Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic Read Online Free PDF

tub, StingRay is completely underwater.
    At the beach, a possible-shark tooth pops Plastic’s rubber skin.
    In the tub, StingRay is soaked through her sawdust insides.
    At the beach, the air whizzes out of Plastic until she is soft and squashy.
    StingRay tries to lift a flipper to pull herself out, but the water makes her so heavy she can’t move.
    The possible shark tries to swallow Plastic.
    StingRay: “Help!”
    Plastic: “Stop!” Help! Stop!
    But TukTuk can’t move, and the possible shark isn’t listening.
    … …
    Plastic is stuck in the back of the possible shark’s throat. Very uncomfortable.
    “Gagaglah.” The possible shark chokes, coughs, chokes again, coughs—and spits Plastic out onto a pile of seaweed.
    Plastic knows she has to get away fast. But what can she do? She is halfway deflated, very un-bouncy. The possible shark licks its chops—but as it swoops in for another chomp, Plastic turns her body so her puncture hole is pointing right at its face. Then she squeezes her rubbery skin together as tight as it will go, pushing her last bit of air out the puncture with a loud, farty noise.
    PBBBLEH!
    The possible shark is confused.
    It pulls back.
    It makes a whimpering sound.
    Then it trots away, with its tail between its legs.
    Yippee!
thinks Plastic.
    I can’t stay here, though. It might come back., and eat me later.
    The seaweed around her is gray-green and scraggly. There are clumps of it all over the beach, drifting in and out as the waves skim across the sand. Plastic checks to be sure no one is looking at her, then slips under a big piece. Rolling is hard with so little air inside, but she uses all her strength—and moves gently forward, and around, until she is wrapped thoroughly in seaweed. Then she waits until she hears a big wave crash on the shore.
    As the ocean water rushes toward her, Plastic rolls along the edge of the water, pretending that the wave has caught this unsuspecting and surprisingly round blob ofseaweed, and merely happens to be pulling it along. With each crash of the breakers, Plastic rolls a bit further in the direction of the Little Girl and her family.
    Once, a wave really does catch her and she bangs up hard against a big rock.
    Once, a small crab waves a mean-looking claw in her direction.
    And once, a possible shark of a different nature (short legs, curly fur) sniffs her with frightening curiosity.
    With tremendous effort, Plastic keeps moving until she hears the Little Girl’s voice. Then she slips out of her seaweed cover and bold-face rolls back to the beach blanket, as fast as she can possibly roll.
    … …
    StingRay is soaked through with cold water, and so heavy she cannot move. From the bottom of the tub, she hears a sound.
    “Warble glub lub mangle.”
    Fortunately, her eyes are on the top of her head, so she can see what’s above her. Lumphy and the one-eared sheep are sitting on the edge of the tub!
    The rushing sound of the tap makes it impossible to make out what they are saying. And though she is glad to see them, StingRay can’t think how they will rescue her, since both of them are sinkers.
    After hating her friend all day, she wishes Plastic were here.
    I was mean to her,
thinks StingRay,
and now she’s gone to the beach and might not ever return.
    I’m a sinker,
    and a stinker, too,

and if I rot and drown and dissolve in this tub,

it is probably better than I deserve.
    “Warble glub lub mangle,” StingRay hears again, and then—silence. Lumphy has turned off the tap.
    “Glurb lurb swubbble wubble.”
    He has pulled up the plug by its chain, and the water is running out.
    StingRay is humiliated. She almost wishes they hadn’t found her, it is so embarrassing to be a soggy plush sinker fish.
    And yet, she is very glad they did.
    When the tub is empty, Lumphy and Sheep jump in and pull StingRay out. She is soaked through. They yank TukTuk down from the rod and wrap StingRay in the towel; then Lumphy jumps up and down on both of them to