Monday, May 21, 2012

Horrid Henry goes to Chinatown

"Yippeeee!!!" screamed Perfect Peter.

"Aarrrrrgghhh!!!" shouted Horrid Henry as he fell out of bed with fright.

The sun had barely risen and the room was still rather dark inside. Then he remembered. Today Mum and Dad were taking them on a trip to Chinatown to see the Chinese New Year celebrations. It was a special trip because Perfect Peter got "Yet another of his star reports from school," Dad had said.

"Blah blah," thought Henry to himself. "I could get a special report too... if I wanted," he mumbled.

"Up you go lazy bones!" exclaimed Mum. "It's time to get ready to go... brush your teeth... wash your face... and run the bath."

"Yeah but Peter gets into the bath first," said Henry with a naughty grin on his face as he started filling the bath with super cold water.

"I don't mind, Mum," said Peter as he jumped into the bath.

"Yikes!" he shrieked. "The water is freezing!"

"Heeeennnrrryyyyy!!! You're in big trouble now!!" Mum said.

Meanwhile Dad was loading the car with luggage and getting all set up to go. "Get in you two," said Dad. "And don't forget your seatbelts."

Off they went. It was a 2-hour drive to Chinatown. "Are we there yet?" moaned Henry every 5 minutes of the way. But before they knew it they started seeing fireworks shooting up over the Palatial Pagodas.

"We're here," said Mum. "Be careful now and don't get lost."

As Henry walked towards the entrance he met his friend Cheeky Chang. "Can I have some food please?" said Horrid Henry.

"Yes, ok," replied Cheeky Chang. "Let me go and get some for you." He came back with a handful of food. Henry was so hungry that he put the food in his mouth all at once.

"Mmmm. What was that?" asked Horrid Henry.

"Gooey octopus eyeballs," replied Cheeky Chang.

"YUCK!!" said Horrid Henry.

"Hurry! Hurry!" shouted Cheeky Chang. "The Dragon Parade is starting!" They both ran to watch. However, Horrid Henry was up to no good, again. He sneaked under the dragon, took out a box of fireworks from his pocket and lit them up.

SNAP! CRACKLE! BOOM! BOOM!

Suddenly the dragon shot up into the sky as Henry laughed and laughed!

Mum and Dad were so furious that Horrid Henry had ruined The Dragon Parade that they decided to take him home before he could cause any more trouble. As they drove off home Henry could see Chinese lanterns floating up in the air behind them. Oh how he would have loved to be there.

Maybe next year...

Carla Depasquale
Winner of the Horrid Henry Story Competition
World Book Week 2012

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