Free Harriet Bright in a Pickle by Claire Craig Page B

stared at the blue Earth below.
    Millions of people watched on TV as Neil Armstrong – the most famous man in space – the first man to walk on the moon – held the door of the spacecraft open for her.
    Harriet Bright was going to be the
    FIRST    CHILD    GIRL
    NINE-YEAR-OLD POET
    TO WALK ON THE MOON.
    Her body was a big balloon, light andin her spacesuit as she took slow-motion steps across the bumpy ground.
    Harriet Bright was just about to speak to the WORLD (she had written a special poem for the occasion) when –
    â€˜PUDDING FACE! TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE .’
    A chocolate-iced doughnut with a huge bite out of it hit her on the head.

In a PICKLE
    Of all the planets
    in deep dark space
    Paul Picklebottom
    isn’t from the
    human race.
    He’s big
    and heavy
    and tall and
    mean .
    He’s a monster from
    Mars and his insides
    are green!

    The doughnut was sticky from the sun and the chocolate stuck in Harriet Bright’s hair.
    Harriet Bright liked chocolate doughnuts.
    But not today.

    Harriet Bright was getting very close to her house.

    But Paul Picklebottom was getting very close to her.
    She could hear his heavy footsteps behind her.
    Harriet Bright was frightened.
    It was just like feeling carsick.
    Her father said that feeling carsick was a load of old rubbish . ‘Mind over matter,’ he said.
    When Harriet Bright was sick all over the back seat of their new car on a trip to the coast last year, her mother said, ‘It doesn’t matter, darling.’
    Her father slammed on the brakes and screamed, ‘WET ONES!’ Then he glared at her. He really seemed to mind!
    Harriet Bright’s mother had told her to think of something else when she felt sick.
    Harriet Bright now thought of all the words that rhymed with pickle:
    stickle
    fickle
    nickel
    tickle
    She could only think of one word that rhymed with bottom, but it was a good one: rotten.
    Harriet Bright wondered how the Picklebottoms got their name.
    Maybe people who eat pickles get big BOTTOMS , she thought. There should be a warning on the pickle bottle.
    No one at school teased Paul Picklebottom about his name.
    No one at school teased him about anything.
    He was too big .
    Her mother said she should ignore Paul Picklebottom.
    Her father said Paul Picklebottom should pick on someone his own size.
    PAUL PICKLEBOTTOM said she was a ‘- sized elephant’.

On the RUN
    Harriet Bright had read all about elephants.
    She knew that they are the biggest animals on land and that there are two types, African and Asian.
    Elephants can’t see very well and they all live together in groups called herds. This means that they can protect the young elephants from dangerous animals that might attack them. Like lions and tigers.
    And Paul Picklebottom.
    She could hear him breathing. He was only about twenty steps away.

    Harriet Bright closed her eyes. She imagined that she was in Africa.
    Her skin felt dry and cracked in the burning sun. She filled her trunk greedily with water from the muddy waterhole, squirting it into her mouth and hosing her hot body.
    Several hippos swam nearby. Large eyes bulged out of their heads and their heavy bodies disappeared into the murky water.
    The airwith insects and all the smells of the animals mingled in the heat.
    But there was another smell too.
    Something that made the birds squa w k andhigh into the air.
    Something that made the elephants
and ROAR .
    It was the smell of danger,

    Harriet Bright could feel her trunk tingling.
    Her senses were on standby.
    Her brain was mission control.
    Receiving. Loud and clear.
    DANGER!
    ATTACK!

    shouted Harriet Bright as she turned and charged towards Paul Picklebottom with a herd of elephants following close behind.
    The ground pounded with furious footsteps and clouds of dust gathered around the storming animals.
    Paul Picklebottom looked completely surprised.

    He dropped his school bag and took off in a giant