Life In The Gumball Machine by Maureen Bartone

Author:Maureen Bartone [Bartone, Maureen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

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Michael landed hard on the slide, but he was relieved because he made it. Keep your feet and hands in, he reminded himself. Flying down the slide at lightning speed, he could feel the wind whipping his face. He screamed in a high voice, like a little girl in kindergarten. He could be heard throughout the valley. “AAHH!!”

Up ahead, he saw a giant dip in the slide. Uh-oh! What the heck . . .? The slide took a dip – up – and then back down. Suddenly, he was going straight down. His arms flew above his head, and it felt like his stomach jumped into his throat.

He again yelled at the top of his lungs. “AAHH!!” Michael tried to keep his hands and feet inside the slide as Daisy suggested, but he was moving so fast that he was barely able to stay on the slide. It was as if he was riding just above it. He bounced a bit, and then he landed hard; then again – he bounced, and then he landed hard. This continued all the way down. Suddenly, the slide began to twist and turn, and Michael soon found himself actually enjoying the ride. His screams of fear transformed into screams of laughter.

“Whoo-h-o-o!” This isn’t so bad, he thought, as he screamed and laughed. When he came around another bend, he saw that the end of the slide was quickly approaching. He braced himself for the sudden drop-off. Soon, he would land in the pond of bubblegum pudding. He could see Vinnie and Gordy waiting for him. He hoped the pudding wasn’t too shallow.

“HERE – I – GOOO!!” SPLASH! Landing feet-first, he plunged deep into the pool of pudding. When he came up for air, Vinnie and Gordy were standing there waiting for him. They laughed as they high-fived him. He was covered from head-to-toe with thick, pink, gooey pudding. It was dripping down his hair and into his eyes and mouth. He could smell the strong bubblegum scent. His clothes were soaked with the sticky stuff, and they felt heavy and warm.

He wiped the pudding away from his eyes and started to laugh. “Whoo-hoo! That was one awesome ride!”

The other group of gumballs who went down the slide before Michael, joined in the celebration. Everyone cheered and congratulated him for braving the ride. He was so happy and proud of himself that he swiped a big glob of bubblegum flavored pudding off of his forehead and put it into his mouth. He proceeded to chew it up and make a HUGE bubble. Vinnie, Gordy and the other gumballs stood and stared at him, with their mouths open.

Michael popped his large bubble and it smeared all over his mouth. Wiping it off with his hand, he said, “Oops. Did I just eat one of your friends or something?” The gumballs continued to stare, and then suddenly, Vinnie said, “Nah. Just messing with you. You didn’t eat one of our children, if that’s what you’re thinking.

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