to himself as he painted red letters on the side of his latest devious invention. “Almost done!” he cried. “Just one more little bit.”
To Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s surprise, Perry flew through the air and knocked the paintbrush out of his hand with a roundhouse kick. The brush rolled across the platform, leaving a trail of red paint.
“Perry the Platypus,” Dr. Doofenshmirtz said with a smirk. “As usual, your timing is incredible.” He rubbed his hands together. “And by incredible, of course, I mean . . .” He mumbled something unintelligible. But Perry wasn’t listening anyway. He was already planning his next move.
The two faced off. Dr. Doofenshmirtz pulled out a ray gun and shot it at Perry. The platypus was instantly enveloped by a thick bubble. He struggled to escape, jumping up and down and punching at its sides.
“No use, Perry the Platypus,” said Dr. Doofenshmirtz. “I made this out of something that can’t be penetrated—pure evil! And a blend of space-age polymers,” he added.
The doctor began to explain his scheme, which, as usual, was a strange one. “You see, Perry the Platypus, I’m going to unleash the water being held by this dam into that huge drainage pipe that leads directly to the ocean. The additional water will raise the sea level by two percent and then my property one block from the shoreline will become beachfront property.” He laughed and ripped off his lab coat to reveal that he was wearing water wings and a bathing suit. He pumped his fists in excitement and put his lab coat back on.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz continued telling Perry all about his scheme. “And to release the water from the dam, I have invented a ray which attracts wood the way a magnet attracts metal! The Woodenator! Which was almost complete until you rudely interrupted me.” He reached for something. “Oh, look at this, Perry, it’s my paintbrush. You know, the one you knocked out of my hand a few moments ago.” He drew a pair of glasses and a curly mustache on the bubble, directly over Perry’s face. “Maybe you want to try to take it back from me now? Huh, you want to try? Ha-ha-ha. Good-bye, Perry the Platypus.” He pushed the bubble off the platform with both hands, and it bounced away over the water with Perry still trapped inside!
Back at the theater, Phineas and Ferb pushed open the storage-room door. The room was filled with movie displays—shark heads, UFOs, Roman columns . . . and right next to a large green dinosaur, an open tomb with a mummy inside. Bingo!
Phineas chanted the same words that he had heard the archaeologist say in the movie: “Oh, wah tah goo siam.” He looked expectantly at the mummy. Nothing. He grabbed it by the legs and pulled it out of the tomb. It quickly deflated. It was just a fake, blow-up mummy. Phineas and Ferb were very disappointed.
Phineas scowled. “There’s nothing down here but fake, promotional lobby junk,” he said in disappointment. He headed toward the door.
He was about to say something to Ferb when Candace, still wrapped up like a mummy, appeared in the doorway. “For all we know,” Phineas continued, “there might not even be such a thing as a mummy.” Ferb pointed to the mummy, which was waving its arms at Phineas. “Yeah, I’ll be right with you,” Phineas said dismissively.
“Phineas,” Candace groaned.
Phineas gasped when he finally realized what was in front of him. The mummy had come alive and was standing with its arms outstretched! Phineas slammed the door shut and took off—running right into Ferb. They both screamed and jumped up, their hats flying off their heads. Candace threw open the door and took off right behind them.
Trying to escape, Phineas and Ferb jumped into the open mouth of a shark display. The shark fell over. Their legs entangled, the brothers crab-walked to a Safari Man 2 in 2-D display. Wearing their helmets, the brothers blended in perfectly with the explorer theme. But Candace, who was still wrapped in toilet paper and couldn’t really see where she was going, ran right past them and straight into a movie poster of a huge bus.
“Phineas!” Candace yelled.
“Aah!” Phineas screamed. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t expect him to be so scary! I mean, can you imagine the angry, twisted soul hidden under those bandages?”
“Phineas!” Candace howled as she ran by the display.
“Makes me shudder,” Phineas admitted. He thought for a moment. “But you know what? We came down here looking for a mummy, and I’m not leaving without one! Let’s get him!”
The chase began. First, Phineas grabbed the mummy, and Ferb managed to get a net over its head. Then, they were both able to jump on top of the mummy.
But before they knew it, the mummy was somehow standing on their heads! Phineas and Ferb took off in opposite directions, and the mummy crashed to the floor. They ran and grabbed the empty coffin. Phineas took one side and Ferb grabbed t
he other. They surrounded the mummy and slammed the coffin shut. Mission accomplished!
Phineas was thrilled. “Hey, Ferb. We got our own mummy!” he cheered. The brothers high-fived. There was just one thing: “Now how are we going to get it home?” Phineas asked.
Chapter 5
“And . . . finished!” proclaimed Dr. Doofenshmirtz as he finished painting the R on the side of his latest invention, the Woodenator. He hit the START button. It beeped, and the large magnet began to glow, emitting a powerful charge that was headed directly toward the beaver dam. Sticks were pulled from the dam and onto the magnet.
The beavers ran off, running right past Perry, who was still stuck in the bubble. One of the beavers stopped and looked at Perry curiously. Perry chattered at him, and the beaver chattered back. The beaver picked up a nearby log and expertly gnawed it down to a toothpick. He rubbed it against his two giant front teeth, then threw it over his shoulder. Then he chomped down on the bubble, which burst open. Perry was free! The two creatures shook hands, slapped tails, and ran off in opposite directions.
“It is working!” Dr. Doofenshmirtz exclaimed with an evil laugh. “It is functioning properly!” But then the doctor heard a noise behind him and spun around. There stood Perry, his hands on his hips.
“Perry the Platypus!” Dr. Doofenshmirtz yelled in surprise. “You defeated my bubble of pure evil? Ooh!”
He reached into his lab coat, pulled out his ray gun, and aimed another bubble at Perry. The platypus avoided it by leaping onto the platform where the doctor was standing. The giant bubble got jammed in the mouth of the drainage pipe. Perry grabbed the gun and it went off, trapping the two mortal enemies in the same bubble! They floated into the air, landing in the water behind the dam. Just then the dam broke! Perry and Dr. Doofenshmirtz were directly in the path of a rushing torrent of water. Perry reached up, grabbed Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s nose, and broke the bubble.
“Oh, no!” Dr. Doofenshmirtz exclaimed. “What? Is my nose really that pointy?” Then he screamed as he was swept up by the raging water. Perry managed to outrace it by running into a large pipe, which connected to a vast system of other pipes underneath the city. Somehow, Perry emerged in the subbasement of the Pharaoh Theater! He knew he didn’t have a moment to lose. As he raced down the hallway, the water thundered after him.
Back in the theater, Phineas and Ferb heard a loud rumbling. They had placed the coffin on wheels and were ready to take it home. Suddenly they were surrounded by water! They hopped up on top of the coffin and rode the waves.
“You know what this is,” Phineas said delightedly. “Our second booby trap!” He turned around and spotted Perry on the coffin, sailing right behind them.
“There you are, Perry,” said Phineas.
The trio rode the waves, paddling away. “Whoo!” Phineas cheered. “Oh, yeah!” This was awesome! It was like a ride at an amusement park. The brothers raised their arms in the air. “Whoo!”
The next thing they knew, the water pressure built up so much that they shot out of the top of the head of the sphinx like a geyser. They rocketed across the street, landing on the opposite sidewalk. Phineas, Ferb, Perry, and Candace sat on the ground, surrounded by wooden splinters from the coffin and strips of toilet paper.
“Hey, Candace,” Phineas said to his sister. “You missed all the fun. Allow me to introduce our mummy.” He turned, but the mummy was nowhere to be seen. “Hey, where’s our mummy?” he asked disappointedly. “Mummy? Mummy?”
Just then, their dad walked up to them. “Mummy has supper waiting for us at home,” he said. He took a closer look at his daughter. “Candace, why are you all wet?”
Candace growled angrily. Phineas and Ferb had done it again!
In the car on the way home, Candace, Phineas, and Ferb sat together in the backseat. Perry lay sprawled across Candace’s lap, fast asleep.
Ferb spoke for the first time all day. “You know,” he said, “mummies have their brains pulled out through their noses.”
Candace sighed. “The lucky ones,” she grumbled.
Don’t miss the fun in the next
Phineas & Ferb book. . .
Adapted by N. B. Grace
Based on the series created by Dan Povenmire & Jeff “Swampy” Marsh
When Phineas and Ferb find out that Cirque du Lune is coming to town, they can’t wait to see it. But when the show is cancelled, they decide to put on their very own circus. With Phineas as the ringmaster, and performances like mud-diving and hoop-jumping, soon they’re bringing the house down! But when Candace tries to prove her brothers aren’t just clowning around, will the show go on? Plus, when Phineas and Ferb decide to do absolutely nothing for a day, Candace is determined to prove that her brothers are up to something!
Thrill-o-rama! Page 4
