Katie started to walk through the gate and onto the fairgrounds. But Suzanne stopped her short.
“Wait a minute,” Suzanne said. She pulled a big tube of glitter out of her pocket and rubbed some in her hair and on her cheeks. “There. That’s better. I couldn’t walk into the fair unless I was all shimmery. You want some?”
Before Katie could even answer, Suzanne squealed and said, “OOOOH. That guy over there is selling candy apples! Here. Keep this for me.” She shoved the tube of glitter in Katie’s hand. Then she ran off, leaving Katie all by herself.
Katie wasn’t alone very long, though. A moment later, she spotted Emma and her brother Matthew coming toward her. Katie waved to them. “Hi!” she said. “Where are you guys heading?”
“To get a teddy bear!” Matthew said excitedly.
“My mom gave me some money to try and win prizes,” Emma explained. “You want to come?”
“Sure,” Katie said. “The goat milking isn’t for a while.”
“What celebrity is milking them this year?” Emma asked her.
“An old-time rodeo cowboy named Slim Jim McQueen,” Katie replied.
Matthew’s eyes opened wide. “A real, live cowboy?”
Katie nodded.
“Oh, Em, we gotta see him!” Matthew exclaimed. “After I win a prize,” he added.
“Yum!” someone said really loudly.
Katie turned around. It was Suzanne.
“This candy apple is scrumptious.” She took another bite. “And extra sticky, too.”
“Why are you talking so loud?” Emma asked her.
“Was I?” Suzanne asked. “I guess it’s just all my excitement at eating this DELICIOUS CANDY APPLE.”
Katie knew Suzanne was talking that way to make sure people noticed her. But Katie didn’t mind. It was just Suzanne being Suzanne.
Just then, Emma’s older sister, Lacey, came over with Tyler and Timmy. The twins were bouncing up and down like little jumping beans. Lacey looked worn out. “You take them,” she said to Emma.
Before Emma could argue, Lacey grabbed Matthew by the hand. “And, oh, I almost forgot. I entered you in the Junior Miss Candy Apple Contest!”
Emma’s eyes shot open wide. Almost as wide as Suzanne’s did.
“You didn’t!” Emma and Suzanne shouted at the same time.
“You’re just the right age,” Lacey said.
“But I don’t like beauty pageants,” Emma said.
Suzanne nodded. “Yes! Beauty pageants are awful.”
Katie stared at Suzanne. Where was this coming from?
“If you don’t have a chance at winning,” Suzanne continued.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma asked.
“Well, you know, I’m in the contest,” Suzanne said sweetly. “And I’m a professional model. So you don’t stand a chance.”
Emma thought about that for a minute. Then she smiled at Lacey. “Thanks for entering me.”
“Suit yourself,” Suzanne told Emma. “But you’re making a big mistake, isn’t she, Katie?”
Uh-oh! Katie didn’t know what to say. This Junior Miss Candy Apple Contest was turning into one very sticky situation.
Chapter 5
Katie, Suzanne, Emma, and her brothers entered the tent where the pie-eating contest was being held.
“Want pony ride,” Tyler whined.
“We will go to ride the ponies,” Emma promised Tyler, “right after we watch my friend eat pie.”
“No pie!” Tyler shouted. “Ponies!”
“Yes! Ponies!” Timmy added.
“Ponies! Ponies! Ponies!” the twins chanted.
Emma looked like she had a bad headache.
Andrew and the other contestants were seated at a big picnic table. Two huge pies were in front of each of them.
“There he is!” Katie shouted excitedly. She stood by Kadeem. “I don’t how he is going to be able to eat all that in one minute!”
“He’s trained really hard,” Kadeem reminded her.
“Good luck, Andrew!” the girls shouted.
“You can do it, buddy!” Kadeem cried.
Just then, someone blew a whistle and the contest began. Katie watched as Andrew started shoving huge handfuls of blueberry pie down his throat.
“Okay, that’s just gross,” Suzanne said. “Why doesn’t he use a fork?”
“Being neat takes too much time,” Katie told her.
Now Andrew’s whole face was in the pie. He was making loud slurping noises.
“Look! He’s almost finished one pie,” Kadeem cried. “All that training sure came in handy.”
“It looks like half the pie is on his clothes. And his face is all purple with blueberry juice,” Suzanne said.
“See that guy on the far right?” Emma pointed out. “He’s on his second pie.”
“Go, Andrew!” Katie cheered as Andrew shoved another huge fistful of pie into his mouth and began to chew. Pieces of blueberry dribbled out of the corners of his mouth and onto his shirt.
“This is so boring,” Suzanne said with a yawn. She took a big bite of her apple. “Mmmm. Delicious!”
“I wanna candy apple!” Tyler shouted.
“Me too!” Timmy echoed.
“Mama already said no candy apples,” Emma told them. “They’re terrible for your teeth, and you guys bounce off the walls when you have a lot of sugar.”
“Mmmm.” Suzanne took another bite of her apple, licked her lips, and smiled at the twins. “This is just about the best candy apple I’ve ever eaten!”
“Candy apple! Candy apple!” the twins began chanting. “Candy apple!”
Suzanne took another bite. “That’s right,” she said. “This is my candy apple! Mmmm . . . good.”
Tyler and Timmy looked like they were going to cry.
“Suzanne! Cut it out!” Katie and Emma said at the same time.
Katie sighed and looked back at the pie eaters. “Andrew and that guy on the far right are both almost finished.”
“It’s gonna be close,” Kadeem agreed. “Come on, Andrew. Chew that last big piece!”
Andrew opened wide and shoveled in more.
“Andrew! Andrew! Andrew!” Emma and Katie cheered.
“Candy apple! Candy apple!” the twins screamed.
“Oh no!” Katie said. The guy at the other end of the table swallowed his last piece before Andrew had finished chewing. And that meant he was the winner. Andrew was in second place.
Kadeem looked very upset.
Andrew looked like he might throw up. “All that training. All that eating. All for nothing.”
“Second place is great!” Katie said.
“Candy apple! Candy apple!” Tyler echoed.
Emma sighed. “I told you. No candy apples. How about I get you two guys a nice pretzel?” She looked down and gulped.
Uh-oh! Instead of two guys, there was only one.
“Oh no!” Emma exclaimed. “Timmy’s gone!”
This was soo not good.
Emma started to cry.
“Don’t worry, Emma,” Katie said, wrapping her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “He can’t have gone far. We’ll help find him.”
“Me?” Suzanne asked. “Why should I help?” Suzanne started to walk away.
Katie thought fast. “Wait, Suzanne! If you find Timmy, you’ll be a hero,” Katie said. “I bet beauty pageant judges love heroes!”
Suzanne turned and smiled broadly. “Well, what are you waiting for?” she asked Katie and Emma. “We have to rescue Tyler!”
“Timmy,” Katie corrected her.
“Whatever,” Suzanne said. “Let’s just find him!”
Chapter 6
“We should look for a policeman,” Katie said after the guy at the ca
ndy apple cart said he hadn’t seen Timmy.
“I don’t see any,” Suzanne said. “Let’s go to the midway. All little kids want those stuffed animals.”
“It’s worth a try,” Emma agreed. Emma was holding Tyler’s hand tight. She wasn’t about to lose two brothers.
At the midway, Katie went up to a young guy running the balloon-dartboard booth. “Excuse me,” Katie said. “Have you seen a little boy who looks exactly like this one?” She pointed to Tyler.
“Huh?” the guy asked. “Why would you be looking for this kid if you’ve got him right here?”
“Not him,” Suzanne said. “His twin brother.”
“Oh,” the guy said. “Nope. Sorry.”
Suzanne frowned and took another bite of her candy apple. “Well, I’m all out of ideas,” she said.
“I wanna go see the aminals like Timmy!” Tyler shouted out suddenly.
The girls all looked at him.
“What did you say?” Emma asked her brother.
“I wanna go see aminals like Timmy,” Tyler repeated. “Ride a pony!”
“That’s it!” Katie exclaimed. “Timmy went looking for the ponies at the petting zoo.”
Emma picked Tyler up so she could run faster.
At the petting zoo, there were lots of people around the pens. A gazillion little kids were petting the bunnies, feeding the goats, and riding on the ponies. How were they ever going to find Timmy in the crowd?
Suzanne wrinkled her nose. “It stinks around here.”
Suddenly Emma shouted, “There he is!”
“Where?” Suzanne asked her.
“Over by the baby chicks!” Emma said. She started to hurry over to her little brother.
“Wait!” Suzanne insisted, pushing Emma out of the way. “I’ll get Tyler.”
“Timmy,” Katie corrected her.
“Timmy! Stay right where you are!” Emma shouted. “I’m coming!”
Suzanne began shoving her way through the crowd. “Coming through,” she called. “There’s a lost boy who needs rescuing.”
Ooomf! A little girl ran right into Suzanne.
Boom! Suzanne fell backward and landed in a pile of straw.
“OH NO!” she shouted. “The candy apple is stuck in my braid!”
“Hold still,” Katie said. She yanked the candy apple out of Suzanne’s hair.
“Ouch!” Suzanne cried. Then she scowled and looked at the candy apple Katie handed her. “Yuck! I don’t want it now. It’s got hair on it. Thanks a bunch!”
Emma walked over with Timmy and Tyler. Emma looked exhausted. But the twins were full of energy.
“Can I have a candy apple now?” Timmy asked.
“Me too?” Tyler wondered.
“No candy apples,” Emma said with a sigh. “How about a nice pretzel?”
“Yuck!” Timmy said.
“We want candy apples,” Tyler added.
“When I’m Junior Miss Candy Apple, I’ll make sure you get some,” Suzanne told them.
Emma glared at her. “Who says you’re going to win?”
“I say,” Suzanne told her. “And I’m always right. Aren’t I, Katie?”
Katie didn’t know who was right. In fact, all she knew for sure was that this Junior Miss Candy Apple Contest was never going to end apple-y ever after!
Chapter 7
Katie was glad when Emma went off with her brothers for a pony ride and Suzanne headed to the bathroom to fix her braid. That gave Katie a little time to be alone. She decided to go back to the midway and see what prizes you could win.
Jeremy was standing near the balloon dartboard.
“I’m trying to decide whether to try this game again,” Jeremy told her. “A minute ago I almost won.”
“Yeah, kid, you nearly did,” the guy behind the counter said. “Try again. I bet you’ll win a prize this time. Come on, a quarter a dart. Four for a dollar.”
“I don’t know . . . ,” Jeremy said. “I don’t have a lot of money left.”
“You were really good in my backyard,” Katie reminded him.
“I guess,” Jeremy said. He reached into his pocket and plunked a quarter on the counter. “One dart please.”
“Attaboy,” the guy behind the counter said. He handed Jeremy a dart.
Jeremy squinted his eyes and aimed the dart at one of the balloons pinned to a white board about twenty feet away. The dart zoomed toward the board.
Katie watched excitedly. Jeremy had really good aim. His dart was headed right for a yellow balloon in the center row. It flew closer and closer and . . .
PLOP. The dart seemed to bounce off the balloon before falling to the ground.
“Hey! That dart hit the yellow balloon!” Jeremy said.
“Definitely,” Katie agreed.
“It couldn’t have,” the guy behind the counter told them. “If a dart hits a balloon, the balloon pops. It must have just been so close that it looked like it hit the balloon.”
Jeremy frowned. “See what I mean?” he asked Katie. “This game is really, really hard. And I should know. That was the fifth time I tried it.”
“I could have sworn you hit the balloon,” Katie told him.
Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. “At least I got rid of Becky. She got tired of watching me lose.”
Katie laughed. That was Jeremy. Always looking on the bright side.
“I’m hungry. I’m going to get myself some fried dough,” Jeremy said. “You want to come?”
Katie shook her head. “I’m going over to watch the celebrity goat milking. They have a real cowboy—a rodeo star—there today.”
“Cool,” Jeremy said. “But do me a favor, will you?”
“Sure, what?”
“If you see Becky, don’t tell her where I went,” Jeremy said.
A big crowd was gathered around the livestock area where the celebrity goat milking was being held. There were photographers and reporters from the local newspapers. A lot of the little kids were wearing cowboy hats. Some of the older kids were holding autograph books. It seemed like everyone wanted to see a real, live rodeo cowboy up close.
Katie walked over to where some goats were penned, waiting to be milked or entered in the livestock contest. Suzanne was right about one thing: Even Katie had to admit that the goats did smell.
It was quiet near the pens. The goats were all just standing there, happily chewing on oats. They weren’t arguing or complaining. They knew exactly how to enjoy a county fair!
Katie walked over to a cute goat with a brown face, long white ears, and a soft brown-and-white beard. “Hello,” she said.
Splat! Katie looked down. Oh no! She had stepped in a big pile of goat poop. One of the goats must have gone to the bathroom before being put in the pen. Grrr. This day was definitely not turning out the way Katie had expected.
“Couldn’t you learn to use a toilet or a litter box or something?” Katie shouted at the brown-and-white bearded goat.
“Maaaaa,” the goat answered her.
Katie started scraping the bottom of her sneaker against a piece of wood. As she tried to get the poop off, she felt a cool breeze blow gently against the back of her neck. Her red hair began to blow into her eyes.
That was strange. The goat’s fur wasn’t blowing. Neither were the oats and hay. Everything was still. There wasn’t wind blowing anywhere . . . except around Katie. Which could only mean one thing. This was no ordinary wind. This was the magic wind! Oh no!
Oh yes!
The magic wind began to blow more and more wildly, until it was circling Katie like a fierce tornado. The wind was so powerful, Katie thought she might be blown away! She shut her eyes tight and tried really hard not to cry.
And then it stopped. Just like that. The magic wind was gone. And so was Katie
Carew. She’d been turned into someone else. One . . . two . . . switcheroo!
But who?
Chapter 8
The smell was awful. That was the first thing Katie noticed when the wind finally stopped blowing. Wherever she was, it stunk really, really bad.
Katie was afraid to find out where that awful magic wind had blown her this time. But she opened her eyes, anyway, and looked around.
To the left were two goats. One was pale white with just a hint of brown on her tail. The other was brown and white with huge, thick horns. They were both standing quietly in a pen, chomping on hay.
Phew. That was a relief. Katie hadn’t been blown far away. She was still at the county fair. Okay, so now Katie knew where she was. But she still didn’t know who she was. What she did know, though, was that she was starving. Too hungry to even think! And for some reason, she had the strangest desire to chomp on one of Mrs. Derkman’s roses. But there were no roses in sight. So Katie lowered her head and began to chew hay, taking care not to get any caught in her small, white beard. Yummy! The hay was fresh. There was nothing tastier than fresh hay.
Just then, an annoying fly landed right on the small of Katie’s back.
“Get off me,” Katie bleated. “Can’t you see I’m eating?” She bent down and grabbed another piece of hay with her mouth. She chewed for a minute and then stopped.
Hey, wait a minute. Tail? Hooves? Beard?
Fourth-grade girls didn’t have any of those. At least not any fourth-grade girls Katie had ever met. But goats had them. And that could only mean one thing: Katie had turned into a goat. Right here in the middle of the Cherrydale County Fair!
Katie took another bite of hay and chewed. She was definitely hungry. Katie had always thought nanny goats ate garbage—anything from leftover food to tin cans. At least that’s what she’d always seen in cartoons. But right now, Katie wasn’t looking for a trash can to have her lunch. What she was really in the mood for was a picnic lunch of flowers.
All's Fair (9781101610893) Page 2