Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Spiders! Read online

  First published in Great Britain in 2019

  by Egmont UK Limited

  The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

  Text copyright © 2019 Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang

  Illustration copyright © 2019 Nathan Reed

  Additional interior illustrations copyright © 2019 Egmont Ltd

  First e-book edition 2019

  ISBN 978 1 4052 9428 7

  Ebook ISBN 978 1 4052 9429 4

  www.egmont.co.uk

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

  Egmont takes its responsibility to the planet and its inhabitants very seriously. We aim to use papers from well-managed forests run by responsible suppliers.

  FOR OUR GRANDPARENTS:

  MIMI, POP, GRANDPA BOB,

  GRANDMA KAY

  AND

  PO-PO, NA-NA, YE-YE,

  GUNG-GUNG

  -Katie & Kevin Tsang

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Copyright

  Title page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER 1: SPIDERS ARE SNEAKY

  CHAPTER 2: TULIP THE TARANTULA

  CHAPTER 3: SPIDERS ARE NOT FOR SNUGGLING

  CHAPTER 4: SPIDERS VS LEOPARDS

  CHAPTER 5: THE GREAT ESCAPE

  CHAPTER 6: EMERGENCY MEETING

  CHAPTER 7: SPIDER QUEEN

  CHAPTER 8: THE MASTER PLAN

  CHAPTER 9: FRIED RICE AND FISH EYES

  CHAPTER 10: BUTTERBUTT THE BURRITO CAT

  CHAPTER 11: A NEW PLAN

  CHAPTER 12: THE BEEKEEPER

  CHAPTER 13: THE TRAP

  CHAPTER 14: LOCKED IN

  CHAPTER 15: OFFICIAL SPIDER CATCHER CLUB

  ENDNOTES

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  My name is Sam Wu and I am NOT afraid of spiders.

  I recently went on a camping trip. You might think camping out in the woods is where I had to face spiders, but no. That was where I had to prove I was NOT afraid of the dark.

  It is very dark in the woods. And only the BRAVEST can survive spending the night out in the dark. Luckily, I was with my best friends

  and we came up with a plan. Less luckily, I was also there with my cousin Stanley, who is kind of a know-it-all, and Ralph, who is my nemesis. We’ve been enemies for a long time. He was the one who first started calling me Scaredy-Cat Sam, which forced me to prove to everyone how brave I was.

  Anyway, it was a close call, but we survived the dark. And I know part of the reason was because I kept thinking what Spaceman Jack and Captain Jane would do!1 Whenever I’m in a tough situation, I imagine them right there with me.

  And, before the dark, I’d had to face sharks and ghosts! I’m now an experienced shark-evader, certified ghost-hunter, and on top of all of that, I’m a seasoned snake wrangler. Even Spaceman Jack is afraid of snakes!

  I thought that after everything that had happened, with surviving the dark, that things would feel different at school, but life continued as normal.

  I was still best friends with Zoe and Bernard. My cousin Stanley went back to Hong Kong and I actually missed him. Even though he’s a know-it-all, he can be kind of useful sometimes.

  And Ralph was still my nemesis. I thought maybe he’d be nicer after we’d survived the dark together and solved the mystery of what had been creeping around our campsite, but I was wrong. He still called me Sam Wu-ser and made fun of . We were definitely NOT friends.

  Ralph’s twin sister Regina who had been camping with us was still nice. Even nicer in fact.

  My little sister Lucy was still the actual bravest person I knew, and her cat Butterbutt was usually to blame for most things.

  I thought that my time of facing my fears was behind me. After all, I’d already faced ghosts, sharks and the dark.

  But then came the SPIDERS!

  After everything, I thought I’d be prepared. Because here’s the thing about spiders. They’re sneaky. They can get you where you least expect them. And before you know it – BAM – they have you in their web.

  But it was up to me to save everyone. Just like Spaceman Jack would do.

  To be honest, I’d never thought that much about spiders before.

  I’d seen them, of course, making webs in the garden or in a corner of the kitchen, but they’d always been small. And I didn’t like the feeling of walking into a spiderweb, feeling its sticky strands getting caught on me, almost like getting a hug from a ghost. But, really, it was easy to brush the web away and carry on with my adventures.

  My friend Bernard, however, had thought a LOT about spiders.

  Bernard is the smartest kid in our whole grade, and he loves facts. Every day, he tells us a new fact about something. Some are more interesting than others.

  On this day, they were all about spiders.

  ‘Did you know,’ he said as he put on his glasses2, ‘the silk in a spider’s web is five times stronger than a strand of steel? Or that there are almost forty thousand different types of spiders?’

  Zoe shuddered and ran her hands through her hair like she was looking for tiny spiders.

  ‘Or did you know that they don’t use muscles in their legs, but move using hydraulic pressure? Like ROBOTS!’

  ‘I did not know that,’ I admitted. ‘Why have you been researching so much about spiders?’

  ‘Don’t you remember?’ Bernard replied. ‘Today the sixth-graders are coming to our class to show us the tarantula that lives in their science lab.’

  I frowned. I’d heard of tarantulas, but I couldn’t one hundred per cent remember what they were.

  Bernard sensed my confusion. ‘Big, hairy spiders,’ he said, his eyes huge. ‘I’ve never seen one in real life, just in pictures.’

  I swallowed. ‘No big deal,’ I said, even though my heart was starting to beat very fast. ‘I bet Fang could beat a tarantula in a battle. He’d probably eat it for breakfast.’

  Fang is my VERY fierce, VERY dangerous pet snake. He’s my sidekick, and only the bravest people in the world, like me, can handle him. I got him at the pet store a while back to prove how brave I was.

  My little sister Lucy thinks she can hold him, but she doesn’t understand how ferocious he is, even though I’ve told her a million times. She thinks he’s cute. Which is ridiculous!

  ‘I don’t know,’ Bernard said, shaking his head. ‘Fang is pretty ferocious, but I think tarantulas can take down prey over twice their size. And they actually do have fangs.’

  Bernard says Fang is misnamed because he technically doesn’t have fangs, but I think the name suits him perfectly.

  I swallowed again. I didn’t like the idea of coming face-to-face with anything with fangs.

  ‘I like spiders,’ Regina chimed in, pushing her hair out of her eyes. ‘Do you think they’ll let us hold it?’

  ‘Probably not,’ I said quickly. ‘Just for everyone’s safety.’ I turned to Bernard. ‘Right, Bernard?’

  He shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘They’re sixth-graders. Who knows what they’ll do.’

  Word spread quickly about the spiders and the sixth-graders coming
to our class. Our teacher, Ms Winkleworth, had to put four names on the Not Listening Board and clap her hands six times before we settled down.

  Luckily, my name wasn’t on the board. Neither was Zoe’s or Bernard’s or Regina’s. Or Ralph’s – but that wasn’t lucky. I wouldn’t have minded seeing his name up there.

  ‘Now, class,’ said Ms Winkleworth, ‘we’re going to be on our very best behaviour for our sixth-grade visitors, correct?’

  ‘Yes, Ms Winkleworth,’ we all chorused back.

  ‘And we’ll stay in our seats and only talk when we’re called on, correct?’

  ‘Yes, Ms Winkleworth.’

  ‘Very good,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to put anyone else’s name on the board.’

  We all sat in silence. My heart was beating very fast inside my chest, but that was because I was ready for anything. I used to think this feeling meant I was nervous, but now I know it is the feeling I get when I need to be extra brave.

  The door opened and four sixth-graders walked in with their science teacher, Mr Dougal.

  And he was holding a HUGE spider. In his hands!

  The entire class took in a deep breath as one, like we suddenly all shared a gigantic lung. Mr Dougal walked to the front of the class and then he PUT THE SPIDER DOWN ON THE TABLE.

  I wanted to back away, but it is almost impossible to do that when you are sitting in a chair that is attached to your desk. So instead I just leaned back as far as I could.

  ‘This is Tulip,’ Mr Dougal said affectionately as he stroked the back of the GIANT spider like it was a kitten. The spider was practically the size of a kitten, so it was easy for him to pet it. ‘Tulip is a Goliath birdeater tarantula.’

  ‘It eats birds?’ Zoe said, her eyes huge.

  ‘Zoe, don’t call out without raising your hand,’ said Ms Winkleworth, but she was staring at the spider with eyes almost as big as Zoe’s.

  ‘Great question,’ Mr Dougal replied. ‘Goliath birdeater tarantulas can, in fact, eat birds, but they usually eat insects.’

  One of the sixth-graders stepped forward. ‘But they sometimes eat other animals like RATS or even SNAKES.’

  SNAKES? I thought of Fang. In a fight between Tulip and Fang, I wasn’t sure who would win. I gulped. I never thought I’d come across an animal fiercer than Fang.

  Another one of the sixth-graders spoke up. ‘Goliath birdeater tarantulas are the biggest spiders in the world. This one is an average size.’

  The spider was bigger than my hand! Maybe even bigger than my face! NOT that I was going to get close enough to compare the size of my face to the size of the spider. Even just thinking about having my face near to it made my palms a little sweaty.

  Mr Dougal carefully picked the tarantula up again and held it out for us to see. It was light brown with black patterns on it.

  ‘Any other questions, class?’ said Ms Winkleworth, who was standing very close to the door.

  I raised my hand. ‘I thought spiders had eight legs,’ I said. This was something everyone knew. ‘But it looks like this one has . . .’ I paused and counted. ‘Ten! Or even twelve!’

  ‘Very observant,’ said Mr Dougal. ‘As you can see, she has eight legs as well as what looks like two other sets.’ He used his other hand to point at what I’d thought was another pair of legs and explained, ‘These are called pedipalps – they’re like pincers. Scorpions also have them.’

  Despite my best efforts to stay very still, I shuddered.

  ‘And these,’ he said, pointing at the things closest to the tarantula’s face, ‘are the chelicerae3, which are similar to jaws.’

  ‘Her jaws are OUTSIDE her mouth?’ I said. I was so overwhelmed by this information, I forgot to raise my hand. Ms Winkleworth gave a warning cough. ‘They aren’t exactly jaws, just similar to jaws. They are connected to the venom gland,’ Mr Dougal went on, like this was a perfectly normal, not-at-all-terrifying thing. Then he smiled at us. ‘Does anyone know what venom is?’

  Bernard’s hand shot up into the air.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Venom is a kind of poison that animals can use to protect themselves.’

  ‘Precisely!’ said Mr Dougal. ‘But don’t worry – tarantulas very rarely bite humans. And if you are unlucky enough to get bitten, the venom isn’t any more dangerous than a wasp sting.’

  ‘Has Tulip ever bitten anyone?’ I asked.

  ‘Sam,’ said Ms Winkleworth, ‘if you speak out one more time without raising your hand, I’m going to have to put your name on the board.’

  ‘Not in all the time I’ve known her,’ said Mr Dougal, stroking the back of the giant spider again. It was impossible to see if Tulip was enjoying being petted. She didn’t purr like a cat or anything. She just sat there, staring at us with her eight eyes.

  I started to ask another question, but then remembered what Ms Winkleworth had said and put my hand up in the air.

  ‘Yes?’ said Mr Dougal, smiling at me.

  ‘How long have you known Tulip?’ I asked. This was very important. If Mr Dougal had only known Tulip for a little while, who knew if she could be trusted?

  ‘I’ve known Tulip her whole life,’ said Mr Dougal. ‘She’s four now, and will hopefully live for many years to come.’

  Regina put her hand in the air. ‘Can I hold her?’ she asked.

  My mouth dropped open.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ said Mr Dougal. ‘I have years of experience holding tarantulas, but ones like Tulip can occasionally get aggressive and so it isn’t a good idea for someone inexperienced to hold her.’

  Aggressive? What did he mean, Tulip could get aggressive? Why had he brought an AGGRESSIVE GIANT SPIDER into our classroom?

  ‘But you can come up here and pet her, if you are VERYgentle,’ said Mr Dougal.

  Regina hopped up and went straight to the tarantula. I couldn’t believe it!

  She very gently ran one finger down the top of its back, and wrinkled her nose. ‘She’s so furry!’ she exclaimed. ‘Almost like a hamster or something. But bristlier!’

  ‘And bigger,’ I muttered.

  ‘Hi, Tulip,’ Regina cooed at the spider. ‘Do you want to snuggle?’

  ‘Of course she doesn’t want to snuggle!’ I burst out. ‘She’s a spider!’

  Suddenly, the spider turned towards Regina, lifted up on her hind legs and bared her HUGE fangs at her! Regina took a step back.

  I was almost one hundred per cent certain that Tulip was going to pounce, but she just stayed in Mr Dougal’s hands with her front legs up in the air and her fangs out for everyone to see.

  ‘Oh, settle down there, Tulip,’ said Mr Dougal, stepping away from the desk. He turned to one of the sixth-graders who was holding a plastic container. ‘Here, let’s put Tulip back in her carrying case.’ He slid Tulip into the case, where she landed with a thump and then scurried around.

  Just to be safe, I shut my eyes. I wished I was wearing one of the helmets they wear on . Or even better, a whole protective suit!

  ‘Nothing to worry about!’ said Mr Dougal in that fake-cheerful voice adults use when there is DEFINITELY something to worry about. ‘Just stay calm! Tulip can sense all the excitement.’

  ‘I can sense that Sam Wu-ser is scared of the spider,’ sneered Ralph with a snort. ‘His eyes are closed! He’s too scared to even look at her!’

  Ralph was sitting behind me, so I had no idea how he knew this. I opened my eyes as wide as I could and turned around to face Ralph. ‘Am not,’ I said. ‘I was just blinking!’ I did a few slow blinks to emphasize this fact.

  Ralph Philip Zinkerman the Third was DEFINITELY still my nemesis.

  ‘Settle down, class,’ said Ms Winkleworth. I don’t think she heard Ralph teasing me, and I wasn’t going to tattle. ‘This has certainly been exciting,’ she added, sounding out of breath like she’d just run a marathon, even though she’d only been standing by the door. ‘Perhaps it’s time for you all to go back to the sixth-grade classrooms?’

  Now that
my eyes were open, I could see that Tulip was still scurrying around the container and she did NOT look happy. Well, she looked about the same as when she had come in, and she hadn’t looked happy then either.

  ‘Does anyone have any questions for Mr Dougal or the sixth-graders?’ said Ms Winkleworth.

  At least fifteen hands went up in the air. Tulip lifted a leg and tapped it against the side of her container, like she too wanted to ask something.

  ‘Oh dear, that’s a lot of questions,’ said Ms Winkleworth. Then she brightened. ‘How about we spend the afternoon discussing what we learned from Mr Dougal, and then we can write down our questions and send them over later. Does that sound good to you, Mr Dougal?’

  ‘Excellent plan,’ said Mr Dougal. ‘Now, as you say, we should probably get back to our class. Tulip seems to be uncharacteristically agitated – I think she wants to be back in her tank. This is the furthest she’s ever travelled!’

  I wondered who had thought this would be a good idea.

  ‘What do we say, class?’ said Ms Winkleworth as Mr Dougal and the four sixth-graders made their way to the door.

  ‘Thank you!’ we all chorused together and then the classroom door slammed shut behind them.

  I thought that would be the last I’d see of Tulip the tarantula.

  After class, it was time for lunch. I grabbed my lunchbox and walked with Zoe and Bernard to the cafeteria. I was especially excited because my mum had packed my favourite lunch, char siu bao4 and egg tart pastries.

  There were also some carrots, but I wasn’t as excited about those.

  ‘Did you two SEE the size of Tulip’s fangs?’ asked Bernard as we sat down at our usual table. ‘They were as long as my fingers!’ Bernard wiggled his fingers out in front of him for emphasis.