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Authors: Charles Ogden, Rick Carton
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sometimes,” said Peter Pickens.
Edgar lowered his head and tried to ram Ellen like a crooked orange rhinoceros.
“What kind of siblings
fight
?” cried Seth and Burl Turkle, gripping each other in horror. “What do we do?”
Ellen spun Edgar around by the top of the cone, then pinched her brother’s nose between her knuckles.
Willa Malloy shrugged. “Dunno. Guess we let them go at it.”
Ellen rushed at Edgar, and Edgar rushed at Ellen, and they tackled each other in front of the Exotic Animal Emporium. Edgar’s cone crumpled and plopped off as the twins rolled about in the dirt, and nobody could tell the combatants apart in their filthy striped pajamas.
The din of battle grew louder and louder, until, at long last, Mr. Poo Poo awoke from his slumber.
He was hungry.
26. Snakes Will Be Snakes
Many people keep puppies and kitties as pets, and it’s easy to see why. Puppies and kitties are cute. They cock their little heads and look up at you with their loving eyes, and they’re faithful and loyal and always happy to see you. They like to rub up against your legs and curl up in your lap, lick your hand, and get you to stroke their fur. But not everybody keeps puppies and kitties for pets.
Some people, like Peter and Penny Pickens, keep Burmese pythons.
And as their owners know, a Burmese python can grow to be over twenty feet long and as thick as a tree trunk. A snake doesn’t look at you with loving eyes because it has snake eyes, and snake eyes always look like they’re up to something. And a snake doesn’t have fur for you to stroke, so if it curls up against you, it’s probably hungry and thinks you’ll make a tasty meal.
The twins had never owned a Burmese python themselves, so they knew nothing about the natural tendencies of a giant snake. They had merely snatched the Pickens’ python as they had snatched all the other pets in the neighborhood and disguised itas a great multicolored Mondopillar, an especially exotic animal with a pointed snout, curling antennae, and feathers down the length of its limbless body.
Since everyone was fixated on the fight, no one remained around the Exotic Animal Emporium to notice the hungry Mondopillar make its move. Its flexibility made it inevitable that the Mondopillar would eventually wriggle out of its bonds. Slowly, it began to move down the length of the cart, smelling delicious things with its tongue.
The other animals were still leashed in place, and from the Mondopillar’s perspective, all the puppies and kitties and bunnies were laid out like an all-youcan-eat buffet. The giant snake slithered forward, and the helpless little creatures in its path could do nothing to save themselves.
The Mondopillar first reached the miniature Hamble, the itty-bitty kitty painted three shades of purple with a shiny red nose and pointy antlers on its head. The Mondopillar opened its great jaws wide and swallowed the Hamble in one big gulp, continuing toward the roly-poly feathered hamster the twins had named a Druffle.
Then, just as the oversized eating machine was about to inhale a second savory morsel, the Mondopillar froze in its track.
27. An Attention Getter
The Hamble’s antlers had caught in the Mondopillar’s throat. All kinds of loud, nasty wheezes and coughs came from the python as it choked and gagged.
Now, Edgar and Ellen were yelling at the top of their lungs as they fought, and the roar of the surrounding crowd was very loud indeed, but the vile sounds made by the distressed snake were even louder. Everyone turned to see the source of the fearsome racket, the fight temporarily forgotten.
As the crowd watched, the Mondopillar coiled its body, raising itself high in the air and thrashing wildly about. Its head swayed from side to side and then reared back, and suddenly, with one tremendous
“grrahhkk!”
the snake dislodged the Hamble trapped in its throat.
Tufts of purple fur; a round, red ball; and splinters from what had been
Edgar lowered his head and tried to ram Ellen like a crooked orange rhinoceros.
“What kind of siblings
fight
?” cried Seth and Burl Turkle, gripping each other in horror. “What do we do?”
Ellen spun Edgar around by the top of the cone, then pinched her brother’s nose between her knuckles.
Willa Malloy shrugged. “Dunno. Guess we let them go at it.”
Ellen rushed at Edgar, and Edgar rushed at Ellen, and they tackled each other in front of the Exotic Animal Emporium. Edgar’s cone crumpled and plopped off as the twins rolled about in the dirt, and nobody could tell the combatants apart in their filthy striped pajamas.
The din of battle grew louder and louder, until, at long last, Mr. Poo Poo awoke from his slumber.
He was hungry.
26. Snakes Will Be Snakes
Many people keep puppies and kitties as pets, and it’s easy to see why. Puppies and kitties are cute. They cock their little heads and look up at you with their loving eyes, and they’re faithful and loyal and always happy to see you. They like to rub up against your legs and curl up in your lap, lick your hand, and get you to stroke their fur. But not everybody keeps puppies and kitties for pets.
Some people, like Peter and Penny Pickens, keep Burmese pythons.
And as their owners know, a Burmese python can grow to be over twenty feet long and as thick as a tree trunk. A snake doesn’t look at you with loving eyes because it has snake eyes, and snake eyes always look like they’re up to something. And a snake doesn’t have fur for you to stroke, so if it curls up against you, it’s probably hungry and thinks you’ll make a tasty meal.
The twins had never owned a Burmese python themselves, so they knew nothing about the natural tendencies of a giant snake. They had merely snatched the Pickens’ python as they had snatched all the other pets in the neighborhood and disguised itas a great multicolored Mondopillar, an especially exotic animal with a pointed snout, curling antennae, and feathers down the length of its limbless body.
Since everyone was fixated on the fight, no one remained around the Exotic Animal Emporium to notice the hungry Mondopillar make its move. Its flexibility made it inevitable that the Mondopillar would eventually wriggle out of its bonds. Slowly, it began to move down the length of the cart, smelling delicious things with its tongue.
The other animals were still leashed in place, and from the Mondopillar’s perspective, all the puppies and kitties and bunnies were laid out like an all-youcan-eat buffet. The giant snake slithered forward, and the helpless little creatures in its path could do nothing to save themselves.
The Mondopillar first reached the miniature Hamble, the itty-bitty kitty painted three shades of purple with a shiny red nose and pointy antlers on its head. The Mondopillar opened its great jaws wide and swallowed the Hamble in one big gulp, continuing toward the roly-poly feathered hamster the twins had named a Druffle.
Then, just as the oversized eating machine was about to inhale a second savory morsel, the Mondopillar froze in its track.
27. An Attention Getter
The Hamble’s antlers had caught in the Mondopillar’s throat. All kinds of loud, nasty wheezes and coughs came from the python as it choked and gagged.
Now, Edgar and Ellen were yelling at the top of their lungs as they fought, and the roar of the surrounding crowd was very loud indeed, but the vile sounds made by the distressed snake were even louder. Everyone turned to see the source of the fearsome racket, the fight temporarily forgotten.
As the crowd watched, the Mondopillar coiled its body, raising itself high in the air and thrashing wildly about. Its head swayed from side to side and then reared back, and suddenly, with one tremendous
“grrahhkk!”
the snake dislodged the Hamble trapped in its throat.
Tufts of purple fur; a round, red ball; and splinters from what had been
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