Toad Away by Morris Gleitzman

Author:Morris Gleitzman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780307548139
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2003-02-14T10:00:00+00:00

It was a hard climb up the tree, especially for Limpy with his crook leg. Luckily the bark was covered with ferns and vines and creepers, which were really good for clutching on to and yelling when you thought you were going to fall.

The locals weren't much help. The bark and the stuff hanging off it were full of insects. They obviously didn't like folks climbing over their homes. Not judging by the amount of swearing they did in Limpy and Goliath's direction.

And biting.

And stabbing.

And poison-squirting.

“Sorry,” said Limpy to a nest of very annoyed ants.“We're just trying to escape a killer, ouch, cat.”

He glanced down the tree trunk. No sign of the jaguar, thank swamp. Limpy could just make out, far below on the forest floor, the damp patch that had once been the giant lizard.

“Ow,” said Goliath several hundred times as a swarm of millipedes ran over his face and kicked him in the chin with each of their feet.

Limpy ate a couple of wood lice, just to show them he and Goliath weren't going to be pushed around. They weren't like Australian lice, who generally gave up and accepted things once they were down your throat. Limpy could feel this pair still fighting and kicking after he'd swallowed them.

“Limpy,” said Goliath. “Why are we still climbing if the big cat's gone?”

“So we can get a better view of the forest,” said Limpy, flicking irate caterpillars out of his eyes with his tongue. “So we can try and see where Charm and the other cane toads are.”

Goliath didn't reply.

Limpy remembered Goliath didn't like heights.

Oh well, thought Limpy, we're nearly at the top. Then we'll be climbing down. He'll like that better.

“Ow,” said Goliath as a nut bounced off his head.

Limpy looked up. In the branches above them, hairy animals shaped like little humans were hanging by their tails and chucking things.

“Get out of our tree!” yelled one.

“Go back to where you came from!” yelled another.

“Toads don't belong up trees!” yelled a third.

“Except for bloodsucking tree toads,” said another one, peering at Limpy. “Which you're not.”

Limpy ducked as a lump of bark whizzed past his ear. He realized something else was whizzing past his ear as well. A brightly colored bird with a deadly-looking beak. A whole flock of them appeared, circling round Limpy and Goliath, glaring fiercely.

The hairy nut throwers scampered away. Limpy wanted to do the same, but he didn't know how to scamper when he was hanging off a creeper by both hands and his good foot.

“Excuse me,” he said to the birds. “I'm looking for my relatives. Can you help?”

The birds all laughed.

“What's so funny?” said Goliath indignantly. “Can you see up my bottom?”

“I think they're telling us there aren't any cane toads up this tree,” said Limpy.

The birds sniggered.

“If you're laughing at my cousin's leg,” yelled Goliath, “I'll do you.”

One of the birds managed to stop tittering.

“Sorry,” it said. “We don't mean to be rude. It's just that we've got little parasites in our heads that are eating our brains.

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