The School Carnival from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures) Read online

  Get more monster-sized laughs from

  #1: The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon

  #2: The Talent Show from the Black Lagoon

  #3: The Class Election from the Black Lagoon

  #4: The Science Fair from the Black Lagoon

  #5: The Halloween Party from the Black Lagoon

  #6: The Field Day from the Black Lagoon

  #7: The School Carnival from the Black Lagoon

  #8: Valentine’s Day from the Black Lagoon

  #9: The Christmas Party from the Black Lagoon

  #10: The Little League Team from the Black Lagoon

  #11: The Snow Day from the Black Lagoon

  #12: April Fools’ Day from the Black Lagoon

  #13: Back-to-School Fright from the Black Lagoon

  #14: The New Year’s Eve Sleepover from the Black Lagoon

  #15: The Spring Dance from the Black Lagoon

  #16: The Thanksgiving Day from the Black Lagoon

  #17: The Summer Vacation from the Black Lagoon

  #18: The Author Visit from the Black Lagoon

  #19: St. Patrick’s Day from the Black Lagoon

  #20: The School Play from the Black Lagoon

  #21: The 100

  th

  Day of School from the Black Lagoon

  #22: The Class Picture Day from the Black Lagoon

  #23: Earth Day from the Black Lagoon

  #24: The Summer Camp from the Black Lagoon

  #25: Friday the 13

  th

  from the Black Lagoon

  The Black Lagoon

  by Mike Thaler

  Illustrated by Jared Lee

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

  THE

  SCHOOL CARNIVAL

  FROM THE

  BLACK LAGOON

  For little Laurel Dillon,

  Welcome to the world!

  —M.T.

  To Kent and Jon, two clowns

  —J.L.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

  Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,

  downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into

  any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means,

  whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without

  the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding

  permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557

  Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-37578-8

  Text copyright © 2005 by Mike Thaler.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.

  SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/ or registered

  trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, October 2005

  Contents

  Chapter 1: A Booth, for Sooth . . . . . . . . .6

  Chapter 2: A Fair to Remember . . . . . . . 9

  Chapter 3: Unfair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

  Chapter 4: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall . . 17

  Chapter 5: The Better Mousetrap . . . . . 26

  Chapter 6: Aqua-phobia! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

  Chapter 7: Fair-weather Friends . . . . . . 37

  Chapter 8: In the Swim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

  Chapter 9: In the Hot Seat . . . . . . . . . . . 49

  Chapter 10: The Slam Dunk . . . . . . . . . . 56

  CHAPTER 1

  A BOOTH, FOR SOOTH

  Our school is having a

  carnival. Mrs. Green says that

  our class has to run a booth.

  But what kind will it be?

  She says it has to be lots of

  fun, easy to run, and make a ton

  of money! If we raise enough, we

  can have a real, live author come

  to our school. If we don’t, maybe

  we could afford a not-so-alive

  author.

  6

  7

  Mrs. Green wants each of us to

  bring an idea for a carnival booth

  tomorrow. It is our homework

  for tonight. I look around at the

  whole class. Everyone has a

  blank look—this should be very

  interesting.

  8

  CHAPTER 2

  A FAIR TO REMEMBER

  On the bus ride home, we’re

  deep in thought. We’re all pretty

  fair-minded.

  I think of all the fairs I’ve ever

  been to . . . one. It was the County

  Fair. It had a rodeo, and a bunch

  of cowboys riding bulls. Maybe I

  could put two horns on my dog,

  Tailspin.

  There was also a Ferris wheel.

  Plus there were crazy rides,

  cotton candy machines, corn-

  dog stands, and lots more. I don’t

  think my class can do any of that

  stuff.

  10

  The fair organizers gave blue

  ribbons to both the cows and the

  cabbages. I know the difference

  between them, but that’s about

  all.

  It’s going to be a long night of

  homework.

  11

  CHAPTER 3

  UNFAIR

  When I get home, I watch a

  video—My Fair Lady. It doesn’t

  help much. Then I listen to the

  weather report...fair with a chance

  of showers. I’ve got fairs on the

  brain. Train fares, plane fares, bus

  fares, pharaohs, and good fairies.

  12

  I fall asleep watching a Ferris

  wheel go around. Suddenly I’m

  at a fair. I’m walking down the

  midway. It has a lot of booths.

  I walk up to one. It’s an alligator-

  kissing booth. No thanks. At the

  next booth, I get to slam-dunk an

  elephant into a basketball hoop.

  13

  Then there’s a booth to bob

  for piranhas. If you survive that,

  you get to wrestle a bear. There

  are also booths for throwing

  marshmallows at balloons and for

  floating feathers in milk bottles.

  So far, I have not won anything.

  14

  Suddenly I’m in a gigantic fish

  bowl. Kids are trying to win me.

  They’re throwing ping-pong balls

  that are bouncing all around. This

  is not fun. So I climb out of the

  bowl and go to buy a hotdog. But

  it’s Tailspin in a bun.

  15

  Then I buy some cotton candy,

  but it’s made of real cotton. I wake

  up and see that I’m chewing on

  my pillow.

  16

  CHAPTER 4

  MIRROR, MIRROR ON

  THE WALL . . .

  On the school bus, everyone

  is excited. I think that they all

  have ideas, but no one’s telling.

  They’re waiting for class.

  “Alright,” says Mrs. Green. “Who

  has an idea for our class booth?”

  Ever
y hand shoots up. Penny

  raises two.

  “Do you have an idea, Penny?”

  “A kissing booth!” puckers

  Penny.

  “YUCK! That won’t make too

  much money,” says Eric. “And

  besides, it’s unsanitary!”

  17

  Mrs. Green calls on Freddy.

  “A bakery booth. I’ll bake a lot

  of apple turnovers, and we’ll sell

  them. We’ll have a fast turnover,”

  jokes Freddy.

  “Possible,” says Mrs. Green.

  “Let’s have a cakewalk,” says

  Derrick.

  “Great,” says Freddy. “Then I’ll

  bake a cake.”

  18

  Eric waves his hand. “I’ll get a

  crystal ball and tell the future.”

  “You can’t tell the future,”

  sneers Doris.

  “I knew you would say that,”

  smiles Eric.

  19

  “What about a basketball

  shoot?” says Randy.

  “No way,” says Eric. “Those

  fifth graders are too good, and

  they’ll win all of our prizes.”

  “We could shoot meatballs

  instead,” says Freddy.

  “Too messy,” I say. “What about

  a dunking tank?”

  There’s silence in the room.

  Mrs. Green turns and writes all

  the ideas on the board.

  “Let’s vote,” she says.

  The dunking tank idea wins

  hands down—or hands up.

  “But who will we dunk?” asks

  Mrs. Green.

  Everyone looks at her.

  “No way!” says Mrs. Green.

  Then everyone looks at me.

  “I catch colds so easily,” I

  announce. “What about dunking

  doughnuts?”

  “I could bake the doughnuts,”

  says Freddy.

  “It was your idea,” says Penny.

  “Scared?” sneers Eric.

  23

  I notice that everyone’s staring

  at me.

  “Me scared?” I squeak. “Not a

  chance.”

  “Then you will do it,” says

  Eric.

  “On one condition,” I say.

  “What’s that?” asks Mrs.

  Green.

  “You have to use ping-pong

  balls,” I say with a smile.

  “OK,” says Mrs. Green. “Let’s

  get to work.”

  24

  25

  CHAPTER 5

  THE BETTER

  MOUSETRAP

  The whole class pitches in

  and starts building the dunking

  booth. It’s a lot of fun!

  We get a plastic pool and fill it

  with water. So far, so good. We

  attach a chair to a hinged platform

  held up by a stick. Then we tie a

  cord around the stick and attach

  the other end to the spring of a

  mousetrap. Bingo!

  26

  We hit the trap. The spring

  snaps forward. It jerks the rope

  that pulls the stick, which drops

  the platform, and whoever is

  sitting in the chair falls into the

  water. Splash!

  27

  Hey, that’ll be me. I’ll be

  dropping into the water. Oh,

  me and my bright ideas! I don’t

  even know how to swim. I better

  learn . . . fast.

  28

  CHAPTER 6

  AQUA-PHOBIA!

  I’ve always been afraid of the

  water. I’d rather stand on land

  than sink in the drink. It’s fine for

  fish, but it’s not my wish. But now,

  I have to learn how to swim.

  29

  My mom signs me up and takes

  me down to the public swimming

  pool. It’s big! And it’s full of water!

  It’s six feet deep. Maybe I should

  go home and grow. I’ll come back

  when I’m eight feet tall.

  30

  A nice lady comes over. She’s

  got a whistle and a clipboard.

  “I’m Miss Titanic, your swim

  instructor,” she says.

  “I want to miss this Titanic,” I

  mutter.

  “What?” she asks.

  “Uh, nice to meet you, Miss

  Titanic,” I reply.

  31

  “You must be Hubie,” she says

  with a smile.

  “Do I have to be?” I answer.

  “You’re right on time for your

  lesson,” she says, checking her

  clipboard.

  “Can I wait a couple of years?”

  I ask.

  “Are we a little afraid of the

  water?” she laughs.

  “Not if it’s in a cup,” I say.

  “Just pretend that the pool is a

  big cup,” she replies.

  “I’m not that thirsty,” I say, as

  she puts water wings on each of

  my arms.

  32

  “Let’s start off in the shallow

  end,” she says, taking my hand.

  “Any puddle is fine,” I say.

  “Come on, Hubie.” She leads

  me down the steps into the pool.

  The water is very wet.

  33

  “Now duck, Hubie,” she says.

  “Quack, quack.”

  “No. Duck down,” she laughs.

  I shut my eyes, hold my breath,

  and duck down.

  Phew! Waaaf! Schlurp!

  “Now was that so bad?” she

  asks.

  “Actually, it wasn’t,” I sigh.

  34

  “Now duck and open your eyes

  under the water.”

  “My eyeballs will drown,” I

  protest.

  “No, they won’t. First, take a

  deep breath and hold it.”

  35

  I keep my eyes open and they

  don’t drown. I can actually see

  underwater. Maybe I have X-ray

  vision. I feel like a superhero...

  POOLMAN!

  Anyway, in my first lesson I also

  learn to float. I’m a good floater.

  Maybe one day I can win an

  Olympic gold medal in floating.

  But more important, I’m almost

  ready for the carnival.

  36

  CHAPTER 7

  FAIR-WEATHER

  FRIENDS

  The whole school yard is alive

  with activity. Each class is putting

  up a booth. There’s a ring toss, a

  baseball pitch, a basketball throw,

  a Frisbee fling, a tiddlywinks flip,

  and a lob the blob. There’s even

  a turtle race. Why didn’t I think

  of that?

  37

  There’s a wheel of fortune, a

  fortune-teller, and a telescope.

  You can see the future for a dollar,

  or the full moon for fifty cents, or

  a quarter moon for a quarter.

  38

  There’s going to be a pie-eating

  contest. Freddy will probably

  win that. There’s also a jelly bean

  contest. If you guess the number

  of jelly beans in a big jar, you can

  win a pair of Rollerblades.

  39

  “Every boo
th has a name,” says

  Mrs. Green. “So what’s the name

  of ours?”

  “What about Dip the Drip?”

  replies Penny.

  The rest of the class keeps on

  yelling out names.

  “Spill the Pill,” giggles Doris.

  “Wet the Pet,” grins Randy.

  “Drown the Clown,” laughs

  Derrick.

  “Hey, that’s me you’re talking

  about!” I shout.

  40

  41

  “What about Dunk the Skunk!”

  laughs Freddy.

  “Hey!” I say.

  “Dunk the Punk!” they all shout

  out together.

  “I have it,” I say, putting on my

  water wings and flexing my arms.

  “What about Dunk the Hunk!”

  42

  CHAPTER 8

  IN THE SWIM

  Well, it’s Friday. The carnival

  is tonight. Are people that go

  to carnivals called carnivores?

  Everyone’s very excited to see

  the Daredevil Diver. That’s me.

  But it’s more like the Dubious

  Diver.

  43

  44

  I must admit that I’m getting

  cold feet. It could be very chilly

  tonight. The water could be

  freezing. I could get hypo-thermos

  or frostbite.

  I go into the principal’s office

  and ask Mr. Bender if he’ll sit

  in for me. He says that he won’t

  because at the County Fair he

  got hit with a pie during a charity

  event.

  45

  For the rest of the day, kids are

  wisecracking jokes at me.

  “Taking the big plunge tonight,

  eh, Hubie?”

  “You’ll be a titanic success,”