The Monster Story-Teller Read online

  It was an ordinary flower-patterned saucer. But today it had grown wings.

  "Of course!" said Natalie. "It's a flying saucer!"

  She went to have a closer look.

  There was a little creature standing in the saucer.

  Was it an ant?

  "A flying ant!" Natalie giggled.

  It wasn't an ant.

  It was a very, very, very tiny monster.

  Also available by Jacqueline Wilson Published in Corgi Pups, for beginner readers: T H E DINOSAUR'S PACKED L U N C H

  T H E MONSTER STORY-TELLER

  Published in Young Corgi, for newly confident readers: LIZZIE Z I P M O U T H

  SLEEPOVERS

  Available from Doubleday/Corgi Yearling Books: BAD GIRLS

  T H E BED 8c BREAKFAST STAR

  BEST FRIENDS

  BURIED ALIVE!

  CANDYFLOSS

  T H E CAT MUMMY

  CLEAN BREAK

  CLIFFHANGER

  T H E DARE GAME

  T H E D I A M O N D GIRLS

  DOUBLE ACT

  DOUBLE ACT (PLAY EDITION)

  GLUBBSLYME

  T H E ILLUSTRATED M U M

  JACKY DAYDREAM

  T H E LOTTIE PROJECT

  M I D N I G H T

  T H E M U M - M I N D E R

  SECRETS

  STARRING TRACY BEAKER

  T H E STORY OF TRACY BEAKER

  T H E SUITCASE KID

  VICKY ANGEL

  T H E WORRY WEBSITE

  Join the official Jacqueline Wilson fan club at

  www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk

  Illustrated by Nick Sharratt

  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.

  Adobe ISBN: 9781407043456

  Version 1.0

  www.randomhouse.co.uk

  THE MONSTER STORY-TELLER

  A CORGI PUPS BOOK 978 0 552 55787 0

  First published in Great Britain by Doubleday, an imprint of Random House Children's Books A Random House Group Company

  Doubleday edition published 1997

  First Corgi Pups edition published 1997

  This Corgi Pups edition published 2008

  1 3 5 7 9 1 0 8 6 4 2

  Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 1997

  Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 1997

  The right of Jacqueline Wilson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

  The Random House Group Limited makes every effort to ensure that the papers used in its books are made from trees that have been legally sourced from well-managed and credibly certified forests.

  Our paper procurement policy can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/paper.htm

  Set in 19/23 Bembo Infant

  Young Corgi Books are published by Random House Children's Books, 61-63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA

  www. kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk

  www. rbooks.co.uk

  Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:

  www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

  THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Printed in the UK by CPI Bookmarque, Croydon, CR0 4TD

  For Sean William MacLahlan

  C O N T E N T S

  Chapter One 1

  Chapter Two 14

  Chapter Three 30

  Chapter Four 53

  Series Reading Consultant: Prue Goodwin Reading and Language Information Centre, University of Reading

  Chapter One

  Natalie was fed up.

  The class were doing a project

  on flying.

  She had made a big bird but

  his wings went wonky. He

  wouldn't fly.

  Natalie talked to her friends.

  "What did you do on

  Saturday?" Natalie asked.

  1

  "I went swimming," said Clare.

  "I went to McDonald's," said Zoe.

  "I went to the football match,"

  said Lee.

  "I went shopping with my

  n a n , " said Clive. "She gave me five pounds. And she bought me

  chocolates. Y u m yum."

  " D o you want to hear what I did on Saturday?" said Natalie.

  "First I went swimming a n d there were real dolphins in the pool

  and they gave me a ride. Then I

  went to McDonald's and I had

  twenty Big Macs and twenty

  strawberry milk shakes. And then

  I went to this football match and

  I was the mascot and I scored a

  goal a n d everyone cheered. And

  then I went shopping with my

  nan and she gave me fifty pounds

  and lots and lots and lots of

  chocolates."

  " H o w many chocolates?" said Clive.

  3

  "Natalie's telling stories, silly,"

  said Lee.

  "Settle down, children!" said Mr Hunter. "Natalie, get on with your work and stop telling stories.

  It's not story-time until this

  afternoon – when we're going to

  have a special treat."

  4

  "I w a n t a special treat now,"

  Natalie muttered. "This is boring, boring, boring."

  She sighed.

  She stretched.

  She looked up at the window.

  She looked at the plant in the pot on the window sill.

  And the plant in the pot moved.

  5

  Natalie blinked.

  The plant in the pot moved

  again. Upwards!

  Was the plant in the pot flying?

  Then Natalie saw!

  The plant in the pot wasn't

  flying.

  It was the saucer.

  It was an ordinary flower-

  patterned saucer. But today it

  had grown wings.

  7

  "Of course!" said Natalie. "It's a flying saucer!"

  She went to have a closer look.

  There was a little creature

  standing in the saucer.

  Was it an ant?

  "A flying ant!" Natalie giggled.

  8

  It wasn't an ant.

  It was a very, very, very tiny

  monster.

  It had wild hair and pointy

  teeth and sharp claws and a long

  tail.

  But it didn't look fierce. It

  looked friendly.

  9

  "Hello!" said Natalie.

  "Hello!" said the tiny monster.

  "Can you speak up a bit?" said Natalie. "I can't hear you

  properly."

  "I'm shouting!" said the tiny monster. "Can you speak down a bit? You're hurting my ears."

  "Is it your flying saucer?"

  Natalie whispered, so softly her

  li
ps scarcely moved.

  The tiny monster nodded

  proudly.

  " W a n t to see me do twirlie-whirlies?" he said.

  11

  "You bet!" said Natalie.

  The tiny monster tapped his

  teeny foot.

  The saucer flapped its little

  wings and whizzed round and

  round in the air. The plant's

  leaves waved wildly.

  The tiny monster waved too as

  he circled Natalie's head, round

  and round until she got dizzy.

  The plant wobbled and

  wobbled until...

  12

  ...it tipped right off the saucer and crashed onto the classroom floor!

  " O h help!" said the tiny monster.

  " O h help!" said Natalie.

  "What's Mr Hunter going to say?"

  13

  Chapter T w o

  Mr Hunter said plenty.

  "You naughty girl, Natalie!

  14

  W h a t were you doing over by the window? Did you knock that

  plant over on purpose?"

  " N o ! It wasn't m e , " said Natalie.

  "It was me!" said the tiny monster, flying his saucer behind

  Natalie.

  15

  "Look at the mess on the floor!

  Go and fetch a dustpan a n d

  brush from the store cupboard,

  Natalie," said Mr Hunter. "And take that silly smile off your face.

  It isn't funny."

  Natalie couldn't help smiling.

  The tiny monster was tickling the

  back of her neck with his weeny

  claws.

  16

  Natalie hurried out of the

  classroom.

  The flying saucer went with

  her, whirling round her head.

  "Where are you going?"

  shouted the tiny monster.

  " T o fetch the dustpan and

  brush," said Natalie.

  "Boring, boring, boring," said the tiny monster. " C o m e flying with me instead. Jump up on my

  saucer."

  17

  "I can't," said Natalie. "I'm much too big. I'd smash the

  saucer. And squash you."

  "I can make you small," said the tiny monster. "Hold my

  hand."

  Natalie held out her great big

  hand. The tiny monster held out

  his weeny little paw.

  Then Natalie started shrinking!

  19

  She felt as if she were being

  rubbed with very powerful magic

  soap.

  She got smaller and smaller

  and smaller until she was exactly

  the same size as the tiny monster.

  Only he didn't look tiny now.

  The monster's hair was very

  wild.

  His teeth were very pointy.

  His claws were very sharp.

  His tail was very long.

  But he still didn't look fierce.

  He looked friendly.

  21

  "Let's fly," said the monster.

  "Shall we go fast?"

  "You bet!" said Natalie.

  The monster tapped his paw

  and the wings flapped very fast

  indeed. The flying saucer whizzed

  way down the school corridor.

  "Aaaaah!" said Natalie.

  22

  "This is easy-peasy slowcoach stuff," said the monster, showing off like mad. "Let's go outside."

  Natalie nodded.

  She didn't have any breath left

  for talking.

  23

  They flew very fast across the

  playground.

  "Wheeeeee!" said Natalie.

  "This is wonderful! C a n we go right over the rooftops?"

  "You bet!" said the monster.

  24

  They did twirlie-whirlies round

  the chimney-pots.

  25

  "Now let's do swoopie-

  doopies," said the monster.

  They swooped right down to

  the park.

  The duck pond looked like a

  puddle from high in the sky, but

  when they got nearer and

  nearer...

  26

  ...the ducks started to get bigger and bigger.

  "Quick! Fly up or they'll get us!" said Natalie.

  "Chicken," teased the monster.

  " N o – duck!" said Natalie.

  They swooped up just in time,

  leaving the ducks quacking

  foolishly.

  27

  "I live near the park," said Natalie. "There's my house.

  Look, there's my m u m and my

  little brothers!"

  "Hey, do you want to see my

  m u m and my little brothers?" said the monster.

  "You bet!" said Natalie.

  "OK. Monster Planet, here we

  come!

  29

  Chapter Three

  The flying saucer's wings grew

  immensely.

  They flapped faster and faster

  a n d faster.

  The flying saucer shot straight

  into the sky. It flew higher than

  the tallest buildings in the whole world...

  ...higher than the world itself,

  a w a y to a different planet

  altogether.

  Monster Planet.

  "There it is!" shouted the monster.

  "It's little!" said Natalie.

  "So are w e , " said the monster.

  31

  "I can see water," said Natalie.

  "It's our seaside," said the monster.

  "I can see lots of little monster people!" said Natalie.

  They had wild hair and pointy

  teeth and sharp claws and long

  tails. But they didn't look fierce.

  They looked friendly.

  "Shall we go for a sail?" said the monster.

  "You bet!" said Natalie. "Hey, do you have dolphins?"

  "Watch!" said the monster, and he whistled.

  33

  Six special monster dolphins

  leapt out of the water and

  whistled back.

  The smiliest special monster

  dolphin gave Natalie a ride.

  "That was wonderful," said Natalie. "But I'm all wet now."

  35

  " W e have special drying

  dragons on the beach," said the monster, parking the flying

  saucer.

  "Do you want the w a r m

  dragon, the hot dragon, or the

  special sauna dragon?" said the monster.

  36

  "Just the w a r m one, please,"

  said Natalie.

  She was wonderfully w a r m in

  seconds.

  The monster had the special

  sauna treatment and was so red-

  hot he fried an egg on himself

  and ate it!

  37

  "Do you want an egg too,

  Natalie?" said the monster.

  "Maybe not an egg," said Natalie. "But I am starving."

  "Do you want to go to

  McMonsters?" said the monster.

  "You bet!" said Natalie.

  38

  Natalie ate a McMonster

  burger. And another and another

  and another.

  Whenever she got thirsty she

  went to the pretty pink fountain.

  It was strawberry monster milk

  shake!

  39

  "I think I'm full up now," said Natalie.

  "Let's go and look round the

  shops," said the monster.

  "I haven't got any money,"

  said Natalie.

  " N o problem," said the monster. "Monster money gro
ws on trees, look. Just help yourself!."

  40

  So Natalie and the monster

  picked a pocketful of monster

  money and went to the monster

  shopping centre.

  There was a monster pet shop

  with monster dogs and monster

  cats and monster rabbits and

  monster hamsters and monster

  mice.

  Natalie liked the monster birds

  best. She bought them all so she

  could let them out of their cages.

  The monster birds flapped their

  wings and flew far away.

  "Let's go in the sports shop,"

  said the monster.

  "Yes! I'll buy that football,"

  said Natalie.

  " W h o do you support?" said the monster. "I like the Monster Marvels."

  "Me too," said Natalie.

  "Do you want to go to the

  match?" said the monster.

  "You bet!" said Natalie.

  43

  The monster football stadium

  was packed out.

  Natalie and the monster got

  specially shown to their seats.

  44

  " U p the Monster Marvels!"

  yelled Natalie.

  They all waved to her when

  they ran onto the pitch.

  " C o m e and kick off for us, Natalie," they shouted.

  45

  Natalie scored a stupendous

  goal.

  "Hurray for Natalie!" shouted all the monsters, while she leapt

  in the air.

  46

  The monster took Natalie to

  meet his monster nan after the

  match.

  Monster N a n made a great fuss

  of them both. She gave them hot

  chocolate to drink and cold

  chocolate ice-cream to eat – and

  lots and lots and lots of chocolate bars.

  "Don't tell your m u m or she'll fuss about your teeth," said

  Monster N a n .

  47

  "I w a n t to see your m u m and your little brothers," said Natalie.

  "Right," said the monster.

  "Hop back on the flying saucer."

  They flew over the monster's

  house.

  "There they are! That's my

  monster mum. And my little

  monster brothers."