The Willoughbys Read Online Free PDF Page A

noticed.
    "Have a quick look," Tim said, and held it toward them.
    Barnaby A was an extremely fast reader. Although Tim whipped the postcard away from him quickly, he had been able to read it.
    "I don't understand the part about the coal bin," he said.
    "What about the coal bin?" Barnaby B asked. "I didn't read that far."
    "Yes, what about the coal bin?" asked Jane. "I'm very scared of the coal bin."
    Tim glared at her. "Five-point deduction for being a scaredy-cat," he announced. "I'll read the stupid postcard aloud."
    "'Dear ones,'" Tim read. "'Though slightly bruised, we have survived quite a lovely earthquake (you may have read the headlines: THOUSANDS KILLED )...'"
    "Oh my," Jane said sadly. "I suppose kittens were killed, too. How sad."
    "Shhh," Tim told her, and he continued. "'... and next we are off to kayak a crocodile-infested river. Such FUN!'"

    "They don't know how to kayak!" Barnaby A exclaimed.
    "They never once have kayaked!" his twin added.
    "Precisely," Tim said.
    "May I ask a question?" Jane asked timidly. Tim, still holding the postcard, nodded.
    "I'm wondering," Jane said, "would a crocodile eat a person in one gulp? Or in chunks?"
    Her three brothers all thought for a minute.
    "Chunks," said Barnaby A.
    "Chunks," said Barnaby B.
    "Yes, large chunks," Tim said decisively. "Gulping down chunks for the nourishment, but quickly, to avoid the taste. The same way we eat Mother's meat loaf."
    " Ate, " Jane pointed out. "Nanny's meat loaf is quite good."
    Tim glared at her briefly. "Continuing," he announced, and held up the card. "'We hope the nanny is earning her salary,'" he read aloud. "Now this next part," he said, "I don't understand. 'Please hide in the coal bin if prospective buyers come to look at the house.'"
    "What are prospective buyers? I'm scared of the coal bin," Jane said again. "Remember when you made me stay down there because I whined, and there were rats? "

    "I know! I know what it means!" Barnaby A said eagerly, raising his hand so that he would be allowed to speak.
    "Yes, we both know!" his twin said. "We just saw the sign!"
    "What sign?" asked Tim.
    "Look outside! It's on a window box!"
    Tim went to the playroom window and looked down at the two boxes filled with begonias that were attached to the first-floor windows. "I can see there is some sort of sign," he acknowledged. "What does it say?"
    "FOR SALE!" the twins announced.
    "We're for sale?" Jane asked in surprise.
    "No, dodo," Tim said. "Apparently our house is"
    "And it says CHEAP!" Barnaby B added.
    "So," Tim mused, "while we're getting rid of them, they're getting rid of us. "
    "Complicated," said Barnaby A.
    "Diabolical," said Barnaby B.
    "Scary," said Jane.
    "Despicable," said Tim. "Absolutely despicable."

9. Clever Camouflage

    The woman at the door handed Tim a card that said her name and explained that she was a real estate agent. "I'll be by in an hour with a prospective buyer," she told him, "and I know your parents have explained that you children must remain out of sight while I show the house.
    "Remember that," she said sternly, shaking her finger. "One hour from now. Out of sight."
    "Oh dear," wailed Jane when he told them, "does that mean the coal bin? I just can't bear the coal bin!"
    Tim thought it over. "She only said 'out of sight.' She didn't say 'coal bin' specifically."
    "If only we could make ourselves invisible," Barnaby A remarked.

    "Yes, we have a comic called Invisible Man! " his twin reminded him. "If we could just do that!"
    "I have a better idea, actually," Tim announced. "We will camouflage ourselves."
    "What's that?" asked Jane. "Does it hurt?"
    "No, dodo. It means we make ourselves blend in so that no one will notice us."
    "We have toy soldiers in camouflage outfits!" Barnaby A remembered. "The cat chewed them, so they're ruined now," he added sadly.
    "Quiet. We don't have much time. Five minutes have already passed." Tim looked at the other children carefully. "A?" he said. "You're easy because