Authors: Kate McMullan

Little Giant--Big Trouble (6 page)

BOOK: Little Giant--Big Trouble

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“Way to go, Wiggie!” said Dudwin.

“Shhhhhhh, Dud!” warned Erica.

“PWETTY,” murmured Grubella. But she did not open her eyes.

Wiglaf tiptoed across the bedside table to the cage. He climbed up the bars until he reached the cage door. He pulled.

The door stayed shut.

Wiglaf slid down the cage bars and ran to the edge of the table. “Locked!” he mouthed.

“We must find the key,” Erica mouthed back.

The other dragon rescuers searched everywhere on the floor—under Grubella’s giant bed, under her giant chest of drawers, under her giant toy chest.

No key.

Wiglaf searched everywhere on top of the table. He peered under Grubella’s dolls. Under a stuffed boar and basilisk. Under a tiny stuffed unicorn.

No key.

Now Worm raised his head from the bottom of the birdcage.
“Mommmy?”
he burbled.
“Mmmommmmy! Wrrrm happy see you!”

“Shhhh!” Wiglaf placed a finger to his lips. “I’m happy to see you, too, Worm,” he whispered. “We shall find the key to your cage and rescue you. Don’t make any noise, okay?”

“Tank you, Mommmmmy!”
Worm said softly. Then he sneezed-loudly.
“AHHH-CHOOO!
”

Grubella’s eyelids fluttered, but her eyes stayed closed.

“Wiggie, catch!” Dudwin half whispered.

The next thing Wiglaf knew, he was holding tight to one end of a rope. His brother was holding the other, climbing up the table leg.

Dudwin reached the top of the table and hurried over to Worm’s cage.

“Egad! A real, live dragon!” he exclaimed. “Wait’ll I tell the other Class I kids about
this
!” Then Dudwin crawled nearer to Grubella. “Hey, Wiggie! The giant’s doll has on a gold bracelet. Look—it’s got a gold crown charm. You think it’s real gold?”

“Who knows?” said Wiglaf. He picked up the skirt of a troll doll and peered under it. “We’re looking for the key, remember?”

“The key isn’t down here!” Janice called from the floor. “Pull us up, Dud. We need to make a plan.”

Dudwin let down the rope, and Erica, Janice, and Angus climbed up. Angus patted Worm through the bars of the cage.

“Sirrrr,”
trilled Worm.

“Planning time,” said Erica, hooking her rope back onto her tool belt. “Everybody think hard about how we can save Worm.”

“Tink harrrrrd!”
Worm said.

Wiglaf thought hard. At last he said, “Grubella opens and closes the cage door. So she obviously knows where the key is.”

“Well, we can’t exactly ask her where it is,” said Erica.

“Why not?” he said, and he jumped lightly from the table onto the giant lass’s bed.

“What are you doing, Wiggie?” called Dudwin.

Wiglaf didn’t answer. He froze while Grubella rolled over in her sleep. Then he slogged across her pillows until he was right beside her giant ear.

“Grubella...Grubella...” Wiglaf whispered. “Where is the key to the dragon’s cage? Where is the key?”

Grubella snorted and rolled over, nearly squashing Wiglaf.

“Grubella!” Wiglaf tried again. “Tell me where the key is.”

“THE KEY,” Grubella mumbled in her sleep. “I GOTS THE KEY.”

All of a sudden Wiglaf heard the THUMP
THUMP
of giant footsteps.

“Hiiiiiddde, Mmoommmmmy!”
burbled Worm.

Everyone hid. Wiglaf dove under Grubella’s plush Pinky Dragon.

THUMP THUMP!

Someone was coming up the stairs!

Chapter 11

“Y
OU LOOK SO SWEET WHEN YOU’RE ASLEEP, GRUBELLA,” said the giant mom as she tiptoed over to her daughter’s bed. She leaned over and kissed Grubella’s forehead. Then she patted the stuffed pink dragon.

Underneath the dragon, Wiglaf jiggled up and down and wondered-was he about to be squished?

Now Wiglaf heard Lady Whopping-Large sniffing.

“FIE FEE FOO FING,” she said. “THIS ROOM REEKS OF HUMAN BEING.” She smacked her lips. “THEY SMELL SO BAD, BUT THEY TASTE SOOOO GOOD. OH, WHAT I WOULDN’T DO FOR A HUMAN SNACK RIGHT NOW!”

Egad!
Wiglaf thought.
She’s going to find us and eat us!

Wiglaf heard the giant take a few steps. Then he heard more sniffing.

“AH! SO IT’S
YOU
THAT SMELLS LIKE HUMANS, DRAGON,” she said.

“Mmmmmeee?”
Worm trilled.

Wiglaf heard more sniffing.

“YOU,” the giant said. “TOMORROW, PRINCESS SPARKLE, YOU ARE GETTING A BATH.”

Wiglaf heard the giant tiptoe out of Grubella’s room. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then he stuck his head out from under the plush dragon.

“That was a close one,” he whispered as the giant lass’s arm encircled Pinky Dragon and caught him up in the hug.

“UUUUGH!” Wiglaf gasped as Grubella pulled Pinky—and him—closer. He could hardly breathe! He had to do something or Grubella would strangle him!

“Where is the key?” he rasped. “Pinky Dragon wants to know—where’s the key?”

Grubella smiled in her sleep. She loosened her grip.

“SIWWY PINKY DWAGON!” she muttered. “YOU KNOW I KEEPS THE KEY UNDER MY PIWWOW!”

“Piwwow?” Wiglaf repeated, confused.

“Under her pillow!” Erica whispered hoarsely from the table.

“But she has so many pillows!” Angus groaned.

It was true. The bed was half-covered in pillows. Searching under all of them would be like hunting through the castle yard at DSA.

“I’ll find it,” said Dudwin. He jumped onto the bed and dove under the nearest pillow.

Wiglaf looked up at Worm. The dragon had pushed his snout up against the bars. He was snuffling, with a hopeful look on his face.

After a moment, Dudwin’s head came out from between two pillows. “Found the key!” he cried.

“Shhhhhh!” everyone said.

Dudwin clapped his hands over his mouth. “Sorry!” he said.

Wiglaf made his way over the pillows to Dudwin. Janice, Angus, and Erica jumped down onto the bed. Together, they shoved the giant pillow aside.

And there was the key. It was made of brass, like the birdcage. It had a circle at one end, and a long, thin bar with two prongs at the tip. Like everything else in Grubella’s room, the key was giant-size.

Janice snapped her gum. “Maybe we can lift it together.”

The five gathered around the key. Janice managed to pick up her end, but just barely.

“Zounds, that’s heavy!” Angus let go of his part.

“Let’s try harder. We can do it...” said Erica. But she didn’t sound so sure.

“What about the feather, Wiggie?” said Dudwin.

“Yes!” said Wiglaf. He pulled the Quickening Quill from his belt.

“Wait,” Erica said. “The key might want to go on holiday like the carpet. Let’s tie it to us before you wake it up. That way we can make sure it does what we want.”

Erica untied a pink ribbon from around Pinky Dragon’s neck. She tied the ribbon tightly around the key and handed the ends of the ribbon to Wiglaf. He held them in one hand while he tickled the key with the other.

“Tickle, tickle, how time flies,

I’m waking you up, so now ARISE!“

As Wiglaf put the quill back in his belt the key began to quiver. Then it sprang up and shook itself from end to end, like a dog shaking off water.

“Key—” Wiglaf began. But that was as far as he got.

The key began leaping around the pillows. Wiglaf was so startled, he nearly dropped the ribbon, but he managed to hold on.

“Leggo!” yelped the key. “Leggo! Gotta go! Gotta go home!”

“Listen, key. It was me who woke you up,” Wiglaf said, gripping the ribbons. “Help us. Then I’ll let you go.”

“Leggo! Leggo!” shouted the key. “Gotta go!” It bucked like a wild bronco. It started bouncing all around the pillow, with Wiglaf hanging on behind. This was worse than the carpet. Much worse.

“Leggo!” the key squealed. “Gotta go home!”

“Wiglaf, make it stop!” Erica whispered. “It’s going to wake Grubella!”

Wiglaf nodded. On the next buck he pulled the ribbon toward him and grabbed onto the key itself.

“Leggo!” the key shouted. “Leggo! Leggo!”

It shook and bounced, trying to knock Wiglaf off. Wiglaf held tight and managed to wrap his legs around the key. The key bounded across the pillows toward the table. Wiglaf tugged on the ribbon, trying to steer it to the cage. He had never ridden a horse. Or even a pony. But he thought that this must be like riding a runaway steed.

Wiglaf’s friends ran after him.

The key banged into the table.

CRASH!

“OWIE!” it squealed as it fell back onto Grubella’s bed.

Grubella’s eyes flew open.

“Wiglaf, look out!” Dudwin yelled. “The giant lass is awake!”

Chapter 12

G
rubella blinked her giant eyes.

She sat up and saw the DSA kids running across her pillows.

“AM I DWEAMING?” she said.

“Yes!” Angus called to her. “You’re dreaming. Close your eyes!”

“I NOT DWEAMING,” the giant lass cried. And then she screamed a giant scream: “EEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!”

She began thrashing and kicking and yelling, “MOMMY! THEWE AWE CWEEPY, CWAWLY HUMANS IN MY BED! EEEEEWWWWWW!”

Erica and Janice dove for the table and scrambled up. Erica whipped the rope from her tool belt and hoisted up Angus and Dudwin.

Wiglaf was still riding the wild key. And the key was still bucking and jumping across the bedside table.

“MOMMY!” bellowed Grubella. “I SCAWED OF HUMANS!”

“Carrrrefullll, Mmmooommmmy!”
Worm called to Wiglaf.

All at once, the key stopped bucking. Its pronged tip quivered as if it were sniffing something.

“Gotta go...gotta go—HOME!” the key squealed. And then it shot like an arrow toward the lock of the cage.

“Whoooa?”
burbled Worm as the key hurtled toward him.

“Wiglaf, jump!” Angus cried.

Wiglaf jumped off just before the key slammed into the lock and turned.
CLICK!

The cage door was open!

CLICK!

Now the key had locked it again.

CLICK!

Open!

CLICK!

Locked.

CLICK!

Wiglaf scrambled to his feet on the tabletop. He climbed up the bars of the cage, waited for the right
CLICK!
and, with all his might, pulled the cage door open.

Worm bounced out, grinning. He unfurled his wings.

Grubella’s mouth opened in a huge wail. “NOOOOOOOO!! DON’T GO, PWINCESS SPAWKLE!”

The giant lass grabbed for Worm, knocking Pinky Dragon onto the floor.

Worm barely dodged Grubella’s grasp. He took off from the table and flew up to the ceiling of Grubella’s room, where he circled, calling,
“Mommmmmy! Mommmmmy!”

Wiglaf heard footsteps!

Grubella’s wailing had woken her giant mom.

“DARLING?” called Lady Whopping-Large as she pounded up the stairs. “ARE YOU HAVING A BAD DREAM?”

“Run!” cried Janice.

“But where?” cried Angus.

Wiglaf looked around in dismay. How were they going to get down to the floor? There wasn’t time for the rope. It was too far to jump. And anyway, they’d never escape the castle with giants chasing them.

Just then Worm flew down and landed on the table. He folded his wings.

“Hoppp on, Mommmy!”
the dragon cried.
“Hoppp, Sirrr. Allll hoppp!”

Quickly the Worm Official Rescue Mission scrambled onto the dragon’s back.

“NOOO!” cried Grubella. “YOU AWE
MY
DWAGON! YOU CAN’T FWY AWAY!”

“Fly, Worm! Fly!” Wiglaf called.

Worm flapped his wings like crazy. But he stayed on the table. The five were too heavy for him.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Lady Whopping-Large’s footsteps grew louder and louder.

Grubella lunged across the table and grabbed for the flapping dragon. She missed, but the next time she’d get him.

“I’m jumping off!” Wiglaf cried.

“Mommmy, nooooooooo!”
cried Worm. He flapped harder.

“Fly, Worm!” called Wiglaf. “Farewell, my dear dragon!”