LarryBoy in the Amazing Brain-Twister Read online

  VeggieTales®

  LARRYBOY™

  IN THE AMAZING BRAIN-TWISTER

  WRITTEN BY

  DOUG PETERSON

  ILLUSTRATED BY

  MICHAEL MOORE

  BASED ON THE HIT VIDEO SERIES: LARRYBOY

  CREATED BY PHIL VISCHER

  SERIES ADAPTED BY TOM BANCROFT

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  1. TORNADO ALLEY

  2. TWISTER!

  3. OLAFS ALL OVER THE PLACE

  4. IF I ONLY HAD A HEART…

  5. TOO COOL FOR KINDNESS

  6. BRAINSTORMS

  7. AN EMERGENCY WEATHER BULLETIN

  8. BULLY BOWLING

  9. THE MASKED TAILOR!

  10. THE HEART OF DARKNESS

  11. A MOOOO-VING EXPERIENCE

  12. AN EMERGENCY WEATHER BULLETIN

  13. BOWLED OVER

  14. COW-BOY

  15. BRAIN-TWISTER 2

  16. THE BIG SWITCHEROO

  17. CLOUDY, WITH A CHANCE OF KINDNESS

  18. TWIST AND SHOUT

  19. MIND GAMES

  20. THE SECRET WEAPON

  21. THE IMPERFECT STORM

  22. EMERGENCY WEATHER BULLETIN

  23. THE GREATEST DAY

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Share Your Thoughts

  CHAPTER 1

  TORNADO ALLEY

  5:15 P.M.

  There was something strange in the air in Bumblyburg. Black, ragged clouds hung low over the city. The air had a greenish glow to it. Thunder rumbled across the sky. It was still very early on a Monday morning, so the streets of Bumblyburg were almost empty. In fact, only a single car moved through the downtown area. Behind the wheel of that car was Officer Olaf, making his rounds.

  “Somewhere … over the rainbow—”sang Officer Olaf in his heavy Swedish accent. He loved to belt out songs while listening to his favorite radio show—The Accordion Hit Parade, doncha know?

  Perhaps if the radio had been turned down lower, he might have realized that something strange and sinister was racing up from behind. A tornado!

  Pulling up to a red stoplight, Olaf continued to cut loose in song. “We represent the lollipop kids! The lollipop kids …!”

  If the kindly policeman had just looked into his rearview mirror, he would have seen the swirling mass of black, twisting clouds slip up behind him. It was probably the only tornado in history to ever stop at a red light.

  When the light turned green, Olaf finally took a quick look into his rearview mirror.

  “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Officer Olaf made a screeching left turn. He was sure the tornado would continue to move straight. But here’s the strange part …

  The tornado made a sharp left turn, too.

  Officer Olaf made a right turn.

  The tornado made a right turn.

  Officer Olaf increased his speed by twenty miles per hour.

  So did the tornado.

  Left turn, right turn, left turn!

  He even made a complete turnaround and caused his squad car to flip up on two wheels, causing sparks to fly. But everything that Officer Olaf tried—failed. He couldn’t shake this maniac monster of a tornado. It had to be the strangest car chase ever.

  Officer Olaf suddenly remembered the old safety rule: never try to outrun a tornado in your car. So he brought his squad car to a screeching halt and tried to flee on foot—or whatever it is that vegetables flee on.

  “Open up! Open up!” Olaf pounded on the door to the Shave and Shine Barber Shop. He needed to find a storm cellar fast! But the shop wasn’t open yet. Olaf sprinted up Bumbly Boulevard, made a quick right turn, and found himself trapped in an alley—a dead-end alley. His heart sank as he stared up at the large brick wall in front of him.

  The tornado turned into the alley, moving slowly toward him—like a monster that knew its victim was trapped.

  CHAPTER 2

  TWISTER!

  6:45 p.m.

  Meanwhile, in another part of Bumblyburg … Larry the Cucumber loved rainy days and Mondays. Why else would he get up extra early just to play games before work?

  “Left hand red, right hand green,” said Archie, after twirling a spinner. Archie was Larry’s trusted butler.

  Larry stood on a plastic mat, which was covered with colored circles. He and Archie were beginning to play the classic game Twister. But something didn’t seem quite right.

  “What did you just say, Archie?” Larry asked. “The spinner says to put your left hand on red, your right hand on green.”

  Larry blinked a few times. He looked down at his sides. “This isn’t working, Archie.”

  But there was no time to think about that now. A spotlight shot into the air, placing the Larryboy emblem high in the dark, stormy sky. And that meant only one thing. There was trouble in Bumblyburg.

  “I still say that a pager would be an easier way to reach me,” said Larry, as Archie dialed the phone to find out what was wrong in the city.

  “There’s a robbery in progress at Mr. Snappy’s Extremely Gigantic Toy Emporium,” Archie exclaimed, hanging up the phone. “Quick! Not a moment to lose!”

  Faster than lightning, Larry threw on his Larryboy costume, flossed his teeth with Larryfloss, slid down the Larrypole, leaped into the Larrymobile, clicked on his Larryseatbelts, and made sure his Larrymug was secure in the cup holder.

  The Larrymobile raced out into the storm.

  With weather-warning sirens blaring, the streets of Bumblyburg were still deserted. The only sign of life was at Mr. Snappy’s Extremely Gigantic Toy Emporium, where an armored car was parked.

  Larryboy leaped out of the Larrymobile and pushed his keyless-entry remote control. “Excuse me, Larryboy. But you’ve just set the car to self-destruct in ten minutes,” the car computer told him. (Archie had equipped the Larrymobile with a computer that could talk. Larryboy called the computer Fred.)

  “Peanut brittle,” said Larryboy. “Thanks for the warning, Fred.” Our plunger-headed hero pushed another button on his keyless remote and the Larrymobile was instantly transformed into a boat.

  “Wrong button again,” said Fred. “Or were you planning a moonlit cruise down Main Street?”

  “Sarcasm from a computer?” Larryboy asked.

  “The wonders of technology,” Fred added.

  After Larryboy finally pressed the correct button, the Larrymobile switched back into a car and all of the locks clicked into place.

  “Have a nice day. Be home by lunchtime,” Fred told him as Larryboy bounded off.

  It didn’t take long for our hero to figure out what the trouble was. Somebody was stealing stuffed animals from the toy store and loading them into the armored car.

  “Halt, toy napper!” declared Larryboy, as he jumped onto the roof of the armored car and struck a dramatic pose.

  “Is that you, Larryboy?” came a voice from inside the armored car. Officer Olaf leaped out the side door.

  “Officer Olaf?”

  “Ya, it’s true. You betcha, it’s me,” he said with a kindly twinkle in his eye.

  Larryboy gave Olaf a puzzled look. “Your voice sounds a little deeper than usual.”

  “Just a cold,” said Olaf. “It’s going around, doncha know?”

  Larryboy peered into the armored car, which was half-packed with stuffed animals.

  “I don’t understand,” Larryboy observed. “Why all the toys?”

  “Oh, it’s really quite simple. We’ve been tipped off that a master criminal is going to try to steal stuffed animals from the toy store this very day. So I’m putting them into the armored car for safek
eeping.”

  “Good idea!” Larryboy glanced back at the store, where piles of stuffed animals were waiting to be loaded into the car—like animals about to enter the ark. “Here, let me help you!”

  “Much obliged, Larryboy.”

  For the next ten minutes, our superhero helped the policeman load up the car. “Another good deed done,” said Larryboy, feeling pleased with himself as the armored car raced away.

  Unfortunately, Larryboy didn’t take a good, hard look at the license plate on that armored car. If he had, maybe he would have realized that something wasn’t quite right about Officer Olaf—besides his strange voice.

  The license plate read FOUL PLAY.

  CHAPTER 3

  OLAFS ALL OVER THE PLACE

  7:23 p.m.

  Larryboy began the drive back to the Larrycave. But as he pulled away from the toy store, he accidentally pushed the back-seat-driver button on Fred the Computer.

  “You’re driving too fast!” screeched Fred. “Watch out for that fire hydrant! Slow down! Put on your Larryblinker! How about some air conditioning back here?”

  It took a few minutes, but a frantic Larryboy finally figured out how to switch Fred back to normal. Even Fred seemed relieved.

  “Don’t ever do that to me again,” Fred scolded. “And while you’re at it, Larryboy, I’d swing by the Bumblyburg police station.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s trouble with a capital T. And that rhymes with P. And that stands for police station.” “What kind of trouble?” asked Larryboy. “Don’t ask me. I’m a computer, not a genius.”

  Turning his car around, Larryboy drove straight for the police station.

  Fred was right. Something definitely was going on. Several burly policemen were dragging a plum out of the station, but he wasn’t going quietly.

  “I may look like a plum, but I’m Officer Olaf, I tell you! I work here!” the plum shouted. “Take your hands off me!”

  The policemen gave each other knowing glances. This plum was clearly off his rocker.

  The plum claimed to be Officer Olaf and even sounded like the Swedish policeman, but he sure didn’t look like Olaf. He was dressed like a scientist. He wore a white lab coat, complete with a pocket protector for his pens, and huge, thick, black-rimmed glasses. On the glasses were all sorts of blinking lights and gadgets. And mounted on his head was something that could only be described as a high-tech football helmet. Wires and lights covered the helmet like electronic ivy, and the whole lot of it was connected to a tiny radar dish sticking out of the top of it.

  The plum spotted Larryboy, broke loose from the policemen, and ran up to the superhero.

  “Larryboy, you’ve got to help me, doncha know?” the plum begged. “I’m Officer Olaf, but somehow my body has been changed into this … this … plum!”

  “You can’t be Officer Olaf,” said Larryboy. “I just saw him a few minutes ago.”

  “Don’t I sound like Olaf?”

  “You’re a good impersonator. Can you do the president?”

  “Okay, I’ll prove that I’m Officer Olaf!” the plum told Larryboy. “I’ll tell you something that only you and I could know!”

  But the plum never got a chance to prove himself. At that very moment, a twister came roaring around the corner, hungry for destruction. It sucked up cars and spit out the engines like prune pits. It shattered windows and uprooted trees.

  And in its path was the Larrymobile …

  Sensing danger, Fred the Computer started the engine and squealed out of the parking space—without anyone behind the steering wheel.

  “Hey, wait for me!” Larryboy shouted, running after his car, which clearly had a mind of its own.

  But so did the tornado. It knew exactly where it was going as it swirled straight for the plum. Larryboy watched in horror as the tornado bore down on the poor plum, sucked him into the wild whirlwind, and then tore off down the street.

  CHAPTER 4

  IF I ONLY HAD A HEART …

  7:45 A.M

  Larryboy leaped into the Larrymobile.

  “Follow that twister!” Larryboy yelled, as he put the car into gear. But the Larrymobile’s engine sputtered and stalled.

  “We’re out of gas,” said Fred. “Peanut brittle! I was really looking forward to chasing that tornado.”

  “We can’t be out of gas!” Larryboy shouted. “Archie filled the tank this morning.”

  “And look! The engine is overheated,” said Fred. Steam billowed from under the hood of the Larrymobile.

  “I know what you’re doing, Fred! You’re trying to get out of chasing that tornado!”

  “Now why would I want to avoid chasing a storm that is the most dangerous kind in nature? Whoops! Is that a tire I hear falling off?”

  One of the plunger tires on the Larrymobile popped off and wobbled down the street.

  In frustration, Larryboy clunked his head down on the steering wheel, causing an air bag to discharge in his face.

  “Oops,” said Fred. “My mistake.”

  Meanwhile, the terrifying twister roared through Bumblyburg, passed Bumbly Park, and left the city. It was headed straight for a tiny farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. But instead of flattening the house, it stopped on a spot right next to the barn. The ground opened up below the twister and the storm disappeared into the earth.

  The twister dropped into a large, underground room and shut down its power. The black, twisting cloud vanished like a genie in a bottle. All that was left was a small, round vehicle, which had been spinning at the very center of the tornado. As it slowly came to a stop, a hatch popped open with a hisssssss.

  Out stepped a plum … the very same plum who had been sucked up by the tornado just moments before. But this was no ordinary plum. He was diabolical. He was sinister. He was—

  “Now wasn’t that a funsy-wunsy ride?” the plum asked his Teddy Bear.

  He was a plum that liked stuffed animals. But that didn’t make him warm and fuzzy. No sir! This was one mean, old plum. His name: Plum Loco.

  “Those fools have no idea that I switched brains with Officer Olaf and put my brain in his body,” Plum Loco giggled to his Teddy Bear, one of a hundred stuffed animals cluttering up his secret laboratory. “And it was so easy! What a perfect way to steal stuffed animals!”

  It was true. Plum Loco had used his twisted twister machine to switch brains with Officer Olaf. Plum Loco’s brain wound up inside Officer Olaf’s body, while Olaf’s brain wound up in the plum’s body. After pulling off the toy-store robbery, Plum Loco had reversed the process.

  Their brains were back to normal—although Plum Loco wasn’t someone who could really be referred to as normal.

  On the wall in front of this plum was the giant map of a brain, spread out like a huge map of the world. The Veggie brain was Plum Loco’s world. He was a brain surgeon gone bad.

  Plum Loco thrived on being mean to others. He didn’t have a heart, and he didn’t care. In fact, he was sick of hearts. On Valentine’s Day, he bought his chocolates in a brain-shaped box, rather than a heart-shaped box. His bumper sticker said, “Brains R Us.”

  He had even changed the titles of famous songs to:

  “I Left My Brain in San Francisco.”

  “Put a Little Love in Your Brain.”

  “Achy Breaky Brain.”

  Plum Loco laughed, “Switching brains with Officer Olaf was only the beginning of Operation Unkind. I’ve got many more stuffed animals to pilfer and lots more Veggies to pick on. The question is, who’s next?”

  Plum Loco bent down and whispered into the ear of his Teddy Bear. “Perhaps I’ll even switch brains with a superhero.”

  This guy had one twisted mind.

  CHAPTER 5

  TOO COOL FOR KINDNESS

  10:30 p.m.

  Tornadoes weren’t the only force of nature in Bumblyburg.

  At the Daily Bumble newspaper, other powers were on the loose. Their names were Ziggy Pickle and Ricky Avocado—two pape
rboys who thought they were too cool for words. Ziggy and Ricky were strong, good-looking, and popular. But they were also as unpredictable as twisters. Kindness was not their trademark.

  Junior Asparagus, cub reporter for the Daily Bumble, tried to stay out of their way. Little did Junior know that, by some strange twist of fortune, today their paths would cross in a most unusual way.

  It all started with stares. As Junior moved through the halls of the Daily Bumble, people kept turning and looking at him with puzzled expressions. And when he strolled by the circulation department, several paperboys and papergirls laughed and pointed. In fact, about the only papergirl who didn’t snicker was his friend, Laura.

  “Hey Junior!” called Laura Carrot, hopping up to him.

  “What’s with the hanger?”

  “The what?”

  “The clothes hanger,” chuckled Laura. “There’s a hanger sticking out the back of your shirt.”

  Junior craned his neck around. Sure enough, a clothes hanger was sticking out of his shirt. How humiliating! No wonder everyone was staring!

  “I dressed kinda fast this morning and forgot to take it out,” Junior said, blushing.

  Junior decided he had better pull out the hanger as fast as he could, before anyone else saw him. But something made him pause. Two shadows passed over him like storm clouds. Slowly, he looked up and found himself staring into the dark eyes of Ziggy and Ricky.

  His heart sank. This had to be the worst possible timing. Ziggy and Ricky were going to tease him for the rest of the year for showing up with a clothes hanger in his shirt. Junior felt like crawling into a hole.

  But that didn’t happen. Ziggy and Ricky stared at Junior for the longest, most awful minute. Finally, they spoke.

  “Hey, that’s actually pretty cool, Junior,” said Ziggy.

  “That’s way cool,” added Ricky. “Did you come up with the idea yourself?”

  “Well … uh … Actually, I did.”

  Wow! Junior thought. Do these guys really mean it? Do they actually think I’m cool because I’m wearing a clothes hanger in my shirt?