“Okay, but it would look really good on you,
SpongeBob,” Patrick gushed.
“I can’t, Patrick.” SpongeBob shook
his head.
“Touch it,” whispered Patrick. “Go on, touch
it.”
“Must . . . not . . . touch . . . the . . . ,”
SpongeBob murmured weakly.
“Put it on, SpongeBob! Put it on!” Patrick
shouted.
SpongeBob couldn’t resist any longer! He
yanked the headset onto his head.
“Now push the buttons!” Patrick cried.
SpongeBob jabbed at the buttons. “Welcome
to the Krusty Krab!” he roared. “Can I take
your order?”
“You’re open late? Awesome!” said a voice. “I’ll
have a Krabby Patty Supreme.”
“There’s a customer! Ooooo, I’m in trouble!”
SpongeBob whispered in horror. “What am I
going to do?”
“I dunno.” Patrick shrugged. “
work here.”
“You’re right, Patrick, I do, and it’s my job—
no, my duty—to feed the hungry,” SpongeBob
said. “Let’s get to work!”
Moments later, SpongeBob handed a
piping-hot Krabby Patty through the
window. “Thank you, sir,” he said.
“Come again!”
The customer drove off.
“Another job well done,” SpongeBob said with
a sigh. He reached up to take off
the headset.
“Hey, buddy!” called a gruff voice through
the earpiece. “Are you gonna take my order or
what?”
SpongeBob leaned out of the window. “Oh
no!” he cried. “The Eels on Wheels
convention!”
Chapter 4
Eels on Wheels
SpongeBob and Patrick scrambled to fill as
many orders as they could, but the line of eels
just kept growing.
“How many customers have we served?”
SpongeBob asked breathlessly.
“Uh, three . . . I think,” Patrick answered.
“Three? But I cooked at least 50 Krabby
Patties!” SpongeBob exclaimed.
“PATRICK!” screamed SpongeBob. “You’ve
been eating the patties!”
“I was weak with hunger. This is hard
work,” Patrick mumbled through a
mouthful of food.
“But the patties are for the customers!”
SpongeBob cried.
“Sorry, SpongeBob,”
Patrick apologized.
“Hey! Where’s my food?” one of the
customers yelled.
“Yeah, we’ve been waiting 20 minutes!” another
shouted.
“Uh-oh, SpongeBob,” said Patrick. “I
think they’re angry.”
“KRAB-BY PAT-TY! KRAB-BY PAT-TY!”
the crowd at the drive through began to chant.
“We’re hungry!” screamed one of the eels.
“And we don’t like being hungry,
do we, boys?”
The mob responded in angry agreement.
“This doesn’t sound good,”
SpongeBob whispered.
“KRAB-BY PAT-TY! KRAB-BY PAT-TY!” the
angry mob continued to chant.
Chapter 5
SpongeBob GeniusPants
Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs was was dreaming in
his hammock.
“What’s that, SpongeBob?” he muttered.
“You lost me lucky dollar?”
“KRAB-BY PAT-TY! KRAB-BY PAT-TY!”
Mr. Krabs popped awake at the
distant sound.
“Why, someone’s calling for me Krabby
Patties!” he exclaimed.
Mr. Krabs ran to the window.
“Why is there a crowd at the Krusty
Krab?” he wondered. “I’d better get
down there!”
Mr. Krabs arrived at the restaurant just in
time. The angry mob had poured inside, and
SpongeBob and Patrick were surrounded.
“What in blazes is going on here?”
Mr. Krabs demanded.
“Mr. Krabs!” SpongeBob cried.
“SpongeBob! I should’ve known!” Mr. Krabs
bellowed. Then he turned to the eel leader.
“And you! Who do you think you are bargin’
into me restaurant?”
“Uh, sorry, sir, but that nervous sponge took
way too long with our orders,” the eel leader
said sheepishly.
“I’m sooo sorry, Mr. Krabs!” SpongeBob
sobbed. “I’m not fit to wear this uniform! I’ve
betrayed you and fry cooks everywhere—”
“Get up!” Mr. Krabs interrupted. “You’re a
genius, SpongeBob!”
“What?” SpongeBob asked, puzzled.
“Keeping the drive through open late is bril-
liant!” said Mr. Krabs. “Think of the money to
be made!”
“You mean, I’m not fired?” said
SpongeBob timidly.
“Of course not! I’ll be taking the cost of any
damage out of your paycheck, but I couldn’t
fire me number-one fry cook,” Mr. Krabs
assured him.
“Oh, thank you!” SpongeBob cried.
“Now get back in the kitchen and make
these fine gentlemen some Krabby Patties!”
Mr. Krabs ordered.
“Aye-aye, sir!” SpongeBob answered, as he
dashed into the kitchen.
“Argghhh!” said Mr. Krabs to himself. “This
gives me an idea!”
“Oh, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob exclaimed. “I
can’t believe you’re letting me cook AND work
at the window. I don’t deserve this!”
“I don’t deserve this!” Squidward wailed.
by Tracey West
Illustrated by Gregg Schigiel
Chapters
Chapter 1
A Krabby Patty Disaster
Chapter 2
Send in the Clownfish
Chapter 3
Krusty Customers
Chapter 4
Try, Try Again
Chapter 5
Big Show under the Big Top
Chapter 6
SpongeBob Flips!
Chapter 7
Krabby Patties for Everyone!
Chapter 1
A Krabby Patty Disaster
SpongeBob SquarePants loved working at the
Krusty Krab. His passion for making Krabby
Patties was legendary.
SpongeBob gazed at his newest Krabby
Patty with love. “Farewell, friend,”
he said. “I can’t keep your
perfect steamy goodness to
myself!”
SpongeBob pushed the Krabby Patty
through the order window. He picked up his
spatula and got ready to flip another batch of
patties.
Then he heard a yell.
“There is something wrong with my Krabby
Patty!”
SpongeBob froze. Something was wrong
with a Krabby Patty? It couldn’t be!
SpongeBob rushed into the dining room. A
customer was examining his Krabby Patty with
a ruler. Mr. Krabs was anxiously
looking over the customer’s shoulder.
“This Krabby Patty is a mess!”
complained the cranky customer. “This piece
of lettuce is one-sixteenth of an inch too long. I
can’t eat
lettuce that is too long!”
“That’s ridiculous,” said SpongeBob. “My
Krabby Patties are always perfect!”
“See for yourself,” sneered the customer.
SpongeBob bent down to examine the patty.
The cranky customer was right.
Horror filled every nook and cranny of
SpongeBob’s spongy body.
Tears welled up in SpongeBob’s eyes.
“Making Krabby Patties is what I do
best,” he said. “If I can’t do it perfectly, then I
shouldn’t do it at all!”
SpongeBob shoved his hat and spatula into
the claws of a stunned Mr. Krabs.
don’t deserve to make Krabby
Patties anymore.”
Chapter 2
Send in the Clownfish
SpongeBob sat at the bus
stop. He didn’t know where he
was going. He just knew he couldn’t
go back to the Krusty Krab.
“Life is meaningless if I can’t
make Krabby Patties,” SpongeBob sobbed.
“I don’t know how to do
anything else!”
Then he heard the rumble of a bus.
But it wasn’t the Bikini Bottom bus. It was
a circus bus! Three colorful clownfish tumbled
out of the door.
“We saw you crying,” said one. “Clownfish
hate to see someone cry.
Don’t be such a sad sponge.
Cheer up!”
“I can’t cheer up,” SpongeBob said glumly.
“My life has no meaning. I thought I was born to
make the world’s best Krabby Patties, but I’m just
not good enough. I’ll never be
good at anything!”
The clownfish looked at each other. “My
name’s Al,” said one, “and this here is Slim and
Shorty. Why don’t you come with us? Maybe
we can find you something to do at the circus.”
SpongeBob thought and thought about it.
“I can’t make people happy with my Krabby
Patties anymore,” he said finally. “But the
circus makes people happy. Maybe joining the
circus isn’t such a bad idea.”
“That’s the spirit!” said Al.
SpongeBob gave the Krusty Krab one
last look.
“Good-bye forever, my wonderful patties,” he
said softly. Then he boarded
the bus.
Chapter 3
Krusty Customers
Back at the Krusty Krab, orders were
piling up. Mr. Krabs was getting desperate.
“Please, darlin’,” Mr. Krabs pleaded with his
daughter, Pearl. “It’s just ’til I find SpongeBob
and bring him back. Won’t you help out your
dear
old dad?”
“Do I have to, Daddy?” Pearl whined. “I just
got a facial, and it’s so greasy
back here!”
Mr. Krabs searched
all over Bikini Bottom
for SpongeBob. “I
can’t let a day go by
without my best fry
cook,” he said. But
there was no trace of
the yellow fellow.
Finally, Mr. Krabs returned to the
restaurant. “I can’t find SpongeBob
anywhere!” he moaned. “This is terrible!”
“Oh, yes,” Squidward said in a bored voice. “Just
terrible.”
Mr. Krabs had to do
something. Nobody could
make Krabby Patties like
SpongeBob.
A look of
determination filled
his beady eyes.
“I will Find
you, SpongeBob
SquarePants,” he
vowed. “I will find you,
no matter what it
takes!”
Chapter 4
Try, Try Again
Meanwhile, at the circus tent, SpongeBob
was contemplating a new life.
“All I know how to do is flip Krabby Patties,”
he told his new friends. “What
kind of job can I do in the circus?”
“Don’t worry,” Al said. “We’ll find a job
for you. But we’ve got to hurry. It’s almost
time for the circus to start!”
“Maybe we can shoot him out of a cannon,” Slim
said.
Al, Slim, and
Shorty pushed and shoved
with all their might, but
the
cannon.
“Well, you know what they say,” SpongeBob
said. “You can’t fit a square sponge into a round
hole!”
“Maybe he can walk the
tightrope,” said Shorty.
SpongeBob tried. But his
square body was too big and
his legs were too short.
He just couldn’t keep
his balance.
“It’s no use!” SpongeBob
said sadly. “I’m no good
at anything!”
SpongeBob started to sob again. “I give up. I
might as well leave!”
With tears filling his eyes, he stumbled
blindly toward the exit. But as he neared the
doorway, he slipped on some juggling balls .
. . did a backflip . . . and landed face first in a
cream pie!
“That was brilliant!” Slim cried.
“Hilarious!” laughed Shorty.
“Perfect!” Al said. “You can join our clown
act.”
There’s no time to
practice,” Al said. “We
need to get you into your
costume!”
The clownfish gave
SpongeBob a red nose and
a clown costume of his
very own.
“See?” said Al. “You fit right in!”
SpongeBob gazed at his reflection in the
mirror. “Maybe I can do it,” he said. “I’ll be the
clowniest SpongeClown ever!”
Chapter 5
Big Show under the Big Top
Everyone in Bikini Bottom came to
the circus.
Mr. Krabs came to search for SpongeBob.
“This is the only place I haven’t looked,”
Mr. Krabs said sadly to
himself. He gazed at the
spatula in his claw. “If I
ever
find SpongeBob, I hope this spatula will
remind him of how happy he
was at the Krusty Krab. Oh, how
me boy loved flipping Krabby
Patties!”
The lights dimmed and the show began.
The high-wire artists flew through the air. The
trained lionfish and the swordfish
swallower wowed the crowd.
Finally, it was time for the clownfish act,
but SpongeBob was nervous.
“What if I can’t do it?” he asked the
other clowns.
“Just have fun, SpongeBob,” Al responded,
pushing him toward the ring. “That’s what clowns
do.”
“I’ll do my best,” SpongeBob vowed.
He ran out and threw a pie at Slim. He
squirted water at Shorty. It felt great to try
something new!
“I’m doing it!” SpongeBob said happily. “Maybe
I’m good at something
after all!”
Up in the stands, Mr. Krabs couldn’t believe his
&n
bsp; eyes. “Is that SpongeBob?” he asked in disbelief.
“Why that boy is a born entertainer!”
Mr. Krabs looked down at the spatula
clutched in his claw. “I guess I’m too late,” he
muttered. “It looks like SpongeBob has found
his true calling.” He slowly stood and walked
toward the exit, tossing the spatula over his
shoulder.
Chapter 6
SpongeBob Flips!
Down in the ring, Al threw a bunch of balls
into the air. The three clownfish
juggled the balls skillfully, as the crowd
cheered and whistled.
Then, without warning, Al tossed the balls
to SpongeBob.
“Your turn, SpongeBob!” Al yelled.
SpongeBob froze. Juggle? He couldn’t