Ben the Inventor Read Free

made of a long wooden board. A toilet seat was duct-taped near one end. Ben and Jack gathered an armful of weeds and placed the pile inside the toilet seat.
    â€œTest run,” Ben said. He picked up a golf ball and dropped it into a sloping metal pipe. He and Jack both crossed their fingers and held their breath. The ball dropped out the other end of the tube. It rolled down a ramp and knocked over a wooden post. The post landed on the first of a long row of empty CD cases. Down they went, like dominoes. Bing , bing , bing . The last CD case set off a mini-catapult, flinging a Ping-Pong ball into the air.

    At this point, the Stupendous Contraption needed a little help. The Ping-Pong ball wasn’t heavy enough to push the race car into the race-car launcher. Ben gave it a little shove. Whoosh! The race car zoomed along the plastic track and dropped off the end. It nudged a perfectly balanced soccer ball, which fell onto the end of the Ultimate Catapult.
    The weeds flew into the air.
    They landed in a pile less than two feet away.
    The boys stared at it in disgust. “Well, that’s no use at all,” Ben said.
    â€œIt was pretty cool though.” Jack grinned. “Like when the race car knocked off the soccer ball. That was great. And the domino thing.”
    â€œCool but not useful. They were supposed to fly across the street to your house.” Ben heard a car door slam. He stood up and looked toward the street. A blond woman in a suit was getting out of a car. “Is that her? The real estate person?”
    â€œMust be.”
    They watched as a second car pulled up. A tall bald man got out. The real estate woman waved to him. Then they walked through Jack’s front gate together.
    Jack turned to Ben. “I guess that’s the man who wants to buy my house.”
    Ben made a face. “No way.”
    â€œSo what are we going to do?”
    â€œWell, launching the weeds didn’t work. So I guess we move on to Stupendous Plan B,” Ben said.
    â€œOkay. What’s Stupendous Plan B?”
    Ben didn’t actually have a Plan B, let alone a Stupendous Plan B. He thought fast. “We’ll just carry the weeds across to your yard,” he said. “We’ll spread them on the lawn while the real estate agent is inside showing that man your house.”
    A grin spread slowly across Jack’s face. “And he will think the weeds are growing there!”

    â€œYeah, and he won’t buy the house because there is too much gardening to do,” Ben said.
    â€œPerfect,” Jack said, gathering up an armful of weeds. “Fire-bellied toads! Let’s go.”

Chapter Seven
    Ben opened his back door and stuck his head inside. “Mom? We’re just going for a walk, okay?”
    â€œStella, stop that.” His mom grabbed Stella’s arm. “Spit it out, honey.” She popped her fingers into Stella’s mouth and fished out something small and blue. “Lego, this time. She just puts everything in her mouth.”
    â€œWe’ll be back soon,” Ben said.
    â€œOkay. Stay on this block,” his mom said.
    â€œOh, we will.” Ben nudged Jack. “Come on.”

    Ben and Jack picked up the weeds they had piled by Ben’s front gate. They carried them across the speed bump. Then, very quietly, they scattered them around Jack’s lawn. Dandelions on the grass. Morning glory vine on the rose bushes. All kinds of dead green stuff along the path.
    They were almost finished when the front door opened. “Run!” Jack whispered.
    Ben followed Jack, dashing down the sidewalk. He thought he heard a woman yell after them, but he didn’t stop. They ran to the end of their block and hid behind a tree. Then they both sank to the ground, giggling like crazy.
    â€œDo you think they saw us?” Jack asked.
    â€œProbably. It doesn’t matter though. They don’t know who we are.” Ben stopped laughing. He frowned.