Wiggly the Worm
By Arnie Lightning
Arnie Lightning Books
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Copyright © 2015 by Hey Sup Bye Publishing
All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. No part of this book or this book as a whole may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or means without written permission from the publisher.
Graphics used in this book are licensed and © Dollar Photo Club
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Table of Contents
Free Gift!
Wiggly Worm and the Garden Town
Snarky Snail’s Story
Rattles Snake Saves the Day
Munchy Mosquito’s Last Bite
Mac Apple’s Lucky Day
About the Author
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Wiggly Worm and the Garden Town
Wiggly Worm lived in a backyard garden with his best friends, Snarky Snail, Rattles Snake, and Munchy Mosquito.
As much as he loved wiggling around in the mud, Wiggly often wondered what it would be like to live in a town. Wiggly and his friends knew all about towns because they liked to listen to the kids who played in the backyard.
The kids were always talking about how they had done this or that, or gone here or there, downtown. Wiggly knew that towns had parks and stores and restaurants and bakeries and places to get sweet treats. That sounded wonderful to him!
“All we have here is plants,” he said to his friends. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had all kinds of special places to go, like the kids always talk about?”
“I’d like that,” said Rattles. “Imagine a five-star restaurant where we could eat tasty little insects all day long. Except for mosquitoes, of course!” he added, glancing quickly at Munchy.
Munchy laughed. “I’d like a soda fountain where we garden creatures could order sugar-water shakes and other yummy treats!” she chimed.
“I’d like a park,” said Wiggly. “A beautiful park with a maze of fun tunnels to wiggle through.”
Munchy’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that would be so much fun! What would you like, Snarky?”
Snarky rolled his eyes. “That’s all fool’s talk,” he replied. “Garden folk like us can’t have towns, no matter how badly we want them.”
Wiggly sighed. “But if we could have a town, what would you want in it?” he pressed.
“A store, I suppose,” Snarky answered after a moment. “A store where I could sell pretty pebbles to customers.” Everyone knew that Snarky’s favorite hobby was collecting shiny pebbles.
“That’s a great idea!” Wiggly told him. He sighed again. All of his friends had had great ideas. “There has to be some way…” he began slowly.
“To build a town?” asked Munchy, finishing his thought.
Wiggly grinned at her. “Exactly! We, the creatures of the garden, are going to build a town!” he declared suddenly.
Snarky rolled his eyes and muttered some comment about how impossible that was going to be, but no one paid attention. They were determined to follow through with Wiggly’s plan.
And so they did. Over the next several weeks, the garden friends collected trash that they found lying around—from soda cans that had tumbled out of the recycling bin, to a weather-beaten cardboard box, to an old baseball cap that was the perfect size for a mosquito-sized soda fountain.
The friends used this junk to construct tiny buildings. They decorated their new business with colorful leaves and flower petals, and they used rocks and pebbles for tables and chairs. Wiggly worked hard at making tunnels in the dirt for his new park, and even Snarky caught on to the enthusiasm and collected shiny pebbles for his shop.
By the time they were finished, Garden Town had come to be—a tiny town with a soda fountain, a park, a restaurant, and a pebble shop. Wiggly Worm and his friends had proved that, with a little hard work and determination, it’s possible to make your dreams come true!
Just for Fun Activity
Collect old containers and other trash-bound items in your house. With a little imagination (and some craft supplies), I bet you can make a pretty cool Garden Town of your own! Glue the town to a piece of poster board when you’re finished, and draw garden designs all around it!
Snarky Snail’s Story
Snarky Snail grumbled as he closed up his pebble shop for the night. The grumble seemed to echo loudly. Snarky sighed. He was always grumbling. His friends thought of him as the grump of their group, and he didn’t blame them.
The truth was, Snarky wanted to be happy. But he didn’t know how. When Snarky was a baby snail, he’d been happy all the time. But then Grandpa Snail had died, leaving Snarky all alone in the garden.
That was way before Snarky had met his friends Wiggly Worm, Munchy Mosquito, and Rattles Snake. They had never met Grandpa Snail. In fact, they didn’t even know he had existed. They had no idea why Snarky was such a sad snail.
A part of Snarky wanted very badly to tell his friends how he felt about Grandpa Snail. If they knew why Snarky was so grouchy all the time, they’d be sure to cheer him up. But Snarky was afraid that if he talked about Grandpa at all, he would start to cry. And he was much too embarrassed to cry in front of his friends.
Snarky sighed again. He had just about reached his damp, muddy home, when he ran into Wiggly Worm. Wiggly was wiggling his body from side to side as he slid through the garden on his belly.
“Look at me!” Wiggly cried jubilantly. “I’m a one-worm line dance!”
Snarky felt his temper flare. “Keep it down, would you, Wiggly?” he hissed back. “It’s nighttime, and some garden creatures might want to get some sleep!”
Wiggly stopped short, looking as hurt as if someone had slapped him. Snarky immediately felt sorry for lashing out like that. But it was too late; he’d already hurt Wiggly’s feelings.
“I’ll go home now, Snarky,” Wiggly mumbled.
“Wiggly, wait!” Snarky cried. But Wiggly didn’t wait. And Snarky didn’t blame him.
Snarky started to sob. “I’ve got to stop being such a grouch!” he said to himself. “If I keep this up, I’ll lose all my friends!” And it was then that Snarky realized he had to explain.
The next day, he found Wiggly, Munchy, and Rattles in the flowerbed. They all grew silent when they saw Snarky approach. Snarky figured they must have been talking about his rudeness to Wiggly.
“Look, you guys,” Snarky began, “I owe you all an apology. Especially you, Wiggly. I’m sorry I snapped at you last night.” Snarky’s whole body trembled as he spoke; this was hard for him to say.
“There’s a reason I’m a grump,” Snarky went on, drawing a deep breath. “I’m not saying it’s an excuse. But there is something that makes me very sad. You see, I miss someone very much…”
And with that, Snarky told his friends all about Grandpa. Losing Grandpa had changed Snarky’s life, and he cried as he explained this to his friends. But they didn’t make fun of him. They hugged him tight and listened until he finished talking.
“Oh, Snarky!” cried Munchy.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I had no idea!” chimed Wiggly.
“Me, neither!” Rattles added.
Snarky started to smile. “You guys are the best!” he cried. “And you know what else? It felt good to talk about Grandpa!”
“Tell us more about him,” Snarky’s friends urged.
So Snarky spent the rest of the morning sharing story after story about his favorite snail in the world. And, for once, it almost seemed as if Grandpa Snail were alive.
Talking about Grandpa made Snarky a much happier snail. And from that day on, he hardly ever lived up to his name again!
Rattles Snake Saves the Day
Rattles Snake was a very friendly rattlesnake, unlike most. He loved his simple life living in a backyard garden with his best friends Wiggly Worm, Munchy Mosquito, and Snarky Snail.
For as long as he could remember, Rattles and his friends had lived in peace. The garden was quiet and sunny, and the four friends played together every day. They had even built their own miniature Garden Town, complete with a restaurant that Rattles ran himself!
One afternoon, Rattles decided to lock up the restaurant and take a short break before the dinner crowd showed up. He ventured to the edge of the garden and slithered around the flowerbed. He caught a whiff of the fragrant roses growing in the far corner, so he followed their scent. Rattles hardly ever ventured this close to the backyard, but he couldn’t help it.
Maybe I could pick a few rosebuds to put on the tables in my restaurant, Rattles thought. He was just puzzling over how to do that, when he heard a small child scream, “Mom, Dad, there’s a rattlesnake in the garden!”
The little boy’s parents, who owned the house and the backyard, came running. Rattles dove for cover, but not soon enough.
“I can’t believe it!” cried the boy’s father. “We’ve lived here five years, and I never knew there was a rattlesnake in the garden!”
“He must’ve been hiding himself,” said the boy’s mother. “But we can’t have him here—especially with kids playing in the yard. We’ll need to get rid of him!”
Oh, no! Rattles thought. This is horrible. The humans had never seen him before, but he hadn’t realized how much of a problem it would be if they did. Terrified, he rushed off to find his friends.
Wiggly, Snarky, and Munchy were just as worried as Rattles when he told them what had happened.
“What did she mean, get rid of you?” Wiggly asked in a trembling voice.
Rattles was shaking inside. “I don’t even want to think about it. You’ve gotta help me hide, you guys!”
Several times over the next few days, one or the other of the little boy’s parents came into the garden to hunt for Rattles. But, scared as he was, he managed to stay well-hidden.
“I guess we’ll need to call someone to get rid of him,” the boy’s mother said finally.
This could be very bad, Rattles thought to himself. He and his friends were just figuring out what to do when they heard a loud splash!
“Oh, no!” shouted the boy’s mother. “Lucy’s in the backyard!” She and her sister, who was Lucy’s mother, rushed out onto the back porch.
But Rattles, who had also heard the splash, was even faster. Risking his very life, he slithered speedily through the yard until he reached the wading pool that the boy and his older sister had set up. Their two-year-old cousin Lucy had just tripped and fallen into the water! Now she was thrashing her arms and crying, “Help!”
Quick as a wink, Rattles wrapped himself around one of Lucy’s legs and dragged her out of the pool. She sputtered and spit water, but she was safe!
“Did you see that?” gasped Lucy’s mother, who had just reached the pool. “That rattlesnake saved my baby’s life!”
“I did see that!” Her sister grinned at her. “Looks like we won’t be getting rid of him, after all.”
And so Rattles the rattlesnake lived safely ever after!
Munchy Mosquito’s Last Bite
It was a hot, sticky summer day, and Munchy Mosquito was having a blast, buzzing around the backyard, biting as many people as she could.
It must be some sort of holiday, she thought. So many people were in the backyard, rather than just the two kids and their parents who lived in the house. There were aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends. A grill was set up on the patio, and delicious smells wafted from platters of burgers on picnic tables in the yard.
It was the perfect sort of day for Munchy to get her fill of people blood. Who would have thought that giving a person one tiny bite could result in such a delightful snack? Munchy was aware that most people thought she was a pest. They tried to swat her whenever she got near, but Munchy was fast and an expert at dodging humans’ flailing fingers.
I don’t want to hurt anyone, Munchy thought. But a mosquito bite just takes a second, and then I fly off to find the next person.
Satisfied at last, Munchy buzzed back to the garden where she lived with her best friends Wiggly Worm, Rattles Snake, and Snarky Snail.
“I’m full!” she announced. “I don’t think I’ll eat for a week!”
“There’s some kind of celebration going on over there,” remarked Wiggly, who was playing in the dirt.
“I know!” smiled Munchy. “The family has so many guests over—so many guests with delicious blood.”
Snarky made a face. “I think it’s the Fourth of July or something—but, Munchy, do you really have to do that to people? Mosquito bites make them awfully uncomfortable.”
“Only for a second,” Munchy replied. “It’s just an itty-bitty sting.”
“No, it isn’t,” protested Snarky, who ventured into the backyard more than any of his friends. “Mosquito bites are itchy and uncomfortable for a long time—sometimes several days. I’ve seen those two little kids scratching and complaining about bites you’ve given them.”
“I think that’s true,” agreed Rattles, who also went into the yard more often, now that the humans knew he was a friendly rattlesnake.
“Oh, no,” murmured Munchy. Mosquito bites hadn’t seemed like a big deal before—but they did now. She didn’t want to be responsible for making people feel itchy all the time!
With a sigh, Munchy said, “I guess I’ve got to quit. From now on, I’ll stick to sugar-water shakes at the Garden Town soda fountain—but it isn’t going to be easy!”
With some help from her friends, Munchy was able to stop biting people once and for all. And, when the other mosquitoes that lived in the garden heard about her new lifestyle, they decided to give it a shot, as well. In no time, the backyard was practically a mosquito-safe zone!
The kids and their friends could now play in the yard for hours with no worries about being bitten. They had no more itchy skin and no more discomfort. Munchy felt like she had done a wonderful thing.
And no one ever tried to swat her away again!
Just for Fun Activity
Make itty-bitty bugs using circles of Fun Foam for bodies, tissue paper cut-outs for wings, googly eyes (you can find them at craft stores), and shortened pipe cleaners for long, skinny noses and legs. Have fun!
Mac Apple’s Lucky Day
Macintosh the apple, or Mac as he liked to be called, stared dismally down through the branches of the tree where he had grown. All of the other apples from Mac’s tree had been picked, but poor Mac had been forgotten. Now he was the only apple left in the tree.
The fall breeze was frigid, and Mac felt jealous of his friends, who had been gathered into baskets by the family who owned the backyard with the apple tree. Mac knew that they would soon be made into apple pies or applesauce or packed into school lunches for the kids. But that was the point of being an apple—to be eaten.
Now I’ll never get that chance, Mac told himself sadly. All my friends are gone, and I’m destined to be alone for the rest of my days. An apple-juice tear had just squeezed its way out of the corner of Mac’s eye, when the stiff wind suddenly picked up, knocking Mac from the high tree br
anch where he’d spent his entire life.
“Help!” Mac screamed, tumbling head-over-heels into the garden at the base of the apple tree. He landed in a bed of dirt and fallen leaves. “Ouch!”
Mac rolled over slowly and looked around. From here, he could see just how tall the apple tree really was. Wow, he thought. If I had known how far off the ground I was, I would have been afraid!
“Who are you?” asked a small voice.
Mac blinked in surprise to see a small green worm headed his way. “I’m Mac,” he said, glad to have found someone to talk to. “I just fell out of the apple tree.”
“I’m Wiggly,” the worm told him. “Are you all right, Mac?”
“Just a little bruised,” Mac replied. “The world looks so different from down on the ground.”
“I can imagine,” replied Wiggly. “I’ve always wondered what life would be like high up in the treetops.”
Mac smiled. “I’ll tell you,” he said. And, as he began to describe what it had been like to live in the apple tree, Wiggly’s friends Rattles Snake, Munchy Mosquito, and Snarky Snail came out to join them.
Soon everyone was asking questions and talking at once, and Mac felt like he had just made a whole bunch of new friends!
“You guys are great,” Mac said to the garden creatures. “I was feeling so sad and lonely this morning, but you’ve helped cheer me up. Now I don’t miss my apple friends quite as much.”
“What happened to them?” asked Munchy.
Mac explained how all of the apples had picked from the tree except him. Talking about this reminded him that he would never be eaten like the others. He started to feel sad again.
When he told the garden creatures why, they were surprised.
“You mean, “ asked Wiggly, “you want to be eaten?”
“It’s the highlight of an apple’s life,” Mac answered sadly.
“Well, in that case…” Wiggly glanced at his friends and smiled “worms love apples!”
And so it was that Mac the apple’s wish came true—and Wiggly and his friends enjoyed a yummy feast, just in time for Thanksgiving!
Just for Fun Activity
Have an adult help you make this super-easy toaster-oven apple pie! Cut the crusts off two slices of white bread. Scoop apple jelly onto one slice, leaving room around the edges. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Put the other slice on top. Press the edges of the bread slices together and toast in the toaster oven until crispy. Enjoy!
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