Crane Fly Crash (8 page)

“Active?” echoed Danny.

“Yesss! Working as a genius scientist once more. Which, of course, I am! But nobody knows it except me and you. So that's why we have to be careful. I have to carry on looking like a scatterbrained old biddy. And
you
have to carry on looking for the missing REPTOSWITCH cubes, if we're ever going to make the reptile spray. I don't suppose you've found another one, have you?”

Petty wandered into her kitchen and took two small velvet boxes off a high shelf. She opened the red one to reveal six sparkling glass cubes, each with a tiny hologram inside it. These were BUGSWITCH cubes, each containing a vital part of the code for making BUGSWITCH spray.

Petty smiled and ran her fingertips over the six cubes. Then she opened the green velvet box, revealing only four cubes in a tray meant for six.

There had been only one cube when Josh and Danny first saw the box. They had managed to find three of the missing ones. “I tried to figure out the code with just these four cubes last week,” Petty said. “I thought I might be able to remember the missing parts. But I can't. If you two can't find the last two cubes, I might as well give up.”

“Well, we are trying, you know,” said Danny. “When we're not having to deal with the trouble your S.W.I.T.C.H. spray keeps making for us! Did you know that our sister was S.W.I.T.C.H.ed on Wednesday?!”

Petty dropped onto a kitchen chair, shocked. “No!”

Josh and Danny told her what had happened. “But you don't have to worry,” said Josh, at the end of their story. “She thinks it was all a dream.”

Petty sighed and took her glasses off. “I think I'm going to have to lie down under a damp towel,” she said. “Come on. Better go home now, boys. Sorry about your sister.”

As she shooed them onto the front step, Danny glanced up. “Hey!” he said. “That was the little orange room we flew into! We were up in there, head-butting your light!”

They all stared up into the porch lightshade. Then Josh squinted. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Petty—can you get me a chair?”

“Whatever for?” snapped Petty.

“I remember seeing something up in that light … something strange…” Josh screwed up his eyes. Yes … there was a strange little sparkle of light up inside the glass shade.

Petty brought out a chair. Josh stood on it. Reaching up, on his tiptoes, he put his hand into the shade. Two dead moths fell out. Danny gave a little shriek. “Well …” he said. “I met them a couple of nights ago!”

Josh stepped back off the chair with something in his hand. He smiled at Petty and opened his fingers. In his palm lay a glass cube, with the hologram of a gecko inside it.

“REPTOSWITCH cube, anyone?” said Josh.

Want to brush up on your bug knowledge? Here's a list of books dedicated to creepy-crawlies.

Glaser, Linda.
Not a Buzz to Be Found
. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press, 2012.

Heos, Bridget.
What to Expect When You're Expecting Larvae: A Guide for Insect Parents (and Curious Kids)
. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press, 2011.

Markle, Sandra. Insect World series. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2008.

Find out more about nature and wildlife using the websites below.

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/

The University of Michigan's Critter Catalog has a ton of pictures of different kinds of bugs and information on where they live, how they behave, and their predators.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/bugs-kids

Go to this fun website to watch clips from National Geographic about all sorts of creepy-crawlies.

http://www.fws.gov/letsgooutside/kids.html

This website has lots of activities for when you're outside playing and looking for wildlife.

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE
TITLES

	#1 Spider Stampede Eight-year-olds Josh and Danny discover that their neighbor Miss Potts has a secret formula that can change people into bugs. Soon enough, they find themselves with six extra legs. Can the boys survive in the world as spiders long enough to make it home in time for dinner?
	#2 Fly Frenzy Danny and Josh are avoiding their neighbor because she “accidentally” turned them into bugs. But when their mom's garden is ruined the day before a big competition, the twins turn into bluebottle houseflies to discover the culprits. Will they find who's responsible before it's too late?
	#3 Grasshopper Glitch Danny and Josh are having a normal day at school … until they turn into grasshoppers in the middle of class! Can they avoid being eaten during their whirlwind search to find the antidote? And will they be able to change back before getting a week of detention?
	#4 Ant Attack Danny and Josh are being forced to play with Tarquin, the most annoying boy in the neighborhood. But things get dangerous when the twins accidentally turn into ants and discover that Tarquin kills bugs for fun…. Can they find a safe place to hide until they turn human again?
	#5 Crane Fly Crash When Petty Potts leaves town, she puts Danny and Josh in charge of some of her S.W.I.T.C.H. spray. Unfortunately, their sister, Jenny, mistakes it for hair spray and ends up as a crane fly. Now it's up to the twins to keep Jenny from being eaten alive.
	#6 Beetle Blast Danny is forced to go with his brother, Josh, to his nature group, but neither of them thought they would turn into the nature they were studying! Both brothers become beetles just in time to learn about pond dipping … from the bug's perspective. Can they avoid getting caught by the other kids?