Jinny & Cooper
Page 6
I took him out of the cardboard box and placed him gently on my chest. Tears rolled down my cheeks, wetting his tangled, knotty fur.
I had dreamed about my perfect guinea pig for so long. I had imagined brushing its soft golden fur and listening to its sweet squeaks. Instead, I got Cooper. He was scruffy, demanding and mischievous and he didn’t act at all like a guinea pig.
But I suddenly realised I had ended up with something better than my dream pet. Cooper was my friend.
‘I’m going to miss you so much, Cooper,’ I sniffed. ‘You’re better than any guinea pig I could have dreamed of. No one will ever replace you.’
Tyrone also cried as he stroked Cooper’s back. ‘Goodbye, Cooper,’ he said.
Suddenly there was a small movement on my chest. Cooper’s body twitched and then twitched a second time. He slowly sat up and looked at me with heavy eyes.
‘Wow! I sure am hungry,’ he said through yawns.
Tyrone cheered as I scooped Cooper up and kissed him with delight.
‘All right, all right,’ Cooper said, wriggling away and laughing. ‘I’m happy to see you too.’
He sniffed the air and his eyes lit up.
‘Is that sausages I smell?’ he asked. ‘I just love sausages! Did I ever tell you that sausages are my sixth favourite food?’
How much do you remember from My Teacher’s Big Bad Secret? Test your knowledge below.
What is Cooper’s first favourite food? Pizza
Biscuits
Vegemite Sandwiches
Sausages
What does Cooper try to drop on Miss Bunney’s head? Book
Piano
Cake
Potato
What are witches afraid of? Salt
Potatoes
Guinea Pigs
Biscuits
What food does Cooper not eat? Cake
Gherkins
Jam Sandwiches
Carrots
What did Cooper tell Tyrone would happen if he picked at his bellybutton? His finger would get stuck
His eyes would pop out of his head
His legs would fall off
His fingers would turn blue
Answer: 1B, 2A, 3B, 4d, 5C
Tania Ingram lives in the Adelaide Hills with her husband and daughter, two guinea pigs, a goldfish called Bionic Mouth and three elderly chickens. Tania worked as a child psychologist for a while before becoming a full-time writer. When no one is looking she likes to dance around the house in her pyjamas and sing into her hairbrush.
For more information on Tania’s books visit TaniaIngram.com
PUFFIN BOOKS
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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies
whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Penguin Australia Pty Ltd, 2016
Text copyright © Tania Ingram, 2016
Cover and internal illustrations copyright © Tony Flowers, 2016
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover and text design by Bruno Herfst © Penguin Australia Pty Ltd
puffin.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-76014-095-3
THE BEGINNING
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