Four Absorbing Stories (SpongeBob SquarePants) Read online

“Okay, but it would look really good on you,

  SpongeBob,” Patrick gushed.

  “I can’t, Patrick.” SpongeBob shook

  his head.

  “Touch it,” whispered Patrick. “Go on, touch

  it.”

  “Must . . . not . . . touch . . . the . . . ,”

  SpongeBob murmured weakly.

  “Put it on, SpongeBob! Put it on!” Patrick

  shouted.

  SpongeBob couldn’t resist any longer! He

  yanked the headset onto his head.

  “Now push the buttons!” Patrick cried.

  SpongeBob jabbed at the buttons. “Welcome

  to the Krusty Krab!” he roared. “Can I take

  your order?”

  “You’re open late? Awesome!” said a voice. “I’ll

  have a Krabby Patty Supreme.”

  “There’s a customer! Ooooo, I’m in trouble!”

  SpongeBob whispered in horror. “What am I

  going to do?”

  “I dunno.” Patrick shrugged. “

  work here.”

  “You’re right, Patrick, I do, and it’s my job—

  no, my duty—to feed the hungry,” SpongeBob

  said. “Let’s get to work!”

  Moments later, SpongeBob handed a

  piping-hot Krabby Patty through the

  window. “Thank you, sir,” he said.

  “Come again!”

  The customer drove off.

  “Another job well done,” SpongeBob said with

  a sigh. He reached up to take off

  the headset.

  “Hey, buddy!” called a gruff voice through

  the earpiece. “Are you gonna take my order or

  what?”

  SpongeBob leaned out of the window. “Oh

  no!” he cried. “The Eels on Wheels

  convention!”

  Chapter 4

  Eels on Wheels

  SpongeBob and Patrick scrambled to fill as

  many orders as they could, but the line of eels

  just kept growing.

  “How many customers have we served?”

  SpongeBob asked breathlessly.

  “Uh, three . . . I think,” Patrick answered.

  “Three? But I cooked at least 50 Krabby

  Patties!” SpongeBob exclaimed.

  “PATRICK!” screamed SpongeBob. “You’ve

  been eating the patties!”

  “I was weak with hunger. This is hard

  work,” Patrick mumbled through a

  mouthful of food.

  “But the patties are for the customers!”

  SpongeBob cried.

  “Sorry, SpongeBob,”

  Patrick apologized.

  “Hey! Where’s my food?” one of the

  customers yelled.

  “Yeah, we’ve been waiting 20 minutes!” another

  shouted.

  “Uh-oh, SpongeBob,” said Patrick. “I

  think they’re angry.”

  “KRAB-BY PAT-TY! KRAB-BY PAT-TY!”

  the crowd at the drive through began to chant.

  “We’re hungry!” screamed one of the eels.

  “And we don’t like being hungry,

  do we, boys?”

  The mob responded in angry agreement.

  “This doesn’t sound good,”

  SpongeBob whispered.

  “KRAB-BY PAT-TY! KRAB-BY PAT-TY!” the

  angry mob continued to chant.

  Chapter 5

  SpongeBob GeniusPants

  Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs was was dreaming in

  his hammock.

  “What’s that, SpongeBob?” he muttered.

  “You lost me lucky dollar?”

  “KRAB-BY PAT-TY! KRAB-BY PAT-TY!”

  Mr. Krabs popped awake at the

  distant sound.

  “Why, someone’s calling for me Krabby

  Patties!” he exclaimed.

  Mr. Krabs ran to the window.

  “Why is there a crowd at the Krusty

  Krab?” he wondered. “I’d better get

  down there!”

  Mr. Krabs arrived at the restaurant just in

  time. The angry mob had poured inside, and

  SpongeBob and Patrick were surrounded.

  “What in blazes is going on here?”

  Mr. Krabs demanded.

  “Mr. Krabs!” SpongeBob cried.

  “SpongeBob! I should’ve known!” Mr. Krabs

  bellowed. Then he turned to the eel leader.

  “And you! Who do you think you are bargin’

  into me restaurant?”

  “Uh, sorry, sir, but that nervous sponge took

  way too long with our orders,” the eel leader

  said sheepishly.

  “I’m sooo sorry, Mr. Krabs!” SpongeBob

  sobbed. “I’m not fit to wear this uniform! I’ve

  betrayed you and fry cooks everywhere—”

  “Get up!” Mr. Krabs interrupted. “You’re a

  genius, SpongeBob!”

  “What?” SpongeBob asked, puzzled.

  “Keeping the drive through open late is bril-

  liant!” said Mr. Krabs. “Think of the money to

  be made!”

  “You mean, I’m not fired?” said

  SpongeBob timidly.

  “Of course not! I’ll be taking the cost of any

  damage out of your paycheck, but I couldn’t

  fire me number-one fry cook,” Mr. Krabs

  assured him.

  “Oh, thank you!” SpongeBob cried.

  “Now get back in the kitchen and make

  these fine gentlemen some Krabby Patties!”

  Mr. Krabs ordered.

  “Aye-aye, sir!” SpongeBob answered, as he

  dashed into the kitchen.

  “Argghhh!” said Mr. Krabs to himself. “This

  gives me an idea!”

  “Oh, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob exclaimed. “I

  can’t believe you’re letting me cook AND work

  at the window. I don’t deserve this!”

  “I don’t deserve this!” Squidward wailed.

  by Tracey West

  Illustrated by Gregg Schigiel

  Chapters

  Chapter 1

  A Krabby Patty Disaster

  Chapter 2

  Send in the Clownfish

  Chapter 3

  Krusty Customers

  Chapter 4

  Try, Try Again

  Chapter 5

  Big Show under the Big Top

  Chapter 6

  SpongeBob Flips!

  Chapter 7

  Krabby Patties for Everyone!

  Chapter 1

  A Krabby Patty Disaster

  SpongeBob SquarePants loved working at the

  Krusty Krab. His passion for making Krabby

  Patties was legendary.

  SpongeBob gazed at his newest Krabby

  Patty with love. “Farewell, friend,”

  he said. “I can’t keep your

  perfect steamy goodness to

  myself!”

  SpongeBob pushed the Krabby Patty

  through the order window. He picked up his

  spatula and got ready to flip another batch of

  patties.

  Then he heard a yell.

  “There is something wrong with my Krabby

  Patty!”

  SpongeBob froze. Something was wrong

  with a Krabby Patty? It couldn’t be!

  SpongeBob rushed into the dining room. A

  customer was examining his Krabby Patty with

  a ruler. Mr. Krabs was anxiously

  looking over the customer’s shoulder.

  “This Krabby Patty is a mess!”

  complained the cranky customer. “This piece

  of lettuce is one-sixteenth of an inch too long. I

  can’t eat

  lettuce that is too long!”
<
br />   “That’s ridiculous,” said SpongeBob. “My

  Krabby Patties are always perfect!”

  “See for yourself,” sneered the customer.

  SpongeBob bent down to examine the patty.

  The cranky customer was right.

  Horror filled every nook and cranny of

  SpongeBob’s spongy body.

  Tears welled up in SpongeBob’s eyes.

  “Making Krabby Patties is what I do

  best,” he said. “If I can’t do it perfectly, then I

  shouldn’t do it at all!”

  SpongeBob shoved his hat and spatula into

  the claws of a stunned Mr. Krabs.

  “Good-bye, Mr. Krabs,” he said sadly. “I

  don’t deserve to make Krabby

  Patties anymore.”

  Chapter 2

  Send in the Clownfish

  SpongeBob sat at the bus

  stop. He didn’t know where he

  was going. He just knew he couldn’t

  go back to the Krusty Krab.

  “Life is meaningless if I can’t

  make Krabby Patties,” SpongeBob sobbed.

  “I don’t know how to do

  anything else!”

  Then he heard the rumble of a bus.

  But it wasn’t the Bikini Bottom bus. It was

  a circus bus! Three colorful clownfish tumbled

  out of the door.

  “We saw you crying,” said one. “Clownfish

  hate to see someone cry.

  Don’t be such a sad sponge.

  Cheer up!”

  “I can’t cheer up,” SpongeBob said glumly.

  “My life has no meaning. I thought I was born to

  make the world’s best Krabby Patties, but I’m just

  not good enough. I’ll never be

  good at anything!”

  The clownfish looked at each other. “My

  name’s Al,” said one, “and this here is Slim and

  Shorty. Why don’t you come with us? Maybe

  we can find you something to do at the circus.”

  SpongeBob thought and thought about it.

  “I can’t make people happy with my Krabby

  Patties anymore,” he said finally. “But the

  circus makes people happy. Maybe joining the

  circus isn’t such a bad idea.”

  “That’s the spirit!” said Al.

  SpongeBob gave the Krusty Krab one

  last look.

  “Good-bye forever, my wonderful patties,” he

  said softly. Then he boarded

  the bus.

  Chapter 3

  Krusty Customers

  Back at the Krusty Krab, orders were

  piling up. Mr. Krabs was getting desperate.

  “Please, darlin’,” Mr. Krabs pleaded with his

  daughter, Pearl. “It’s just ’til I find SpongeBob

  and bring him back. Won’t you help out your

  dear

  old dad?”

  “Do I have to, Daddy?” Pearl whined. “I just

  got a facial, and it’s so greasy

  back here!”

  Mr. Krabs searched

  all over Bikini Bottom

  for SpongeBob. “I

  can’t let a day go by

  without my best fry

  cook,” he said. But

  there was no trace of

  the yellow fellow.

  Finally, Mr. Krabs returned to the

  restaurant. “I can’t find SpongeBob

  anywhere!” he moaned. “This is terrible!”

  “Oh, yes,” Squidward said in a bored voice. “Just

  terrible.”

  Mr. Krabs had to do

  something. Nobody could

  make Krabby Patties like

  SpongeBob.

  A look of

  determination filled

  his beady eyes.

  “I will Find

  you, SpongeBob

  SquarePants,” he

  vowed. “I will find you,

  no matter what it

  takes!”

  Chapter 4

  Try, Try Again

  Meanwhile, at the circus tent, SpongeBob

  was contemplating a new life.

  “All I know how to do is flip Krabby Patties,”

  he told his new friends. “What

  kind of job can I do in the circus?”

  “Don’t worry,” Al said. “We’ll find a job

  for you. But we’ve got to hurry. It’s almost

  time for the circus to start!”

  “Maybe we can shoot him out of a cannon,” Slim

  said.

  Al, Slim, and

  Shorty pushed and shoved

  with all their might, but

  SpongeBob didn’t fit into

  the

  cannon.

  “Well, you know what they say,” SpongeBob

  said. “You can’t fit a square sponge into a round

  hole!”

  “Maybe he can walk the

  tightrope,” said Shorty.

  SpongeBob tried. But his

  square body was too big and

  his legs were too short.

  He just couldn’t keep

  his balance.

  “It’s no use!” SpongeBob

  said sadly. “I’m no good

  at anything!”

  SpongeBob started to sob again. “I give up. I

  might as well leave!”

  With tears filling his eyes, he stumbled

  blindly toward the exit. But as he neared the

  doorway, he slipped on some juggling balls .

  . . did a backflip . . . and landed face first in a

  cream pie!

  “That was brilliant!” Slim cried.

  “Hilarious!” laughed Shorty.

  “Perfect!” Al said. “You can join our clown

  act.”

  There’s no time to

  practice,” Al said. “We

  need to get you into your

  costume!”

  The clownfish gave

  SpongeBob a red nose and

  a clown costume of his

  very own.

  “See?” said Al. “You fit right in!”

  SpongeBob gazed at his reflection in the

  mirror. “Maybe I can do it,” he said. “I’ll be the

  clowniest SpongeClown ever!”

  Chapter 5

  Big Show under the Big Top

  Everyone in Bikini Bottom came to

  the circus.

  Mr. Krabs came to search for SpongeBob.

  “This is the only place I haven’t looked,”

  Mr. Krabs said sadly to

  himself. He gazed at the

  spatula in his claw. “If I

  ever

  find SpongeBob, I hope this spatula will

  remind him of how happy he

  was at the Krusty Krab. Oh, how

  me boy loved flipping Krabby

  Patties!”

  The lights dimmed and the show began.

  The high-wire artists flew through the air. The

  trained lionfish and the swordfish

  swallower wowed the crowd.

  Finally, it was time for the clownfish act,

  but SpongeBob was nervous.

  “What if I can’t do it?” he asked the

  other clowns.

  “Just have fun, SpongeBob,” Al responded,

  pushing him toward the ring. “That’s what clowns

  do.”

  “I’ll do my best,” SpongeBob vowed.

  He ran out and threw a pie at Slim. He

  squirted water at Shorty. It felt great to try

  something new!

  “I’m doing it!” SpongeBob said happily. “Maybe

  I’m good at something

  after all!”

  Up in the stands, Mr. Krabs couldn’t believe his

&n
bsp; eyes. “Is that SpongeBob?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Why that boy is a born entertainer!”

  Mr. Krabs looked down at the spatula

  clutched in his claw. “I guess I’m too late,” he

  muttered. “It looks like SpongeBob has found

  his true calling.” He slowly stood and walked

  toward the exit, tossing the spatula over his

  shoulder.

  Chapter 6

  SpongeBob Flips!

  Down in the ring, Al threw a bunch of balls

  into the air. The three clownfish

  juggled the balls skillfully, as the crowd

  cheered and whistled.

  Then, without warning, Al tossed the balls

  to SpongeBob.

  “Your turn, SpongeBob!” Al yelled.

  SpongeBob froze. Juggle? He couldn’t