7 Gretta Sharp
Roger slipped into Mr. Bundy’s office. On the desk was a list of possible guests for a special assembly, and the magician’s phone number was on it.
Luckily, when Roger called, Marty answered right away. He listened carefully to Roger’s story.
“I know just who to bring,” said Marty. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
It wasn’t soon enough! Nancy and Hector had each asked to be excused from class and went to join Roger. They told him that now Mr. Klein and Ms. Moore were missing too!
The three friends were starting to panic. If only Mr. Bundy were there, he’d know what to do.
They went to the front door of the school to wait for Marty’s arrival. It wasn’t long before he came tripping in, followed by a very tall young woman. A moment later, they saw Anansi hurrying down the hallway.
The young woman stepped forward and introduced herself. She knew very well who she was speaking to, but said, “Hello, sir. You must be Mr. Bundy. I’m Gretta Sharp, Mr. Marvel’s talent agent. I hear you called yesterday about an assembly program for your highly accomplished students and teachers.”
“They certainly are accomplished, but I’m not Mr. Bundy. He’s out sick today,” said Anansi.
“Then we can see Ms. Moore,” said Gretta Sharp.
“I’m afraid she went home sick too,” said Anansi.
“And you are?” said Ms. Sharp.
“I’m Mr. Araknid. I was visiting for the day and was just leaving,” he said, trying to slip away.
“I see. Did you come to meet the students who aced the Math Meet?” asked Ms. Sharp, not letting him pass.
“Yes, they’re wonderful, wonderful students!” said Anansi.
In the meantime, he was thinking, There’s something familiar and worrisome about this Ms. Sharp.
8 Seven Ate Nine
Anansi tried to move past Gretta, but she was shifting like an athlete guarding the ball.
“Those students really are amazing,” said Gretta. “I always found math a little scary.” Then she added with a mischievous smile, “Can you guess which number I thought was the scariest?”
“I don’t have to guess,” said Anansi, trying again to get past her. “Everyone knows that joke. The scariest number is seven.”
POOF!
As soon as he said “seven,” there was a burst of bright-colored smoke. When it was gone, so was Anansi.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho! I tricked Anansi and I made him go!” chanted Gretta. “That silly spider never even made it to the end of the joke, so the joke’s on him. The scariest number is seven because…”
“Seven ate nine!” called Roger, Nancy and Hector together.
“You did it! You got rid of him!” said Roger.
“Thank you!” said Nancy.
“By the way, who are you?” asked Hector.
Gretta threw off her cape and wig and jumped down from her stilts. What a surprise! She was not tall at all. In fact, she was tiny. Anansi had no idea who he’d been talking to. Gretta explained.
“My real name is Seven,” she said. “Marty and I met at the Presto-Chango School of Magic. My family has been going there for generations. Maybe you’ve heard of my famous grandmother, Five. She could make anyone who said her name disappear. Her trick became a family secret.”
“I knew it!” said Roger. “Anyone Anansi got to say ‘five’ disappeared. Now anyone who says…” He stopped before saying the number seven.
“Don’t worry,” said Gretta. “You’re safe. I only trick troublemakers.”
“Why were you wearing stilts?” asked Roger.
“I look a lot like my dear grandma, who was tiny. I wanted to look very different from her so Anansi wouldn’t recognize me,” said Seven.
Then Nancy asked the most important question of all.
“Can you bring our principals and teachers back?” she said.
“I can,” said Seven. “But I’m going to give Marty the honor. Ready, Marty?”
“Sure thing!” said Marty.
9 Look Who’s Back
The kids looked worried as Marty chanted, “One, two, five, seven and nine. All come back now, feeling fine!”
Nothing happened.
“That’s odd,” said Marty.
“Actually, one of the numbers is not odd,” said Seven. “Do you really want to include two in your list of odd numbers?”
“Hmm,” said Marty, tapping his chin. “Oh, I get it!” He tried again. “One, three, five, seven and nine. All come back now, feeling fine!”
POOF!
There was a burst of bright-colored smoke, and when it was gone, Mr. Bundy, Ms. Moore, Ms. Bly, Mr. Strong and Mr. Klein were back. Thankfully, they were not spiders anymore.
Mr. Bundy brushed off his suit and straightened his tie.
“Thank you, both,” he said to the magicians. “It’s good to be back at PS 88! I hope you’ll agree to be the special guests at our upcoming Math Meet celebration.”
The magicians said they’d be honored.
* * *
Three days later, Marty Q. Marvel and Seven put on a memorable magic show. In a thrilling finale, Gretta turned Mr. Bundy back into a spider, then made him disappear.
It took Marty quite a few tries to bring Mr. Bundy back, but in the end, he did himself proud. He was smiling from ear to ear as the kids and teachers gave the magicians their best even-numbered cheer:
“Two, four, six, eight!
Who do we appreciate?
Marty! Seven!
Hooray!”
There was one last burst of bright-colored smoke, and then the magicians disappeared from the stage.
POOF!
Word List
aced (AYST): Did something extremely well
arachnid (uh•RAK•nihd): A member of the class of animals that includes spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks
delirious (dih•LEER•ee•us): In a confused mental state
desperate (DEH•spuh•ret): Having a complete loss of hope
fibbed (FIBD): Told a small lie
finale (fih•NA•lee): The end of something
frantic (FRAN•tik): Having nervous feelings that are out of control
intercepted (in•ter•SEP•ted): Stopped and caught something on its way somewhere
prankster (PRANK•ster): A person who plays tricks
reconsider (ree•kuhn•SIH•der): To think about something again, especially for a possible change of mind
stammered (STA•merd): Stumbled over words
suspicious (suh•SPIH•shus): Thinking something might be wrong, maybe without having proof
transformed (trans•FORMD): Changed the form or appearance of something or someone
trembling (TREM•bling): Shaking from nerves or excitement
zoologist (zoh•AH•luh•jist): A scientist who studies animals
Questions
1. If you were worried about a stranger at school, who would you call for help? (Hint: The answer is not Marty Q. Marvel.)
2. Do you know the story of “Anansi and the Yam Hills”? If not, have fun reading it, and then see how it’s the same and how it’s different from this story.
3. If you had a chance to be the teacher of little spiders, what would you teach them and why?
More from this Series
Aphrodite & the Magical…
Battle of the Blanket…
Mitzy's Homecoming
Our Principal Is a…
Lost and Found
Persephone & the Evil…
About the Author and Illustrator
Stephanie Calmenson is the acclaimed author of many popular books for young readers, including Dinner at the Panda Palace; May I Pet Your Dog?; Ollie’s School Day; and the Adventures of Allie and Amy series, written with Joanna Cole. About spiders, Stephanie says, “They’re amazing and I’m a great admirer. I’ll just have to be sure no spider that comes my way is Anansi out to trick me!�
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Aaron Blecha is an artist who designs funny characters and illustrates humorous books. His work includes the Shark School series and Goodnight, Grizzle Grump! Originally from Wisconsin, Aaron now lives with his family by the south English seaside.
Aladdin Quix
Simon & Schuster, New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN QUIX
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin QUIX paperback edition February 2021
Text copyright © 2021 by Stephanie Calmenson
Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Aaron Blecha
Also available in an Aladdin QUIX hardcover edition.
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Designed by Karin Paprocki
Cover designed by Karin Paprocki
Cover illustration copyright © 2021 by Aaron Blecha
The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.
Library of Congress Control Number 2020943654
ISBN 978-1-5344-5759-1 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5344-5758-4 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-5344-5760-7 (ebook)