…how an ordinary schoolgirl became an

INTERNET VOYAGER!

Down, down, down. To Dot, it felt like the films of people parachuting that she'd seen on TV - floating through the sky with the world all around you. Only, this was Net-world - or the Search Zone part of it, anyway - and, no parachute!

But it all happened just as Ron had said. When she kind of leant back so that her legs were pointing down to the ground, the lovely feeling of flying didn't go away... she seemed to be gliding standing up! There was a cool feeling as the net breeze cushioned her feet, almost as if there were a cloud under the soles of her trainers, letting her down ever so gently.

Wizzie had done the same, his teeth still firmly clamped round the squidglet, which was still letting out scared little squeaks.

Well that'll teach you to mess us up, thought Dot - not fair really. After all the squidglet had only got left behind because a bit of blackdown had squeezed through a crack where Ron hadn't got his van fixed properly. Dot giggled to herself at the thought of the telling-off he was probably getting from Deirdre.

The floor of the Search Zone was getting closer and closer now - they'd been a long way up in the Zone sky. But then Dot realized that something was wrong. She's been so busy flying herself she hadn't realized that Wizzie shouldn't be flying like she was - he walked on four legs, not two!

She turned to tell Wiz to turn back and fly on his tummy, not sort of standing on his hind legs (the back ones to you and me!) - but it was TOO LATE!

Just like in the films about parachuting Dot had seen, where people who'd done it for the first time always said the last bit of a jump came with a rush, after you felt yourself floating down slowly with the world all around you - so it was with gliding in the Search Zone sky.

Suddenly the ground was right there and they both landed - Dot on her feet, bouncing gently on the soft surface of the Zone - it was like a bouncy castle, only firmer - but Wizzie! Oh NO!!

The poor King Charles Spaniel tried to land on his back paws. Just the two of them. Had to - that was the way he'd been gliding. No good!

With an indignant "Yip yap!" Wiz went flat on his back. And lost his grip on the squidglet!

PING! OFF it went!

"Crespbangaling ningfadaloo!" went Wizzie. (Oops!! DON'T read that out loud if there are any dogs around!! Sorry - should have told you. It's about as rude a dog swearword as you can get. Usually you can't hear bad words like that in all that barking when your dog's cross, but as you know, anything can happen when you're on - or in - the Net!)

The squidglet was away! With a lot of little squeaks - only happy "I'm getting away-ay! I'm getting away-ay" squeaks this time - the little black creature was pinging all over the search Zone floor, dodging between all the lights, up and down and side to side like a squishy crazy bouncer ball.

"CRESPBANGALING!" went Wiz again (SOR-RY!), and he was off too, tail streaming out behind him, hot on the chase search.

"Go on Wizzie! Get him BACK!" shouted Dot. But inside she couldn't help thinking it was totally hopeless! Wizzie never could catch anything when they were out for walks - even big fat waddling pigeons. And the squidglet was going to be about a hundred times more difficult - it looked impossible to know where it was going to bounce next!

It looked back at Dot and Wiz with its green eyes and its single orange eyebrow and let out a VERY LOUD and VERY RUDE noise - kind of "FAARRRRP!", the kind you have to say "Pardon me!" for (or pretend someone else did it. Even though you shouldn't, really!) Then ping! It was away again!

"BOOMPFF!" The Mopples' van landed alongside Dot, bouncing on the soft Search Zone floor, and Ron jumped out, followed by Deirdre.

"Oh Lor' !" went Ron, taking his baseball cap off and scratching his head with his big paw. "Now we 'ave got our work cut out all right! They're a NIGHTMARE to get 'old of, them squidglets, once they're off!"

"Yip yap!" went Wiz, racing about after the squidglet. The funny thing was it didn't seem to be going in any particular direction - just bouncing about. Sometimes it pinged so far away you could hardly see it or Wiz - sometimes it seemed to be coming right back towards them. But the more crazy it was, of course, the harder it was for Wiz to catch. He was having a lovely time but he wasn't getting anywhere near catching the squidglet, as far as Dot could see.

Ron felt the same. " 'E'll never get him!" he said, shaking his head. " 'Opeless!"

"Well - what happens if we don't?" asked Dot.

"Well" said Deirdre, pulling her scarf tight round her feathery head again. "He'll grow and we'll have a ground-up blackdown, that's what!" She looked at Dot with her owly eyes bigger than ever and shook her head in a very worried way.

"And that means - goodnight Search Zone and no Munchenmeat Awards data for your poor old Dad!"