1、1Amy the Hedgehogs GirlMiserable Mr PeckHer mum was in the kitchen when Amy rushed in.How was school? asked Mrs Harris, expecting the usual answer, OK.It was great,cried Amy. A lady gave us a talk on wildlife and she showed us a hedgehog expert.A what? said Mrs Harris.A hedgehog expert. Someone who
2、knows all about hedgehogs.Thats good,said Mrs Harris. Youll need to go the library and see if you can find some books.Oh dear,Amy groaned. Ill have to see Mr Peck.Mr Peck was the childrens librarian. He was a mean and miserable sort of person. He also lived next door to Amy.The library was almost em
3、pty when Amy arrived. She looked along the shelves, trying to find a book on hedgehogs.What are you doing? snapped a voice behind her.Amy nearly jumped out of her socks. It was Mr Peck.I was looking for a book about animals.Animals , indeed, sniffed Mr Peck. What sort of animals? Tame animals? Wild
4、animals? Animals from Africa? India? Britain?Hedgehogs,said Amy.Hedgehogs! bawled Mr Peck. The very worst animals there are. They dig up vegetables and bite lumps out of them.He pulled a book from the shelves. If you must study the horrid things,this is the best I can do.Thank you, said Amy politely
5、.Make sure you bring it back on time. And dont you dare bring hedgehogs into your garden. Your garden is next to mine, dont forget. If I see a hedgehogs near my carrots, do you know what I am going to do?No,said Amy.Im going to squirt it with my spray gun.At home, Amy read the book on hedgehogs. She
6、 found out that they ate slugs and snails. The book didnt say anything about vegetables.The next day she took the book back to the library.Whats this? said Mr Peck. This book is not due back for another twenty days.But Ive read it, said Amy. Have you got any more books about hedgehogs?Over there,sna
7、pped Mr Peck,pointing with his nose.Amy walked slowly along the shelves. Where were the books about animals? She was just about to rist asking Mr Peck, when she saw something. It was an old cassette tape, called Calls of the Wild. It looked as if nobody had ever played it.Amy took it down from the s
8、helf. It was part of a set of animal noises. This was tape number 12 and it was called Hedgehogs.Amy asked Mr Peck if she could borrow the cassette.Of course you can, he said rudely. Though anybody who wants to listen to horrid animal noises must be mad.He stamped the cassette box.And dont forget to
9、 rewind the tape.Hedgehog talkAmy sat in her room listening to the sounds of hedgehogs on her personal stereo, over and over again. Amy repeated the sounds herself.Im talking hedgehog, thought Amy. I wish I knew what I was saying. I really need a hedgehog to help me. Im sure theres one in the garden
10、. If I make hedgehog noises, perhaps it will hear me.Amy ran down into the garden and made hedgehog noises as loudly as she could.She stopped and listened,but no hedgehogs answered. Amy tried again. Bnt only a cat came into the garden.2Im going to keep trying,said Amy. Im sure Ican do it. At last sh
11、e got cold and she went indoors.The next night Amy tried again. She tried every night for a week.What are you doing out there?asked Mrs Harris.Wait and see, said Amy.Just then the door bell rang. It was Mr Peck. He stood at the door in his dressing gown. Amy noticed that his hair was wet.Mrs Harris,
12、 said Mr Peck. Every night when I have my bath I can hear a noise. It seems to be coming from your garden.Amy giggled behind her hand.Noise? said Mrs Harris.Some sort of animal, said Mr Peck. Id put poison down if I were you.That is the only way to deal with animals.As soon as Mr Peck had gone,Amy d
13、ashed out into the garden. Mr Peck thought I was an animal, she said to herself. Im going to try one more time.Amy went down on her knees and began to make her hedgehog sounds again. Almost at once there was a rustling noise and a hedgehog lumbered onto the lawn. Amy was delighted. The hedgehog and
14、Amy snorted and squeaked at each other.Suddenly a torch beam shone in their eyes.Whats going on? said a voice. It was Mr Peck, still in his dressing gown. The hedgehog rolled into a ball.Im chatting to a hedgehog, said Amy.You cheeky young thing. Talking to hedgehogs indeed.Excuse me began Amy.And w
15、hats more,Mr Peck cut in, hedgehogs are dirty little beasts and they eat up all the vegetables in my garden.Rubbish! said Amy crossly. Hedgehogs are not dirty. And they dont eat vegetables. They eat slugs and snails. Now,if you dont mind, I was talking to a hedgehog.Mr Peck was too shocked to answer
16、. His mouth dropped open as Amy snorted gently to the hedgehog. Slowly it unrolled.A sly look crept across Mr Pecks face.How often have you been doing this, my dear? he asked.Never before, said Amy. But from now on, Ill be every night.Hm, said Mr Peck. Youre going to be here every night, you say.The
17、 amazing hedgehog girlWhen Amy came home from school the next day,Mr Peck was in his front drive. He was fixing a large board to the gate. As soon as he saw Amy, he throw his coat over it.Amy had promised to show her mum the hedgehog. It was getting dark when they stepped into the garden to see her
18、hedgehog friend.Amy went down on her knees and began to snort. This time two hedgehogs came up to her.What are you talking about? whispered Mrs Harris.Slugs.There was a sound from next door. Amy shone her torch towards the fence. There were people staring into her garden. They all had their mouths o
19、pen.One person stood out. It was Mr Peck.Ive asked a few friends over, he said smoothly. I hope you dont mind.Amy was cross, but she also felt rather proud that so many people had come to see her. You may wath. But please dont talk or make a noise. And no photos.The people nodded.Amy went down on he
20、r knees and snorted once moer.This time three more hedgehogs came up. Amy managed to tell the hedgehogs that they had nothing to fear. The 3people just wanted to see how clever they were. Amy and the hedgehogs talked and played together.As soon as the hedgehogs had gone, the people behind the fence
21、began to clap and cheer. Of course they wanted to know what Amy and the hedgehogs had been talking about.They told me about their young. Then they told me why they curl up into a ball. And where to find the tastiest grubs. Oh,and they told me where they are going to sleep for the winter.Mrs Harris h
22、ugged Amy.You were fantastic, she said. Come in and Ill make you a nice hot drink.Yes. In you go, said Mr Peck cheerily. Im sure you must be very tired.There was something strange about Mr Peck. He had never said anything kind to Amy before. Then she heard an odd noise. It was the sound of coins bei
23、ng dropped into a box.It was worth a pound of anybodys money, she heard someone say.Ssh, said Mr Peck.Then Amy remembered the board that Mr Peck had been fixing to his front gate. Why had Mr Peck tried to hide it? Amy rushed round to the front of the house. There on the board in large letters it sai
24、d: What a nerve, said Amy. Then a smile crept across her face. I know how to fix you,Mr Peck.She raced round to Mr Pecks garden. Some of the people were still enjoying a cup of tea and biscuits.Before Mr Peck could stop her, she said,Ladies and gentlemen. There is something I must tell you. All the
25、money you have given tonight is going to a hedgehog hospital to look after sick hedgehogs.Everyone clapped and nodded their heads. Everyone except Mr Peck. His face went bright red and he made a strange spluttering noise.Not only that, went on Amy, but Mr Peck has agreed that for every pound that yo
26、u give tonight, he will give another pound of his own money.Everyone clapped again and cheered. Mr Peck went a very pale colour. Somehow he managed a smile.Before he could say anything, Amy said, And I am happy to say that the hospital has asked me to take the money for them.She held out her hand. G
27、loomily, Mr peck passed the box over to Amy.Then, an even gloomier look spread across his face as he dug into his pocket and pulled out two ten pound notes.A big hand for Mr Peck, said Amy.This is not quite the end of the story. Amy felt rather sorry for Mr Peck.After she had sent the money to the h
28、edgehog hospital, she asked the hedgehogs to patrol Mr Pecks garden. She told them to make sure that no more of his vegetables were eaten by slugs.A few weeks later, Mr Peck won third prize for his marrows, runner beans and carrots at the local show.That evening he leaned over the fence to show Amy
29、his three prizes.Its all thanks to those hedgehogs, he said. I wish I had known before how useful they are. Ive bought them a present.He handed her one tin of dog food.Ive just got some new books about hedgehogs in the library. I read that they abore dog food, he explained.A group of hedgehogs were
30、soon busy tucking in. Amy knelt down beside them.What are they saying? asked Mr Peck.Well, said Amy. Hedgehogs are a bit hard to understand when they have their mouthsfull. But I think they are saying thanks for the dog food.I should think so too, said Mr Peck. I paid a lot of money for that tin. An
31、d could you teach them not to speak with their mouths full? It is so rude.Ill try, said Amy.She looked at the hedgehogs and smiled.It seemed to her that they smiled back. 4Coming CleanOld Baggy-PantsDerek and Janey were eating jam roly-poly in the hall and talking about Mr Suchs trousers. Mr Such wa
32、s their teacher and he wore the same trousers to school, day in and day out.Theyre so crumpled and baggy, Janey said.And grubby and thick, said Derek.Like a pair of old dish-cloths. And he wears them all the time.I dont think hes got any others.Old Baggy-Pants, thats what he is, Derek added,sticking
33、 his fork into his jam roly-poly.I wish hed get some new ones, Janey sighed.At that moment Old Baggy-pants himself came into the hall. Janeys mouth fell open and Derek could see the mashed up jam roly-poly inside.Whats up? he said.Janey blinked and pointed. There was Mr Such in a brand new suit. A s
34、potless white suit without a crease in it. Everyone in the hall stopped eating and stared at him.Carry on,everyone, said Mr Such, a bit red in the face. Carry on eating.Wow!said Derek, leaning across his plate. He looks so different.He looks smart, said Janey firmly. And about time, too.Later that a
35、fternoon Janeys class trooped back into the hall for P.E.I like the suit, sir, Janey told Mr Such as they filed in.Thank you, Janey. Its for Parents Evening, really. Parents Evening?Yes, I have to look my best for that, dont I?But thats not till Monday, Mr Such, Derek said.I known that, Derek. Im ju
36、st getting used to it.While they were talking. Mrs Venn came out of the kitchen with a bowl of custard in her arms.She was so shocked to see Mr Such in his bright new suit she gave a little jump. Oh my gosh! she cried.She grabbed one of the hall curtains to steady herself. The custard looped into th
37、e air, straight for Mr Such.Derek saw it coming and stepped smartly in the way. The custard wobbled through the air and flopped against Derek;s vest. Everyone fell silent. Derek stood there, looking sad and stunned. And covered in cold custard.Well done, Derek, said Mr Such. Youd saved my brand new
38、suit.Derek tried to smile but by then the custard was oozing into his shorts.After break, Mr Such changed back into his dish-cloth trousers.Please keep clear of this, he said, hanging his new suit on the cupboard door. Keep well clear.A Lovely green colourThe last lesson of the day was art. They had
39、 to paint interesting faces. Janey was doing a monster. She put blood-shot bits in his eyes, a bolt through his neck and green stuff coming out of his nose. She was pleased with the green sthff, but shed mixed up too much. She asked Derek if he wanted some.I dont need any green stuff, Janey, he said
40、 . Im doing a footballer.Well, he could have green stuff coming out of his nose, couldnt he? she said.No,said Derek. He couldnt.Youd could use it for the background. Like grass. Mr Such5Princess Pips Holiday1 Ready to goEveryone in Princess Pips castle was very busy. The King was polishing his money
41、, the Queen was choosing sun hats, and the maids were running around with piles of vests.“ Can I take Dobbin on holiday?”asked Princess Pip.“Im afraid there wont be room for a pony on the coach ,”said the Queen.“Oh, ”said the Princess Pip. “Can Amanda and Bert come,then?”“There s no room for snakes,
42、”said the King, “not even pet ones.”Princess Pip scowled . “This holiday is going to be BORING,” she said.They went on holiday in their best gold coach.“Wave to all the people, dear,” said the Queen.Princess Pip folded her arms . “ I m on holiday,” she said. “Are we nearly there yet?”“We wont be the
43、re for a long time,” said the Queen firmly .It did take a long time to get to the seaside . The coach got very hot, and Princess Pip didnt feel very well.“Here we are,at last!” said the King happily.“But its a castle!” said Princess Pip. “Just like home.Its BORING.”2 Just like homeThere was a girl w
44、aiting by the castle door.“This is Daisy,”said the Queen. “She is going to look after you,Pip.”Daisy showed Princess Pip her room.“I dont want a four-poster bed!” said Princess Pip. “Thats just like home.”“You can sleep on my straw mattress , then,” said Daisy. “ Ill have the bed.”“Oh, all right.”sa
45、id Princess Pip.That evening there was a banquet and it went on for hours.“More sprouts?”asked the King happily. This is BORING,”said the Princess Pip.“Nonsense(胡说),dear,”said the Queen. “It cant be boring. Were on holiday!”“ I WANT TO GO HOME!” said Princess Pip, the next day. She had been walking
46、round the castle walls all morning and she hadnt found anything to do.“But were having a wonderful time,” said the Queen,from her sun chair.“Just look at the way my money shines in the sun,” said the King. “Wonderful!”“ But its BORING!” said Princess Pip.“Why dont you go and talk to Daisy?” suggeste
47、d the Queen.Princess Pip stomped off.“That does it,” she said to Daisy. “I WANT TO GO HOME!”3 The road home“If you stayed here a bit longer,you might start liking the seaside,” said Daisy.But Princess Pip wasnt listening. She was putting all her important things in her suitcase.“I think well have to
48、 take some things out,”said Daisy.Daisy found them both backpacks, and they set out for home.Princess Pip and Daisy went across the drawbridge and along the road.It was very hot.“Lets have a nice,cool snack,”said Daisy.So they got some fish sticks from a stall.“These arent bad,” admitted Princess Pip.“They taste best by the seaside,” said Daisy. “ Ill show you where the fish come from, if you like.”They went down some stone steps to a place where the sea swished backwards and forwards and the ground looked 6as if it was made of gold.“Look in these pools,” said Dai
