Landon Hall

Oh, hello again dear readers. Well, you’ve picked up this book to read, so here is the story. This is a sequel to “Ben and the Dodge Ball Tournament.” As a 6-year-old kindergartener you might notice that Ben is very mature and wise. Today he is at school and he hopes he gets to go to the Science Lab. Because only five kids could go to the Science Lab, Mrs. Gamboa picked a number. “10,” she said. That was Yufeng’s number. “13.” That was Cathy’s number. “1.” That was Nelson’s number. “4.” That was Sherri’s number. Then she pulled out . . . 3! Ben was number 3 so he got in line.

He forgot Zack the mouse was in his backpack for show and tell. Ben was so happy that he forgot about going to summer school. As you may remember, he missed three months of school last year because he was small and couldn’t hold a pencil. Now he walked in line to the Science Lab. He saw computer penguins dancing and it was called “Happy Feet.” He accidentally tripped on a purple potion that looked familiar. The purple potion can make you grow big, Ben remembered. When Ben tripped, he hit the table and the table exploded.

“Oh, no!” said Mr. Sylva. “He combined X peflesodium 4000 SELL2 with 2 double false and true X peleformia google plex bubbles which made this BIG explosion!”

“Yep, that would do,” said Michael who was a student.

When Ben got up, a shrinking machine and the familiar purple potion fell in his backpack. His head was black from the smoke and a rock formed in his mouth. He tried to talk but all that came out was, “Bake me lo la lurch?”

“Bake me in the church?” asked Peter. Ben spit out the rock and said, “Take me to the nurse.” Finally he got taken home.

After Ben took seven baths and two showers, Zack the mouse finally fell asleep while in the backpack. Then he woke up. “Ben, you only have two pages of homework,” said Mrs. Shaw (his mom). His brother Tyler said, “I brought it home.” Zach was thinking, “Homework? What’s that?” Zach looked over and there it was . . . the purple potion. Ben opened his backpack and said, “Don’t jump in . . .” to Zach, but he was already in the air. Splash! He jumped out of the backpack and off the table. He grew to the size of Ben! Ben says, “Here’s a shrinking machine to make you small again,” but Ben accidentally zapped himself. He shrunk himself to only two inches tall!

The dog came into the room and tried to eat Ben who was shrunken. “Run!” shouted Ben. He ran and fell in the drain, but there was a hole so when Mrs. Shaw was washing her hands, water came out of the hole and Ben came out too. Water pushed him in the air so when Tyler opened the trash can, Ben fell in it. Tyler didn’t see Ben so he took the trash bag to the dump. Ben got out of the bag and found Legos in the shape of a house. He went inside and fell asleep.

Back at the Shaw’s house, Tyler found Zach the mouse in his giant size. He used the shrinking machine to make Zach small again, and put him in his cage so he could rest.

Next morning Mr. Fox, the father of Michael Jordan Fox who went by Michael J. Fox, came to the dump. ‘There was a burglar in our mists!” said Mr. Fox. So Ben thought he’d look for clues. He found footprints going into the dump but no footprints of any kind going out of the dump. The thief was still at work! He went to the recycle center. “New stuff is made here,” said Ben. Ben saw a truck and he saw a guy who jumped in the truck of hay. Ben jumped into the back of the truck too. The guy (who was the thief) dropped his diary where Ben was hiding in the hay. Ben read:

“Dear Diary, I came on foot so it looks like I entered but I left on a truck so no footprints would leave the dump. I stole Mr. Fox’s radio. Next, I’m going to steal money from the White House. Ronald Reagan is well paid. Signed, Jacob, leader of the Black Hawk gang. Jan. 9, 1989.”

Ben jumped into Jacob’s pocket. Two days later Ben was at the White House. He jumped out of Jacob’s pocket. He went a different path to get in. He fell and landed by a bunch of microphones that were blasting in his ears. Ronald Reagan was giving his last speech as President.

“Before I say my formal goodbye . . .” Ben ran upstairs and took his shoe off. Jacob tripped over the shoe. He fell down the stairs and landed face down. “Help me!” he said.

A policeman came. “This man is arrested for robberies of the town hall of San Francisco, the dump of Piqua, Ohio, escaping jail, robbing the dump of Johnny James, and trying to steal White House money that belongs to the President.”

Ben said, “The others are getting away!” The cop screamed, “Catch them!” The other cops ran to get them.

Meanwhile on the news, Ronald Regan kept talking, but in the background, Ben ran behind the President. Then a thief ran behind the President. Then a bunch of policemen ran behind the President. Tyler said, “It’s Ben!” He was watching TV.

Tyler ran outside and jumped on the caboose of a train on the train track. He rode to Washington, DC. When he jumped off the train, he went to the city of DC. He ran. Along the way, he found a skateboard. Suddenly, the bad guys’ car drove past Tyler so he grabbed onto the back windshield and skated-boarded behind the car. Ben, who was on the bumper, said, “Hey Tyler, how did you get here?” and jumped on the skateboard. Tyler nervously said, “I – I – I ran a-a-away to find you.”

Tyler let go of the windshield and skated to the train station. They needed to ride the train back to their town but it had already left. Ben jumped on Tyler’s foot so that they could jump on the train together, only Ben slipped and fell off the foot before Tyler jumped on the train. Ben kept running on the track and grabbed a chain hanging from the back of the caboose. He climbed up the chain to get on the train.

When they went inside the caboose, they noticed a sign that read:

WARNING!!! DANGER!!!
This train must be blown up.
No passengers or train conductors can ride this train.
At 9:00 the engine and the first car will get disconnected.
Therefore, if you find yourself on this train
please save yourself by going to the engine.
Once the first car is disconnected,
the entire train except the engine will blow up!

Tyler and Ben had to go to the engine fast! (Dear Readers, please hum the song from “Mission Impossible” while reading the next part. It will enhance your reading pleasure. Thank you, the Author. P.S. Try not to get nightmares!)

Ben got into Tyler’s pocket. Tyler opened the door of the caboose and climbed to the roof. He jumped roof to roof. Before Tyler could get to the engine, the first car got disconnected from the engine, so Tyler didn’t make it and landed on the ground. However, Ben jumped and made it! Ben saw a wire that was still connected from the first car and the engine. Ben untied the wire and tied it to his foot. Ben jumped off the engine. At the same time the first car blew up, then the second car, then the third car and finally the caboose blew up. Fire from the explosion went down the wire, only Ben couldn’t untie the wire because the knot was tied too tight. Without thinking, Ben took off his shoe and he fell to the tracks. The train drove over him but he was safe because he was so small. The fiery caboose was about to run over him, but somehow Ben jumped through the train wheel and was safe.

After the train left, he found his shoe which had somehow survived. Ben walked about a mile back and found Tyler. They took a shortcut through the caves and found a field behind their neighborhood. They walked to their house.

When they got home, they told their parents how Ben caught the robbers, how Tyler saved Ben, and how they went on a really crazy train adventure. They used the purple potion to grow Ben back to normal size. Mr. Shaw said, “All of us missed you, especially Zach the mouse.” Ben was the happiest he’d ever been in his life because he helped to catch the robbers and he survived a train explosion and lived to tell about it. Even more than this, he did all of these things while he was very small.

During show and tell at school the next day, Ben showed his lucky shoe that somehow survived. Only God knows how that survived! (P.S. Not even the Author knows.)

The policemen also came the next day and said, “You won $1,000,000 for helping us catch the Black Hawk gang. You also get a free mansion on Parkinson Lane. When the Shaws and Zack the mouse moved in, they discovered a secret to the mansion. When Tyler picks the “special” bedroom, Tyler and Ben find themselves on their next, and even bigger, adventure.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!