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we’ll have to shrink ourselves with the Anatomical Resizer.’
    Jess looked around the normal-sized entrance hall. There was a lamp and a painting but nothing that looked like it might be an Anatomical Resizer, whatever that was.
    â€˜Where is it?’ she asked.
    Elly pulled Jess into the entrance hall and closed the front door. ‘We’re standing in it,’ she said, lifting the painting off the wall.
    Hidden behind it was a panel of glowing buttons and dials. Elly pressed one and immediately the lamp lit up with an eerie red glow that slowly turned purple, then orange.
    Elly looked at her friend. ‘Are you scared?’
    she asked.
    â€˜No, but what will shrinking feel like?’ asked Jess. Adventures were cool, but she wasn’t so keen on getting hurt.

‘It just tingles a bit,’ said Elly. ‘And your stomach drops like when you’re on a swing.’
    Jess nodded. That sounded OK. ‘Let’s shrink!’ she said.
    Elly pushed one of the buttons. The lamp flashed purple and suddenly it felt as if the walls were rocketing up into the air. At the same time, the floorboards seemed to be getting closer and closer. The wind whistled furiously in their ears. And then everything stopped as suddenly as it had started.
    It was very still. Jess looked around. It didn’t feel like anything had happened at all. She felt exactly the same. Elly looked the same, too. But then Jess looked down the corridor to where she had seen all the tiny furniture. It wasn’t tiny anymore. Everything looked normal-sized.
    â€˜Come on,’ said Elly. ‘We should hurry.’
    She led the way down the corridor. The house was very dark and just a little bit spooky. Jess kept thinking she could see things hiding in the corners but when she got closer it would turn out to be a bookcase or a chair. But then when she turned away she couldn’t help feeling that the things were moving. Jess felt better once her eyes got used to the dark.
    They were standing near a staircase that curled up into the darkness. ‘My room is up there,’ said Elly, as she started climbing. Jess followed behind her.
    Halfway up the stairs Elly stopped. ‘Did you hear that?’ she whispered.
    Jess stood still and listened. Her heart was beating very fast all of a sudden. She heard a noise, too.
    â€˜Stay there,’ said Elly.
    Elly tiptoed towards her bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. Jess didn’t really want to be on her own, but she didn’t want to go into the bedroom either. In fact, she just wanted to leave. The noise started again. It sounded like something bumping and crashing into the walls. What could it possibly be? It might be just a beetle or a fly. Jess wasn’t scared of bugs when they were so much smaller than she was. But now she had been shrunk, she wasn’t sure she would like to run into one the same size as her.
    Elly disappeared into the bedroom. Jess gripped the banisters very tightly. She wished she hadn’t agreed to come. From inside the room came a very loud buzzing sound and a number of crashes and thumps. Jess froze. Maybe it was a bee or a wasp! Should she run in and help Elly or should she run away? But then she heard Elly laughing.

    â€˜Oh, it’s you!’ Elly exclaimed. Her head popped back around the door. ‘Don’t worry, Jess,’ she said. ‘It’s just my Hover-Lamp.’

    Jess walked cautiously into the room. She ducked as something whirred past her ear. ‘What’s a Hover-Lamp?’ she asked.
    â€˜Hang on,’ said Elly. ‘I’ll turn it on.’
    She gave a piercing whistle and immediately the room was flooded with a soft, golden light. The lamp flew above Jess’s head and circled around three times. It finally landed on her shoulder. It nuzzled into Jess’s neck and made a sort of mechanical purring noise in her ear. Jess laughed. She wasn’t nervous