• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“That’s way too much!” Judy yelled, but it was too late. The mouth snap-trapped around it, hamburger oozing out of its teeth. In a blink, the whole arm drooped, collapsing in the dirt.

“You killed it! You’re in trouble, Stink. MOM! DAD!” Judy called.

Judy showed her parents what happened. “Stink killed my Venus flytrap!”

“I didn’t mean to,” said Stink. “The trap closed really fast!”

“It’s not dead. It’s digesting,” said Dad. “The jaws will probably open by tomorrow morning,” said Mom.

“Maybe it’s just sleeping or something,” said Stink.

“Or something,” said Judy.

Tomorrow morning came. The jaws were still closed. Judy tried teasing it with a brand new ant. “Here you go,” she said in her best squeaky baby voice. “You like ants, don’t you?” The jaws did not open one tiny centimeter. The plant did not move one trigger hair.

Judy gave up. She carefully lodged the plant in the bottom of her backpack. She’d take it to school, stinky, smelly glob of hamburger and all.

On the bus, Judy showed Rocky her new pet. “I couldn’t wait to show everybody how it eats. Now it won’t even move. And it smells.”

“Open Sesame!” said Rocky, trying some magic words. Nothing happened.

“Maybe,” said Rocky, “the bus will bounce it open.”

“Maybe,” said Judy. But even the bouncing of the bus did not make her new pet open up.

“If this thing dies, I’m stuck with Mouse for MY FAVORITE PET,” Judy said.

Mr. Todd said first thing, “Okay, class, take out your Me collage folders. I’ll pass around old magazines, and you can spend the next half-hour cutting out pictures for your collages. You still have over three weeks, but I’d like to see how everybody’s doing.”

Her Me collage folder! Judy had been so busy with her new pet, she had forgotten to bring her folder to school.

Judy Moody sneaked a peek at Frank Pearl’s folder. He had cut out pictures of macaroni (favorite food?), ants (favorite pet?), and shoes. Shoes? Frank Pearl’s best friend was a pair of shoes?

Judy looked down at the open backpack under her desk. The jaws were still closed. Now her whole backpack was smelly. Judy took the straw from her juice box and poked at the Venus flytrap. No luck. It would never open in time for Share and Tell!

“Well?” Frank asked.

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to come?”

“Where?”

“My birthday party. A week from Saturday. All the boys from our class are coming. And Adrian and Sandy from next door.”

Judy Moody did not care if the president himself was coming. She sniffed her backpack. It stunk like a skunk!

“What’s in your backpack?” Frank asked.

“None of your beeswax,” Judy said.

“It smells like dead tuna fish!” Frank Pearl said. Judy hoped her Venus flytrap would come back to life and bite Frank Pearl before he ever had another birthday.

Mr. Todd came over. “Judy, you haven’t cut out any pictures. Do you have your folder?”

“Idid — Imean — itwas — then — well — no,” said Judy. “I got a new pet last night.”

“Don’t tell me,” said Mr. Todd. “Your new pet ate your Me collage folder.”

“Not exactly. But it did eat one dead fly and one live ant. And then a big glob of . . .”

“Next time try to remember to bring your folder to school, Judy. And please, everyone, keep homework away from animals!”

“My new pet’s not an animal, Mr. Todd,” Judy said. “And it doesn’t eat homework. Just bugs and raw hamburger.” She pulled the Venus flytrap from her backpack. Judy could not believe her eyes! Its arm was no longer droopy. The stuck trap was now wide open, and her plant was looking hungry.

“It’s MY FAVORITE PET,” said Judy. “Meet Jaws!”

Finally! Judy thought the only thing finer in the world than getting Jaws had to be getting a big brown box in the mail with the name DOCTOR Judy Moody on it. She was in an operating mood.

“Can I open it?” asked Stink, coming out of his closet fort.

“What does it say right there?” asked Judy, pointing to the label.

“Doctor Judy Moody,” read Stink.

“Exactly,” said Judy Moody. “I collected all the box