Go, Go, Guinea Pig! (Adventures of Harry Stevenson Book 3) Read online

  For Alex and Eddie, Wilbur and Marnie

  CHAPTER 1 What's up, Harry Stevenson?

  Harry Stevenson was normally the happiest of guinea pigs. He had everything he could possibly want: a cosy cage full of hay and a food bowl that never seemed to empty. Even better, Harry lived with his favourite person in the world: eight-year-old Billy Smith. Billy was the best owner and friend a guinea pig could ask for. Today, though, Harry was feeling worried. That was because Billy was in a bad mood, and when Billy was unhappy, Harry was too.

  The problem was Billy’s cousin – Alfie. Harry had heard a lot about Alfie lately because he and his parents were coming to visit. According to Billy, his cousin was perfect in every way. He had all the latest toys, was brilliant at football and was always top of the class at school. Alfie sounds great, thought Harry, but it seemed he was wrong. For some reason, Billy didn’t like Alfie very much. Harry couldn’t work out why. Alfie sounded clever, sporty and fun – so why did Billy sigh when his parents talked about him? It was a big puzzle for a small guinea pig.

  Harry Stevenson was a good friend, though, so while he couldn’t understand Billy’s bad mood, he was doing his best to improve it. The pair were curled up on the sofa in the front room. Their favourite football show was on TV but Harry could tell that Billy wasn’t really watching. He peered up at his friend – oh dear, there was that grumpy frown again. Harry nuzzled Billy’s hand with his furry nose, then tried a cheery squeak. He was pleased to see a smile in response.

  ‘Hey, Harry,’ said Billy. ‘At least Alfie hasn’t got you. He’s got everything else, it seems.’ Billy was about to say more when Mrs Smith came into the room and spotted his glum face.

  ‘Oh, Billy!’ she said. ‘Cheer up! I don’t know what’s got into you. Come on, love. Auntie Jen and Uncle Kevin will be here soon.’

  Harry Stevenson chirped happily. He loved Auntie Jen because she was just like her sister, Mrs Smith! Auntie Jen didn’t visit very often as she lived in another city, but she always made a fuss of Harry when she came. Uncle Kevin was sort of fun too – although he kept pretending to think Harry was a ‘ginger rat’. Harry got a bit tired of that joke sometimes. But Alfie? Harry had never met him. That was because Alfie had been playing in a football tournament when Auntie Jen visited, or performing in a dance show, or acting in a school play. It sounded like Alfie was good at everything, thought Harry, and he wondered again why Billy wouldn’t admire such a clever cousin.

  Harry looked at the door, hoping that Alfie, Auntie Jen and Uncle Kevin would walk through it soon. They were just popping in before going to some sort of show, Mrs Smith had said. She didn’t know any more than that – Auntie Jen had promised a surprise! Harry wasn’t keen on surprises. He’d had a few lately and they hadn’t been fun. Still, he always hoped for the best. Auntie Jen’s surprise might involve nuggets, or, even better, carrots.

  ‘They’re here!’ called Mrs Smith, looking out of the window excitedly. ‘Ooh, that’s the new car. Have a look, Billy!’

  Billy shrugged, and carried Harry over to the window. Harry peered outside to see a big shiny car parking next to Mr Smith’s scruffy van. I’d better smarten up, thought Harry. So he gave himself a quick brush with his paws and prepared to meet the arrivals.

  CHAPTER 2 Look at that, Harry Stevenson!

  Well, this IS a surprise, thought Harry Stevenson, blinking in wonder. For standing next to Auntie Jen and Uncle Kevin was a boy who looked just like Billy! Harry knew that Billy and Alfie were the same age but he’d no idea they looked so similar. Alfie was like a mirror of Billy. He even walked the same way. Harry could spot one difference, though. Alfie seemed sort of… shinier. His shoes weren’t scuffed like Billy’s, and everything he wore looked neat. Harry sniffed the air. Mmm. Alfie’s clothes had a fresh, zingy smell. Billy’s things only smelled like that when they’d first been washed.

  ‘Hey, Alfie!’ cried Mrs Smith, giving her nephew a hug. ‘How’s the football going? We heard your team’s doing really well.’

  ‘Oh, not bad,’ shrugged Alfie. But before he could finish, Auntie Jen and Uncle Kevin were telling everyone about Alfie’s team: how they’d reached the final of a big competition, and how Alfie had scored in every game. Harry heard Billy sigh. Billy’s team had lost a lot of matches recently.

  ‘How’s the new school, Billy?’ asked Uncle Kevin.

  ‘Er, OK, thanks,’ Billy mumbled.

  ‘Alfie LOVES school, don’t you, Alf?’ said Uncle Kevin, patting his son on the back. ‘He’s on the school council and in the top group for maths!’

  Harry took a quick glance at his friend. Billy didn’t like maths at all – he was always telling Harry how hard it was. Sure enough, a strange look passed across Billy’s face. The look lasted just a second, though, before Billy blinked it away – so only Harry noticed.

  ‘And how do you like your new flat, Billy?’ said Auntie Jen. ‘It’s lovely, isn’t it?’

  ‘It’s great,’ agreed Billy.

  ‘You must come and stay with us,’ smiled Auntie Jen. ‘Alfie’s room is big enough for both of you, and he’s got lots of new toys. We’ve got a trampoline and goalposts in the garden too!’

  Ooh! thought Harry. The Smiths didn’t have goalposts – or a trampoline, whatever that was. Harry was impressed!

  ‘Yes, come and have a kick about!’ said Uncle Kevin. ‘You’ll play better than Sparky FC have done lately, hey?’ he teased. ‘Alfie’s a Scratchy United fan. They thrashed the Sparks last week. Didn’t they, Alf?’

  Alfie nodded and gave a little smile.

  Oh dear, thought Harry, looking at Billy’s cross face. He knew how much Billy loved Sparky FC and hated being teased about them! Harry chuntered angrily, making Uncle Kevin smile.

  ‘Sorry, Billy,’ he said. ‘I didn’t spot your ginger rat! How’s Harry Stevenson these days? We’ve brought something special to show him. You won’t BELIEVE it when you see it!’

  And Uncle Kevin was right!

  * * *

  Alfie went into the entrance hall of the flat and came back carrying a bag and a smart-looking box. Harry Stevenson gazed at the box. It was the same shape as Harry’s plastic pet carrier but a lot fancier. Interesting. But what could be inside?

  Harry sniffed the air again. Sniff, sniff, sniff…

  OOHHHH!

  No, thought Harry Stevenson. It can’t be.

  Harry felt more and more excited as Alfie put the box down on the Smiths’ kitchen table and rootled about inside. He nearly wheeked out loud when something rustled in the carrier. Alfie caught whatever it was in the box and prepared to bring it out. Harry held his breath. His whiskers quivered.

  ‘Everyone,’ said Alfie, lifting his hands out of the carrier. ‘Meet Monty.’

  ‘WHEEK, WHEEK, WHEEEK; OH, WHEEK, WHEEK, WHEEK!’ cried Harry Stevenson madly, as he stared and stared… into eyes just like his own!

  Harry heard Billy gasp. Mr and Mrs Smith were so surprised they were lost for words. Mr Smith even spilled his tea and biscuits!

  ‘Blimey,’ spluttered Mr Smith eventually, brushing crumbs off his trousers. ‘It’s a guinea pig! And it’s the spitting image of Harry!’

  CHAPTER 3 TWO of you, Harry Stevenson?

  Harry was so keen to see his lookalike that he scrabbled about in Billy’s arms, trying to get a better view. There must be SOMETHING that makes us different, he thought. But, no: Monty was a perfect match to Harry, from the furry tuft on his head to his fluffy ginger bottom.

  I’m not sure I like this, thought Harry. I prefer it when there’s just one of me!

  Monty didn’t seem too happy about thi
ngs either. Harry was about to say hello with a friendly wheek, when Monty gave him a look that stopped that wheek in its tracks. Monty stared at Harry, gave a sniff and wrinkled up his nose like he’d smelled something bad. Then he chattered his teeth in an unfriendly manner, before turning his head away from Harry and ignoring him.

  How rude, thought Harry! But poor Harry: worse was to come.

  ‘They could be twins, couldn’t they?’ said Uncle Kevin. ‘The thing is, though, Monty’s really clever.’

  Hey! thought Harry Stevenson. I’m clever too!

  ‘Alfie’s been training Monty to do tricks,’ explained Auntie Jen proudly. ‘He’s been doing it every day after school. The pair of them have got really good, so they started entering pet shows. It grew and grew and now they’ve reached the final of Super-Pets – you know, that talent show on TV where people do routines with their pets. It’s filming this afternoon: that’s why we’re in town.’

  SUPER-PETS! thought Harry. We LOVE that show! It was true – the Smiths snuggled up on the sofa every week to watch it. They weren’t the only ones – Harry had heard Billy and his friends talking non-stop about the talented animals on the show. He’d also spotted lots of articles about it, in the newspapers lining his cage. It seemed like the whole country had gone mad for Super-Pets.

  ‘That’s AMAZING!’ cried Mrs Smith. ‘Isn’t it, Billy?’ But to Harry’s surprise Billy didn’t answer, and stared stonily ahead.

  ‘Go on, Alfie. Show them your tricks!’ urged Uncle Kevin.

  Alfie looked a bit embarrassed, but pleased too.

  ‘OK, then,’ he said, and set to work.

  Everyone gathered round as Alfie carefully placed the contents of his bag on the floor. Mr and Mrs Smith oohed and aahed as Alfie showed off each item. Most of them were tiny versions of things Harry recognized: a teeny ball, a mini skateboard, some little jumps like the ones in horse races on TV, and a toy-sized basketball hoop. There were also random things like a matchbox and a bangle.

  Alfie set Monty down and the show started. First of all, Alfie held up his hand. Then Monty stood on his back legs and high-fived him!

  ‘WOW!’ cried Mr and Mrs Smith. But Harry wasn’t impressed. I’m sure I could do that… if I wanted to, he thought.

  The show continued.

  ‘Turn around, Monty,’ said Alfie, drawing circles in the air with his finger. Monty spun around as he followed Alfie’s hand.

  I’m pretty sure I could do that too, huffed Harry. He looked up to see what his friend thought, but Billy was staring out of the window. Whatever Billy’s looking at must be very interesting, thought Harry, because he’s missing Monty’s display!

  Next Alfie held out the matchbox and Monty pulled out the tray, revealing a nugget inside! Um, I think I could do that… if I tried, mused Harry. I could DEFINITELY eat that nugget – much quicker than Monty.

  But Monty’s tricks came thick and fast, and even Harry had to admit they were something special. He watched in awe as Monty pulled the bangle off Alfie’s arm with his teeth, whizzed along on the little skateboard, skilfully pushed the ball around a box, then picked it up in his mouth and dropped it neatly into the basketball hoop. Finally Monty scampered round an obstacle course, leaping over the little jumps with a distinctly smug look on his furry face!

  Harry felt strangely glum. Mr and Mrs Smith clapped and clapped. Billy sighed a little sigh, but only Harry heard.

  ‘Can Harry do any tricks?’ asked Uncle Kevin, turning to face Billy. ‘Some of them are quite simple. Why not have a try?’

  Poor Billy looked as if he might explode! Now I understand, thought Harry Stevenson, finally realizing how Billy felt about his cousin. It seemed that everything Billy could do, Alfie could do better. And, oh dear, it looked like the same went for their pets!

  CHAPTER 4 Smile, Harry Stevenson!

  Soon it was time for Uncle Kevin and Auntie Jen to head off. They needed to drive to the TV centre where Super-Pets was being filmed.

  ‘Let’s have a photo of the boys and their guinea pigs,’ said Auntie Jen, reaching for her phone.

  Uncle Kevin looked at his watch. ‘Better make it quick,’ he said. ‘It’ll take a while to get across town and we can’t keep the audience waiting.’

  The boys sat next to each other on the sofa, guinea pigs on their laps. Harry Stevenson had had enough of Monty and didn’t even want to look at him, so he turned away and left his furry bottom to face the visitors.

  Then Monty lunged at that bottom and bit it, hard!

  ‘WHEEEK!!!!’ cried Harry in surprise. That stung! Keen to avoid another nip, he leaped off Billy’s lap and on to the floor, but Monty followed fast behind. Teeth chattering, Harry fled under the sofa. It was dark there, with lots of places to hide. Harry spotted one of Mrs Smith’s slippers, an empty box of chocolates and a newspaper. He scuttled to and fro as Monty chased him around, then dived under the newspaper and trembled.

  From his hiding place, Harry could hear the humans debating what to do. There wasn’t much of a gap under the sofa – it was so low they had to lie on the floor to see underneath. The adults’ arms were too wide to fit under and the children’s were too short to stretch to the back, so no one could reach the guinea pigs. Harry’s ears pricked up when Mr Smith suggested luring them out with treats, but Uncle Kevin was in too much of a hurry to try.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, sounding worried. ‘We can’t be late! Let’s lift the sofa up. Billy and Alfie: you reach underneath and try and catch them.’

  Harry Stevenson’s nose started to twitch as the sofa was lifted up and away. Light flooded on to big fluffy piles of dust that had been hidden underneath. So much of the dust was stuck to Harry’s fur that he didn’t look ginger any more.

  Aaaach-CHOO, he sneezed. Harry glanced towards Monty who was also covered in dust. There were even a few bits of cereal stuck to his fur!

  ‘Oh, no. That’s just what we need,’ groaned Uncle Kevin. ‘Those guinea pigs look like they’ve been in a bin!’ He sighed and clapped his hand to his head. ‘Oh, well, no time to clear up now. We’re on live TV in two hours! Just grab Monty, Alfie. Come on, quick!’

  Harry Stevenson was fed up with cowering in the dust under a newspaper. It wasn’t very nice, and now his nose was twitching as he felt another sneeze coming. Ugh, thought Harry. Get me out of here! So when a pair of hands came towards him, he didn’t run away. Instead, he simply stepped on to them. Harry felt safe when the hands closed around him, and he shut his eyes with relief. Thank you, Billy. He felt himself being carried across the room and placed in some hay. Then Harry did what he always did after anything exciting happened: he started to feel sleepy.

  As Harry nodded off, he heard Alfie worrying about his dusty guinea pig. ‘Never mind,’ Auntie Jen was saying. ‘We can clean him up at the TV centre.’

  Then everyone said goodbye, and Harry fell into a lovely, deep sleep.

  CHAPTER 5 What’s going on, Harry Stevenson?

  Harry Stevenson awoke in a nest of soft, cosy hay. From the space around him he could tell he was in his carrier rather than the roomier cage in Billy’s bedroom. Harry often slept in the carrier when Billy wanted him close at meal times, or when he did homework. The carrier sat on the kitchen table so the two friends could be next to each other.

  Harry stretched out his front paws and yawned. Oh, that was a good sleep, he thought. For some reason, the hay felt finer than usual. It smelled sweeter too. He took a nibble. Mmmm, delicious! Harry sighed happily and tucked into more strands of hay. No doubt it tasted extra-good because Monty had cleared off. He might look like me, thought Harry, but we’re VERY different.

  Harry finished a particularly tasty strand of hay and looked for his nugget bowl. That was strange – it wasn’t where he remembered. Usually it lived by the door of the carrier. Now it was on the far side. And, come to think of it, it was a completely different bowl. Billy must have bought him a new one – that was kind! Instead of orange plastic, the new bowl was made of fine
white china. It even had a little crest on it. Harry admired the bowl for a moment. It did look smart, although he’d loved his plastic bowl almost as much as he loved the nuggets inside it.

  Thoughts of nuggets made Harry’s belly rumble, so he toddled over to scoff a few. As he passed the door of the carrier he glanced outside. Hang on. That didn’t look like the Smiths’ kitchen. Harry stared at the view, puzzled. It didn’t look like Billy’s bedroom either, or any of the rooms in the Smiths’ flat. Nor did it look like the inside of Mr Smith’s van. So, where was he?

  Harry considered this for a moment, but then an amazing smell wafted from the bowl. Mmmm! What was that? He hurried over and took a look. Inside the bowl was a pile of nuggets, for sure, but nothing like the ones Harry was used to. They looked and smelled wonderful, and a hasty guzzle confirmed that, yes, they tasted wonderful too. Oh, those nuggets were good! Billy must have gone to the pet shop and found a new brand. You’re the best, thought Harry.

  As Harry closed his eyes in bliss, he felt something very strange. The carrier appeared to be… moving. In fact, everything around the carrier seemed to be moving too! Harry felt a flash of fear. Yikes, he thought. What’s happening? His mind raced through the possibilities: stolen by burglars, kidnapped by pet-nappers, abducted by aliens…

  A familiar voice broke into his thoughts.

  ‘Nearly there, Alfie,’ it said. ‘Put your screen away. We need to get Monty cleaned up as soon as we get there.’

  UNCLE KEVIN?

  Harry looked around in panic as the truth hit him like a ton of nuggets. Suddenly it all made sense – the fragrant hay, the china bowl, the luxury food. They think I’m Monty! he thought. I’m in their car on the way to the television centre. Oh my goodness, what am I going to do?