Unicorns and Germs

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1: MYSTERY PROJECT

  CHAPTER 2: DOORBELL

  CHAPTER 3: FIXING THE OW

  CHAPTER 4: WAITING

  CHAPTER 5: NOW WHAT?

  CHAPTER 6: UNICORN MAGIC

  CHAPTER 7: WHAT WILL WORK?

  CHAPTER 8: STUMPED

  CHAPTER 9: WHOA

  CHAPTER 10: TWO ANSWERS

  CHAPTER 11: BACTERIA EVERYWHERE

  GLOSSARY

  FOR NINA NORMA – ML

  FOR GOOSE AND BUBS… AND BABY NINA! – AC

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the

  author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information

  retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including

  photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Audience: Grades K-5.

  LCCN 2018905029

  ISBN 9781943147465; ISBN 9781943147472; ISBN 9781943147489; ISBN 9781943147496

  Text copyright 2018 by Asia Citro

  Illustrations copyright 2018 by Marion Lindsay

  Journal entries handwritten by S. Citro

  Published by The Innovation Press

  1001 4th Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98154

  www.theinnovationpress.com

  Printed and bound by Worzalla

  Production Date: May 2018 | Plant Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin

  Cover design by Nicole LaRue | Book layout by Kerry Ellis

  PROLOGUE

  These days my cat Sassafras and I are always desperately hoping we’ll hear our barn doorbell.

  I know most people are excited to hear their doorbell ring. It might mean a present or package delivery, or a friend showing up to play. But our doorbell is even more exciting than that. Because it’s a magic doorbell. When it rings, it means there’s a magical animal waiting outside our barn. A magical animal who needs our help.

  My mom’s been helping them basically her whole life. And now I get to help, too …

  CHAPTER 1

  MYSTERY PROJECT

  I threw open the front door, tossed my backpack to the ground, and scooped up Sassafras.

  “I missed you so much!” I kissed his head.

  Sassafras licked my nose, then sniffed my ear.

  “Yep, it’s still better. No more ear infection!” I spun him once, then set him down. I popped my head in the kitchen. “Mooooommm? I’m home!”

  No Mom. But there was a bunch of stuff set out on the kitchen counter.

  “Mrrowww?” Sassafras asked from the floor.

  “Here you go, Sassafras!” I picked him up to give him a better view. Mom had set out a carton of whole milk, a little container of plain yogurt, a bunch of jars, a pot, a big spoon, and a food thermometer. “What could it be for?”

  Sassafras touched the milk carton with a paw. “Mrrowww?”

  “I didn’t hear you come in!” Mom walked into the kitchen. “I thought we could make something new today.” Mom came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. “Have you figured out what we’re making yet?”

  “I know it’s something with a lot of milk. Wait, is it cheese?”

  “Not cheese, but good guess.” Mom tapped the little container of yogurt. “We’re going to make homemade yogurt!”

  Sassafras purred.

  “Yum! But wait, we have a container of yogurt there. I don’t get it. Are we making yogurt with … yogurt?”

  “Sort of. Did you know that you only need two ingredients to make homemade yogurt?”

  “Really? Just milk and … yogurt?”

  “In a way, yes! Technically you only need milk and live bacteria. You could order live bacteria online, but it’s much easier to get it from store-bought yogurt.”

  Sassafras growled.

  “LIVE bacteria? As in, it’s still alive?” I took a step back. “But I just got rid of the bacteria that gave me an ear infection.”

  Mom laughed and ruffled Sassafras’s fur. “There are all kinds of bacteria in and on your body right now.”

  In and on my body? Yeesh. Sassafras puffed up and I set him down to scratch my arms.

  Mom laughed harder. “Oh, you two! Only some bacteria are harmful. In fact, most are helpful. Bacteria in your body help you digest food when you eat, they keep your insides safe from dangerous bacteria and viruses, and of course”—Mom made a dramatic wave with her arm—“we even use some kinds of bacteria to make delicious food.”

  Mom pulled a chair over for Sassafras and nudged the pot, carton of milk, and recipe toward me.

  Sassafras watched from the chair, and Mom helped me with the steps involving the stove. When we got to the part where I stirred some of the store-bought yogurt into some of the warm milk, Sassafras scowled and ran under the kitchen table.

  “What’s wrong, buddy? Remember, this is good bacteria! And you love yogurt!”

  Sassafras looked around, but he wouldn’t budge.

  I shrugged and kept working. As I finished pouring the mixture of milk and yogurt into the bigger pot of cooling milk, the pot slid a little. Huh. That was weird. It felt like the house had moved.

  Mom peered into the pot of cooling milk. “This looks great. I’ll just pour this into those last few empty jars and—”

  The jars on the kitchen counter rattled.

  Mom looked around. “Did you feel that?”

  I slowly nodded. Then the kitchen table and chairs shook.

  “Earthquake!” Mom shouted.

  Mom and I dove under the table. I covered Sassafras with my body and held one arm over the back of my neck and grabbed a table leg. Mom did the same.

  The shaking got worse. And then stopped.

  Mom and I looked up at each other when the barn doorbell rang.

  CHAPTER 2

  DOORBELL

  The doorbell rang again.

  “Should I … ?” I asked.

  “Hmm. Well, I think it’s over,” Mom said. “That was unexpected! We never get earthquakes around here. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  I stayed under the table while Mom stood up and looked around. A glass jar had fallen on the ground and broken.

  The doorbell rang again.

  “OK, you run out back and see who needs help. Take Sassafras—I don’t want him to step on the glass. I’ll get this glass cleaned up and finish getting our milk mixture into the cooler to stay warm so we can still have our yogurt tomorrow. I should be there in just a few minutes. And Zoey? If you feel another earthquake, cover up and stay away from anything that could fall on you.”

  I nodded, and Sassafras and I ran out the door.

  By the time we got into the barn, the doorbell had rung two more times. I threw open the back door, stepped out, and almost slammed into a rainbow wall.

  Or … whoa. Not a wall. A giant, huge, ENORMOUS rainbow hoof that filled the entire doorway.

  I let out a small squeak.

  I looked up, up, up, up, up. And waaaaaay up was a giant horse head with a rainbow mane and … a shiny golden horn? NO WAY. A unicorn?!?!

  I cleared my throat. “Ummm, hello?”

  A large booming voice called out, “HELLO. I HAVE OW. GIRL HELP?”

  It was hurt! I stepped back and saw that the ginormous unicorn was holding one of its hooves in the air. Wait. Was that what caused the earthquake? If the unicorn was hopping on three le
gs, then …

  There was a rustling in the bushes and the smell of peppermint filled the air. I looked toward the bushes as our forest monster friend Gorp popped out.

  This was shaping up to be the weirdest day ever.

  Gorp calmly walked over to me. “Hey, Zoey. Did you feel that earthquake?”

  “I … uhhh … unicorn?” I spluttered.

  Gorp looked up at the giant unicorn. “Oh, hey, little one!” Gorp cooed as he pet the enormous unicorn leg.

  “Little one?” I thought.

  “HELLO MONSTER. HAVE OW.”

  “Oh, poor thing!” Gorp peered around at the unicorn’s raised hoof and nodded. “Aha! That’s what caused all that shaking in the forest. Zoey? Are you OK? You’re not saying much.”

  “So … big,” I whispered.

  “Big?” Gorp chuckled. “But he’s so small! He must be a baby.”

  Wait, what? “But Gorp, he’s enormous!”

  Gorp looked confused. “How big did you expect him to be?”

  I felt my face flush. “I thought unicorns were the same size as horses?”

  Gorp laughed really hard. “The size of a horse! Humans are hilarious! Unicorns are always gigantic, obviously.” It took him a while to catch his breath. “That was a good one, Zoey.”

  I realized that Sassafras hadn’t thrown himself into Gorp’s arms yet. Weird. I looked around for him and was about to call his name when a large, booming voice interrupted me.

  “GIRL HELP OW?”

  Sassafras would have to wait. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” I hollered up to the unicorn. “Yes, of course. Can you show me the ow?”

  CHAPTER 3

  FIXING THE OW

  The unicorn carefully lowered its gigantic hoof. Gorp and I took a step closer and looked for anything unusual.

  I pointed at a scratch about the size of my arm and turned to Gorp. “Do you think that might be causing the trouble?”

  Then I heard a squeal behind me. It was my mom. She stood with her hands pressed against her cheeks, staring up at the unicorn. “Oh my goodness! Aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” She put her arm around me. “Oh, Zoey. How special! A little itty-bitty baby unicorn!”

  I slapped my forehead. Was I the only one who didn’t know the actual size of unicorns?

  Gorp cleared his throat.

  “Oh my goodness. I didn’t see you there, Gorp,” Mom said. “How are you doing?” She gave him a hug.

  Gorp turned to show off his shiny fur. “Quite well. I was playing with friends in the forest when we felt the earth shaking. They sent me to figure out what it was. I thought you two would know.”

  The unicorn shifted a little and the ground shook again. “HELP PLEASE?”

  “Oh, sorry!” all three of us called up at once.

  I pointed to the scratch. “This is all I could find,” I told Mom. “It seems pretty small compared to the unicorn’s huge leg. Do you think it’s like the unicorn version of a paper cut? It’s small but it hurts a lot?”

  Mom walked around the leg and nodded. “That’s all I’m seeing too. What’s your plan?”

  Oh, right. I needed a plan. I was about to start thinking out loud when my dad opened the back door to our house.

  “Honey?” he called. “Why are so many things on the floor in here? Was there an earthquake?”

  Mom turned to me. “I’d better go talk to your dad. Good thing he was at the store during this. Since he can’t see magical creatures, I am sure he’d be horribly confused right about now! I know you’ll come up with a great plan for how to help the unicorn. I’ll be inside if you need me.”

  “GIRL SEE OW? HOW GIRL FIX?”

  “I do see the scratch. It must hurt a lot. Let me go grab something and I’ll figure out what to do. One minute!” I turned to Gorp. “I’ll be right back. I just need to grab my Thinking Goggles to figure this out.”

  Gorp nodded. “I should head back to my friends. They’re still wondering what happened. The baby unicorn will be OK, right?”

  “Definitely.” I stood up a little straighter. “You can tell your friends I’m taking care of it.”

  “I will,” said Gorp.

  “Thanks, Gorp!”

  “Oh, and um, say hi to Sassafras for me, I guess.” Then he headed back into the forest.

  Sassafras! Where was that cat?

  I waved goodbye and jogged into the barn. Aha! I found my Thinking Goggles right next to a blanket with a fluffed-up, shaking tail sticking out from under it.

  “Sass?” I whispered. I lifted the blanket and discovered the rest of my fluffed-out, shaking cat. OK, so at least Sassafras was also surprised by the unicorn’s size.

  “Oh, buddy. It’s just a baby unicorn. He won’t hurt you!” I explained. But it wasn’t any use. Sassafras was too freaked out. “Why don’t you stay here and I’ll go help him?”

  “Mrrowww,” Sassafras agreed.

  I gently covered him up again with the blanket and gave him a reassuring pat. Then I plunked my Thinking Goggles on my head and walked back out to talk to … Where were my manners? I’d forgotten to ask if the unicorn had a name.

  I leaned my head waaaay back. “Hello again! I’ve got my Thinking Goggles, so I should have a plan soon. But I forgot to ask—do you have a name?”

  The unicorn nodded his gigantic head and a huge gust of wind almost knocked me to the ground. I held on to a nearby tree trunk so I didn’t blow away.

  “TINY,” said the unicorn.

  You have got to be kidding me. “Your name is Tiny?”

  The unicorn nodded again, and this time my Thinking Goggles flew off.

  I chased them down and made a mental note to try to avoid asking Tiny yes or no questions.

  “Nice to meet you, Tiny. I’m Zoey. Let’s see here. You have a cut on the back of your leg down here.”

  “ZOEY FIX IT?”

  “Yes, I will. I just need to think. Hmmm.” I tapped my Thinking Goggles. My knee started to itch. Oh! My knee! I had fallen last week while chasing some friends at school and had gotten a scrape.

  “Tiny, when I get a scrape or cut, the first thing my mom asks me to do is rinse it really well with water. Then she dries it and puts some antibacterial cream on it. The cream is like medicine to kill any bad bacteria. After that she covers it with a bandage. In a day or two, I’m as good as new. I’ll do the same thing for you, but I need to think bigger. I mean, you’re going to need a slightly bigger bandage.” I giggled, thinking of one of my tiny bandages on Tiny’s ginormous unicorn leg.

  “OK,” said Tiny.

  “First up, rinsing. I can’t possibly get you to a sink. I need something bigger.” I adjusted my Thinking Goggles. “I need a really big faucet like … a hose!”

  I ran to the side of the barn and dragged the hose over to Tiny.

  Next, I’d have to dry the cut. Mom had dried my knee with a washcloth. Thinking bigger, I realized I’d need a blanket. After drying, I’d need a way to put some antibacterial cream on—a lot of antibacterial cream—and a bandage the size of, well, me. “I’m going inside for supplies. I’ll be right back, Tiny!”

  Inside I told my mom the plan, and she distracted my dad while I made a pile on the kitchen table: a blanket, my largest paintbrush, a large tube of antibacterial cream, scissors, and rolls of paper towels, plastic wrap, and packing tape.

  I loaded everything in my arms and headed out to Tiny.

  “I’m just going to spray some water on your hoof.” I held the hose above my head and rinsed the cut.

  “COLD!” Tiny yelped.

  “Almost done,” I hollered. “I just need to make sure I’ve washed out any dirt or bad stuff that could be in there.”

  After one final spray with the hose, I dried his cut with the blanket. Next, I squeezed antibacterial cream onto my paintbrush. I stood on my tippy-toes and painted the whole tube of cream onto the cut. Then I gently placed folded paper towels over the cut. After that I took the plastic wrap and walked in circles around Tiny’s leg,
pulling the plastic wrap tight to hold the paper towels in place. Finally I topped it all off with some packing tape.

  “OK Tiny, I think that should help. Come back tomorrow and I’ll check your leg. It should start feeling better really soon.”

  “ZOEY NICE. THANK YOU.”

  I moved away from the barn and trees and waved goodbye to Tiny. Then I crouched on the ground and covered my head and neck until Tiny’s earth-rattling hops faded away.

  CHAPTER 4

  WAITING

  Sassafras hopped into my lap and looked up at me.

  I giggled and tapped his nose. “You missed a spot!”

  He licked the dot of yogurt off his nose and settled down, purring in my lap.

  The milk mixture we’d warmed overnight had magically changed into yogurt this morning. Well, I guess not magically. The bacteria had been working on changing the warm milk into yogurt all night. But since I couldn’t see the bacteria at work, it did seem a little bit like magic.

  I took another bite. “Yummm. These bacteria are delicious!” I declared.

  Mom giggled. “The honey I drizzled on top doesn’t hurt either, huh?”

  I smiled and took my last bite. “Do you think Tiny is OK? It’s been raining so hard.”

  “Magical creatures tend to heal quickly. I bet he’s feeling much better today.”

  Sassafras jumped up in surprise and accidentally bonked my chin.

  “Ow,” I said. “Geez, Sassafras!”

  But he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the door to the backyard. He let out a low growl, then jumped down and huddled under the kitchen table.

  “Mom, what’s the matter with Sass—” And then I felt it. The house shook. Dishes rattled. Chairs slid. Tiny!

  Mom and I dove under the table with Sassafras. I kept my head down with my hand over my neck. I really thought that I’d fixed Tiny’s cut. But because our house was shaking so much, I guessed that Tiny wasn’t feeling any better.