by Ada Hopper
The others were silent.
Cesar spoke first. “Gabe, your plan did help us find Laura. I’m sorry for getting so upset.”
“That’s okay, Cesar,” said Gabe. “I should have made sure everyone agreed with the plan. Sorry if I was pushy too.”
Olive grinned. “So are we all one big, happy team again?”
Laura put her hand out. “I’m in.”
Gabe, Olive, and Cesar nodded and put their hands out too.
“Looks like the DATA Set is back!” Laura cheered.
“So, team, how do we get back inside?” asked Gabe.
Cesar chuckled. “We could always ride another bug.”
The friends looked at one another.
“Good thinking, Cesar! That does makes sense,” Olive said slowly.
“Wait. No. I was just kidding,” said Cesar nervously.
Gabe smiled. “Cesar’s plan sounds perfect to me.”
Cesar sighed as he looked at his friends’ eager faces. “Okay, fine. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but let’s round up that grasshopper and go for a ride.”
Chapter 7
Beetles and Termites and Bees, Oh My!
* * *
Cesar was back on a bug. And he was not happy about it.
“I’ve made up my mind!” he cried. “I. Hate. Bugs!!!”
The DATA Set rode a grasshopper across Dr. Bunsen’s lawn. Gabe had distracted it with a piece of grass while the kids all climbed on board. Laura even made reins to hold on to out of grass.
“This is incredible!” Gabe was having the time of his life.
“And look! We’re heading right to Dr. B.’s house!” Laura pointed.
The grasshopper bounded past a large tomato plant in the vegetable garden. Gabe, Olive, and Laura ducked, but Cesar smacked into a leaf and fell to the ground.
“Cesar!” cried Olive.
“Quick!” yelled Laura. “Grab that dandelion stalk!”
They grabbed hold of the stem and slid down as the grasshopper whizzed past.
Olive ran up to Cesar. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Cesar took a moment to catch his breath. He and the team watched the tiny grasshopper jump through Dr. B.’s open window. “Ugh, there goes our ride.”
“It’s okay,” said Gabe. “We’ll find a . . .” He looked around and his voice trailed off.
They were surrounded by hundreds of insects in the vegetable patch! Ants. Aphids. Beetles. Termites and worms. Even bees and butterflies flitted overhead.
“Dr. B.’s bug problem is bad,” said Cesar.
“I have never seen so many different types of bugs in one place!” exclaimed Gabe.
“They’re all heading to the window,” exclaimed Laura. “Look!”
One by one, each and every bug crawled into Dr. Bunsen’s lab.
“Hmm, Dr. B. was working on a bug-deterrent machine,” Laura said slowly. “Do you think that it’s doing the exact opposite and attracting bugs instead?”
“That’s why there are so many bugs in Newtonburg!” exclaimed Olive.
“Dr. B. really is inviting them!” agreed Cesar.
“So all we need to do is get another ride back through the window,” said Laura.
Gabe grinned. “Exactly! And these ants are our best bet. They can carry up to five thousand times their own body weight. What do you say, DATA Set?”
Cesar nodded. “Fine. We can ride another bug. But only because I trust you . . . and because they don’t fly.”
Gabe smiled widely. “To the ants!”
Chapter 8
March of the Ants
* * *
Four figures rose up and over the vast expanse of leaves winding around Dr. B.’s garden trellis. The setting sun beamed against their backs, casting tiny shadows.
The kids were riding ants like cowboys on horses, except their horses had six legs and climbed straight up the side of the house.
Gabe pointed to the open lab window. “Home sweet home.”
“It’s been a long day. The sun’s almost down,” said Laura.
“Yuck, this plan is slimier than I thought it would be.” Cesar peeled his hand from the ant’s gooey back.
“That’s honeydew,” explained Olive. “It’s a sugary substance aphids make that ants eat. It looks like your ant is a messy eater.”
“Ugh.” Cesar stuck out his tongue in disgust. “I am not cut out to be a bug wrangler.”
“Hold on, guys! We’re almost there!” said Gabe.
The ants trudged along as the kids held on tightly.
“There’s one problem,” Laura said. “We need to get Dr. B.’s attention. He can’t hear us, remember?”
“I know,” said Gabe. “We can jump on him so he notices us.”
“Notice us . . . or squash us like bugs,” said Cesar.
Gabe nodded. “Well, I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”
The window ledge was very close now. Gabe’s ant was leading the way until it stopped marching.
“Whoa!” exclaimed Gabe. “Why is my ant stopping?”
“Hey, mine is too.” Olive nudged her ant, but it wouldn’t move.
“Here’s the problem,” said Gabe. He reached down to pluck at the white strings that covered the ant path. The white material was sticky, and before Gabe could stop himself, he was tangled up in it!
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this!” Cesar exclaimed.
The friends looked down and gasped. Their ants had marched right into a spiderweb!
“Here, grab my hand!” Laura reached out to Gabe. But then her ant started wriggling against the sticky web, and she toppled forward.
“Yuck!” She splatted face-first into the web.
The vibrations knocked Olive off-balance too. “Whoa!” Now she was stuck on her back.
“Cesar, don’t move!” warned Gabe. “You’re the only one who’s free!”
“Uh, the spiderweb isn’t the bad news. That is!” Cesar stared beyond his friends, where an enormous spider was crawling toward its next meal.
Chapter 9
Spider Attack!
* * *
“This does not look good,” said Cesar. “That spider set up shop here on purpose. It’s been eating the bugs going through Dr. B.’s window. And we’re next!”
“I can’t move,” Laura said.
“Me either,” said Olive. “We’re stuck.”
“Stay calm, everybody. We need to put our heads together and figure a way out,” declared Gabe.
The friends watched nervously as the spider crawled along the perimeter of the web.
“I think I’ve found my least favorite insect,” said Cesar.
“Actually, a spider is not an insect,” said Olive. “They are arachnids. They have two body sections instead of three, eight legs instead of six, and eight simple eyes instead of two compound eyes. Oh, and they don’t have any antennae.”
“Thanks for the lesson, but I’m more worried about saving you,” said Cesar. “Any other fun spider facts that might get you unstuck?”
“That’s it!” realized Olive. “Not all of the web strands are sticky. Spiders use the hairs on their legs to crawl along the nonsticky ones. If you spot the strands without the glue dots on them, you can move anywhere on the web.”
“But what if I break the web?” Cesar asked.
Gabe shook his head. “Spider silk is super strong. And even if we do fall, remember, we’re tiny! We’ll be all right.”
“You can do it!” said Laura.
Cesar watched as the spider moved closer and closer. He noticed a small leaf stuck in the web.
Cesar gazed up at the other leaves. They were holding the entire web in place! “You said we’d be okay if we fell, right?”
“What are you going to do?” asked Gabe.
“I’ve got an idea! If I can’t break the web, then I can channel my inner bug!” cried Cesar.
He took his first step onto a nonsticky thread. Then he quickly tiptoed across and
reached the two main leaves that held the web. The spider spotted Cesar, but it was only a few inches from the other kids!
“Whatever you have in mind, do it now!” cried Olive.
With a huge CHOMP, Cesar started munching right through the leaves holding up the web, just like a bug would!
Gabe smiled. “Brace yourselves! Once those leaves are broken, this web will fall and release us to the ground.”
As Cesar gnawed the leaves, the spider was closing in fast. The web wobbled as the creature was almost on top of him. And then . . .
Snap! Snap!
The leaves broke! Everything came tumbling down—kids, ants, and all!
FFFWOOOMP!
One by one, they each landed on a rose at the base of the trellis. The ants and spider continued past them, tumbling safely to the ground.
“Wow, Cesar!” Olive jumped to hug him. “That was awesome!”
“Maybe I’m getting the hang of this bug thing after all.” Cesar grinned.
“So what now?” asked Laura. “Should we try hitching one more ride up through the window?”
Gabe shrugged. “Maybe the third time’s the charm? And it looks like we might just catch a lucky break.”
He pointed to a group of bees that were heading straight for the window.
“On three?” Gabe asked his friends.
They each nodded. “On three!”
Chapter 10
Dr. B.’s Busy Bees
* * *
“Confound it!” Dr. Bunsen dropped his tools to the floor. All around him were bugs, bugs, and more bugs!
“My invention is one hundred percent buggy.” The doctor buried his face in his hands. “I suppose it’s time to call Icky Lou’s Pest Control.”
As he reached for the phone, a loud buzzing filled his ears.
“Shoo, shoo.” The doctor waved away four pesky bees. “I’m in no mood for this.”
But the bees didn’t go away. Instead, they kept flying around his head.
“Please, bees! Stop!” yelped the doctor.
Then he heard something very strange: a teeny-tiny voice. “Beeee!”
“Did this bee just . . . speak to me?” The doctor looked at the black and yellow insects hovering next to him. “Oh dear. I need to get out more.”
“BEEEEEEEEEEEE!” the bees continued to whine.
“How odd,” said the doctor. He slid down his magnifying goggles for a closer look.
The bees seemed much larger now. And there was someone riding each one!
“Newton’s whiskers!” the doctor proclaimed. “DATA Set?!”
“DR. BEEEEEEEEEEE!” they cried.
“How on earth did you all grow so tiny?” the doctor asked.
The friends landed next to his shrink ray.
“Ah, yes, I should have warned you about that,” said the doctor. “Quite a finicky invention. Goes off at the slightest touch. But never fear! I have just the thing to make you DATA Set size again!”
The doctor hurried into the storage room and returned.
He had the growth ray that had turned the toy animal figures to life!
“NOOO!” The friends all flailed their arms.
“It’s quite all right.” The doctor carefully clicked the settings on the device. “It’s strictly a growth ray now.”
The friends closed their eyes.
Dr. Bunsen focused the growth ray and smiled. “Everyone say ‘fleas’! One, two, huzzah!”
In a bright flash he zapped Gabe, Laura, Cesar, and Olive. In an instant, the kids were back to ordinary size!
“Huzzah!” cheered the friends, hugging one another.
“Huzzah indeed!” said the doctor. “But where have you been all this time?”
“We were bzzz-y solving the invasion of the insects, Dr. B.,” said Laura. “Your Bug-Away-400 has been attracting all the bugs in Newtonburg, maybe even the world, to your house!”
The doctor’s machine was now completely covered with creepy-crawly critters. “Do you think so?”
“We’re pretty sure you have created the first Bug-on-Over-to-My-House-400,” said Gabe.
“I suppose I could try reversing the signal,” said the doctor. He flipped a tiny switch at the top of the machine.
The humming of the Bug-Away-400 was replaced by a high-pitched whine. All the bugs in the room scattered away and left Newtonburg.
Dr. Bunsen did a little jig as the kids laughed. “Well, now we are one hundred percent bug free!”
Ada Hopper has been extremely inventive ever since she was little. There was nothing that a rubber band and some tweezers couldn’t fix, no question that couldn’t be answered by scouring the library, and no way she wasn’t escaping over that backyard fence! Ada loves reading and writing because of all the fantastical worlds a good book can bring you to. When not working, Ada enjoys karaoke, spending time with her family, and going on the occasional adventure or two.
Sam Ricks is an illustrator for several children’s chapter book series. He grew up crafting stories about toxic fruitcakes, peanut butter–snatching aliens, and killer vacuums. Now he splits his time between illustration, art direction, hanging out with his family, and vacuuming. You can visit him at SamRicks.com.
Little Simon
Simon & Schuster
New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
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First Little Simon paperback edition April 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by John Daly. The text of this book was set in Serifa.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hopper, Ada, author. | Ricks, Sam, illustrator. Title: Invasion of the insects / by Ada Hopper ; illustrated by Sam Ricks. Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2017. | Series: The DATA Set ; 6 | Summary: “The town of Newtonburg has been invaded by all sorts of creepy-crawlies from mosquitoes to bees to ants and more! What’s worse is that they are all mysteriously swarming toward Dr. Bunsen’s house when the kids get shrunk down to the size of insects”— Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2016029845|
ISBN 9781481471169 (paperback) | ISBN 9781481471176 (hc) | ISBN 9781481471183 (eBook) Subjects: | CYAC: Inventions—Fiction. | Insects—Fiction. | Size—Fiction. | Clubs—Fiction. | Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. |
BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction. Classification: LCC PZ7.1.H66 Inv 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016029845
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