- view comments

- view ratings
- printable version
- iphone app
- teaching materials
- more stories by this author
- mark story for later
Share this:



Mo McAuley
Mr Sticky
No one knew how Mr. Sticky got in the fish tank.
"He's very small" Mum sai! as she peere! at the tiny water
snail. ""ust a black !ot."
"He'll grow" sai! #bby an! pulle! her py$ama bottoms up again
before she got into be!. %hey were always falling !own.

&n the morning #bby $umpe! out of be! an! switche! on the light
in her fish tank.
'erry the fat orange gol!fish was !o(ing insi!e the stone
archway. "aws was alrea!y awake swimming along the front of the
tank with his white tail floating an! twitching. &t took #bby a while
to fin! Mr. Sticky because he was clinging to the glass near the
bottom right ne)t to the gravel.
#t school that !ay she wrote about the mysterious Mr. Sticky
who was so small you coul! mistake him for a piece of gravel.
Some of the girls in her class sai! he seeme! an i!eal pet for her
an! kept giggling about it.
%hat night #bby turne! on the light to fin! Mr. Sticky clinging to
the very tiniest waviest tip of the pon! wee!. &t was near the
water filter so he was bobbing about in the air bubbles.
"%hat looks fun" #bby sai!. She trie! to imagine what it must
be like to have to hang on to things all !ay an! !eci!e! it was
probably very tiring. She fe! the fish then lay on her be! an!
watche! them chase each other roun! an! roun! the archway.
*hen they stoppe! 'erry began nibbling at the pon! wee! with his
big pouty lips. He sucke! Mr. Sticky into his mouth then blew him
back out again in a stream of water. %he snail floate! !own to the
bottom of the tank among the coloure! gravel.

"& think he's grown a bit" #bby tol! her Mum at breakfast the ne)t
!ay.
< 2 >
""ust as well if he's going to be gobble! up like that" her Mum
sai! trying to put on her coat an! eat toast at the same time.
"+ut & !on't want him to get too big or he won't be cute
anymore. Small things are cute aren't they,"
"-es they are. +ut big things can be cute too. Now hurry up &'m
going to miss my train."

#t school that !ay #bby !rew an elephant. She nee!e! two pieces
of e)pensive paper to !o both en!s but the teacher !i!n't min!
because she was please! with the !rawing an! wante! it on the
wall. %hey sellotape! them together right across the elephant's
mi!!le. &n the corner of the picture #bby wrote her full name
#bigail an! !rew tiny snails for the !ots on the 'i's %he teacher
sai! that was very creative.
#t the weeken! they cleane! out the tank. "%here's a lot of
Free Full
Book
Downloads
Download 1000's
of Free eBooks,
Get Reviews &
More! Get App
Short Stories: Mr Sticky by Mo McAuley http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MrStic.shtml
1 of 3 03-11-2014 23:32
algae on the si!es" Mum sai!. "&'m not sure Mr. Sticky's .uite up
to the $ob yet."
%hey scoope! the fish out an! put them in a bowl while they
emptie! some of the water. Mr. Sticky staye! out of the way
clinging to the glass while Mum use! the special 'vacuum cleaner'
to clean the gravel. #bby trimme! the new pieces of pon! wee!
!own to si(e an! scrubbe! the archway an! the filter tube. Mum
poure! new water into the tank.
"*here's Mr. Sticky," #bby aske!.
"/n the si!e" Mum sai!. She was busy concentrating on the
water. "0on't worry & was careful."
#bby looke! on all si!es of the tank. %here was no sign of the
water snail.
"He's probably in the gravel then" her mum sai!. "1ome on
let's get this finishe!. &'ve got work to !o." She ploppe! the fish
back in the clean water where they swam roun! an! roun! looking
pu((le!.
< 3 >
%hat evening #bby went up to her be!room to check the tank. %he
water ha! settle! an! looke! lovely an! clear but there was no sign
of Mr. Sticky. She lay on her be! an! !i! some e)ercises stretching
out her legs an! feet an! pointing her toes. Stretching was goo!
for your muscles an! ma!e you look tall a mo!el ha! sai! on the
t.v. an! she looke! enormous. *hen #bby ha! finishe! she
kneele! !own to have another look in the tank but there was still
no sign of Mr. Sticky. She went !ownstairs.

Her mum was in the stu!y surroun!e! by papers. She ha! her
glasses on an! her hair was all over the place where she'! been
running her han!s through it. She looke! impatient when she saw
#bby in the !oorway an! even more impatient when she hear! the
ba! news.
"He'll turn up." was all she sai!. "Now off to be! #bby. &'ve got
masses of work to catch up on."
#bby felt her face go hot an! re!. &t always happene! when she
was angry or upset.
"-ou've hoovere! him up haven't you" she sai!. -ou were in
such a rush you hoovere! him up."
"& have not. & was very careful. +ut he is e)tremely small."
"*hat's wrong with being small,"
"Nothing at all. +ut it makes things har! to fin!."
"/r notice" #bby sai! an! ran from the room.

%he !oor to the be!room opene! an! Mum's face appeare! aroun!
the crack. #bby trie! to ignore her but it was har! when she
walke! over to the be! an! sat ne)t to her. She was hol!ing her
glasses in her han!. She wave! them at #bby.
"%hese are my new pair" she sai!. "2)tra powerful for snail
hunting." She smile! at #bby. #bby trie! not to smile back.
< 4 >
"#n! &'ve got a magnifying glass" #bby su!!enly remembere!
an! rushe! off to fin! it.
%hey sat besi!e each other on the floor. /n their knees they
shuffle! aroun! the tank peering into the corners among the big
pebbles at the gravel an! the pon!wee!.
"#h ha3" Mum su!!enly crie!.
"*hat," #bby move! her magnifying glass to where her mum
Share this:



- mark story for later
- mark author as favorite
- mark story rea!
- mark story as favorite
- view ratings
- rate this story:
4
4 4
- view comments
- comment on this story
- more stories by this author
Short Stories: Mr Sticky by Mo McAuley http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MrStic.shtml
2 of 3 03-11-2014 23:32
was pointing.
%here tucke! in the curve of the archway perfectly hi!!en
against the !ark stone sat Mr. Sticky. #n! right ne)t to him was
another water snail even smaller than him.
"Mrs Sticky3" #bby breathe!. "+ut where !i! she come from,"
"&'m beginning to suspect the pon! wee! !on't you think,"
%hey both laughe! an! climbe! into #bby's be! together
cu!!ling !own un!er the !uvet. &t was co(y but a bit of a s.uee(e.
"+u!ge up" Mum sai! giving #bby a push with her bottom.
"& can't &'m alrea!y on the e!ge."
"My goo!ness you've grown then. *hen !i! that happen, -ou
coul! have put an elephant in here last time we !i! this."
#bby put her hea! on her mum's chest an! smile!.
top
&f you like! this story please let other people know:

549 Like Like
Short Stories: Mr Sticky by Mo McAuley http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MrStic.shtml
3 of 3 03-11-2014 23:32