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The Crazy Adventures of Hermenegilda - ebook
The Crazy Adventures of Hermenegilda - ebook
Hermenegilda does not go looking for trouble. Trouble finds her all by itself—usually when she is holding a notebook, a magnifying glass, a roll of tape, or some device she definitely should not be operating without adult supervision. In this volume, the funniest girl in the world investigates a suspicious duck, tracks down a missing TV remote, uncovers a refrigerator conspiracy, builds a sandwich with the structural specifications of a high-rise building, and launches a company that solves problems its customers did not even know they had. Meanwhile, her younger brother Maurycy develops a stick-rental business, glitter takes control of the school, teaspoons disappear under mysterious circumstances, and the family cat is brought in for questioning. Without a lawyer.
Ta publikacja spełnia wymagania dostępności zgodnie z dyrektywą EAA.
| Kategoria: | Young Adult |
| Język: | Angielski |
| Zabezpieczenie: |
Watermark
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| Rozmiar pliku: | 2,2 MB |
FRAGMENT KSIĄŻKI
It was a perfectly ordinary Saturday, which was exactly the kind of day Hermenegilda considered suspicious.
The sun was shining. The trees were minding their own business. People were walking around the park without running, screaming, or filing emergency reports. Even the ducks on the pond seemed calm.
Too calm.
Hermenegilda sat on a bench with a notebook on her knees and watched them through a pair of binoculars. The binoculars belonged to her father, although he did not know this yet.
Most of the ducks were swimming together, quacking, eating, and doing other important duck work. One duck, however, sat alone near the reeds. It stared at the water with the serious expression of an accountant who had just discovered that somebody had bought seven hundred inflatable flamingos using company money.
Hermenegilda slowly opened her notebook.
CASE FILE: THE LONE DUCK
HYPOTHESIS: The duck is hiding something.
LEVEL OF DANGER: Probably international.
An elderly man walked past and noticed her crouching behind the bench.
“Are you bird-watching?” he asked.
“No,” said Hermenegilda. “I am protecting society.”
The man nodded once and continued walking much faster.
For the next hour, Hermenegilda observed the suspect. The duck swam. The duck ate. The duck sat down again.
This was deeply suspicious, because it was exactly what an innocent duck would want everyone to see.
Hermenegilda moved closer. She crawled behind a bush, ignoring the fact that half the bush came with her when she stood up. She recorded every movement.
10:14 — Suspect enters water.
10:17 — Suspect leaves water.
10:19 — Suspect scratches neck. Possible coded signal.
10:22 — Suspect looks at me. Operation may be compromised.
The duck looked at her again.
Hermenegilda froze.
The duck froze.
A mosquito landed on Hermenegilda’s forehead. She did not move. Great investigators, she believed, did not slap themselves during surveillance.
The duck stood up.
“This is it,” she whispered. “The moment of truth.”
It began walking toward her.
Hermenegilda raised her notebook like a shield.
The duck walked faster.
Hermenegilda backed away.
The duck spread its wings.
Hermenegilda made a noise that sounded like a bicycle horn falling down the stairs.
Then the duck charged.
What followed was later described by three witnesses as “the most athletic thing Hermenegilda had ever done” and by Hermenegilda herself as “a controlled tactical retreat.”
She ran around the bench. The duck ran around the bench. She jumped over a flower bed. The duck went through it. She tried to hide behind the elderly man, but he had already left the park and possibly the district.
“NEGOTIATIONS!” shouted Hermenegilda. “WE CAN NEGOTIATE!”
The duck did not appear interested in diplomacy.
Eventually, Hermenegilda escaped by climbing onto a picnic table. The duck stopped below and glared at her.
“You have made a powerful enemy,” Hermenegilda told it.
The duck quacked.
It sounded disturbingly confident.
A few seconds later, several tiny heads appeared among the reeds. Ducklings waddled toward the large duck, who immediately turned away from Hermenegilda and gathered them close.
Hermenegilda stared.
