LarryBoy and the Abominable Trashman! Read online

  VeggieTales®

  LARRYBOY™

  AND THE ABOMINABLE TRASHMAN

  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. CANNED MONSTER

  2. EYE-WITNESS

  3. TALES FROM THE TRASH CAN

  4. MONSTER WATCH

  5. MONSTER MASH

  6. SLAVES TO FEAR

  7. AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR BLACKMAILERS

  8. A SECRET-IDENTITY CRISIS

  9. THE SUBSTITUTE MONSTER

  10. ROCKET-BOY

  11. HEAPS OF TROUBLE

  12. THERE’S NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF (BUT I CAN THINK OF A FEW OTHER THINGS)

  13. A TRASH-COMPACTION, ACTION HERO

  14. PANIC ROOM

  15. UNMASKING A MONSTER

  16. GUNKZILLA

  17. BRAVE HEARTS

  18. CHICKEN!

  19. A NEW POWER

  20. SUPER JANITOR

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Share Your Thoughts

  CHAPTER 1

  CANNED MONSTER

  Junior Asparagus hated taking out the trash at night–especially on a foggy night like this one. Wind whipped through the trees. Leaves spun around on the ground. The swings on the swing set were creaking in the breeze. Every sound made Junior’s heart beat faster. The Asparagus family kept two garbage cans out back by the garage, which were buried deep in shadow. At any moment, Junior expected something snarling to leap out at him.

  “That’s strange,” he said, edging closer to the garbage cans. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he could see three garbage cans. “I thought we had only two cans. Mom and Dad must’ve bought a new one,” he said, as a shiver ran up his spine, did two laps around his neck, and sprinted back down.

  Then it happened.

  Just as Junior was about to lift the lid on the new can, the container began to move. It shook and rattled as if something was inside trying desperately to get out.

  Junior dropped his garbage bag. His mouth opened wide, but he made no sound.

  One heart-stopping second later, the silver lid on the new can popped off and shot eight feet into the air. That was something Junior didn’t see every day. Inside the can, the garbage swirled around and around, like a whirlpool of gunk, slop, and litter. Faster and faster it spun. Then, with a roar and a WHOOOOOSH, the trash came together and rose up out of the can.

  The garbage was alive!

  Even stranger, the trash took on the shape of a creature. It had arms made out of discarded paper-towel tubes and Chinese take-out containers. Its head looked like it was formed out of wrinkled wrappers of all sorts. And the creature’s chest was nothing but stale donuts, banana peels, and a half-eaten fish.

  Even worse—the monster smelled like moldy meat, spoiled milk, and rotten eggs.

  “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

  That was Junior screaming, in case you hadn’t already guessed.

  The creature rose out of the garbage can, swinging his trashy arms wildly and bellowing like a gorilla in bad need of a breath mint. The little asparagus wheeled around and dashed back to the house.

  Boy, did Junior hate taking out the trash!

  CHAPTER 2

  EYE-WITNESS

  Meanwhile, at Bob the Tomato’s house on the other side of Bumblyburg …

  “What story do we have for the front page?” Bob said into his cordless telephone. Bob was the busy editor for the Daily Bumble newspaper. And like all busy editors, he was doing two things at once. He was taking out the garbage while talking on the phone.

  “What!?” Bob shouted into the receiver as he bounced out the back door of his house. “Winklesteen Walks Dog?! What kind of front-page story is that? If the dog had walked Winklesteen, then you’d have a story. But not Winklesteen Walks Dog. It’s boring!”

  On the other end of the phone was Vicki Cucumber, the photographer for the Daily Bumble.

  “Sure, Phil Winklesteen was big news last month when he rescued seven puppies from Bumbly Bay,” Bob said. “But since then, we’ve done twenty stories about Phil Winklesteen. Yes, I know that Phil is a big movie star. But that doesn’t mean we have to report on every little thing he does!”

  It was true. Phil Winklesteen was a big star in action movies. But Phil became more than just another movie star last month when he jumped into Bumbly Bay to rescue those poor little puppies.

  He became a real action hero!

  “I know … I know,” Bob muttered into the phone. “Hey, hold on a second, Vicki.”

  Bob stared at his garbage cans lined up along the side of his house.

  “That’s odd,” he said. “Somebody put a new garbage can next to my house. Yes, I’m sure it’s new. I wonder where it came from.”

  As Bob moved closer, the garbage can began to shake.

  “You aren’t going to believe this,” he said to Vicki over the phone. “But I think there are raccoons in my trash again.”

  Carefully, Bob lifted up the lid of the shiny, new can. What he saw was the last thing he ever thought he would see.

  On the other end of the line, Vicki heard Bob mumble, “What in the world?” Then she heard him gasp, drop the trash-can lid, and scream.

  The line went dead.

  CHAPTER 3

  TALES FROM THE TRASH CAN

  Bumblyburg was buzzing.

  The next morning, everyone was talking about the monster that had appeared all over town. The creature had leaped out of garbage cans and scared the living daylights out of everyone—including Bob the Tomato. The good news was that Bob survived his “close encounter of the trashy kind.”

  At the Daily Bumble, Bob called an emergency meeting to talk about the monster. Ten staff members crowded around the long oak table as a team of bodygourds barged through the double doors. These were buff-looking gourds in dark suits and dark sunglasses. They encircled the trash can in the Daily Bumble meeting room.

  “Target secure,” said one of the gourds through a tiny radio. “I repeat. Target secure.”

  It wasn’t until the gourds gave the all-clear signal that Larry the Janitor entered the meeting room—cautiously.

  “I just need to empty this trash can,” Larry explained to Bob as his bodygourds X-rayed the can. “With a trash monster on the loose, one can never be too careful around garbage. So don’t mind us.”

  Bob sighed and shook his head. Then he turned to his staff and said, “So what headline do we have for today’s paper?”

  “What do you think of this?” Junior asked Bob. He held up the front page of the Daily Bumble, which said in big, bold type: MONSTER TRASHES CITY!

  “I love it!” Bob declared, scribbling on the news story with his red pencil. “But throw on a couple more exclamation points. That monster is really scary!”

  That day the entire newspaper was devoted to the mysterious monster and the twenty-seven eye-witness accounts.

  “We also need a name for the monster,” Bob said excitedly. “Something that’ll really grab ‘em.”

  “How about the Incredible Trash Thing?” suggested Vicki. “People like monsters that have the word thing in the name.”

  “I like the Smelly Slop Stomper,” said Lois Lemon.

  The names came fast and furious.

  “How about the Trash Mummy?”

  “The Can-Man!”

  “Can Kong!”

  “The Loch Mess Monster
!”

  “Not bad,” commented Bob.

  “Gunzilla!” interjected another.

  “Even better.”

  “How about the Abominable Trashman?”

  “Who said that?” Bob shouted, bringing a sudden hush to the table.

  “I did,” chirped Larry the Janitor, as he sifted through the garbage can. Larry cleared his throat and continued. “You’ve heard of the Abominable Snowman, right? Well … this guy seems pretty abominable?”

  Bob spun around in his swivel chair as he gave it some thought. Then …

  “I love it!” Bob shouted, scribbling the name on a sheet of paper and handing it to an assistant. “Good work, Larry. Now, the next thing we need to do is get a photo of the Abominable Trashman. Of all the twenty-seven places he showed up last night, we don’t have a single picture to prove that he exists.”

  “What you need, Chief, is a stakeout,” said Larry, glancing up from the trash can.

  “Huh?”

  “A stakeout,” Larry repeated. “Somebody should watch a trash can all night and be ready with a camera.”

  “That’s not a half-bad idea,” Bob said. “Vicki, are you up for a job like that?”

  “Sure thing, Chief.”

  Larry the Janitor stopped what he was doing to stare at Vicki. He had a goofy grin on his face and sighed deeply.

  “Hey, I have an idea,” Larry said after his brain finally came back to earth. “Why don’t I help Vicki with the stakeout?”

  “Well, I don’t know … You’re not a reporter or a photographer.”

  “But I’m a janitor! And who knows more about garbage cans than a janitor?”

  “You’ve got a point,” Bob agreed. “And the stakeout was your idea in the first place.”

  So it was settled. Larry the Janitor and Vicki the Cucumber would stand guard by the Asparagus family’s garbage cans at nightfall. And Larry would get a chance to spend time with Vicki—which made him quite happy.

  Little did Vicki know, however, that Larry the Janitor wasn’t who he appeared to be. Mild-mannered Larry was really the caped cucumber … the green guardian of Bumblyburg … the plunger-headed protector of all that is decent and good.

  Larry was none other than Larryboy!

  HE … IS … THAT … HERO!

  CHAPTER 4

  MONSTER WATCH

  Larry the Janitor and Vicki the Cucumber crouched behind a huge pile of garbage bags filled with leaves. It was pitch-black dark behind the Asparagus house, and the only sounds in the neighborhood were the chirping of crickets, the barking of faraway dogs–and Larry’s heartbeat. Larry was nervous. But it wasn’t just the idea of a monster pouncing on him that stirred his fears. Larry was afraid that he wouldn’t come up with anything good to talk about with Vicki.

  “Uh … Nice night we’re having,” Larry said, looking around.

  “Yes. Nice night,” Vicki answered, fumbling for something to say.

  Larry smiled awkwardly. “Uh … Did you know that every person in the country throws away about four pounds of garbage every day?”

  “No.” Big pause. “I didn’t.” Vicki looked around. Normally, she was never at a loss for words.

  “Are you afraid of the Abominable Trashman?” she finally asked, as she checked to make sure her camera was loaded with film.

  “Not a bit,” said Larry. “I don’t have a scared bone in my body.” Larry was afraid to admit that he had several scared bones in his body, not to mention a scared heart, scared gallbladder, scared tongue, and scared lips.

  Suddenly, the crickets stopped chirping and the dogs stopped barking. A brisk wind sent a stream of leaves rushing along the ground. Branches scraped against each other, looking like skeleton arms. Something strange was happening.

  “This could be it,” said Larry, peeking over a bag of leaves.

  They watched the three garbage cans that were not more than ten feet away. Ever so slightly, the newest of the cans started to move. Then the lid began to shake, rattle, and roll.

  “Here he comes!” whispered Larry excitedly. “Are the lights set?”

  Vicki nodded. They had set up floodlights and were going to flick them on the moment the monster appeared.

  The entire garbage can began to shake, rattle, and rock. Vicki looked into the camera.

  Everything went completely and utterly still for one-billionth of a moment. Then …

  POP!

  The lid shot up into the air like a cork out of a volcano.

  WHOOOOOOSHHHHH!

  A living mass of moldy rags and putrid potato peels rose up and out of the can, swinging its arms like a blind zombie.

  FLASH!

  The night lit up with the glare of four floodlights.

  CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

  With light flooding the garbage cans, Vicki snapped photo after photo. These were going to be the most amazing pictures of her life!

  At first, the Abominable Trashman was stunned by the sudden blast of light. Then he became angry, leaped out of the garbage can, and headed straight for Vicki.

  Vicki stumbled backward, tripped over a stone, and landed on her back. But she scrambled right back up and made a run for it. She could smell the breath of the monster as he closed in on her. It smelled like spoiled cabbage, year-old stew, and a plate of moldy anchovies.

  Just when Vicki thought she was going to get away, something snagged the strap on her camera. She was yanked backward, like a fish on a hook.

  “HELLLLLPPPP!” The Abominable Trashman had her in his gloppy clutches.

  “Larry! Help me!”

  Vicki cast a terrified look over her shoulder, expecting to see Larry running to her aid. Instead, he was running in the opposite direction. Larry the Janitor vanished into the trees, leaving Vicki all alone to face the monster.

  CHAPTER 5

  MONSTER MASH

  Vicki’s life flashed before her eyes like a movie with coming attractions of heaven. The Abominable Trashman smashed her camera to bits and dragged her back toward the garbage can.

  But just at that moment, something zipped from out of the darkness.

  THONK!

  A plunger came flying from the trees and caught the monster square in the back.

  “Prepare to be recycled, banana breath!” Those brave words came from none other than the Veggie defender–Larryboy! The caped cucumber hopped out of the bushes and struck a heroic pose. Unfortunately, he spent a little too long posing. The monster ripped the plunger from his back and hurled it back at Larryboy like a harpoon. Catching Larryboy right in the kisser, it completely covered his face. What’s worse, Larryboy couldn’t pull the supersuction plunger off, causing an instant blackout—Larryboy couldn’t see anything.

  The monster heaved Vicki aside and closed in on our purple hero. Larryboy could smell him coming.

  With a daring back flip, Larryboy avoided the monster and fired off his second plunger ear. The heat-seeking plunger zeroed in on the monster with incredible accuracy.

  THONK!

  The plunger hit the Abominable Trashman squarely in the mug, completely covering his face.

  This put the two opponents in an interesting spot. Larryboy still couldn’t see. But now the Abominable Trashman couldn’t see either. Stranger yet, Larryboy and the Trashman were connected to each other by the cords attached to each plunger.

  “Time to take out the trash, man!” Larryboy shouted as he blindly ran into a tree.

  “ROARRRR!” the Trashman bellowed as he blindly banged into the side of the garage.

  “Prepare to be trashed, anchovy arms!” Larryboy yelled, giving a karate kick to the tree. He followed up with two head butts. “That’s a tree!” Vicki shouted. “It’s not the Trashman!”

  “Boy, am I glad to hear that,” Larryboy said, shaking his noggin. “I thought this guy had abs of steel!” Then our purple-headed hero did a triple spin in the air and declared, “Prepare to do the dance of doom, Monster Mash!”

  Only one problem. After all of this s
pinning, Larryboy and the Abominable Trashman got all tangled up in Larryboy’s plunger cords. The two were tied up, back-to-back.

  “Vicki, where is he now?” Larryboy shouted.

  “He’s right behind you!”

  Still blinded by the plunger, Larryboy spun around to face the monster. But because the Trashman was strapped to Larryboy’s back, when our hero spun around, so did the Abominable Trashman.

  “Take that, you rotten rascal!” said Larryboy as he lunged forward again, but caught nothing but air.

  “Where’d he go, Vicki? Where’d he go?”

  “He’s right behind you, Larryboy!”

  “Boy, this monster is quick!”

  Larryboy spun around again.

  “Now where is he, Vicki?”

  “Behind you!”

  “And now?”

  “He’s still behind you!”

  This happened about ten times before Larryboy realized that this strategy might not work.

  The monster’s smell was stronger than ten skunks with hygiene problems, but Larryboy was prepared. He was wearing his “Ocean-Mist Utility Belt.” One push of the button and out popped a can of deodorant, a bar of scented soap, a container of potpourri (ask your mom what that is), and two cans of … laser-guided air freshener!

  Larryboy fired double-barreled squirts of air freshener, and the air around the monster melted into scents of lilacs and roses.

  It drove the Abominable Trashman absolutely nutty.

  Swatting at the cloud of flowery air freshener, the monster roared, coughed, and tore at the cords that bound him. When the cords were finally shredded, the Trashman leaped back inside the garbage can and disappeared into the night.

  Everything was quiet once again. Vicki was so happy to be alive that she didn’t even care that her camera had been destroyed, along with the photos in it.

  “Larryboy! That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do!” she said, her eyes glittering in the floodlight. “That took more courage than Phil Winklesteen jumping into Bumbly Bay to save those seven puppies!”