King Coo E-Book

Adam Stower

• Herausgeber: David Fickling Books
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: King Coo
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 55

Beschreibung

Meet our hero, Ben Pole - he's on the run from Monty Grabbe when he discovers a forest with rope swings, water slides, a wombat called Herbert and best of all KING COO!But watch out - Cow-pat-a-pults to the ready!Monty and his gang have a dastardly plan and Ben and Coo need to come up with their best invention yet . . .

Leseprobe

For my brother, Matt, who still climbs trees.

King Coo First published in 2017 by David Fickling Books, 31 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2NP

This ebook edition first published in 2017

All rights reserved Text and illustrations © Adam Stower, 2017 Cover illustration © Adam Stower, 2017

The right of Adam Stower to be identified as author and illustrator of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978-1-910989-42-5

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Acknowledgements

About Adam Stower

5

Chapter One

It was breakfast time, and Ben Pole was halfway through a huge bowl of cornflakes. His dad was busy with the paper, mumbling something through a mouthful of toast and marmalade.

7

But Ben was lost in his own thoughts. He had things to worry about. Well, one thing really. Monty Grabbe. As school bullies go, Monty was up there among the worst of them, and Ben was an easy target. He was so small and skinny he had to lean into even the slightest breeze to stop himself from toppling over.

But he wasn’t stupid.

He knew the trick to survival was to simply stay out of Monty’s way. So Ben did his best to slip around the school unseen, slinking through the shadows, darting from bench to bin to bike rack like a ninja assassin. And so far, it had worked. The summer holiday was just around the corner. He had almost made it.

Suddenly, Ben’s dad sat bolt upright in his chair.

9

‘There’ been another one!’ he said, holding up the paper and jabbing at the front page with a sticky finger. ‘Ha! What about this then, son? It’s a mystery, all right. Perhaps it’s ALIENS!’ he said, taking another enormous bite of toast and showering his belly with crumbs.

‘You ALWAYS think it’s aliens, dear,’ said Mrs Pole, rolling her eyes and dabbing at Mr Pole’s cardigan with a damp hanky.

‘Well, whatever it is, people are getting worried,’ said Mr Pole. ‘The Mayor will be for the chop if he doesn’t fix it fast!’

‘Pfft! Serves him right,’ said Mrs Pole, wiping milk off Ben’s face. ‘That Mayor Grabbe’s a crook!

It’s no wonder his son Monty is such a bully. He’s a right horror, isn’t he, Ben love?’

11

Ben poked at his cornflakes and nodded weakly. Monty Grabbe was one of those school bullies who really enjoy bullying. Nothing cheered up Monty more than cramming some hapless squirt into a locker, or stripping a spindly lad of his lunch money and leaving him at the far edge of the playground folded into an awkward shape.

‘Crikey!’ said Mr Pole, handing Ben the paper. ‘It says here Mayor Grabbe’s offering a reward from the city bank of ONE BA-JILLION POUNDS to anyone who solves the mystery! And he’s already hired a professional exterminator – some nasty looking goon called Ted Dedleigh. Here, look!’

‘That’ll give those aliens something to worry about, eh, Dad?’ said Ben, but he wasn’t really listening. He had Monty to worry about, and he was late for school too. So he scoffed the last of his cornflakes, grabbed his bag, and with a wave to his mum and dad headed out the door.

13

Chapter Two

With only three days left until the end of term, Ben noticed a sunny feeling about the school. The countdown to the summer holidays had begun, and as the day ticked past, all the kids had started to twitch and fizzle with growing excitement. So when the bell rang for home time, they exploded out of their classrooms like a swarm of bees and surged down the corridor.

Ben did his best to hang back and sneak out as usual, but as soon as he stepped into the corridor he was knocked off his feet and tumbled along by the

great tide of kids as they hurtled towards the door.

When the crowd thinned out and Ben dropped to the floor, he realized to his horror that he had been dumped in the middle of the playground.

He leaped up to make a dash for safety, but it was too late.

‘Gotcha!’

Four enormous beefy hands plucked Ben off his feet. His stomach dropped into his socks and his heart thumped in his chest like a frog in a biscuit tin. Ben wriggled furiously but it was useless.

His arms were clamped in the big fists of

Monty’s personal twin goons, Bertie and

Gertie Plank. They were remarkably huge,

lumpy and each about as brainy as a baked

potato. Tommy ‘Long Tom’ Plum,

half as wide but twice as tall,

loomed over them.

16

‘Well, well, if it isn’t BEAN Pole,’ said Monty, leaning close and poking him in the ribs with a pudgy finger. ‘Hullo, Bean.’

Ben smiled weakly and did his best to be cool and charming.

‘Oh, hi, Monty,’ he said, trying to keep his voice from sounding too high and wobbly. ‘Lovely day, isn’t it?’

‘Let me bash im, Monty,’ grunted Bertie.

‘Can I squish im?’ wheezed Gertie.

‘Now, now, Planks,’ oozed Monty, ‘there’s no need to damage him. Not if he’s a good boy and hands over all his cash. You ARE a good boy, aren’t you, Bean?’ he added, holding out a small hand that smelled a bit like sausages.

‘I, er, don’t …’ Ben began, but Monty just sighed impatiently and nodded at the twins.

In the blink of an eye Bertie and Gertie flipped Ben upside down and dangled him by his ankles.

Then with almighty jerks the twins jiggled

Ben up and down

like an enormous

bottle of tomato sauce.  

Everything fell from

Ben’s pockets: a pencil

stub, some old gum

wrapped in a bus ticket,

two stickers, an

embarrassingly snotty

tissue, a dinosaur key