Fuzzy Freaks Out by Bruce Hale

Author:Bruce Hale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Like a snow cone gulped too quickly, the rat was giving the Class Pets Club a colossal collective headache. Maybe they’d gotten too used to having the run of the school, to having things their way. Maybe they were just suspicious of newcomers. Whatever the reason, the pets couldn’t ignore him.

They didn’t want to think about the rat, and yet he was all they could think about. So after school the next day, the pets gathered in the clubhouse to decide what to do about their uninvited visitor.

Based on their earlier encounters, they knew the rat was clever and not easily intimidated. Driving him out would take some serious brainpower. Fuzzy and his friends hunched on their pillows, frowning, chewing over ideas, and nibbling Power Bars for strength.

“Um, we could … smoke him out,” said Sassafras.

Igor smirked. “Yeah, ’cause it worked out so well the last time we used fire.”

“So what’s your bright idea?” The parakeet bristled. “Wearing cat masks and going meow?”

Mistletoe shuddered. “Ugh, I hate that sound,” she muttered. Then she sat up straighter. “Hey, can I ask a question?”

“That’s a question right there,” Fuzzy teased.

“Yes, Sister Mistletoe?” said Cinnabun.

The mouse looked around at the other pets. “What’ve you got against rats, anyway? Geronimo was a rat, and nobody minded him.”

Sassafras ruffled her feathers. “Well, there’s rats, and then there’s rats.”

“Yeah,” said Igor. “I knew Geronimo. I liked Geronimo. And this sneaky little stinker is no Geronimo. He’s got to go.”

Lazily, Luther uncoiled and stretched. “You know, we’re overlooking the easiest solution.”

“What’s that?” asked Fuzzy.

“I could just eat him. Gulp, slurp, problem sssolved.”

The other pets exchanged uneasy glances. Fuzzy toyed with a whisker.

“What?” asked Luther.

Cinnabun smiled her gentlest smile. “Brother Luther, let’s see if we can avoid violence as a solution. It’s just so … violent.”

“Plus, eating someone sets a bad precedent,” added Marta.

Luther shrugged, rippling his muscular coils. “Just trying to be helpful.”

Eager to change the subject, Fuzzy said, “So help us out, Mistletoe. What do rats absolutely hate?”

“Um, cats and dogs?” said the mouse.

Cinnabun shook her head. “More violence. We can’t just turn a cat loose at Leo Gumpus. No telling what it would do.”

“Agreed,” said Fuzzy, thinking of Miss Tiddy-Bum-Bums.

“We need a plan that doesn’t involve someone being eaten,” said the bunny.

“Oh.” Sassafras straightened. “I’m such a ditz.”

“No argument here,” said Igor, gnawing on a fruit stick.

Cinnabun shushed him. “What is it, sister?”

Slapping a wing against her forehead, the parakeet said, “I just now remembered something.”

“That iguanas are superior in every way to birds?” said Igor.

“In your dreams,” said the parakeet. “No, a kid in my class did a report on household pests. Although she didn’t mention iguanas”—Sassafras shot a pointed look at Igor—“she did talk about rats.”

“And?” said Fuzzy, sitting up.

Sassafras tilted her head back, remembering. “I think she said that they hate the smell of those cakes in the little boys’ room.”

“They’ve got cake in the bathroom?” Mistletoe frowned. “How did I miss that?”

“Not birthday cake,” said the parakeet. “De-stinkifying cake. They put it in the … you know.

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