Olive of Groves and the Great Slurp of Time by Katrina Nannestad Read Free Book Online Page B

Anastasia leapt to her feet, screeching, slapping at her head, hopping from foot to foot, until she fell backwards onto a cactus.
    â€˜Uh-oh,’ said Eduardo. ‘Anastasia has landed on a cactus.’
    â€˜It’s a prickly pear,’ corrected Valerie the owl.
    â€˜A prickly pair of buttocks!’ Alfonzo laughed.
    Anastasia burst into tears.
    George and Steve disentangled themselves, crawled out of their oversized gumnuts and took up residence in Anastasia’s ears.
    Meanwhile, Helga the hippo, who absolutely adored water, had decided to use the break in the lesson to take a little bath with the water lilies. She had just managed to squeeze her tail and a quarter of her bottom into the sink when the whole bench collapsed under her weight. Helga, the sink and the water lilies skidded across the floor, their journey smooth and rapid thanks to Reginald’s layer of butter. They skated out the door and down the grand staircase, where they collided with the Inspector of Schools, who had just arrived for a surprise visit.
    And a surprise it was.
    Especially for him!
    Scruffy the dog chased after Helga and the sink, grinning, barking and licking up smears of butter along the way. This was the most exciting science lesson since Carlos had blown up the anatomy display. On that occasion, Scruffy had managed to eat three kidneys, a large intestine and the left hemisphere of a monkey’s brain before anyone noticed.
    Cracker, the Purple Peruvian Parrot, tried to fly after Scruffy. He loved teasing and taunting the little mutt. However, keeping a straight course was difficult since his tail feathers had been sliced off in Jabber’s juggling mishap that morning. Lurching up and down, squawking and swearing, flapping and flopping, he plummeted right into the open jaws of the Venus flytrap.
    Mrs Groves’ hand flew to her chest. Her eyelashes fluttered and her cheeks glowed a rosy red. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a large gold fob watch, which she held before her face. ‘Goodness gracious me!’ she cried. ‘Is that the time? I really must be going!’
    She jumped over a potted hydrangea, dived beneath a table and slid out into the corridor on her tummy. She sprang to her feet, hitched her skirt up around her knees, sprinted down the grand staircase, hurdled over the unconscious body of the Inspector of Schools, dashed into her office and hid behind the heavy velvet curtains.
    â€˜Aawk! Get me out of here!’ squawked Cracker from inside the Venus flytrap. Actually, he said something extremely rude, but his intended meaning was the same.
    Diana the lion tamer leapt to her feet. ‘Never fear! Diana is here!’ She cracked her whip, stomped her boots and did aggressive and astonishing things with a chair. It was a magnificent performance that would have done any lion tamer proud. Unfortunately, it did not impress the Venus flytrap, who held on fast to her supper.
    Indeed, Cracker might have met an unpleasant end had it not been for Num-Num.
    The dinosaur had followed the flight of the parrot with fascination. The sight of fresh meat clad in such pretty purple wrapping had set her tummy rumbling, her mouth dribbling and drooling. But suddenly, she had been robbed. That creature, the ugly plant-like thing, had eaten her dinner right before her eyes!
    Num-Num howled in despair, leapt off Olive’s lap and scrambled across the tabletops. Test tubes, beakers and flat-bottomed flasks scattered and smashed. Rare plant specimens were squashed and bruised. Water dripped to the floor.
    Num-Num bounced onto Diana’s head, soared through the air and took the Venus flytrap by the throat.‘Num-num-num-num-num-num-num!’ She growled and shook the stem. ‘Num-num-num-num-num-num-num!’
    The Venus flytrap snapped open and Cracker plopped onto the floor.
    Num-Num released the plant and was just about to pounce on the parrot when Boffo, still running up and