In the Desert : In the Desert (9780307496126) Read online

  “It’s waking up!” screamed Judy.

  Andrew’s light fell on the opening to the tunnel. Judy raced for it.

  As Andrew clambered after Judy, he shoved the back of his flashlight against his forehead. A suction cup at the back made it stick.

  meep… “This spider hunt in nighttime,” said Thudd. “Desert too hot in daytime. Make spider dry out.

  “If spider lose lotsa water, legs get soft. Like plant that wilt. Then spider legs too soft for spider to walk.

  “Getting cool outside. Spider coming out soon, maybe. Gotta hurry!”

  Judy found a soft strand of spider silk in the tunnel. They used it to pull themselves along.

  Aroooooo! Ow! Ow! Owooooo!

  Chilling howls drifted into the tunnel.

  “Wolves!” said Andrew.

  meep … “Dingoes!” said Thudd. “Wild Australian dogs. Hunt in packs like wolves.”

  Below the howls, Andrew heard a soft sound.

  Whhhhooooooooo …

  The wind, Andrew thought.

  They were close enough to the top of the tunnel to see that it was nighttime now. The moon was full and bright.

  The view outside went dark for a second.

  meep… “Tumbleweed rolling over spider hole,” said Thudd. “Tumbleweed break loose, roll across desert, spread seeds long, long way,”

  “Shhhhh …,” said Andrew.

  Andrew thought he heard a soft scraping sound at his back. He turned.

  His beam reflected off many round, shiny black eyes in a hairy face. The spider was close behind them. It was getting closer every second.

  Uh-oh, thought Andrew. His heart was pounding in his ears. Will we ever get out of here alive?

  “Move it, Judy!” he hollered. “The spider’s right behind us!”

  “EEEEEYAAAAA!” hollered Judy. She lost her hold on the strand of spider silk and fell on top of Andrew.

  Eek! “Go, Oody! Go!” squeaked Thudd. “Spider gonna bite with fangs. Spider juice turn Drewd and Oody insides into goo. Then spider suck out Drewd and Oody goo like milk shake.”

  Judy got a grip again and scrambled furiously up to the top of the hole. Spider silk covered the edge of the entrance. Andrew and Judy grabbed on to it and pulled themselves out into the cool desert night.

  Sssss … sssssss … ssssss…

  The shadow of a giant claw passed over Andrew’s head. He looked up.

  In front of them was a lobster-like creature as long as a person’s hand. Its fat front claws jabbed the air. Its spiked tail curled over its back.

  “AAAAAAAAACK!” screamed Judy. “Scorpion!” She tried to run. She fell. Her feet were tangled in the silk that surrounded the edge of the spider burrow. “HELP!”

  Eek! squeaked Thudd. “Scorpion eat anything that move. Eat other spiders. Even eat baby scorpions.”

  Andrew’s knees wobbled.

  Judy was screaming and kicking. “Play dead, Judy” said Andrew. “Scorpions eat what moves.”

  Hssssssssssssssss … came a sound from behind them—from the spider hole.

  meep… “Whistling spider whistling,” said Thudd. “Whistle when it scared.”

  Andrew shuddered and looked around.

  Leg by furry leg, the whistling spider was creeping from its burrow. It reared over them like King Kong.

  The scorpion’s tail twitched above its head.

  meep… “Scorpion getting ready to sting,” said Thudd. “Got poison claw at end of tail!”

  The scorpion’s claws jabbed at the spider.

  “HELLLLLP!” hollered Judy, still caught in the silk. The clawed feet of the spider and the scorpion scraped against her as their battle raged on.

  Andrew crept in among the furry legs and the armored legs. He grabbed Judy’s hand and tried to pull her up, but a furry leg knocked him away. The spider was pacing quickly back and forth, trying to avoid the scorpion’s claws.

  Andrew crept behind a pebble and waited for another chance to get Judy.

  Hssssssssssssssss …

  Ssssss … ssssss … sssss …

  With its front legs, the whistling spider furiously scraped hairs from its abdomen and tossed them at the scorpion.

  meep … “Spider got poison hairs on abdomen,” said Thudd. “If poison hairs land in eyes of scorpion, on soft parts of scorpion, scorpion leave, maybe.”

  “What if the poison hairs land on Judy?” asked Andrew. “She’s right under the spider!”

  meep … “Hurt a lot,” said Thudd.

  The scorpion clamped a claw on to one of the spider’s legs. The spider backed away. The end of the spider’s leg snapped off!

  meep … “Spiders got skeleton outside of body,” said Thudd. “Called exoskeleton.

  “To grow, spider gotta shed old skeleton. Called molting. When spider grow new skeleton, spider grow new leg.”

  “Wouldn’t it be great if people could do that!” said Andrew.

  Andrew caught sight of something racing toward the spider-scorpion battle. It was moving so fast that it was hard to see. But Andrew could tell that it was about the size of a mouse. It leapt onto the scorpion!

  The scorpion let go of the whistling spider. The whistling spider turned and scrambled back into its hole.

  Judy finally yanked herself free of the spider silk. She raced over to Andrew behind the pebble.

  “A mouse attacked the scorpion!” said Andrew.

  meep … “Not mouse,” said Thudd. “Animal called fat-tailed dunnart. When dunnart find lotsa food, extra fat get stored in tail.

  “Fat-tailed dunnart is marsupial like kangaroo. Tiny babies born small as grain of rice. Crawl into pouch to grow.”

  “It’s cute!” said Judy. “And it saved my life. If it hadn’t come along, the spider or the scorpion would have stepped on me or eaten me!”

  meep … “Dunnart look cute,” said Thudd. “But dunnart is scary fighter. Attack big prey.”

  The dunnart had turned the scorpion on its back and pinned it down with its paws. The scorpion was frantically waving its claws. In the shadowy moonlight, Andrew couldn’t tell who was winning.

  Behind the life-and-death struggle, a huge lump appeared. It was low to the ground and as long as an alligator.

  “What’s that?” asked Andrew.

  meep … “Big, big lizard,” said Thudd. “Called Perentie lizard. Eight feet long. Only bigger lizard is Komodo dragon.”

  “Uh-oh,” said Andrew. “It’s sneaking up on the dunnart.”

  “That brave little guy kept me from getting eaten by a spider,” said Judy. “I wish we could save it.”

  “Hmmmm …,” mused Andrew. “Bright lights in your eyes can blind you for a few seconds, especially when your eyes are used to the dark.”

  Andrew pulled the flashlight off his forehead. As he swept the beam over the ground toward the lizard, light fell on the dunnart and its scorpion prey.

  The dunnart looked up for a second—just enough time for the scorpion to escape and scuttle away.

  Andrew’s beam found the lizard’s eye. The lizard stopped in its tracks. Then it turned and lumbered off in the direction it had come from.

  The dunnart was still. It was staring at Andrew and Judy. It crouched.

  Eek! squeaked Thudd. “Dunnart lose scorpion prey! Drewd and Oody gonna be dunnart prey!”

  “Quick!” said Andrew. “Our only chance is to climb up the witchetty bush. Maybe the dunnart won’t be able to follow.”

  They scurried up into the branches. The dunnart was scrambling up behind them.

  In the distance, Andrew could see Uluru glowing golden in the moonlight. The wind whooshed. Tumbleweeds bumped each other as they rolled toward the faraway rock.

  “Wowzers schnauzers!” said Andrew. “I know how we can use the wind! We’ll get a tumbleweed to take us to Uluru!”

  “But the tumbleweeds aren’t close enough for us to grab on to,” said Judy.

  Andrew tugged his ear. “Hmmm …,” he murmured.

/>   He turned up the tip of his shirt collar and unzipped a secret pocket underneath. He pulled out something that looked like a short piece of rubber band with a black rubber cup at each end.

  It was the Drastic Elastic. It could stretch just about forever, but if Andrew gave it a big jerk, it would snap back instantly.

  “I’ve got the Drastic Elastic,” he said. “And I’ve got an idea. Come on, Judy.”

  Andrew attached one of the Drastic Elastic suction cups to his flashlight. He crept along to the edge of a witchetty bush twig. He wrapped the Drastic Elastic around himself and around Judy, then he tossed the flashlight at a tumbleweed rolling by.

  The flashlight hooked the tumbleweed like a big fish! Andrew jerked the Drastic Elastic. In an instant, Andrew and Judy zoomed through the air! They landed on the prickly tumbleweed.

  “Yeeeouch!” hollered Andrew.

  “Yiiiiiikes!” hollered Judy.

  They pulled themselves off the prickles of the tumbleweed and hung on. The bush rolled along like a beach ball.

  “UUUURRRRF!” Andrew burped.

  As the tumbleweed rolled, all around them were spooky night sounds—the howls of the dingoes, the clatter of the crickets and katydids, the screams of invisible birds.

  meep… “Purple button blinking!” squeaked Thudd.

  The purple button in the middle of Thudd’s chest popped open. A purple beam popped out and at the end of it was a pale purple Uncle Al hologram. His eyebrows came together like fat caterpillars in the middle of his forehead.

  “Hi, guys!” he said. “I’ve been trying to reach you, but I’ve had trouble with the Hologram Helper.”

  “Hey Uncle Al!” said Andrew. “We’re in a tumbleweed! We’re rolling toward Uluru rock!”

  “Good golly, Miss Molly!” said Uncle Al. “You did it! You found a way to use the wind!

  “I’m super proud of you guys. Winka and I are at Uluru right now.”

  “But how are you going to find us?” asked Judy.

  “Do you have your flashlight?” asked Uncle Al.

  “Yup,” said Andrew.

  “Turn it on,” said Uncle Al.

  “But it’s such a small light,” said Judy. “How can you see it in this huge desert?”

  “Winka brought her telescope,” said Uncle Al. “It can find the tiniest glimmers of light from stars that are billions of miles away. Now we’ll use it to find a speck of light that’s much closer.”

  Andrew reached over to where his flashlight was caught on a tumbleweed twig. He turned it on.

  Suddenly the tumbleweed stopped tumbling.

  “Uh-oh,” said Andrew. “The tumbleweed must be stuck on something. And we’re still pretty far from Uluru rock.”

  “Look!” said Judy. “Headlights! Is that you, Uncle Al?”

  “Probably” said Uncle Al. “There’s not much traffic out here. We’re going to stop so we can use the telescope.”

  Andrew and Judy watched the headlights come to a standstill.

  “I have an idea,” said Andrew.

  He untangled his flashlight and the Drastic Elastic from the tumbleweed.

  He climbed onto a twig near the outside of the tumbleweed and began to twirl the flashlight like a lasso.

  The flashlight made a big circle of light as it went round and round.

  “I see you!” said Uncle Al. “Even without the telescope.”

  Now the headlights began moving toward them. They could see Uncle Al and Winka waving! They were getting out of the jeep! They were running toward the tumbleweed!

  Uncle Al picked up the tumbleweed, gently plucked Andrew and Judy out of it, and placed them in the palm of Winka’s hand.

  “Ooorf …,” Judy burped. Her eyes rolled dizzily.

  “Blurk…” A sound between a hiccup and a burp came out of Andrew.

  “Hiya, Unkie! Hiya, Winka!” said Thudd.

  “There’s a great pizza place at Uluru,” said Uncle Al. “They even have witchetty grub topping!”

  Even by moonlight, Winka could tell that Andrew and Judy were looking a little green.

  Winka smiled kindly. “How about pepperoni?” she said.

  “Ooooorp!” said Judy.

  “Give me five minutes!” said Andrew.

  TO BE CONTINUED IN ANDREW, JUDY, AND THUDD’S

  NEXT EXCITING ADVENTURE:

  ANDREW LOST

  WITH THE FROGS!

  In stores July 2008

  Thudd wanted to tell you more about delicious witchetty grubs and thorny devils, but he was busy saving Andrew and Judy from meat-eating ants and death adders. Here’s what he wanted to say:

  The thorny devil has a big lump on the back of its neck. If a predator attacks this slow-moving lizard, the thorny devil tucks its head between its front legs. The lump on its neck looks like its head! Even if the predator takes a bite of the fake head, the thorny devil has a chance to escape and live.

  Every living thing needs water to survive. The thorny devil has a way to make sure that it collects every drop that touches it. The thorns of this lizard make little grooves on its skin. All these grooves lead to its mouth. When a thorny devil steps into water or rubs against a dewy plant, the grooves act like straws—they pull water right up to its mouth!

  The water is pulled up by what scientists call capillary action. Water molecules in small spaces “climb the walls.” For example, if you touch the edge of a paper towel to water, you will see the water spread through the paper. The water is climbing into the tiny spaces between the paper fibers. To see the paper fibers, rip a dry paper towel apart and examine the ripped edge. A magnifying glass will help you see the fibers more clearly.

  It’s difficult for animals to survive extreme heat or extreme cold. The molecules we’re made of work slowly in the cold. If it gets too cold, they stop working completely. Extreme heat can break the molecules of living things. That’s why we cook food. And it’s also why very high fevers are dangerous—too much heat can damage the molecules of our brains and other organs.

  Interestingly, low fevers actually help our bodies fight infections.

  Many animals keep their eyes clean by blinking. But geckos can’t blink—they don’t have eyelids. Instead, a transparent scale covers and protects their eyes. When their eye covers get dirty, geckos clean them with their tongues!

  Frogs can survive environments that are too cold or too hot. During cold winters, frogs sink to the bottom of deep lakes. Their hearts slow down and they may even stop breathing. (Frogs can get oxygen through their skin.) Some frogs can freeze almost as solid as an ice cube. They have a kind of “antifreeze” in their blood that keeps their hearts and brains and other organs alive.

  Surviving low temperatures by slowing down is called hibernation (hy-bur-NAY-shun).

  Desert frogs have the opposite problem, but a similar solution. When the environment becomes too hot and dry, desert frogs burrow underground. It’s much cooler down below. They may surround themselves with a layer of shed skin or slime to protect themselves from drying out. Then their bodies slow down, too.

  When animals slow down their bodies to deal with heat, it’s called estivation (es-tuh-VAY-shun).

  Meat ants are also farmer ants. They protect the caterpillars of certain Australian butterflies from predators, including other ants. In turn, the caterpillars poop sugary stuff called honeydew—tasty food for ants!

  A brown tumbleweed rolling across a desert is not a dead plant; it’s a plant that’s spreading its seeds.

  Tumbleweeds sprout in spring and bloom in late summer. As soon as the seeds develop, the stem breaks away from the roots. The plant curls into a ball shape and rolls and bounces along the ground. With every bounce, it drops some of its seeds. A tumbleweed can roll for miles, scattering 250,000 seeds along the way.

  Tumbleweeds grow well in farmlands. It’s easy for the plants to roll and bounce across the open fields. But farmers don’t like tumble-weeds. Their sharp thorns can hurt farm animals. Also, they catch fire eas
ily—a burning tumbleweed can destroy a farm.

  All deserts are different. But they’re all inhabited by plants and animals that have amazing ways to survive with little water and in lots of heat. Want to find out more about desert weirdness? Read these!

  One Day in the Desert by Jean Craighead George (New York: HarperTrophy 1996). A dramatic story of how the humans and animals of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona deal with the heat and a sudden violent storm.

  Correctamundo! Prickly Pete’s Guide to Desert Facts & Cactifracts by David Lazaroff (Tucson; AZ: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2001). Do you really know the facts about deserts, or do you just think you know? Find out!

  101 Questions About Desert Life by Alice Jablonsky (Howell, UT: Southwest Parks & Monuments Association, 1994). Become an expert on desert facts!

  Lizards Weird and Wonderful by Margery Facklam (New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2003). Want to know about lizards that squirt blood out of their eyes? Read this book!

  Turn the page

  for a sneak peek at

  Andrew, Judy, and Thudd’s

  next exciting adventure—

  ANDREW LOST

  WITH THE FROGS

  Available July 2008

  Excerpt copyright © 2008 by J. C. Greenburg.

  Published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of

  Random House, Inc., New York.

  “Ergh!” grunted ant-sized Andrew Dubble. Andrew, wearing a furry black-and-yellow-striped jumpsuit, was on a ledge outside a kitchen window.

  His arms were covered by black metal tubes jointed at the elbows. He was struggling to get his legs into pants made from the same tubes.

  “You’re not supposed to be outside, Bug-Brain,” came a voice from the windowsill behind him. “And what’s with that stupid outfit?”