‘Boy? Rubby?’ we suddenly heard Thing say, and swirled round to see our tiny furry friend blinking up at us.
‘Yes, Thing?’ I said gently.
‘Boy and Rubby very nice to me,’ it purred, rocking from side to side, with its paws behind its back. ‘Give me pressles.’
‘Presents,’ I corrected it under my breath, ’cause I didn’t want to go and sound all teacherly, like Miss Wilson.
‘So now I give Boy and Rubby pressles …’
And with a swoosh, one tiny paw came out and presented Jackson with a twig.
‘Oh … thank you!’ he grinned, practically choking a laugh back down. ‘It’s a very good stick!’
‘It quite twangy,’ said Thing, pinging the twig so it boinged a bit in Jackson’s hand.
‘Well, thanks. I do like them twangy,’ Jackson replied, trying so hard not to snigger that I worried he might explode.
‘And Rubby, is for you …’
Thing’s other paw came from behind its back, clutching a newly-yanked-from-the-ground clump of grass.
‘I pick them myself !’ it said.
‘That’s so sweet!’ I replied, taking the grass, and ever-so-gently shaking the earth off the bottom.
‘I remember you like to keep them in bottle till they deaded!’ Thing smiled happily at me, proud of how well it had done with its pressles.
‘Yes, that’s true,’ I nodded, thinking I might just explode with giggles too.
‘Peh! I got OTHER pressle for Rubby!!’ Thing suddenly exclaimed, and ran off to rummage under some damp leaves.
At first, I didn’t recognise the grubby, uneven ball it scampered back to offer to me.
‘Pretty Rubby wrapping!’ Thing blinked cutely at me.
I took a hold of whatever it was and gave it a shake – and my muddy, daisy-print pants unfurled about ten centimetres from Jackson’s nose …
*
And to finish my story, I am going to tell you three lies:
About the Author
Karen McCombie is the bestselling author of numerous children’s and teenage books, including the series Ally’s World, Stella Etc., Indie Kidd and the novels An Urgent Message of Wowness and The Raspberry Rules. Before becoming an author she worked for teen magazines such as J17 and Sugar. Originally from Scotland, she lives in London with her husband, young daughter and assorted cats, who all give her inspiration for her books, whether they like it or not.
Copyright
First published in 2011
by Faber and Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2011
All rights reserved
© Karen McCombie, 2011
Illustrations © Alex T. Smith, 2011
The right of Karen McCombie to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–27258–7 [epub edition]
Thing stays safe and hidden at the bottom of the garden.
Well, most of the time.
But last week we snuck it into school (bad move).
And thanks to Thing and its rubbish magic, we ended up in a totally noodly, doodly mess!
Gulp …
The Curse of the Jelly Babies Page 5
