ZUZU LULU Y T U

An everyday tale of delusion, defiance and disaster

that will teach you English.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zuzu and the Spy

¡Shhhh! ........ Zuzu here – on my secret mission for the AAAAA.

Yesterday I went to have a secret meeting with Mr. Montiponti. Well, it wasn’t very secret because mom came too, but she didn’t listen to what I was saying to the master spy.

I took my design for the space suit with me. Mr Montiponti was very impressed with my ideas and he measured me for some of them.

He didn’t understand my one legged trousers – these are designed, as the name implies, with only one leg. They are very practical because the astronauts can keep both legs in one leg of the suit.

This will be sure to keep the astronauts’ legs comfortable in outer space and they can use the spare leg to hide – I mean, store – things like my snake, Sniz, who wants to be the first snake in outer space.

Mr Montiponti listened carefully to my plans but he made Mom stand between me and him. I think he’s a bit too nervous to be an international spy.

When I told him about my plans for the shoulders, lapels and waist of the suit he gave me a lollipop. This was a fair reward, but it was a very big lollipop and I couldn’t talk and enjoy it at the same time.

He’ll have to wait to learn about my design for the astronaut belt and suspenders which have a built in television and radio receiver (the television studio is in the helmet but I couldn’t tell him that either).

Mr Montiponti kept ignoring me talk to Mom about things like sizes, measurements, inches and centimetres. I think this is a secret language that spies use so that other people don’t know what they’re talking about.

I think my mom is very normal, but she seemed to understand him. Is my Mom an international spy too? I think this is a mystery that I must solve.

I’m going to buy a Spanish – Spy Language dictionary to translate what they’re really talking about when they use words like folds, seams and zips.

When we left I winked al Mr. Montiponti and gave him the special secret spy handshake. He whimpered a bit; his hand was very sweaty and his bottom lip was trembling as he politely pushed me out of his workshop.

LULU WRITES:

Mom took Zuzu to the tailor yesterday to buy his new school uniform, she says the tailor, Mr. Montiponti, was a bit weird. I said, ‘Well, he’ll be a good pal for Zuzu then, won’t he?

I thought this was a good example of the use of a “tag ending”, in which I’m an expert, but Mom just turned up the volume on two of her televisions.

In reply to some e-mails I’ve received [see Contáctenos] about this boy Longthings, I still don’t think you need to know any more about him.

I’ll tell you this – he’s called Longthings because he wears long clothes: his shirttails, his sleeves, his pants. Even his shoes are long. Believe me, he’s weird. He’s quite good looking, but weird.... you know?

VOCABULARIO

The Verbs