Big-Top Bonanza Read online

  Copyright © 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 114 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011-5690.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Edition

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:

  2009926910

  ISBN: 978-1-4231-3008-6

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  Table of Contents

  Part One

  Part One Chapter 1

  Part One Chapter 2

  Part One Chapter 3

  Part One Chapter 4

  Part One Chapter 5

  Part Two

  Part Two Chapter 1

  Part Two Chapter 2

  Part Two Chapter 3

  Part Two Chapter 4

  Daredevil Days Preview

  Part One

  Chapter 1

  It was a beautiful summer morning. Phineas Flynn and his stepbrother, Ferb Fletcher, were eating breakfast at their kitchen table. Their friends Django, Buford, and Isabella were there, too. They were all excited because they were headed to the circus in a little while.

  Their friend Baljeet burst into the kitchen.

  “We’re going to the circus! We’re going to the circus!” he chanted. He stopped and smiled at his friends. “I am here and ready to go to the world-famous Cirque du Lune!”

  “Have a seat,” Phineas said. “We’re going in a minute.”

  “Okay,” Baljeet said, trying to contain himself. But he couldn’t. Almost immediately, he started chanting again. “We’re going to the circus! We’re going to the circus!”

  Mr. Fletcher walked into the kitchen holding a newspaper. Ferb and his dad were from England. When Mr. Fletcher and Phineas’s mom married, Phineas and Ferb had become stepbrothers. But they had never thought of themselves that way. From the beginning, they had felt as if they were best friends.

  “Hold your horses, kids,” Mr. Fletcher said, pointing to a newspaper article. “It says here that the lead of Cirque du Lune has a severe allergy. They’re canceling today’s performance.”

  “Well, that’s a bummer,” Isabella said sadly.

  Phineas’s mom, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher, walked in carrying a coffee mug. “If it’s anything like Candace’s parsnip allergy— whew! —I don’t blame him for not wanting to appear in public,” Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher said.

  Candace Flynn was Phineas and Ferb’s older sister. She had a very strong reaction to wild parsnips.

  “She gets blotchy and red . . . weird-voice thingy,” Phineas explained to Isabella. “Not good,” he added in a whisper.

  Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher turned to her husband. “Well, honey, looks like that frees you up to join me at the mall,” she said brightly. “Our trio is recording our first album today: Live at the Squat ’n’ Stitch!”

  Phineas’s mom played keyboard in a jazz band with two of her friends. They had been rehearsing for weeks, and they were very excited about their album.

  “Mmm-mmm. Should be swinging!” Mr. Fletcher agreed.

  Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher hugged Phineas and Ferb. She looked around the table at everyone’s sad expressions. “Cheer up, guys,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll have a fun day anyway.” She walked to the door with Mr. Fletcher. “Bye, kids!” she called. “Be good! Have fun!”

  Phineas and Ferb’s parents left. The five friends looked at each other, a little sad about the change in their plans.

  “It must be so cool to be in the circus,” Isabella said wistfully.

  “Yeah,” Phineas agreed. Suddenly he had an idea. “Hey, Ferb, let’s put on our own cirque!” he cried. He grinned as he realized that, once again, he had come up with a stupendously good plan. “This will be great! Ferb can set up the tent, I’ll be the ringmaster—”

  “We can sew up some arty costumes!” Isabella suggested.

  “For a trick, I can put my leg over my head!” Django offered.

  Still sitting down, Django tried to wrap his leg behind his neck. He lost his balance, and he and his chair fell backward onto the floor with a loud crash! “Ow! I’ll work on it.”

  “Even Perry can have an act. The Amazing Perry!” Phineas shouted, pretending to be a circus ringmaster. Perry was Phineas and Ferb’s pet platypus.

  Perry looked around, startled. He had been quietly enjoying his own breakfast, which was served in a bowl on the floor. He had not expected to hear himself introduced as if he were a trapeze artist or tightrope walker. At least not this early in the morning.

  “Ooh! I have a mystical, magical act I would like to perform,” Baljeet said. He clasped his hands together, then moved them apart. He kept one thumb tucked behind his palm, making it look as if it had disappeared. “It’s stupefying!” he shouted.

  Buford watched Baljeet’s trick. Buford usually acted tough, but even he was caught up in the excitement.

  “I have an act that’ll bring the house down,” Buford said proudly.

  Phineas could not wait to put their plan into action. “Ferb, get the tools!” he shouted.

  “Let’s do this!” Isabella cried.

  “Great!” Django agreed.

  “Woo-hoo!” Baljeet called.

  The group rushed out the kitchen door and into the backyard. They had a lot to do if they were going to put on their very own circus.

  Upstairs in her bed, Phineas and Ferb’s older sister, Candace, had just woken up. She stretched and yawned. She smiled at a framed photo on the pillow next to hers. It was of Jeremy Johnson, the boy she liked.

  “Good morning, Jeremy!” Candace said to the photograph. She pretended to be Jeremy and answered in a deep voice. “Good morning, gorgeous.” She giggled. “Oh, Jer!”

  She picked up a framed photo of herself. Then she held the two pictures together and made kissing noises.

  Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing sound outside.

  “I’ll be right back, Jeremy,” Candace said, frowning. She jumped out of bed and went to her bedroom window. “What’s going on?” she said.

  Just then, a huge pink-and-purple circus tent rose in the backyard.

  “A circus?!” Candace cried. “Why can’t they give me a break for one day?”

  This was just like Phineas and Ferb, Candace thought. They were always trying out crazy schemes, from entering a car race to building a roller coaster in the backyard. The most irritating part to Candace was that her brothers always got away with them. Their parents never suspected a thing! It looked as if today would be no different.

  Chapter 2

  Inside the big-top tent, Phineas and Ferb’s friends were trying out their acts and setting up bleachers. Phineas was dressed as a ringmaster. He wore a top hat, orange pants, and a bright blue jacket with gold trim. Ferb had on a green hat with bells, a green-and-purple outfit, and clown makeup. He was dressed as a jester.

  Phineas looked around. “This looks great, Ferb!” he said. “Hey, have you seen Perry? I put on his costume.”

  Perry the Platypus may have been wearing a costume, but he was not happy about it. He had on a top made of two coconut halves, a ruffled skirt, and a black mask. Four green feathers were attach
ed to his head.

  Although Perry was dressed for a circus, he was not going to wait around to take part in it. That’s because he was more than just a platypus. He was also a secret agent who worked for a secret organization to fight a secret enemy. It was all so secret that even Phineas and Ferb didn’t know Perry’s true identity. They thought Perry was just a pet.

  Outside the tent, Perry trotted across the backyard toward a secret transportation device. He stopped, and a glass elevator rose out of a section of the lawn. Perry stepped inside and pushed a button. The elevator quickly sank into a tunnel that led to Perry’s secret-agent hideout.

  A short while later, Perry sat in a chair in front of a large monitor. His boss, Major Monogram, appeared on-screen.

  Major Monogram had a mustache and wore a military uniform. He usually looked very serious. When he looked up from his report and saw Perry wearing his ridiculous circus costume, he started to laugh. He managed to control his laughter long enough to speak.

  “Okay, Agent P,” Major Monogram said, “Dr. Doofenshmirtz is buying biomechanical equipment and elocution tapes.”

  Then he started laughing even harder. “We—we don’t know why.”

  Annoyed, Perry stood up and headed for the door.

  “W—where are you going, Agent P?” Major Monogram asked. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. Don’t go. I’m not laughing at you. I—I just heard a funny joke earlier this morning and . . .”

  Perry stopped walking, but he didn’t look back at the monitor. Major Monogram was going to have to do better than that if he wanted Perry to stay.

  “Please. Please, Agent P, turn around so we can conclude our meeting,” the major said.

  Perry hesitated. His feelings were hurt, but his old foe, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, was up to no good! The fate of the world was more important than his feelings, Perry decided.

  He faced the monitor again. Just then, Major Monogram held up his cell phone and took a picture of Perry. He started laughing again.

  “Karl, what’s your e-mail?” he called off-screen. “I’m going to send this to you.”

  Disgusted, Perry walked out. Major Monogram was still chuckling.

  At the big-top tent, Buford was preparing for his own mission—his circus act. He pushed a cart full of equipment toward the tent entrance, where Phineas was standing.

  “Hey, twerp, I brought the props for my act,” Buford said.

  Phineas looked at the cart, which was filled with wooden boards and a large metal spring.

  “Buford, what exactly is your act?” Phineas asked.

  “I fly into mud with a paper bag on my head,” Buford said proudly. He held up a hand-drawn diagram that showed a catapult made of the boards and spring. The diagram also showed a huge tub of mud.

  Phineas blinked. Being thrown into a vat of mud did not sound like his idea of a good time. Of course, he wasn’t Buford. He wasn’t interested in arguing, either.

  “Okay, then,” Phineas said with a nod.

  “The peeps are going to lo-ove this,” Buford said as he pushed his cart into the tent.

  Meanwhile, Candace had gotten dressed. She walked outside and stared at the tent, which looked even bigger up close. “I’m not even going to call Mom,” she murmured. “No, not going to call.”

  Then she heard what sounded like an elephant inside the tent. An elephant?! Candace thought. What if it got loose and went on a rampage? What if it trampled flowerbeds and little kids’ tricycles? This time Phineas and Ferb had gone too far.

  Candace whipped out her cell phone and dialed her mother.

  “Candace, honey, listen, I can’t talk,” Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher said over the phone. “We’re recording. Is it life or death?”

  Candace looked at the circus tent. If there was an elephant, it hadn’t gone on a rampage—yet.

  “Well, no,” she said. “But—”

  “Then I’ve got to go!” her mother interrupted. “Bye!”

  Candace groaned in frustration. Just then, Jeremy walked up holding a basket of vegetables.

  “Hey, Candace,” he said.

  “Oh! Hi, Jeremy!” Candace said happily.

  “My mom told me to bring over these homegrown veggies for your family,” Jeremy said. “You know, she and your mom are doing that jazz thing today.”

  Candace tried to think of something witty to say. She wanted to impress Jeremy, but her mind was blank. So she just smiled. “Thanks.”

  Jeremy looked at the tent. “So, a circus? Cool.” He paused. “I guess it’s more of a cirque than a circus.” He chuckled.

  Candace rubbed her nose, which was starting to itch. It didn’t bother her because Jeremy was standing next to her. And talking to her! And breathing the same air as her!

  She sighed dreamily as she looked at Jeremy’s blond hair and blue eyes. His face was framed by a beautiful summer sky. Candace imagined she could hear voices singing in the background. Jeremy turned to her and spoke. Candace thought she heard, “Good morning, gorgeous.”

  “Oh!” she said, giggling.

  “Don’t you think?” Jeremy asked.

  Candace snapped back to reality. “What?” she asked.

  “Don’t you think we should sit together?” Jeremy repeated. “To watch the show? If—if you want to . . .”

  Candace couldn’t believe it. Jeremy was asking to sit next to her at the circus. It was almost as if he were asking her on a date!

  “Yeah! Yeah!” Candace said. But, suddenly, she started to cough.

  “Uh, Candace, are you okay?” Jeremy asked, looking worried.

  Candace abruptly fell to the ground. Her face was covered with red splotches.

  She looked at the basket of vegetables she was holding. An awful thought occurred to her. “Say, are there any wild parsnips in here?”

  “Uh, I think that’s all that’s in there,” Jeremy said, confused.

  Of course, Candace thought. Wild parsnips, which I’m completely allergic to. She stood up, leaving the basket on the ground.

  “Later!” Candace said. Still coughing, she quickly staggered away.

  She had to get rid of this allergy—fast—if she wanted to sit next to Jeremy at the circus.

  Chapter 3

  Agent P was on his way to his enemy’s secret hideout. He was determined to uncover Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s latest evil plan.

  Meanwhile, inside Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s headquarters, the scientist was listening to a tape called Tuff Talk. The recorded male voice sounded as if he wanted to get into a fight.

  “I’m dancing with your wife, pal!” the voice said angrily. “You got a problem with that?”

  Dr. Doofenshmirtz listened carefully. Then he tried to repeat the sentence in a tough-sounding voice.

  “‘I’m dan—’” Dr. Doofenshmirtz began, but his voice came out high and squeaky. He cleared his throat and tried again. “‘I’m dancing with your wife, pal! You got a problem with that?’” This time he sounded angry.

  He gasped with delight. “Oh, yes, that does sound tough!”

  The voice on the tape went on. “Yeah, I ate your last nectarine. You got a problem with that?”

  Eagerly, Dr. Doofenshmirtz started to repeat the line. “‘Yes, I ate—’”

  At that moment, Perry crashed through the ceiling! He was flying with a portable propeller. He had changed out of his circus costume and was now wearing his secret-agent hat, a brown fedora.

  “Perry the Platypus!” Dr. Doofenshmirtz said. “Look, could—” Dust from the smashed-in ceiling surrounded the scientist. Cough! Cough! “Could you just use the front door from now on? Could you just do that for me?”

  Perry glanced at the front door. Right in front of it was a large steel trap. As if the famous Agent P would fall for a trick like that! Perry thought.

  Dr. Doofenshmirtz realized he hadn’t sounded tough at all. In fact, he had sounded a little whiny.

  He cleared his throat. “Yes, I ate your last nectarine,” he said to Perry in a threatening tone. “You got a prob
lem with that?”

  Confused, Perry stared at his enemy.

  “Sounds tough, huh?” Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, nodding. “But not tough enough.”

  He held up a remote control and pushed a large red button. A net fell from the ceiling and landed on Perry! Trapped inside, the platypus was yanked into the air.

  “You see, ever since I was a child, I have had a high, squeaky voice,” said Dr. Doofenshmirtz. “But not anymore. Behold, the Voice-inator!” He pointed to a huge machine. “It biomechanically transforms normal air into Doofelium, which will make everyone else’s voice higher, making my voice deeper by comparison,” he explained. “I was going to lower my own voice, but, you know, it seemed like too much trouble.”

  The scientist climbed onto the Voice-inator and started the engine. The machine blasted off the ground toward the hole in the ceiling.

  As he steered the machine through the roof, even more rubble and dust fell into Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s headquarters. “Oh, come on!” he cried in disgust.

  Still trapped inside the net, Perry watched the evil scientist fly away on his invention. Perry’s mission was now clear: to stop Dr. Doofenshmirtz from using the Voice-inator on the world!

  * * *

  In her bedroom, Candace was trying to stop a disaster of her own. She sat down at her dressing table and stared into the mirror. Her face was red, swollen, and covered in splotches.

  “Of course, it had to be wild parsnips!” Candace said with a groan.

  She opened a drawer and frantically searched. “Allergy pills, allergy pills . . .” she muttered. Finally, she spotted a medicine bottle. “Ah-ha! Quick, before my voice goes through the reaction!”

  Candace opened the bottle and shook it—but it was empty!

  “No!” she cried. When she heard her unnaturally deep voice, she realized it was already too late.