…how an ordinary schoolgirl became an

INTERNET VOYAGER!

"Yip-yap! Yip-yap!"

Wizzie was still chasing the squidglet. But Dot could tell he was getting tired. Every so often he'd sit down on the Search Zone floor (once putting his bottom right on one of the lights, which made what he was sitting on glow a kind of electric blue colour!), just to have a rest.

Just the same as when you chase pigeons, thought Dot. Can't keep going and you never catch them - which is just as well. 'cos what would you do then?!

The funny thing was though, the squidglet really didn't seem to be trying to get away. It was having a great time making Wiz look silly, but it kept coming back! Once, when Wiz was having a rest, it came up to him so close that Wiz could almost have touched it with his paw - but as soon as he moved it was away again, ping ping ping all over the place.

Suddenly Deirdre said " 'Ere! Are you thinking what I'm thinking Ronnie?"

"Mmm!" said Ronnie. "Well it's be one in a million - but there's always a chance!"

"Nah!" went Deirdre, shaking her head, with her tufty owl's ears standing straight up. "Surely not, though! I mean - hardly ever happens! We've never had one, not never, 'ave we?"

"Well no" said Ron, taking of his baseball cap and scratching his sleek bulldog head. "But 'Arry Mopple had one - only last week, too! He told us, remember? He'd just got - "

They were off again! Doh!

It was just like one of those grown-ups' conversations, thought Dot crossly, where they just won't tell you what they're talking about but keep going on and on. Once she'd got her own back though - when Mum and Dad were in a big talk like that one day when they were all having a pub lunch and she saw her Dad had forgotten to put the handbrake on the car - she could see it was rolling off VERRRY slowly down a little slope into some bushes! But when she tried to tell, her mum kept saying "Just a minute, dear" in that "We're talking about something grown-up just now" voice, (grrr don't you hate that!) - till the car ended up in the middle of the bushes and the barman and Dad and some of the other people in the pub had to come and help them push it out. And then Dad had said "Why didn't you tell us Dot?" Not FAIR!!

"EXCUSE ME!" she said very loudly. "Yip-yap!" went Wizzie, off again after the squidglet.

"Oh - dear!" said Deirdre, flapping her wings. "SORRY Dot! Done it again haven't we? See" she said in a very quiet voice "we think this little chap might be - a Turner!"

"???" thought Dot. Whaaaaat...?

Ron saw the look on Dot's face and grinned. " 'S all right Dot my love, it's not such a puzzle... see, sometimes, only it almost never happens, a squidglet "turns", like we say - doesn't want to go on and become a big old blackdown and make such a nuisance for all of us lot on the Net. No-one knows why but we think it's 'cos something goes wrong in their programming - or right if you like, from the way we see it. So, they become a 'Turner'. Me and Deirdre's never seen one, mind - and we've been through a good few blackdowns, haven't we old girl!"

"Ooh yes" said Deirdre. "Do you remember that one after we'd done out Crazy Crocket's Search Engine for him! That was a shocker all right!"

"Certainly was!" chuckled Ron. "You' have liked that one Dot, he had a search engine shaped like a big old fur cap, wiv a tail hanging down the back. All fake of course. Anyway, he'd - "

Then he saw Dot's face and stopped. "Oops!" he said "Goin' off on one again, aren't we! Now, where was I?"

"Yip-yap!" went Wizzie. He was miles away now, but Dot could see he was coming back towards them, with the squidglet pinging away in front of him.

"You were telling me what a 'Turner' was Ron" said Dot, VERRRRY patiently.

"Oh well, that's it really" said Ron. "Problem is what to do with them, once they have become a Turner. Can't just leave them out here - they like company, see, so that would be unkind. They're quite jolly little chaps really, no trouble or anything, apart from when they want to go for a run of course, like now!"

"Yip yap!" went Wizzie. Dot could tell he was REALLY getting out of breath now! But he was also getting much closer again, with the squidglet pinging along in front of him in big hops and jumps - more in a straight line now though.

In fact, he was coming straight towards them.

IN FACT, straight towards Dot!

"Yip... yap... " went Wizzie, tongue hanging out, panting away, really struggling to keep up with the squidglet - which was cheekily only talking little hops now, then turning round and going "BRRRP!", bouncing up and down on the spot till Wizzie started chasing again, when it would ping off once more. It was really close now - you could see its big single orange eyebrow, and its green eyes twinkling away - it was obviously having a TOTALLY good time!

"Oh look at that!" said Deirdre. "Isn't he sweet!"

PING! He'd better be! Because just as Deirdre spoke, the squidglet made one last PING off the Search Zone floor - and PINGED straight into Dot's hands!!