انتقام کوتوله های حیاط فصل 28

Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes - Chapter 28

I blew the silent whistle again.

And turned to the window. Buster, where are you?

The gnomes must have been asking the same question. Because they froze in place, too. The excited chattering, giggling, and chanting stopped.

The only sound I could hear was my own shallow breathing.

I stared up at the window. A rectangle of blackness. No sign of Buster.

“Hey—!” Moose’s cry made me turn around.

“Look at them!” Moose’s voice echoed through the silence.

“Look—they all froze!” Mindy declared. She placed both hands on the red cap of a gnome—and pushed the gnome over.

It clattered to the floor. And didn’t move. A hunk of plaster.

“I don’t get it!” Moose scratched his crew cut.

Still gripping the dog whistle tightly, I moved around the room, examining the frozen gnomes, pushing them over. Enjoying the silence.

“Back in their trance state,” Mindy murmured.

“But how?” Moose demanded. “Buster never showed up. If they weren’t terrified of the dog, why did they all freeze up again?” I suddenly knew the answer. I raised the whistle and blew it again. “It was the whistle,” I explained. “It wasn’t Buster. I had it wrong. They were afraid of the whistle. Not the dog.” “Let’s get out of here,” Mindy said softly. “I never want to see another lawn gnome as long as I live.” “Wait till I tell my parents about this!” Moose declared.

“Whoa!” I cried, grabbing his shoulder. “We can’t tell anyone about this. No way!” “Why not?” he demanded.

“Because no one will believe it,” I replied.

Moose stared at me for a long moment. “You’re right,” he agreed finally. “You’re definitely right.” Mindy moved to the wall and stared up at the window. “How do we get out of here?” “I know how,” I told her. I picked up Hap and Chip and stood them beneath the window. Then I climbed onto their caps, lifted my hands to the window, and pulled myself up. “Thanks for the boost, guys!” I called down.

They didn’t reply.

I hoped they were frozen for good.

Mindy and Moose followed me out. Of course, Buster was waiting for us in the yard. His stubby tail began to wag as soon as I appeared. He came running over and licked my face till I was sopping wet and sticky.

“Sorry, fella. You’re a little late,” I told him. “You weren’t much help—were you!” He licked me some more. Then he greeted Mindy and Moose.

“Yaaaay! We’re out! We’re out!” Moose cried. He slapped me so hard on the back, I thought my teeth were going to fly out!

I turned to my sister. “Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!” I chanted.

“Give me a break!” Mindy cried, rolling her eyes for the thousandth time that day.

“Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!” I made tickling motions with my hands and started to chase her down the street.

“Joe—stop it! Don’t tickle me! I’m warning you!”

“Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!”

I knew I’d never forget those high-pitched chants. I knew I’d hear them in my dreams for a long, long time.

The next evening, Mindy and I were watching MTV in the den when Dad came home. “Be nice to your dad,” Mom had warned us earlier. “He’s very upset that somebody stole his two lawn gnomes.” Yes, the two gnomes were missing when he woke up.

Big surprise.

Mindy and I were so happy, we didn’t have a single argument all day.

And now we were happy to see Dad—except that he had a strange expression on his face. “Uh… I’ve brought home a little surprise,” he announced, glancing guiltily at Mom.

“Now what?” she demanded.

“Come and see.” Dad led us out to the front lawn.

The sun was disappearing behind the trees, and the sky was gray. But I could still see clearly what Dad had purchased at Lawn Lovely this time.

An enormous, brown plaster gorilla!

At least eight feet tall, with gigantic black eyes and a bright purple chest. The gorilla had paws the size of baseball mitts and a head as big as a basketball.

“It’s the ugliest thing I ever saw!” Mom cried, both hands pressed to her face. “You’re not really going to put that horrible monster on our front lawn—are you, dear?” Anything is better than those lawn gnomes, I thought. Anything is better than lawn gnomes who come alive and do terrible mischief.

I glanced at Mindy. I had a feeling she was thinking the same thing.

“I think it’s a beauty, Dad,” I said. “It’s the best-looking lawn gorilla I ever saw!” “It’s great, Dad,” Mindy agreed.

Dad smiled.

Mom turned and hurried back to the house, shaking her head.

I glanced up at the gorilla’s enormous purple-and-brown painted face. “Be a good gorilla,” I murmured. “Don’t be like those awful gnomes.” Then, as I started to turn away, the gorilla winked at me.