The Invisible Alarm

Moon Base Nine was a small town on the moon.

About one hundred people lived and worked there.

They had a school, a garden, a big kitchen, and a room for exercise.

Every morning, the base was busy and happy.

But there was one problem.

The problem was Doctor Zed.

Doctor Zed was an old man with white hair like a cloud.

He was very clever, and he made many wonderful things.

He made a machine that washed plates in three seconds.

He made a chair that told jokes.

But Doctor Zed could not wake up in the morning.

He was late every single day.

"Doctor Zed is late again," the people at the base said.

"Doctor Zed is always late," they said with a smile.

Nobody was angry, because he was a kind man.

But the Captain was not happy.

The Captain of Moon Base Nine was a tall woman named Rosa.

She had short red hair and a loud, strong voice.

She liked everything to be on time.

Her watch was always correct, and her desk was always clean.

Doctor Zed had a young helper named Pip.

Pip was a girl of sixteen with quick eyes and a quick mind.

She came to the base to learn about science.

Now she learned more about Doctor Zed's bed than about science.

Every morning, Pip walked to Doctor Zed's room and knocked on the door.

"Doctor Zed, it is seven o'clock!" she said.

Nobody answered.

"Doctor Zed, it is eight o'clock!"

Still nobody answered.

At nine o'clock, Pip opened the door and shouted, "Doctor Zed, the Captain is waiting!"

Then, at last, a small sound came from the bed.

"Mmm... five more minutes," said Doctor Zed.

Pip was tired of this.

So one evening, she said, "Doctor Zed, you are a great scientist. Please make a clock for yourself."

Doctor Zed looked up from his dinner.

"A clock?" he said.

"I have twelve clocks in my room."

"I know," said Pip. "You sleep through all of them."

Doctor Zed thought about this for a long time.

Then his blue eyes began to shine.

"You are right, Pip," he said.

"I need a clock that I cannot ignore."

Doctor Zed worked all night in his workshop.

Pip helped him with the small tools.

There was a lot of noise, and there was a lot of smoke.

At last, Doctor Zed held up his new invention.

"This is the Run-Away Clock!" he said proudly.

It was a round orange clock with two small wheels.

It also had two tiny arms and a very big bell on top.

"When the alarm rings, the clock runs away," said Doctor Zed.

"I must get out of bed and catch it. Then I am awake!"

Pip laughed.

"That is a very good idea," she said.

"How does it stop?"

"Oh, that is easy," said Doctor Zed.

"There is a special..."

Then he stopped and scratched his head.

"There is a special something. I will remember it in the morning."

Pip looked at him, but she said nothing.

They tested the clock that night.

Doctor Zed put on his blue pajamas and got into bed.

He set the alarm for six o'clock.

Pip waited by the door.

The clock said, "Tick, tock, tick, tock," and Doctor Zed began to snore.

Six o'clock came, and the bell began to ring.

It was not a small sound.

It was a loud, terrible sound, like ten buckets falling down the stairs.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

Doctor Zed jumped out of bed.

"What is that?" he shouted.

The clock rolled across the floor on its two small wheels.

Doctor Zed ran after it in his blue pajamas.

The clock went under the bed, around the chair, and behind the door.

At last, Doctor Zed jumped and caught it in his arms.

"I caught it!" he said. "I am awake! I am really awake!"

At that moment, the clock stopped ringing.

The room became very quiet.

Pip smiled.

"It works," she said.

"But Doctor Zed, why did it stop?"

Doctor Zed looked at the clock.

"I do not know," he said.

"But I am happy. Let us go to bed again!"

He put the clock on the table and went back to sleep.

Pip shook her head, but she was laughing when she left the room.

Doctor Zed was not only working on clocks that week.

He also made a new spray.

It was a small red can with a picture of a ghost on it.

The name on the can was "Invisible Spray."

"It makes things disappear from your eyes," Doctor Zed told Pip.

"The Captain does not like my messy desk. Now I can hide the mess!"

Pip looked worried.

"Please be careful with that can," she said.

"I am always careful," said Doctor Zed.

Pip did not believe him at all.

The next day was a very important day.

Prince Oko from the planet Oro was coming to visit Moon Base Nine.

He was coming at ten o'clock, and Captain Rosa wanted everything to be perfect.

"Doctor Zed," she said the night before, "please be at the door at ten o'clock."

"Of course, Captain," said Doctor Zed.

"I have my new clock now. I will be there early!"

The Captain smiled a little.

She did not believe him, but she wanted to.

Early the next morning, Doctor Zed was in his workshop.

He was still in his pajamas, and his eyes were half closed.

He had a clean desk to make, and he was not fully awake.

The orange clock was on the table next to him.

The little red can was next to the clock.

Next to the red can, there was also a small red bottle of air spray.

Doctor Zed took one of them in his hand.

"Ah, my desk is very messy," he said, yawning.

He looked at the desk, the papers, and the old socks.

"But first, this clock smells like old cheese."

He was not looking at the can at all.

"Pssssh!"

He sprayed the orange clock from the top to the wheels.

Nothing happened for a moment.

Then the clock began to shine, and slowly, it became clear like glass.

Then it was gone.

Doctor Zed opened one eye.

"Hmm," he said. "Where is my clock?"

He looked at the table.

There was nothing on it, only the little red air spray.

Doctor Zed looked at his hand.

He was holding the ghost can.

"Oh, no," he said quietly.

"That was the wrong can."

He put his hand on the table and felt around.

He could not feel the clock.

Then his hand touched something round and cold.

It was the clock, and it was still there.

He just could not see it.

At that moment, the clock made a small sound.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock..."

Doctor Zed looked at the wall clock.

It was six o'clock.

"Oh, dear," he said.

"I set the alarm for six o'clock last night."

"RING-RING-RING-RING-RING!"

The bell was so loud that his white hair stood up.

Something moved on the table.

A small gray pen rolled off the table and fell on the floor.

Then the door of the workshop opened, as if by itself.

The loud ringing began to move out into the hall.

"Come back!" cried Doctor Zed.

He ran after the sound in his pajamas.

In the hall, Pip was walking to work with a cup of tea.

Suddenly she heard a terrible sound behind her.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

"What is that?" she said, and she turned around.

There was nothing there.

The sound was coming closer, and closer, and closer.

"Pip! Look out!" cried Doctor Zed from far away.

"Look out for what?" said Pip.

Then something hit her legs, and she jumped in the air.

The tea flew out of her cup and landed on her head.

Doctor Zed ran up to her, breathing hard.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I am wet, and I am angry," said Pip.

"What was that?"

Doctor Zed looked at his shoes.

"That was my clock," he said in a small voice.

"It is invisible now."

"Invisible?" said Pip.

"You made your clock invisible?"

"It was an accident," said Doctor Zed.

"I used the wrong can."

Pip closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath.

"Doctor Zed," she said, "the visitor comes at ten o'clock."

"I know," said Doctor Zed.

"We must find the clock before then!"

The ringing was now going down the hall.

Pip and Doctor Zed ran after it.

At the end of the hall, they met Bolt.

Bolt was a small round robot with a blue body and two big lights for eyes.

He cleaned the floors of the base every morning.

"Good morning, Doctor Zed. Good morning, Pip," said Bolt.

"Bolt, did you see a clock go by?" asked Pip.

"What kind of clock?" asked Bolt.

"An orange clock with wheels," said Doctor Zed. "It is invisible."

Bolt's eyes went round and round.

"I am sorry," he said.

"My eyes cannot find invisible things. But my ears hear a noise."

"Where is it coming from?" asked Pip.

Bolt turned his head left, then right, then left again.

"From under my feet," he said.

"BEEP-BEEP! ERROR! ERROR!" said Bolt.

His small body went up in the air.

The invisible clock was rolling under him, and Bolt was riding on top of it.

"Help me! I am flying!" he cried.

He rolled down the hall on the ringing clock like a circus animal.

Then the clock turned right, and Bolt fell off.

He landed on the floor with a loud "CLANG!"

"Are you all right, Bolt?" asked Pip.

"I am very all right," said Bolt. "That was fun."

"The clock went into the kitchen," said Doctor Zed.

"Quick! Follow the sound!"

The kitchen of Moon Base Nine was big and warm.

The cook was a green man named Mr. Blub.

He came from a planet far away, and he had four arms.

He could cut, stir, pour, and taste at the same time.

That morning, he was making a giant cake for the prince.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

Mr. Blub stopped and listened.

"Is that my oven?" he said.

He ran to the oven and opened it.

The cake was not ready yet.

"Strange," he said. "Then what is ringing?"

He looked around the kitchen with all four arms on his hips.

Pip, Doctor Zed, and Bolt ran through the door.

"Mr. Blub! Have you seen an invisible clock?" asked Pip.

"An invisible clock?" said Mr. Blub.

"If I cannot see it, how can I help?"

"That is exactly our problem," said Doctor Zed.

The ringing was now coming from the middle of the kitchen.

It went under the table, around the sink, and past the oven.

Pots and pans fell down behind it, one by one.

"CRASH! BANG! CLANG!"

Then Pip had an idea.

"Mr. Blub, I need your flour!" she cried.

"My flour?" said Mr. Blub.

"I need it for the giant cake!" said Mr. Blub.

"Please, I need it more!" said Pip.

She took a big bag of white flour from the shelf.

She opened it and threw the flour into the air.

The white cloud fell down on the floor, on the table, and on Bolt.

It also fell on something round and low near the door.

"There it is!" shouted Doctor Zed.

They could see the shape of the clock now.

It was a round white shape with two little wheels.

It was standing perfectly still, and its bell was quivering.

"Nobody move," whispered Pip.

Everyone in the kitchen stopped.

Mr. Blub held his breath with four hands over his mouth.

Doctor Zed moved one step, then another step, closer to the white shape.

Then the white shape gave a great shake.

All the flour flew off it like a snowstorm.

It covered Doctor Zed's face and hair, and he looked like a snowman.

"Atchoo!" said Doctor Zed.

The clock was invisible again.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

It ran out of the kitchen through a small door in the wall.

Mr. Blub looked at the flour on the floor.

"There are little wheel marks in the flour," he said.

They looked down.

Two thin white lines went out of the door.

"Follow the lines!" said Pip.

They ran out after the clock, and Mr. Blub came too.

"I hope my cake is all right," he said.

He looked back at the oven.

The cake was growing bigger and bigger.

The two white lines went down the hall and stopped at a yellow door.

The sign on the door said "School."

Inside, twelve children sat at small desks.

Their teacher, Miss Hana, was writing numbers on the board.

"Today we learn about the number seven," she said.

"Seven days, seven colors, and seven..."

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

Miss Hana jumped, and her chalk flew out of her hand.

The children shouted with joy.

"A ghost! A ghost is in our school!" said a small boy.

"It is not a ghost," said Pip from the door.

"It is a clock, and it is invisible."

"Can we help?" asked a girl in the front row.

Miss Hana looked at Pip, and Pip looked at Doctor Zed.

Doctor Zed only shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes," said Miss Hana. "But please, be careful."

The children jumped up from their seats.

They got down on the floor and looked under the desks.

They shook the curtains and opened all the boxes.

One girl looked inside the teacher's bag and found a sandwich.

"This is not a clock, Miss Hana," she said.

"That is my lunch," said Miss Hana. "Please put it back."

Suddenly, the small boy laughed.

"It is tickling my toes!" he said.

The invisible clock was rolling around his feet.

Everyone ran to him, and everyone ran into each other.

Twelve children and three grown-ups fell down in a big, laughing pile.

The clock rolled out from under them and left through the open door.

"It went into the hall!" shouted the children.

The school was very quiet after that.

Miss Hana looked at the mess around her and sat down on her chair.

"Class is finished for today," she said, and she started to laugh.

The white lines were getting thinner and thinner.

Soon they were gone, but the loud ringing led the way.

It went along the hall and through a big blue door.

Pip stopped in front of the door and read the sign.

"The Exercise Room," she said.

"Oh, no."

The room was full of people.

Some of them were running on machines.

Some of them were lifting heavy weights.

In the corner, six old men were doing slow, gentle dancing.

The music was soft and pretty.

Everyone looked calm and happy.

Then the door opened and the terrible ringing came in.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

"What is that noise?" cried a man on a running machine.

He looked left and right, and he forgot to run.

The machine carried him backward, and he fell on his back.

"OOF!"

A woman lifting weights heard the noise and jumped.

The weights flew out of her hands and landed on a soft mat.

"BOOM!"

The six old men did not stop dancing.

They only danced a little faster.

"This is a very lively song," said one of them.

Doctor Zed ran into the room, still covered with flour.

"Excuse me, everybody!" he said.

"Has anyone seen an invisible orange clock?"

"An invisible clock?" said the woman on the mat.

"How can we see something invisible?"

"That is what everyone says!" said Pip.

She listened carefully.

The ringing was coming from the middle of the room.

"Everyone, please be quiet!" she said.

The people stopped talking, and even the music stopped.

The room became silent for a moment.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock," said the clock.

Pip counted slowly, "One, two, three."

The tiny ticking was very near.

It was coming from the old men's corner.

One old man was standing very still, with a strange look on his face.

"Sir," said Pip, "is something wrong?"

"There is something round under my foot," the old man said.

"It is warm, and it is going tick-tock."

Doctor Zed jumped forward with his arms open.

But the clock was faster.

It rolled out from under the old man's foot.

Doctor Zed's hands closed on empty air.

He fell forward and slid across the floor on his stomach.

The flour on his clothes made him slide very far.

He went past the machines, past the mats, and through the door.

The old men clapped their hands.

"Bravo!" they cried.

The wall clock in the main hall said five minutes to ten.

Captain Rosa stood at the big front door in her best blue uniform.

Around her, the people of the base stood in two neat lines.

The floor was clean, the flowers were fresh, and every button was shining.

"Where is Doctor Zed?" asked the Captain.

Nobody answered.

The Captain looked at her watch and closed her eyes.

"He is late again," she said quietly.

At that moment, the back door of the hall opened.

Doctor Zed came in, covered from head to foot in white flour.

Behind him came Pip, Bolt, and Mr. Blub, all white as snow.

"Good morning, Captain!" said Doctor Zed.

"I am not late! I am here early!"

The Captain opened her eyes.

She looked at the four white people for a long, long time.

"You are covered in flour," she said.

"Yes," said Doctor Zed, "I can explain."

"You have..."

The Captain never finished her sentence.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

The terrible sound came from the middle of the hall.

Everyone in the two lines jumped.

"What is that?" said the Captain.

"Is that my watch?"

She looked at her watch, then she shook it, then she listened to it.

It said nothing at all.

"It is not your watch, Captain," said Pip.

"It is Doctor Zed's clock. It is invisible."

The Captain turned very slowly to Doctor Zed.

"Invisible?"

"Just a little bit," said Doctor Zed.

The clock rolled across the hall like a racing car.

The two lines of people opened up to let it pass.

A man in the front row heard the noise and dropped his flowers.

Then the clock ran over the flowers and went round and round in a circle.

Flowers flew everywhere.

"Please be quiet, everyone!" said the Captain.

"The prince is coming in one minute!"

But nobody could be quiet, because the clock was too loud.

The clock of the main hall struck ten.

The big front door opened.

A small purple man walked in slowly with a soft yellow hat on his head.

He was Prince Oko of the planet Oro.

Two tall guards walked behind him, and both of them were yawning.

"Welcome to Moon Base Nine, Your Highness," said the Captain.

She bowed low, and her voice shook a little.

Prince Oko looked at the people, the flowers, and the flour.

Then he heard the ringing, and his eyes opened wide.

"What a wonderful sound!" said Prince Oko.

The Captain was surprised.

"You like it, Your Highness?" she asked.

"I love it," said the prince.

"On my planet, everybody sleeps until noon.

Nobody can wake up in the morning.

The guards are always sleepy, and I am always sleepy too."

The two guards nodded and yawned again.

"But this sound wakes me up in one second!" said the prince.

"Where can I find this ringing thing?"

"It is a Run-Away Clock, Your Highness," said Doctor Zed.

"I made it myself. It runs away when it rings."

"Splendid!" said the prince. "Where is it?"

"Well," said Doctor Zed, "that is a small problem."

The Captain covered her face with both hands.

At that moment, the clock rolled into the tea table.

The table was covered with tiny cups and plates of small cakes.

Everything moved, and every cup began to shake.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

The cups shook faster and faster.

Then the whole table jumped in the air, and tea and cakes flew everywhere.

A little cake landed on the Captain's head.

A cup of tea landed in Doctor Zed's pocket.

The prince clapped his hands with joy.

"More, more!" he said.

"Stop it, please, Doctor Zed!" cried the Captain.

"I want to stop it," said Doctor Zed. "But I cannot remember how!"

Pip closed her eyes and thought hard.

She remembered the night before.

She remembered Doctor Zed in his blue pajamas, and the clock in his arms.

"I caught it!" he had said.

"I am awake! I am really awake!"

And then the clock stopped.

Pip opened her eyes wide.

"Doctor Zed!" she shouted.

"The clock stops when somebody says, 'I am awake!'"

"Really?" said Doctor Zed.

"Really! You said it last night, and it stopped!"

Doctor Zed's blue eyes became big and round.

"Of course! That is the special something!" he said.

"I put a tiny ear inside the clock. It wants to hear that someone is awake!"

The Captain looked at both of them.

"Then what are we waiting for?" she said.

"Everyone!" shouted Captain Rosa in her big, strong voice.

"Together, on the count of three!"

The people of the base stood ready.

"One... two... three!"

"I AM AWAKE!" shouted a hundred voices.

The windows shook, and even the flowers on the floor trembled.

The two sleepy guards jumped and stood up straight.

The prince laughed so hard that his yellow hat fell off.

And the ringing stopped.

The hall became very quiet.

Everyone looked at the floor, but there was nothing to see.

Then Bolt turned his head slowly.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock," he said.

"It is under the prince's chair."

Doctor Zed went down on his hands and knees.

He put out his arms very slowly, and he caught something round and cold.

"I have it!" he said.

Everybody in the hall clapped and cheered.

Doctor Zed stood up with his arms held out in front of him.

To everyone else, it looked like he was holding a big invisible ball.

"Now, how do we find it again next time?" asked the Captain.

"It has no color, and it is too quiet when it sleeps."

Everyone thought hard.

Then Pip took a long red ribbon from the flowers on the floor.

"Doctor Zed, hold still, please," she said.

She tied the ribbon around the top of the clock, right above the bell.

It made a perfect bow.

Now everyone could see a red bow floating in the air.

It was above Doctor Zed's arms, and it moved when he moved.

"It looks like a little ghost with a hat," said one of the guards.

"It is beautiful," said Prince Oko.

"Doctor Zed, may I buy one of your clocks?"

"Of course, Your Highness," said Doctor Zed.

"I will make you a special one."

"And please," said the Captain, "make it a visible one."

Everybody laughed, even the Captain.

After that, Mr. Blub brought out the giant cake.

It was as tall as a door, and it was made of eight colors.

Four hands carried the cake, and the other four held plates.

Everybody ate a big piece, and the prince ate two.

The Captain sat down next to Doctor Zed with a cup of tea.

"Doctor Zed," she said. "You were on time today."

"I was?" said Doctor Zed.

"Yes. You woke up at six o'clock, and you were in the hall at ten."

"That is because I ran after my clock all morning," he said.

The Captain smiled.

"Maybe an invisible clock is not so bad," she said.

That night, the moon was big and bright over the base.

Everyone was tired, and everyone was happy.

The halls were quiet, and the lights were low.

Doctor Zed put on his blue pajamas and got into bed.

The clock with the red bow stood on the table beside him.

"Goodnight, my friend," he said softly.

He set the alarm for six o'clock.

Then he closed his eyes.

The room was quiet, and there was only one small sound.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock."

The next morning, the red bow began to move.

"RING-RING-RING-RING!"

Doctor Zed jumped out of bed at once.

He ran after the little red bow through the door and down the hall.

When he reached the kitchen, he caught the clock and shouted, "I am awake!"

Everyone at breakfast turned to look at him.

Pip was there, and Bolt, and Mr. Blub, and Captain Rosa.

For the first time in his life, Doctor Zed was early for breakfast.

"Good morning, everybody," he said with a big smile.

"I am awake."

And the little red bow bounced happily on the table.