The Adventures of Stunt Boy and His Amazing Wonder Dog Blindfold by Lollie Barr Read Free Book Online

scent. He stood up and stalked along the bars of the cage before letting out a low-pitched growl that rumbled through my ribs right into my heart. Then he plunked himself down again. However, there was something in his expression that made me feel sorry for him as much as scared of him.
    â€˜Maybe he just wants to be friends with us?’ I said to Benny. ‘He looks pretty lonely.’
    â€˜Yeah right, Stunt. He may look like an overgrown kitten, but if you tried to pat him he’d take your hand off. He’s still a wild animal.’
    â€˜I know I’m an idiot for dragging you here and getting us locked up in a cage, but I’d never pat a lion, even if he looked super lonely,’ I said.
    I didn’t want to think about the gunshot and what it might mean for Blindfold, because then I wouldn’t be able to formulate a plan to escape and that’s exactly what I needed to do, to get us the hell out of here.
    But there were a couple of problems. Problem number one: we were in a locked cage, which wasn’t truly a problem for me because I am a master at picking locks. When I perform my straightjacket escape trick, I have to pick seven padlocks right before the audience’s eyes. However, I do usually have two paperclips hidden inside my mouth; today I didn’t have any because when I left home I didn’t know I would need paperclips in order to escape from a cage. Otherwise I would have brought some with me.
    I had to think laterally. I scanned the room and noticed a clipboard and pen attached to the lion’s cage. If I could get to that pen, I could fashion it into a picking device. Unfortunately, problem number two was slightly larger than problem number one: the lion was right next to the clipboard and was nuzzling his face against it, as if he was scratching an insect bite.
    â€˜Okay, Benny, I’ve got a plan.’
    â€˜What is it this time, Stunt?’ said Benny rolling his eyes. ‘You’re always getting me into trouble. Maybe we should just wait. They’re probably calling your sister and my parents to come get us so they can ground me until I’m seventy-five.’
    â€˜Are you mad, Benny? These people may have shot Blindfold!’ A giant lump of sadness caught in my throat and made it hard to swallow. ‘Nobody even knows we’re here! They could just mince us up and feed us to the lion. We’ve got to get out of here.’
    â€˜How?’ he said, shaking his head. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, we’re locked in a cage, Stunt Boy.’
    â€˜I need you to distract the lion while I get that pen over there,’ I said, pointing to the clipboard.
    â€˜What do you want a pen for – to write a letter to the police saying we’re being held hostage?’ said Benny, sarcastically. ‘And what do you mean, you want me to distract the lion?’
    â€˜I don’t know. Sing him a song, or maybe do some star jumps or jumping jacks. Just get his attention and get him off his lazy butt. When he’s distracted, I can reach into the cage and grab the pen. You may even get home before your mum finds out we came OverEast.’
    â€˜I doubt that – we’re already busted. But okay, let’s give it a try,’ said Benny sceptically. ‘I don’t have to get too close, do I?’
    Benny edged to the middle of the cage and started doing little star jumps, but the lion didn’t budge.
    â€˜Over here Mr LOL cat, come and have a laugh, Mr LOL cat,’ he said before he started singing. ‘La le lol, la le lol, la le lol.’
    â€˜Laugh out loud cat! That’s funny, Benny,’ I said, but the lion didn’t find it funny and didn’t laugh out loud. He looked bored. He was probably thinking, Why is this lunatic kid trying to make me laugh and making up stupid songs in a cage?
    â€˜It is not working, Stunt. He’s too lazy,’ said Benny. ‘You know lions sleep