The Spider Gnomes - Linda Chapman

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turned to the correct page and read:

      “Hours and minutes

       Near clouds and sky

       The red gem is hidden

      Way up high.”

      “Any ideas yet?” Sophie looked at him hopefully. Sam was really brainy, and excellent at working stuff out. But this time he seemed as stumped as she was.

      “No, none. The gem’s hidden somewhere high up… but how can hours and minutes be near the sky? It doesn’t make any sense.”

      “Let’s go back to my house,” suggested Sophie. “Maybe Grandpa will know what the new clue means.”

      As Sam picked up the mega-soakers, Sophie noticed a long line of spiders a few metres away, marching across the patio. “Hey, look at all the spiders!” she exclaimed.

      “That’s weird,” said Sam, staring down at them. “Spiders normally hide when it’s hot outside. They like cool, dry places.” Sophie raised her eyebrows at him, and he shrugged. “What? Spiders are fascinating creatures.”

      “Mmmmm, really fascinating!” she teased.

      “They are, actually. Spiders are cool,” Sam informed her. “Did you know some spiders can jump up to fifty times their own length? Some of them use their web silk to make lassoes to catch prey, and others make parachutes with it.” His forehead creased as he looked at the spiders again. “I wonder why so many of them are out at the same time though?”

      Sophie shrugged, bored of the spiders. “Maybe one of them’s having a spider party, and texted his friends to say come and have some flies! Come on, let’s go.”

      She went to the back door. Taking one last puzzled look at the spiders, Sam followed her.

      Deep in the Shadow Woods stood King Ug, the leader of the Ink Cap Goblins. His ivy crown rested wonkily on his dome-shaped head and his white flaky skin was covered with black blotches. He was talking to two squat figures in the shadows.

      “Well? Do you think you can get one?” he demanded.

      “Yessss,” one of the figures hissed, waving four of its eight legs. “We shall find a shadow gem, no matter what.”

      “Those idiot Swamp Boggles said the same thing,” snorted King Ug. “They failed me. Numskulls!”

      There was the sound of snapping jaws. “Ah, but we shall not fail you. We know how important it is that we shadow creatures all serve you, King Ug – you are the Keeper of the Key!”

      King Ug smiled proudly. The key to the gate hung round his chest, and he reached up and touched it, feeling the empty space where a shadow gem needed to go. “How will you manage to get into the town unseen?” he demanded.

      There was the sound of leg joints cracking. “We have many spiessss with many eyessss,” said one of the figures. A line of tiny spiders marched past on the ground. “They will search the humans’ town and find a gem for us, and when they do we shall fetch it and bring it here. Nothing shall stop usss!”

      “Excellent!” chortled King Ug. He adjusted his crown. “I can see it was extremely clever of me to call on the Spider Gnomes for help. When you succeed, the gem will be mine and I shall finally open the gate.” His small black eyes gleamed as he imagined the fun that millions of shadow creatures would have, wreaking havoc in the human world.

      All he needed was one small gem…

       Chapter 2 Spider Invasion

      OK, this is really weird. There are even more spiders here,” Sam said as he and Sophie walked towards her house. They lived on the same road, Sam near the town and Sophie at the end, in a house that bordered on to the Shadow Woods.

      Sophie groaned. “Forget the spiders, Sam! Race you to my house! Last one there is a squashed bug!”

      She charged off with Sam pounding after her. Sophie just managed to beat him. “Hi, Mrs B!” she called as they tumbled in through the front door.

      Sophie’s parents were archaeologists and were away working for a few months, so Grandpa and the housekeeper, Mrs B, were looking after Sophie and her twin brother, Anthony.

      Mrs B was in the kitchen. “Hello, you two! Come and meet Nigel. I’ve just collected him.”

      Sophie smiled as she remembered. “Nigel’s the parrot Mrs B is looking after for a few weeks,” she explained as she and Sam kicked off their trainers. “She’s keeping him here. Let’s go and see!”

      They hurried into the kitchen. On the table was a large birdcage with a grey parrot inside. He had a curved black beak and white feathers round his eyes. Seeing Sam and Sophie, he walked sideways along his perch.

      “Isn’t he beautiful?” cooed Mrs B. “Say hello, Nigel.”

      The parrot put his head coyly to one side. “Hello, Nigel.”

      Sophie grinned.

      “No, no, just say hello,” Mrs B told the parrot. “Go on.”

      “Hello. Go on,” the parrot gabbled.

      “How about hiya?” suggested Sam. He turned to the parrot. “Hiya!”

      “Fire!” the parrot screeched. “Fire, fire, FIRE!” He bobbed excitedly up and down.

      Sophie giggled. “What about Pretty Polly? Can you say Pretty Polly?”

      “You’re a wally! You’re a wally!” cackled the parrot.

      Mrs B blinked as Sophie and Sam fell about laughing. “Oh, dear! I’m not sure he should be saying that!”

      “He’s brilliant!” cried Sophie. “We should record him and show him to everyone at school.” She saw her grandpa’s mobile phone on the side. “Here. Let’s give it a go with this.”

      She tried using the camera on the phone to film Nigel, but the parrot didn’t seem to like the idea. He screeched loudly every time she held the phone up in front of him.

      “Wow, is he noisy or what?” said Sam, raising his voice over the din.

      “I think you’d better stop now, Sophie-duckie,” said Mrs B. She covered the parrot’s cage with a dark cloth and Nigel fell silent. “That should calm him down. It makes him think it’s night-time, so he’ll go to sleep.”

      Sam nudged Sophie. “You’re a wally!” he squawked. They both started giggling again.

      Just then there was a yell and Anthony, Sophie’s twin brother, shot in through the door. Like Sophie, he had blonde hair, but his eyes were pale blue instead of green.

      “There are spiders everywhere in the house, Mrs B!” he cried. His voice shook. “They keep coming into my room through the window, and they’re on the landing and in the hall. There’s a massive one on the stairs!”

      Spiders again! Sophie and Sam looked at each other in surprise. “We’ve got loads at my house too,” said Sam.

      “And we saw some more on the way here,” added Sophie.

      “Oh, dear, there must be an infestation. Here, take some of this.” Mrs B went to the cupboard under the stairs and passed Anthony a can of lemon furniture polish. “Spray it on your windowsill.”

      Anthony frowned. “But I want to get rid of the spiders,

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