Gagash doo, ack nack! - Highlights in the Classroom

“Gagash doo, ack nack!”
By Peter McCleery
Art by Shawn McManus
he night the Space Monkeys landed,
no one noticed.
It was Halloween, so they blended in.
The next day, parents wondered why
some kids were still wearing costumes.
Then everyone wondered why those kids
were flying around on jet packs.
I pointed out the spaceship parked on
the soccer field.
“That explains it,” someone said.
At first, it was cool being
invaded by Space Monkeys.
At first, it was cool being invaded by
Space Monkeys. We were on the news!
Then it got annoying.
All day, they buzzed around on their jet
packs, asking, “Gagash doo, ack nack?
Gagash doo, ack nack?”
Whatever they were looking for was
important enough that they had traveled
light-years across the universe.
The next day, they found it: Chuck’s
Doughnut Shop.
Hundreds of Space Monkeys descended
on Chuck’s and scarfed down doughnuts.
They gobbled the glazed, powdered, and
sprinkled doughnuts. They stopped only
to say, “Gagash doo, ack nack!”
Chuck worked day and night to keep
them happy. But they ate and ate and
ate. He couldn’t keep up. Soon only plain
doughnuts were left.
The mayor announced, “The Space
Monkeys are getting desperate. Even the
plain doughnuts are almost gone!”
Everyone agreed something had to be
done. But what?
“We could give them bagels. They look
like doughnuts,” said my friend Toby.
Every bagel in town was collected and
© Highlights for Children, Inc. This item from classroom.highlights.com is permitted to be used by a teacher free of charge for classroom
use by printing or photocopying one copy for each student in the class. Highlights® Fun with a Purpose®
piled high. A Space Monkey flew over and
took a bite of one. He spit it out and
shrieked, “Gagash doo, ack nack!”
Soon, all the plain doughnuts were
gone, too.
Chuck hung a “Closed” sign in the
window and went to bed.
This upset the Space Monkeys.
“Everyone, start baking sweets!”
ordered the mayor.
We all ran home and baked our favorite
recipes: cookies, pies, cakes, cupcakes.
We offered them to the Space Monkeys.
They turned up their noses. “Ack nack.”
In their frantic search for more of
Chuck’s doughnuts, the Space Monkeys
opened every box in the grocery store.
They ransacked our cupboards and
rummaged through our closets. They
were ruining our town.
Then an idea came to me. Why hadn’t
anyone thought of this sooner?
I ran down the street to Chuck’s house.
I woke him up and told him my idea.
“No way! It’s top secret,” he said.
“I know, Chuck,” I said. “But otherwise,
the Space Monkeys will stay and demand
your doughnuts forever.”
“When you put it that way . . .”
Why hadn’t anyone
thought of this sooner?
Chuck turned the “Closed” sign to
“Open.” Within seconds, Space Monkeys
swarmed the shop. They were not happy
to discover there were no doughnuts.
“Gagash doo, ack nack!” they screeched.
“We have something better,” I said.
We handed over Chuck’s recipe to the
leader of the Space Monkeys. The leader
held it over his head in triumph.
The Space Monkeys cheered. “Gagash
doo, ack nack!”
As their spaceship lifted, we all waved
and shouted, “Gagash doo, ack nack!”
Whatever that means.
Then Toby suggested, “Let’s have some
doughnuts!”
Chuck scowled and went back to bed.
ave
h
e
“W thing
somer than
bette hnuts.”
doug
© Highlights for Children, Inc. This item from classroom.highlights.com is permitted to be used by a teacher free of charge for classroom
use by printing or photocopying one copy for each student in the class. Highlights® Fun with a Purpose®