by Dulcinea Norton-Smith –
It was a warm, balmy Wednesday when Greta decided to go on a Sniggle hunt. She packed her essential explorer kit with a packet of purple plasters, a chocolate bar, and a fork on a string then set off.
“Just off to catch a Sniggle, Mum,” Greta called up the stairs. Mum was busy bathing baby Bobby.
“Ok, Greta,” Mum shouted down. “Did you remember to pack your fork on a string?”
“Yes,” called back Greta.
“Good. You should always take a fork on a string when you go on an adventure.”
Greta nodded to herself and packed an extra fork on a string, just in case, then set off. She walked into the front garden and felt the warm sun shine down on her face. “Perfect weather for Sniggle hunting,” she muttered to herself.
“Sniggle hunting?” squealed a voice from the next door garden. “Can I come?”
Greta looked at the owner of the voice. A freckle filled face stared back at her. Peter the Pest! He was the most annoying five-year-old in the world, and Greta should know. She was seven and had known a lot of five-year-olds in her time. Peter spent a lot of time in the garden. Usually after he had been sent out of the house by his mother as she shouted at him for the latest mean thing he had done to his little sister. Peter pulled hair. Peter threw worms at people. Peter had once thrown a rock through Greta’s front window. Peter was a stinker!
“No,” said Greta grumpily. “You can’t.”
Greta set off walking around the side of her house into the back garden. Since Dad had decided to be a full time writer, he had spent a lot of time with his head in the clouds, and the back garden had turned into a jungle. It was in the garden jungle that Greta had first seen a Sniggle.
Sniggles were taller than Greta with a furry body and four legs covered in blue and green feathers. They had big fat panda bear faces, and Greta had seen her first Sniggle a week ago. She had been hunting for butterflies and had followed one deep into the garden jungle until it disappeared. She had turned around to go back to the house and came nose to nose with a Sniggle. “Sniggle,” it grunted, and then ran off into the garden jungle. Greta chased after it, but it had disappeared. Well not today. Today she was going to find it.
Greta tiptoed into the jungle, dropping little pieces of chocolate as she walked. She didn’t know for sure, but she was pretty convinced that Sniggles must like chocolate. Most extraordinary beasts did. Deeper and deeper she crept into the jungle, and it got darker and darker. Vines climbed up the tree trunks and exotic flowers bloomed in the thick, waist-high grass. It really was time for Dad to get the lawnmower out before the garden was over-run with Sniggles.
Greta turned around to check her chocolate trail, but all of the chocolate was gone. She looked around quickly for the Sniggle, but it was nowhere to be seen. She heard a snuffling, munching sound coming from behind a tree and quietly tiptoed up to it. She peeped around the tree and came face to face with… a very chocolaty Peter! He had eaten so much of Greta’s chocolate trail the chocolate on his face almost completely covered his one hundred freckles.
“I said you couldn’t come,” Greta grumped. “You’ve eaten all my bait! How am I meant to catch a Sniggle now?”
“Whatever,” said Peter, rolling his eyes at Greta. “You are completely bonkers, absolutely round the bend and totally nuts. There’s no such thing as a Sniggle,” he snickered.
“Sniggle,” said a growling sort of a voice. A long slobbery tongue hung down from a branch above their heads and licked the chocolate off Peter’s face.
“Arrrrrgh!” screamed Peter.
“Mmmmmmmm,” said the Sniggle. It plopped down from the branch, looking exactly as Greta had remembered it. It stalked around Peter on its feathery legs. It licked its panda lips, and Greta heard its furry tummy rumbling.
“Eek!” squeaked Peter, looking a little less naughty and a little more scared.
The Sniggle opened its mouth up wide, stuck its long tongue out, and curled it around Peter’s waist. The Sniggle used its tongue to lift peter up into the air. Its jaws opened wide, and peter screamed. Greta dropped her backpack and quickly rummaged around until she found her essential adventurer’s tool–her fork on a string. She carefully took aim and threw it as hard as she could, right at Peter’s bottom where it stuck with a noisy Twayayayayang!
“Ouch!” yelled Peter. “What did you do… mfmfmfngnfng,” he shouted as he disappeared into the Sniggle’s stomach. The Sniggle smiled happily at Greta, and for a second Greta considered letting the Sniggle keep his treat. She was sure no-one would miss horrid Peter. Apart from his mum that was, and his mum was best friends with Greta’s mum. It would be a bit awkward for them to stay friends if Greta had to tell them she’d let a Sniggle eat Peter.
Sighing, Greta wound the string around a tree trunk, gave the Sniggle an apologetic look, and started to pull. The Sniggle’s tummy made a grumbling sound, and the Sniggle did a surprised little growl. Greta pulled some more, then more, until slowly she felt Peter begin to move. All of a sudden Peter popped out of the Sniggle’s mouth with the fork still stuck in the side of his bottom. He looked a bit surprised and a lot slimy. His face was clear of chocolate but something else had disappeared too. All of his freckles were gone!
“Ooops,” said Greta. She knew Peter was pretty proud of his freckles.
“What?” asked Peter, more quietly than Greta had ever heard him be.
“Errm, nothing,” said Greta. “We’d better get back before the Sniggle tries to eat you again.”
“Good idea,” said Peter, looking at the Sniggle nervously.
The Sniggle sat on the jungle floor looking confused. He looked at Greta with big, sad eyes and stuck its bottom lip out in a very sad and sulky face. Greta considered giving Peter back to the Sniggle but then remembered she still had some chocolate left. She dug it out of her backpack and threw it to the Sniggle. Greta grabbed Peter’s arm and they quickly ran back to their houses.
“Thanks for saving me,” called Peter, nicely but still quite quietly, as he walked up his back steps and into the house.
Greta went into the house and grabbed a cookie before going to watch cartoons in the lounge. Looking out the window she saw Peter’s mum walking up the front path. She looked angry and was carrying a fork on a string.
“Mum!” shouted Greta. “You believe me that there is a Sniggle in the garden, right?”
“Sure honey,” called down Mum. “Why do you ask?”
“Errm, no reason,” called back Greta. She bounded up the stairs and made a quick exit to her bedroom as she heard heavy knocking on the front door.
the end.
Question Time:
1. Name one thing Greta took with her for Sniggle hunting.
2. What did the Sniggle do with Peter?
3. How did Greta save Peter?
4. What did Greta notice about Peter after she saved him?
5. Who came to the door at Greta’s house?
