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  ‘An owl,’ Miranda answered. ‘At least I hope it’s just an owl.’

  Then we heard a fluttering sound, like wings.

  ‘What’s that?’ Heidi asked.

  Miranda sat up and looked around. ‘It’s the tent flap,’ she said. ‘At least I hope it’s the tent flap.’

  It was quiet again – almost too quiet.

  I was feeling a bit nervous, so I hopped on to my wheel.

  Spinning always relaxes me.

  I forgot that my wheel makes a loud whirring sound.

  I don’t notice it in the classroom, where there are other noises.

  But in the tent, it sounded unsqueakably loud.

  ‘What’s THAT?’ Gail asked in a frightened voice.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Miranda sounded even more frightened than Gail.

  ‘It’s just me,’ I squeaked.

  ‘Listen to Humphrey,’ Sayeh said. ‘He must have seen something.’

  Heidi crawled out of her sleeping bag and stood up.

  ‘That’s it,’ she said. ‘I’m sleeping inside.’

  ‘Me too,’ Gail said.

  ‘Me too,’ Miranda said.

  ‘And me,’ Sayeh softly added.

  ‘ME-ME-ME too,’ I squeaked.

  The girls quickly rolled up their sleeping bags and took their torches, the lantern and my cage back into the house.

  As Sayeh carried my cage across the yard, I could see that the tent in Richie’s garden was dark.

  I was pretty sure the boys were sleeping inside.

  And even though I didn’t see any real creepy-crawly creatures in the garden, I was happy to sleep inside, too.

  *

  When Heidi took me back to school on Monday morning, Mrs Brisbane asked her how the weekend had been.

  ‘Great,’ Heidi answered. ‘I had a camping night in the backyard with my friends.’

  ‘So did I,’ Richie told her.

  ‘Oh,’ Mrs Brisbane replied. ‘Were you scared to sleep outside?’

  ‘No,’ Heidi said. ‘Girls aren’t afraid of anything.’

  ‘Neither are boys,’ Richie added.

  They weren’t exactly squeaking the truth, but I’m pretty sure they believed what they said.

  During class, Mrs Brisbane asked, ‘What’s the opposite of frightened?’

  Richie raised his hand and answered, ‘Fearless.’

  *

  Later that night, I showed Og the friendship bracelet on my cage.

  Then I told him all about our creepy-crawly camping adventure.

  He splashed in his tank and said, ‘BOING-BOING-BOING-BOING!’

  ‘The girls were scared and the boys were scared,’ I told my froggy friend.

  ‘I wasn’t afraid,’ I said. ‘At least not much.’

  But I think that it’s all right for girls and boys and even hamsters to be a little bit afraid of creepy-crawly creatures.

  Even when the scariest thing in the garden turned out to be me!

  About the Author

  Betty G. Birney worked at Disneyland and the Disney Studios, has written many children’s television shows and is the author of over forty books, including the bestselling The World According to Humphrey, which won the Richard and Judy Children’s Book Club Award, as well as a further nine books in the According to Humphrey series, and eight books in the Humphrey’s Tiny Tales series. Her work has won many awards, including an Emmy and three Humanitas Prizes. She lives in America with her husband.

  ‘Humphrey, a delightful, irresistible character, is big-hearted, observant and creative, and his experiences … range from comedic to touching.’ Booklist

  ‘This is simply good-good-good.’ Kirkus Reviews

  ‘Children fall for Humphrey, and you can’t beat him for feelgood life lessons.’ Sunday Times

  By the Same Author

  The World According to Humphrey

  Friendship According to Humphrey

  Trouble According to Humphrey

  Adventure According to Humphrey

  (special publication for World Book Day 2008)

  Surprises According to Humphrey

  More Adventures According to Humphrey

  Holidays According to Humphrey

  School According to Humphrey

  Mysteries According to Humphrey

  Christmas According to Humphrey

  Humphrey’s Big-Big-Big Book of Stories

  (3 books in 1)

  Humphrey’s Great-Great-Great Book of Stories

  (3 books in 1)

  Humphrey’s Ho-Ho-Ho Book of Stories

  (3 books in 1)

  Humphrey’s Book of Fun-Fun-Fun

  Humphrey’s Book of Summer Fun

  Humphrey’s Book of Christmas Fun

  Humphrey’s Ha-Ha-Ha Joke Book

  Humphrey’s World of Pets

  My Pet Show Panic!

  My Treasure Hunt Trouble!

  (special publication for World Book Day 2011)

  My Summer Fair Surprise!

  My Creepy-Crawly Camping Adventure!

  My Great Big Birthday Bash!

  My Playful Puppy Problem!

  My Really Wheely Racing Day!

  The Princess and the Peabodys

  Copyright

  First published in this edition in 2014

  by Faber and Faber Ltd

  Bloomsbury House

  74–77 Great Russell Street

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2014

  All rights reserved

  My Mixed-Up Magic Trick!

  © Betty G. Birney, 2014

  Illustrations © Penny Dann, 2014

  My Pet Show Panic!, My Summer Fair Surprise!,

  My Creepy-Crawly Camping Adventure!

  © Betty G. Birney, 2011

  Illustrations © Penny Dann, 2011

  The right of Betty G. Birney to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

  ISBN 978–0–571–31050–0