Maybelle Goes to School (6 page)

Mr. and Mrs. Peabody put their cake and their cat on the back seat of the car. Mr. Peabody started the engine.
VROOM!
Off they went to Number 10 Grand Street, where there were ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO BUGS.

Myrtle Peabody was quite sure of it.

 

14

Better Luck Next Time

“Mildred Snodgrass will
not
have the best cake at the school bake sale again next year, Herbert.”

Back home in her kitchen, Mrs. Peabody was already planning a new cake. She would call it her Seventeen-Layer Skyscraper Supreme.

“And Ramona will have a shiny coat again soon,” Mr. Peabody said.

For now, Ramona was wrapped in a towel, still wet from a bath. She did not look pleased.

Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. The Snerdly twins were back.

“Thank you for letting me borrow Ramona,” Samantha said. “Our Principal said she was the Most Interesting Thing that has ever happened in the lunchroom.”

Mr. Peabody smiled proudly. “Why, of course she was.”

“And he said she could never, ever come to school again.”

The twins turned to go. “If you see a Dressed Flea,” Samuel said over his shoulder, “would you mind getting the pants back?”

The Peabodys looked at each other. “
Whatever
is the child talking about? There are no bugs in this house. ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY!”

*   *   *

Under the refrigerator, Maybelle and Henry rested from their adventure.

“All in all, it was a good day,” Henry said. “The Golden Retriever was dry. But I may have gotten a bad one. I'll have to try again. I never give up hope.”

“In the meantime, we've got to do something about those pants,” Maybelle said.

“Everyone liked seeing me in my pants. I'm keeping them.”

“Well then, I'll have to turn up the cuffs so you can jump. And I'll use one of Ramona's whiskers to make you a belt.”

Henry could hop as high as ever when she was done. Maybelle had to admit he looked handsome, too.

That night she thought about Mrs. Peabody's Seventeen-Layer Skyscraper Supreme. Now
there
was something to look forward to! And she wouldn't fall asleep in it. Absolutely, Positively Not. She didn't want to end up at school again.

On the other hand, she wondered what it would be like to have a pair of pants. Or maybe a dress. Yes, a dress with pink polka dots to match the pink of her bow. And small humans waiting in line to see her. A sign would say
DRESSED COCKROACH
.

Such interesting possibilities!

Maybelle fell asleep in her own little bed, dreaming about cake and polka dots. The nice thing was, she would wake up in the very same place.

 

About the Author and Illustrator

Katie Speck
grew up in New Orleans, a place known for memorably sized cockroaches. Maybelle is based on a character her grandmother invented to put a funny face on the enemy. The author now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with a family that includes an assortment of pets and a bug or two.

katiespeck.com
Or sign up for email updates
here
.

 

Paul R
á
tz de Tagyos
went to Parsons School of Design quite some time ago. He's lived in New Rochelle, New York, for quite some time. He claims he has neither fleas nor roaches. (He
claims
.)

prdt.net
. Or sign up for email updates
here
.

 

 

Read all about Maybelle's other adventures!

Maybelle in the Soup

Maybelle Goes to Tea

Maybelle and the Haunted Cupcake

 

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.

 

Contents

Title Page

Copyright Notice

Dedication

  
1 The Tower of Taste

  
2 The Light Dawns

  
3 On the Road

  
4 Nobody Home

  
5 A Friend Flies By

  
6 Eight Legs

  
7 Henry Under Glass

  
8 Yoo-hoo!

  
9 Ramona to the Rescue

10 Henry Wears the Pants

11 ZOOOM!

12 The Last Straw

13 On the Road Again

14 Better Luck Next Time

About the Author and Illustrator

Also by Katie Speck and Paul Rátz de Tagyos

Copyright

 

Text copyright © 2015 by Katie Speck

Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Paul R
á
tz de Tagyos

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Speck, Katie, author.

Maybelle goes to school / Katie Speck; illustrations by Paul R
á
tz de Tagyos. — First edition.

pages cm

Summary: When Mrs. Peabody makes her Ten-Layer Tower of Taste for the school bake sale, Maybelle the cockroach cannot resist sampling the cake, but when she wakes up to find herself on the way to the lunchroom she knows she is in big trouble—especially after she discovers she has to rescue her friend, Henry the flea.

ISBN 978-0-8050-9158-8 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-1-62779-419-0 (e-book)

1. Cockroaches—Juvenile fiction.   2. Fleas—Juvenile fiction.   3. Insects—Juvenile fiction.   4. Cake—Juvenile fiction.   5. Schools—Juvenile fiction.   [1. Cockroaches—Fiction.   2. Fleas—Fiction.   3. Insects—Fiction.   4. Cake—Fiction.   5. Schools—Fiction.]   I. R
á
tz de Tagyos, Paul, illustrator.   II. Title.

PZ7.S741185Maf 2015     [Fic]—dc23     2014034625

eISBN 9781627794190

First hardcover edition 2015

eBook edition June 2015