Toy Dance Party by Emily Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page A

neck.
    StingRay’s
silver necklace.
    Honey announces, “Dad, I thought of a name for my shark.”
    “How nice.” The dad is pulling bits of LEGO, scraps of paper, and several books out from under the bed.
    “Don’t you want to hear what it is?”
    “Sure. But I asked you to go get the vacuum.”
    “Her name is DaisySparkle.”
    StingRay’s
favorite name. From
StingRay’s
favorite movie.
    “Great.” The dad pulls his head out from under the bed and examines the DaisySparkle shark in her finery. “She looks fancy, doesn’t she?”
    “She’s going to a fiesta,” says Honey.
    “Can it be a vacuuming fiesta?” asks the dad.
    “Okay,” Honey agrees. She runs down the hall with the shark, trailing a pretty piece of sky blue ribbon.
    StingRay, immobile on the easy chair, cries without tears.
    . . . . .
    Rroooooooooooooma rooma.
    The vacuum makes a very, very large noise.
    Rroooooooooooooma rooma.
    Lumphy huddles closer to StingRay and puts his buffalo paws over his eyes.
    Rroooooooooooooma rooma.
    “Tell me when it’s over,” he says.
    “What, are you scared you’ll be sucked into the vacuum cleaner?” StingRay is cranky, watching Honey do her chores with DaisySparkle shark tucked under one arm.
    “Stranger things have happened,” says Lumphy.
    “You’re way too big to get sucked into the vacuum,” snaps StingRay. “Get over it. Haven’t you seen the people vacuum, like, a million times?”
    Lumphy does not answer. His eyes are squeezed shut.
    “Well, haven’t you?” presses StingRay.
    “Mrwwfflfe mide,” Lumphy mumbles into his paws.
    “What? You can speak up. They won’t hear you with all that noise.”
    “I always hide.”
    “I thought you were tough and brave.” StingRay is in no mood for this. “Don’t fall apart on me now.”
    The dad is making Honey do a very thorough vacuuming job. She cleans under the bed. He pulls the shoes out of the closet and has her get the corners. He moves the toy box and she vacuums the dust underneath.
    And.
    A mouse.
    She vacuums a mouse.
    A toy mouse that was underneath.
    Bonkers has been sucked up into the vacuum cleaner with no more sound than a slight bumple wumple.
    Lumphy and StingRay see it all from their place on the easy chair. But they cannot move. They cannot call out. Bonkers is somewhere deep inside that loud machine.
    “She didn’t even notice,” whispers StingRay, shocked.
    Rroooooooooooooma rooma.
    Finally, Honey switches off the vacuum. Her dad puts it back in the hall closet. Honey grabs the box of silent Barbies and—still holding DaisySparkle—trots downstairs.
    Like nothing bad has even happened.
    . . . . .
    In the middle of the night, when the people have finally all gone to bed, StingRay, Lumphy, Plastic, and the remaining toy mice launch a rescue operation, down the hall to the vacuum cleaner closet.
    “Hold up!” yells DaisySparkle, launching herself after them.
    “Oh, you needn’t trouble yourself,” says StingRay. She is still mad about the princess costumes and the attention from Honey.
    “Excuse me, but members of the Chewing Society of North America look out for their own,” answers DaisySparkle.
    “We’ll manage without your help.” StingRay is polite, but barely. “We got along before you came here, after all.”
    DaisySparkle ignores her and thumps along after them. Lumphy and StingRay pry open the closet door and drag the vacuum out. There is a small plastic door in its side. Lumphy unlatches it, and—thank goodness—inside is a puffy gray vacuum bag.
    Only, it doesn’t have a hole at the top. It has, in fact, no discernible opening at all.
    “Take that bag thing out,” urges Plastic.
    Lumphy leans over, grabbing the bag in his paws. He joggles it side to side, and finally pulls it out of the vacuum cleaner and into the hall. The bag is larger than he is, and the hole where it connects to the hose is a tiny round aperture, not much bigger than Bonkers. Lumphy calls down. “Can you hear