Danger in the Deep Dark Woods
Page 9
‘What move do you call that?’ Boo shouted from the rafters.
‘The feather custy!’ Amy shrieked.
‘You’re smothering me!’ Thaddeus E. Fox coughed. The custard was going up his nose! He couldn’t breathe. With a howl of anger he pushed Amy off.
Amy felt herself being catapulted through the air. She landed in a heap under one of the trestle tables.
Thaddeus E. Fox padded towards her.
Amy tried to move but she couldn’t. She had used up all her strength. She was finished. ‘Get out of here, Boo!’ she cried.
‘No.’ Boo fluttered down beside her. ‘We’re a team, remember.’
‘We certainly are.’ Amy heard a third voice behind her. It was Ruth! She’d come back to help them. And, with a thrill of joy, Amy saw that she had brought the mite blaster with her. ‘Get out of the way, you two!’ Ruth shouted.
Amy felt Boo’s strong wings grab her by the legs and pull her across the floor.
‘Get ready to itch, Fox!’ Ruth yelled.
BOOMPH! Ruth pulled the trigger of the mite blaster.
The cloud of insects hit Thaddeus E. Fox in the face.
To Amy’s horror, he shook them off. ‘No mite would dare attack me!’ he cried. ‘Besides,’ he threw a sideways glance at Amy, ‘they can’t get through the custard!’ Thaddeus E. Fox stalked towards Ruth.
‘That’s what you think, Fox!’ BOOMPH! Ruth hit him again. BOOMPH! And again. BOOMPH! BOOMPH!
Thaddeus E. Fox stopped. ‘Ouch!’ He put a paw to his whiskers and started to scratch. ‘Ooohhh!’ He put a paw to his ears. ‘Aarrggghhh!’ Soon he was scratching frantically all around his chin. Great big lumpy bite marks appeared on his face.
‘It actually seems as if the custard is making the mites bite harder,’ Ruth observed with interest. BOOMPH! ‘Have another blast.’
With one last backward glance at the chickens, Thaddeus E. Fox staggered out of the door. ‘I’ll get you for this!’ he roared. ‘And Rooster. Just you wait and see.’ Then he disappeared into the Deep Dark Woods.
Kebab Claude pulled the voice changer off his nose and cantered after him.
After they’d gone, the three chickens lay on their backs with their legs in the air, exhausted. They held wings.
‘That was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life,’ Boo said.
‘Me too,’ Ruth agreed.
‘Me too, but you’ve got to admit it was kind of fun,’ Amy said.
The three chickens stared up at the roof of the cottage. There was silence for a few minutes.
‘You know,’ Boo said. ‘I’m beginning to think I am cut out for this.’
‘Me too,’ Ruth agreed.
‘That makes three of us,’ Amy said. Her cheeks glowed. ‘I can’t wait for our next mission.’ She thought how happy she was to have made such good friends. And what a brilliant team they made together. Courage, intelligence and perseverance: Shigong Egg was right – those were the ingredients you needed to succeed. And Professor Rooster would be pleased: they’d sent the MOST WANTED villains packing without any help from James Pond. Amy sighed happily. Life was good. ‘Chicken mission accomplished,’ she said.
Shigong Egg was in the middle of a headstand when Menial came in with the newspaper. He’d been like that for three days already and had another four to go.
‘Place it on my feet, Menial,’ Shigong Egg commanded. ‘With an apple if you would.’
‘A red one, Master?’ Menial asked.
‘Red is the colour of lips, chips and cherry pips,’ Shigong Egg breathed.
‘Surely not chips, Master?’ Menial said.
‘Of course, chips, Menial, if they have ketchup on,’ Shigong Egg said crossly. ‘Do you doubt my wisdom?’
‘No, Master. Only a fool would do that.’ Menial placed the newspaper and a red apple on Shigong Egg’s toes and shuffled out.
Shigong Egg brought his knees to his chest. Slowly he straightened one leg so that the foot with the apple hovered in front of his mouth. He stretched his toes and took a bite. Then he straightened the other leg so that the newspaper was in front of his eyes.
‘Ah!’ Shigong Egg took another bite of his apple. ‘It is as I said it would be. Through difference comes unity.’
With a contented sigh Shigong Egg turned to the back page and started working out the crossword.
Don’t miss …
Out Now!
Join Agent
Cluckbucket and her
friends for more
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About the Author
Jennifer Gray lives in London and Scotland with her husband, four children and friendly but enigmatic cat, Henry. Her other work includes the Atticus Claw series and the Guinea Pigs Online books, co-written with Amanda Swift. The first book in the Atticus series, Atticus Claw Breaks the Law, was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize and won the 2014 Red House Children’s Book Award – Younger Readers category.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Atticus Claw Breaks the Law
Atticus Claw Settles a Score
Atticus Claw Lends a Paw
Atticus Claw Goes Ashore
Copyright
First published in 2014
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2014
All rights reserved
© Jennifer Gray, 2014
Illustrations © Hannah George, 2014
Cover design by Faber
Cover illustration © Hannah George, 2014
The right of Jennifer Gray 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 978–0–571–29828–0