Gerald was sitting on the floor. He was licking cookie dough off a wooden spoon.
Mrs. Cooke came to the kitchen door.
â
Bonjour
, everyone!â she said. âKatie Lynn, my cooking show is on television. I thought you and I could watch it. Maybe the French Chef will have a new recipe that we can make together.â
Katie Lynn turned to Grandma. âCan you and Tina double up while Iâm gone?â she asked.
âCertainly, dear, if you take Gerald with you!â said Grandma.
Katie Lynn and Gerald followed Mrs. Cooke back into the living room. The French Chefâs face filled the television screen. He had a big droopy mustache and was wearing a tall chefâs hat.
Mrs. Cooke beamed at the TV. âIsnât he wonderful?â she asked.
âI think he looks goofy,â Gerald said.
Katie Lynn silently agreed.
âZee secret to good cooking eez using your imagination,â said the French Chef. âToday, we are going to cook snails.â
Katie Lynn gasped. âDid he say snails?â
âYes,â said Mrs. Cooke. She had a dreamy look on her face. âThe French eat a lot of snails.â
Suddenly, Katie Lynnâs stomach felt funny.
The television camera zoomed in on the snails. They were climbing up the sides of a big glass bowl. Katie Lynn was sure they were trying to escape.
âOh, wow!â Gerald said. âThis is neat!â He was staring at the TV with bug eyes. But Katie Lynn closed hers. She couldnât watch anymore.
Finally, Mrs. Cooke said, âThatâs what weâre going to eat tonight!â
Katie Lynn opened her eyes.
âWhat?â
she said.
âSnails,â said Mrs. Cooke.
Mrs. Cooke left for the market, and Katie Lynn went back to the kitchen.
She didnât feel so good.
âWell, what are we having for dinner?â asked Grandma.
âSnails,â Katie Lynn replied weakly.
âOh, no!â Grandma gasped.
âOh, yes,â said Katie Lynn. âMomâs gone to the market to get them.â
Watch Out for Snails!
Katie Lynn ate some cookies to take her mind off the snails. Then she went back to baking with Grandma and Tina. Gerald was still in the living room, watching reruns of
The French Chef.
Finally, Katie Lynn said, âWe only need one more batch and Mr. Chesterfieldâs cookies will be ready.â
Just then, Mrs. Cooke burst into the kitchen. âIâm back!â she announced. Sheheld up a paper bag. âThey had some
wonderful
snails at the market!â
âTheyâre alive!â screamed Tina.
âOf course theyâre alive, Tina,â said Mrs. Cooke. âTheyâre
supposed
to be alive.â
âMom!â cried Katie Lynn. âSome of them are crawling on your dress!â
Mrs. Cooke looked down. âOh, my goodness! Youâre right. How in the world did they get out?â She plucked the snails off her dress and put them back inside the paper bag.
Katie Lynn shivered. She hoped no snails ever crawled on
her
clothes!
Mrs. Cooke took a big bowl out of the cupboard and dumped the snails into it.
The snails started crawling up the sides.
Theyâre trying to escape
, Katie Lynn thought,
just like the ones on television.
Katie Lynn went back to mixing together the cookie ingredients while Mrs. Cooke got the snails ready to cook.
Suddenly, Tina screamed, âThereâs a snail in my cookie dough!â
Katie Lynn looked at Tinaâs dough. âNo, there isnât, Tina. Thatâs just a chocolate chunk.â
âBut there are some on the floor,â said Grandma. âBe careful not to step on them.â
Tina started jumping up and down. âI donât want them crawling on me!â she screamed.
âStop it, Tina!â shouted Katie Lynn. âYou just squashed two of them!â
âOh! Oh! My new shoes!â cried Tina. Now she was hopping around even more. âTheyâre ruined! Theyâre
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