Our Principal Is a Spider! Read online

  Welcome to ALADDIN QUIX!

  If you are looking for fast, fun-to-read stories with colorful characters, lots of kid-friendly humor, easy-to-follow action, entertaining story lines, and lively illustrations, then ALADDIN QUIX is for you!

  But wait, there’s more!

  If you’re also looking for stories with tables of contents; word lists; about-the-book questions; 64, 80, or 96 pages; short chapters; short paragraphs; and large fonts, then ALADDIN QUIX is definitely for you!

  ALADDIN QUIX: The next step between ready to reads and longer, more challenging chapter books, for readers five to eight years old.

  To Noah, with love

  —S. C.

  Cast of Characters

  Mr. Barnaby Bundy: Principal

  Marty Q. Marvel: Bumbling magician

  Anansi (also known as Mr. Araknid): Tricky spider

  Ms. Marilyn Moore: Assistant principal

  Ms. Ellie Tilly: Kindergarten teacher

  Hector Gonzalez: Loves making his friends laugh

  Roger Patel: A top student and class leader

  Nancy Wong: Plans to be a zoologist

  Ms. Wanda Bly: Gym teacher

  Mr. Charles Strong: School librarian

  Mr. Joseph Klein: Science teacher

  Ms. Gretta Sharp (also known as Seven): Magician and granddaughter of the famous magician named Five

   1  A Banner Day

  Mr. Bundy, the principal of PS 88, was whistling a happy tune as he pedaled to school on his bike.

  He was proud his students had won top prizes at the district Math Meet. It was a ten-out-of-ten morning!

  While he was pedaling, he was planning a special assembly to celebrate his teachers’ and students’ accomplishments.

  I could invite Marty Q. Marvel, the magician, thought Mr. Bundy. He stopped to reconsider. No, I’d better not. I like Marty, but his tricks rarely work.

  While Mr. Bundy was trying to come up with a better idea, he didn’t notice the spider racing across the handlebars of his bike, then jumping off.

  He did notice the man who popped out in front of him on the road.

  “Good morning!” the man called. “Are you Mr. Bundy, the principal of PS 88?”

  Mr. Bundy stopped short.

  “Why, yes, I am,” said Mr. Bundy. “May I help you?”

  “Thanks, but I’m here to help you!” said the man.

  “Really? How?” asked Mr. Bundy.

  “My name is Mr. Araknid,” said the man. “I understand congratulations are in order!”

  He explained, “I read about PS 88’s excellent performance at the Math Meet, and I thought you might be interested in celebration banners for schools with high accomplishments.”

  “What a good idea! My teachers and students definitely deserve a celebration banner,” said Mr. Bundy. “Can you come to my office this afternoon?”

  “I’m busy this afternoon,” the man fibbed. “But if you’ve got a couple of minutes, I can show you some of the banners right now.”

  “Sure, why not?” said Mr. Bundy.

  The answer to that question was just moments away.

  Mr. Bundy had no idea he was speaking to a tricky spider named Anansi, who had magically transformed himself into a man. Unlike Marty Q. Marvel, Anansi’s tricks never failed.

   2  Poof!

  “So, how many banners would you like?” asked the man.

  “One large one will be plenty,” said Mr. Bundy.

  “Sounds good,” said the man. “I’ll show you my four favorites, and you can choose the one you like best.”

  He fanned out a selection of banners for Mr. Bundy to see.

  “They all look very nice,” said Mr. Bundy. “But as the principal of the school that placed so well at the Math Meet, I have to correct you. There aren’t four banners here. There are five.”

  POOF!

  As soon as Mr. Bundy said “five,” there was a burst of bright-colored smoke. When the smoke cleared, Mr. Bundy was gone!

  Anansi’s face lit up as he sang to himself:

  “He said ‘five’ loud and clear,

  and I made the principal disappear!

  Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!

  It was fun to make him go!”

  Anansi had learned the disappearing trick from a very tiny, very old woman who had magic powers. Her name was Five, and she hated her name because people made fun of it.

  So whenever anyone said it, she used her magic powers to make them disappear.

  But Five had been no match for Anansi. He learned her trick, then made her disappear!

  Now Mr. Bundy was gone and only Anansi knew where to find him.

  For his next sneaky trick, Anansi went into Mr. Bundy’s backpack and pulled out his phone.

  He quickly checked the address book and found a listing for the assistant principal of PS 88. Her name was Ms. Moore.

  “If I send a message from the principal’s phone, Ms. Moore will think it came from Mr. Bundy.” Anansi chuckled to himself.

  “I’ll make sure to give her a good reason why the principal can’t come to school today. I’ll give her an even better reason why I should be the school’s special visitor. And what a special visitor I’ll be!”

  He quickly texted a message as if it were coming from Mr. Bundy:

  Anansi was quite pleased with what he’d written and thought “Hooray for us!” was an extra-nice touch.

  He hit “send,” then hopped onto Mr. Bundy’s bicycle. His exciting day of mischief was just getting started.

   3  Who’ll Be Next?

  A short distance from the school, Anansi hid behind a row of bushes.

  When all the students and teachers had gone in, he left Mr. Bundy’s bike hidden and made his entrance.

  Ms. Moore was at the door waiting to greet latecomers.

  “Good morning!” called Anansi. “I’m Mr. Araknid and I believe Mr. Bundy told you I’d be visiting today.” He put his spidery fingers together and bowed his greeting.

  “Welcome to PS 88!” said Ms. Moore. “Come in and I’ll introduce you to our teachers and students.”

  “Thank you for inviting me in, but no introduction is needed,” said Anansi. “I’d like to just quietly observe a typical day.”

  And make a few teachers disappear, thought the tricky spider.

  He did not mention that he was a man—or, rather, a spider—on a mission. He’d be making the teachers disappear for a good cause and was sure everyone would understand if he ever had the chance to explain.

  “I’ll just announce that you’re visiting with us,” said Ms. Moore.

  “It will be best not to mention that I’m a reporter. It makes some people nervous,” said Anansi.

  “No problem,” said Ms. Moore. “I’ll show you where my office is and give you my number in case you have a question.”

  Anansi thanked Ms. Moore and went off to find the best teachers for his secret plan. Soon, he heard Ms. Moore’s voice over the loudspeaker.

  “Good morning, teachers and students. I’m sorry to report that Mr. Bundy is home today with a bad cold. I’m sure everyone wishes him a speedy recovery. In other news, we have a special visitor with us. His name is Mr. Araknid. Please welcome him if you see him, and have an excellent PS 88 day.”

  Anansi walked happily down the hall, looking for the first teacher for his plan. His excellent PS 88 day had begun.

   4  Bye-Bye, Ms. Bly

  Walking along, Anansi heard the delightful voices of children singing.

  “The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout!

  Down came the rain and washed the spider out!”

  How nice. They’re singing about spiders, thought Anansi as
he followed the voices down the hall.

  A sign on the door said MS. TILLY’S KINDERGARTEN. Ms. Tilly would be very helpful for his plan, but he didn’t have the heart to leave these sweet young children teacherless.

  Feeling proud of himself for his kindness, he danced away down the hall as they sang:

  “Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

  And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again!”

  I’d better not turn into a softie, he thought. He followed the sound of children’s excited shouts to Room 105. The word GYM was spelled out in big letters at the top of the doorway.

  “Yo, Hector! Pass the ball!” called a boy.

  “Coming at you, Roger!” answered Hector, throwing the basketball.

  The ball didn’t make it to Roger. It was intercepted by a girl, who dribbled it the other way down the court. When she got close enough to the basket, she took her shot. Swish!

  “Yay, Nancy!” called her teammates.

  Ms. Bly, the gym teacher, blew her whistle. “Game’s over, kids. Time for your cooldown run.”

  The kids formed a line, ran twice around the gym, then filed out the door.

  When they were gone, Anansi stepped inside, pretending to look confused.

  “Hello,” he said. “I’m Mr. Araknid, the visitor Ms. Moore mentioned, and I’m hoping you can help me.”

  “Of course,” said Ms. Bly. “Welcome to PS 88.”

  “Thank you. I was looking for Room 104,” said Anansi.

  “Room 104’s across the way,” said Ms. Bly.

  “Oh, what room am I in?” asked the sneaky man, knowing very well where he was.

  Ms. Bly answered, “This room is 105.”

  POOF!

  There was a burst of bright-colored smoke, and then the coach was gone.

  “Bye-bye, Ms. Bly,” chuckled Anansi. He did his little dance and sang:

  “Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!

  It was fun to make her go!”

  The magic trick he’d learned from old woman Five never failed. Anansi shivered with excitement over how well his plan was going.

  When the teachers disappeared, they’d be reunited with Mr. Bundy, and Anansi would have them all just where he needed them.

  Meanwhile, Anansi had no idea he was being watched from the doorway of the gym. Roger had come back to get the water bottle he’d left behind. Seeing Ms. Bly disappear, his eyes popped. His jaw dropped.

  No way! This can’t be, Roger thought. He rubbed his eyes, hoping they were tricking him. But when he opened them again, Ms. Bly was still gone.

  He ran to find his friends.

   5  So Long, Mr. Strong

  Roger’s class was at the library. He was glad Hector and Nancy were sitting together.

  “Pssst! Pssst!” he whispered. He led them to a corner and told them the story.

  “Yeah, right,” said Nancy. “The coach disappeared into thin air. POOF!”

  “Exactly,” said Roger.

  “Did you get hit on the head by the basketball or something?” asked Hector.

  “I wondered about that myself,” said Roger.

  Suddenly he gasped. The visitor was standing at the door. Mr. Strong, their beloved librarian, went to greet him.

  Uh-oh! This could be trouble.

  “We can’t let Mr. Strong be alone with him,” Roger said, sounding frantic.

  Nancy reached up and felt Roger’s forehead.

  “What are you doing?” hissed Roger.

  “I’m seeing if you have a fever. You sound delirious,” said Nancy.

  “I know what I saw. Or didn’t see. I saw Ms. Bly and then I didn’t,” said Roger.

  Suddenly the kids realized Mr. Strong and the visitor were gone.

  Roger, Hector and Nancy slipped out of the library and followed the voices down the hall. Peeking around a corner, they had a clear view and could hear every word.

  “So, Mr. Strong, how long have you been at PS 88?” asked the visitor.

  “Let me see. I think this is my fifth year,” said the librarian.

  “Oh really? I would have guessed at least six years,” said Anansi.

  “No,” said Mr. Strong. “Just five.”

  POOF!

  The moment Mr. Strong said the word “five,” there was a burst of bright-colored smoke and he was gone.

  The kids’ eyes popped. Their jaws dropped.

  They heard the visitor chuckle as he said, “So long, Mr. Strong.”

  He did his little dance and sang:

  “Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!

  It was fun to make him go!”

  “Now do you believe me?” said Roger in a strangled voice.

  “I—I don’t know,” stammered Hector, checking his own forehead for a fever.

  “I’m telling you,” said Roger. “This is the second time someone talking to that man said ‘five,’ then disappeared.”

  “What are we going to do about it?” said Nancy.

  Just then, the visitor looked their way.

  Hector thought fast. He didn’t want Mr. Araknid to know they saw what he just did. If he knew, he might make them disappear.

  “Hi there, sir!” he called. “Have you seen Mr. Strong? We could use some help finding a book for our homework.”

  The man quickly put on a phony look of concern.

  “Your librarian wasn’t feeling well, so he went home,” the spider said. “Stomach flu, I think.”

  “That’s too bad,” said Hector. “Thanks.”

  The three friends made their way back to the library, trembling from head to toe.

   6  A Plan

  “We need to call the police,” said Nancy.

  “Sure,” said Roger. “I’ll just say, ‘Hello, officer. There’s a man in our school who makes everyone disappear as soon as they say the word “five.” ’ Then, as soon as I finish, they’ll arrest me for being a prankster.”

  “We’d better tell Ms. Moore,” said Hector. “She’ll believe us. We’ve done some wacky things at school, but we’ve never made up a story as crazy as this.”

  “You’re right,” said Nancy. “Let’s go!”

  They left the library and headed down the hallway to Ms. Moore’s office. Ahead of them, the door to the stairwell was open and they could hear Mr. Araknid’s voice.

  “So, how do you like your new students?” he said.

  “The little spiders are charming. But I must get back to PS 88!” said another voice.

  The voice sounded like Mr. Bundy’s! But he didn’t sound one bit sick. He just sounded angry.

  The kids inched closer to the stairwell so they could look in. Mr. Araknid had his back to them. He was holding up his phone, and they could see who was on the screen.

  It looked a lot like Mr. Bundy, only it wasn’t the Mr. Bundy they knew. It was Spider Man Bundy!

  “You must stop this trickery and send Ms. Bly, Mr. Strong and me back at once!” demanded the principal.

  “Sorry, no can do,” said Mr. Araknid. “I want to make my Little Spiders School of Mischief to be a great success and you’re just the people I need.”

  He added, “I want my students to be as smart as the students at PS 88. In fact, I’ll be capturing a few more of your teachers very soon.”

  “Listen to me,” said Mr. Bundy. “We wish your little spiders well, but we will refuse to teach them.” Then he shouted, “You must let us go!”

  The kids had never heard their principal raise his voice before. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Mr. Bundy’s shout jump-started Nancy’s brain.

  “I can’t believe I missed it!” she said.

  “What? What did you miss?” said Roger.

  Nancy planned to be a zoologist someday, and made it her business to know about the animal kingdom. She already knew lots about spiders. And she knew that a spider is an arachnid.

  That’s why he calls himself Mr. Araknid! thought Nancy.

  She pulled her friends back from the stairway.
/>   “That man is no man,” said Nancy. “He’s a tricky spider who transformed himself.”

  “That means he’s Anansi!” said Hector. “Mr. Strong read us stories about him.”

  The kids heard the conversation in the stairwell coming to an end.

  “You can help my little spiders be the best that they can be,” said Anansi. “Or spend the rest of your lives spinning webs and eating insects. Goodbye.”

  When Anansi came out to the hallway, the kids tried their best to not look nervous.

  “Shouldn’t you three be getting back to the library?” asked Anansi.

  “Yes, sir,” said Hector.

  “On our way,” said Roger.

  “Here we go!” said Nancy.

  When they got there, Roger said, “You two go in. I’m going to get help.”

  “Are you going to Ms. Moore?” asked Nancy.

  “No. I’m afraid Anansi might get suspicious if he sees me talking to Ms. Moore. I’m worried he’ll make her disappear. He might even make me disappear,” said Roger.

  “Then who will you get?” said Hector.

  “Believe it or not,” said Roger, “I’m going to call Marty—”

  “Q?” said Hector.

  “Marvel?” said Nancy.

  Everyone at PS 88 knew Marty Q. Marvel’s motto: My marvelous magic will amaze you! The amazing thing was that his magic had never, ever worked.

  “I know it’s risky, but I think Marty will believe us,” said Roger. “And I’ll tell him it’s a super-important, two-magician job.”

  “Good idea,” said Nancy. “If we’re lucky, he’ll bring someone whose magic tricks actually work.”

  “Hurry,” said Hector. “The first graders are heading for the Science Center, and Anansi’s right behind them. He might go after Mr. Klein, the science teacher, next!”