Girl Wonder's Winter Adventures Read Online Free PDF Page A

stairs creaked horribly. We tip-toed over to our presents scattered underneath the Christmas tree. The twins were fully awake now.
    About time too! I thought.
    We knelt down and searched for our presents from Mum. It was exciting.Anthony found his present first.
    “Open it carefully,” I whispered. “We don’t want Mum to know that we had a peek.”
    Slowly Anthony peeled back the sticky tape on one side of his present. Carefully he pulled it out from the wrapping paper. It was a book. I shone my torch on it.
Maths for Everyone
it said on the front.
    “Yuk!” Anthony wailed. “Where’s mymodel plane kit?”

    “Shush! Or Mum will catch us,” I whispered.
    Edward opened his present next. It was another book.
English for Everyone
.
    “Double yuk!” wailed Edward. “Where’s my toy guitar?”
    Next I opened my present. It was the same size as Anthony and Edward’s so I didn’t hold out much hope.

    Science for Everyone
.
    “What happened to my space explorer’s outfit?” I said sadly.
    “I wish you’d never woken us up now,” Anthony said to me.
    “Yeah, me too,” Edward said.
    We all walked slowly up the stairs and the twins went into their bedroom whilst I went back into mine. I was so lookingforward to my space explorer’s suit. A science book wasn’t the same at all.
    The next morning, it was CHRISTMAS DAY. It might as well have been a school day! The twins and I didn’t say much as we ate our Christmas breakfast, listening to the hymns on the telly.
    “What’s the matter with you three?” Mum smiled. She had a really funny look on her face, as if she was trying her best not to burst out laughing.
    “Nothing . . .” Anthony sighed.
    “Not a thing . . .” Edward sighed even harder.
    “Nothing . . .” I put my head on my hands.
    “Aren’t any of you going to open your presents?” Mum asked. “I thought you would do that before anything else this morning.”
    “There’s no point . . .” Anthony beganbefore I kicked him under the table.

    “Why is there no point?” Mum asked, her hands on her hips. “Do you already know what your presents are? I hope you three haven’t been getting up in the middle of the night to see what I bought you . . .”
    The twins and I looked at each other guiltily.
    “Of course not, Mum,” I said quickly.
    “Hhmm!” Mum replied. “Well, if you don’t open your presents soon I’m going to think that you don’t want them.”
    We got up and went over to the Christmas tree.
    “That’s your present,” Mum said, handing a present to Edward – a present that was guitar-shaped.

    Edward tore off the paper. It was a guitar. A wooden guitar with lovely silver strings.
    “Hooray!” Edward shouted.
    “And this is yours,” Mum said, handing Anthony his present.
    Anthony tore off the wrapping paper. It was a model plane kit. It was just whatAnthony wanted. One of those where you had to glue all the pieces together yourself and then paint them.
    “Yippee!” Anthony clapped his hands.
    “Your turn, Maxine,” Mum said, handing me a large, square-shaped present. It was too big to be the smelly
Science for Everyone
book. I ripped off the paper.
    It was my space explorer outfit with a special science kit belt for finding new animal and plant life on other planets.

    “Thanks, Mum.” We all grinned. “Thanks very much.”
    “But what happened to the books?” Anthony asked.
    “What books?” Mum frowned.
    “The books that were under the Christmas tree last night,” Edward said before I could stop him.
    I could have kicked him!
    “I think you two must have been dreaming,” Mum said sternly. “I know my children wouldn’t be so sneaky as to try to open their presents before Christmas Day, unless they were dreaming about opening them. Isn’t that right, Maxine?”
    “Yes!” I agreed, very quickly. “Merry Christmas, Mum.”
    “Yeah, Happy Christmas,” said Edward.
    “It’s a lovely Christmas, Mum,” said Anthony.
    “Merry