CHAPTER 1
THE 78-STORY TREEHOUSE
Hi, my name is Andy.
This is my friend Terry.
We live in a tree.
Well, when I say “tree,” I mean treehouse. And when I say “treehouse,” I don’t just mean any old treehouse—I mean a 78-story treehouse! (It used to be a 65-story treehouse, but we’ve added another 13 stories.)
So what are you waiting for?
Come on up!
It’s got a drive-through car wash (that you can drive through with the windows open and the roof down),
a combining machine,
a not-so-tight tightrope,
a 78-plate-spinning level,
a giant unhatched egg,
a courtroom with a robot judge called Edward Gavelhead,
a scribbletorium,
Andyland (a land full of Andy clones created in our cloning machine),
Terrytown (a crazy town full of Terry clones),
Jillville (a village full of Jills),
an ALL-BALL sports stadium (where you can play every ball sport in the whole world all at the same time),
an open-air movie theater with a super-giant screen,
and a high-security potato chip storage facility protected by 1,000 loaded mousetraps, 100 laser beams, a 10-ton weight, and one very angry duck.
As well as being our home, the treehouse is also where we make books together. I write the words, and Terry draws the pictures.
As you can see, we’ve been doing this for quite a while now.
Sure, things can get crazy when you live in a 78-story treehouse …
But we always get our book written in the end … somehow.
CHAPTER 2
TREEHOUSE: THE MOVIE
If you’re like most of our readers, you’re probably wondering if we’re ever going to make a Treehouse movie. Well … guess what? We’re making one right now!
We’ve got lights …
cameras …
chairs with our names on the backs …
and a big-shot Hollywood movie director called Mr. Big Shot calling the shots.…
“CUT!” yells Mr. Big Shot. “That’s BORING!”
“But that’s how I always start the book,” I say.
“This is NOT a book,” barks Mr. Big Shot through his megaphone. “It’s a MOVIE!”
“Well, yes,” I say, “I know that and you know that, but I was just explaining it to the readers.…”
“Readers?” barks Mr. Big Shot. “I’m not interested in readers! I make MOVIES for movie fans who want ACTION, EXCITEMENT, and THRILLS, not talking! Who are you, anyway?”
“I’m Andy,” I say. “I’m the narrator.”
“Narrator?” says Mr. Big Shot. “We don’t need a narrator.”
“But I’m also one of the main characters.”
“Hmmm,” says Mr. Big Shot, frowning. “What about that other guy? The funny one with the curly hair. Where’s he?”
“Here he comes now,” I say as Terry runs onto the set with his pants on fire.
“Get out of the way!” says Terry, running between me and Mr. Big Shot. He reaches the edge of the deck and leaps off.
“Did he just jump into the shark tank?!” says Mr. Big Shot.
“Yep,” I sigh. “That’s Terry for you.”
We peer over the edge.
“Are you all right?” shouts Mr. Big Shot.
“Much better now that my pants aren’t on fire,” says Terry.
“But you’re in a tank full of man-eating sharks!” says Mr. Big Shot.
“Yikes,” says Terry. “I meant to jump into the swimming pool!”
Terry swims to the side of the tank and tries to climb out. He’s fast, but one of the sharks is faster. It surges up behind him,
opens its enormous mouth,
and chomps down on Terry’s freshly barbecued behind!
The electrocuted shark spits Terry out with such force that he flies up into the air and lands sprawled on the deck in front of us.
“That … was … electrifying!” says Mr. Big Shot. “Here, let me help you up.”
He reaches down and grabs Terry’s hand.
The electric shock sends Mr. Big Shot flying backward. He crashes into one of the camera operators and then falls to the ground.
“Sorry,” says Terry. “I must still be electricorn-ified.”
“Electri-what-ified?” says Mr. Big Shot.
“Well,” says Terry, “I used the combining machine to cross an electric eel
“with a unicorn
“to make an electricorn …
“but then a bolt of lightning shot out of the electricorn’s horn,
“hit the back of my pants,
“and set them on fire.”
Mr. Big Shot roars with laughter.
“What’s so funny?” says Terry.
“You are,” says Mr. Big Shot. “You’re a LAUGH RIOT!!! This will make a great opening sequence for the movie!”
“But I always do the opening sequence!” I say.
“In the book, yes,” says Mr. Big Shot. “But this is NOT a book … this is a movie! And Terry is going to be the star!”
“Me?” says Terry. “A movie star?”
“Him?” I say. “A movie star? But what about me?”
“I already told you,” says Mr. Big Shot, “we don’t need a narrator.” He turns his attention back to Terry. “Is that electricorn still there?”
“Yes, I guess so,” says Terry.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” says Mr. Big Shot. “Come on, everybody—except for Andy—let’s go and film a reenactment!”
Text copyright © 2016 by Backyard Stories Ltd.
Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Terry Denton