Girl Wonder to the Rescue by Malorie Blackman Page B

burglar.”
    “A burglar . . .” Mum spluttered. “If . . . if you thought you’d heard a burglar in this house you should have come to wake me up first, not tackled him by yourselves. And what do you mean bytrapping me in the living room?”
    “We couldn’t let you escape, Mum,” Anthony said. “Not when we thought you were a burglar.”
    Anthony edged past Mum to look in the living room. I think he still couldn’t believe there was no burglar.
    “Right! No pocket money for a month for any of you,” Mum said. “In fact, no pocket money for a year!”
    “But Mum . . .” I said, dismayed.
    “Wait a minute, Mum. What’s the matter with your present?” Anthony asked.
    “What? Er . . . nothing.” Mum tried to shoo Anthony out of the living room. I sneaked past her to take a look. The wrapping paper of Mum’s present was open at the top.
    “I . . . I must have tripped over it in the dark and accidentally opened it,” Mum said quickly.

    We looked at her. Mum had been doing a spot of burgling!
    “Come on, Terrific Twins, let’s go back to bed,” I said.
    “But Mum’s been opening . . .” Anthony began.
    “But look! Mum’s present is . . .” started Edward.
    “I think you two must have beendreaming,” I said to the Terrific Twins. “Mum wouldn’t be so sneaky as to try and open her birthday present before her birthday. Isn’t that right, Mum?”
    “Absolutely right, Maxine,” Mum agreed.
    “I mean, Mum warned us against opening our Christmas presents before Christmas Day – remember? So she wouldn’t do the same thing herself,” I continued.
    “Never mind Mum’s present! What about our pocket money?” Anthony wailed.
    “Yeah, our pocket money!” said Edward, dismayed. “This is all your fault, Maxine. It was your flimsy-floppy-drippy-droopy idea to catch the burglar.”
    I looked up at Mum.
    “Mum, you said . . .” I got no further.
    “I never said anything about your pocket money. You three are dreaming!Now go back to bed!”
    “Are you coming too?” I asked Mum.
    “Yes, I am. I’ve had enough excitement for one night. I think we all have,” said Mum, shaking her head and yawning.
    I stuck down the wrapping paper again on Mum’s present and we all went to bed.
    The next morning when Mum finally opened her present and found her scarf, she liked it.
    “We put it in a big box because it was only a little present,” I explained.
    “Size has nothing to do with it. Big things aren’t the best things just because they’re big,” Mum said. “I love this scarf. It’s so pretty and just the thing for the spring chill.”
    We all went for a walk to the park so that Mum could try it out. Hooray for spring! We all love the spring!
    It means summer’s just round the corner.

The Tooth Fairy Mystery
    “Ow! Ouch!” My tooth was killing me! My whole right cheek was puffed up like a balloon.
    “That does it, Maxine,” said Mum. “If your tooth isn’t out by tomorrow, I’m taking you to the dentist.”
    “Ouch! Ow!” My tooth hurt too much to even protest.
    “Let me see it, Maxine,” said Edward.
    I opened my mouth and wobbled my loose tooth very,
very
gently to show him.
    “Where? I can’t see anything,” Edward said.
    “I . . . ri . . . th . . .” I said, with my mouth still wide open.
    Edward frowned. “I still don’t see anything.”
    I took my finger out of my mouth. “It’s right there. It’s the tooth I’m wobbling about.” I frowned. “Can’t you see it?”
    Edward moved closer until his nose was practically in my mouth.
    “I still don’t see it,” he complained.
    I frowned at him. “What’s the matter with your eyes?” I asked.
    “Let me see,” said Anthony, barging Edward out of the way.
    I showed Anthony. He spotted my wobbly tooth immediately.
    “When it comes out, put it under your pillow and then you’ll get money from the tooth fairy,” said Anthony.
    “Tooth fairy!” I scoffed. “There’s no such