flyers
flyers
O'BRIEN
15
Bimbot is thrown out of the treehouse gang for being a crybaby. Robots don’t cry, Rusty, Klunk and Klang tell him. In the woods, Bimbot meets a skunk with no smell, a bee with no stripes and a bear who is afraid of heights.
Can his new friends help him out?
LY E
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FLYERS FLYERS
F
Written and illustrated by
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‘A jolly good read.’ Books Ireland
Can YOU spot the Little Bear hidden in the story?
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This book is dedicated to my Mam, the greatest storyteller and feeder of imagination that ever lived.
Bob Byrne is a self-taught comic artist who lives in Dublin. His comics have appeared in dozens
of publications throughout the
world. He enjoys drawing, playing video games, drinking too much coffee, giving out about things and shouting at the telly.
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Written & illustrated by
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First published 2006 by The O’Brien Press Ltd, 12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, D06 HD27, Ireland. Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777 E-mail: books@obrien.ie Website: www.obrien.ie Reprinted 2007. Digital edition 2020. I S BN : 978- 1- 84717- 005- 7 Copyright for text & illustrations © Bob Byrne 2006 Copyright for typesetting, layout, design © The O’Brien Press Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Editing, typesetting, layout, design: The O’Brien Press Ltd Illustrations: Bob Byrne
Published in:
Robots Don’t Cry! received assistance from the Arts Council
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CHAPTER 1
Crybaby 6 CHAPTER 2
Alone in the Woods 16 CHAPTER 3
Buzz Off! 25 CHAPTER 4
What’s That? 34 CHAPTER 5
A Really Good Idea 42 CHAPTER 6
Robots DO Cry? 57
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CHAPTER 1
Crybaby
Outside of Robot City stood a tall tin tree, with a small metal treehouse bolted to its side.
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Inside the treehouse, four young robots were playing ring-toss.
Bimbot, who was the youngest, had been waiting a long time for his turn.
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At last, Rusty handed Bimbot a ring.
‘Okay, Bimbot,’ he said. ‘You only get one throw.’
Bimbot took careful aim. I’ll show them all how good I am, he thought.
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He threw the ring with a mighty
The ring missed the hook and bounced off the floor ...
then off the roof, then the wall.
And then it hit Bimbot on the head!
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Rusty burst out laughing. Klang and Klunk (who always copied Rusty), joined in.
Bimbot felt so sad that a small tear dripped from his eye. ‘Leave me alone,’ he cried.
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Rusty stopped laughing.
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’ he roared at Bimbot. ‘Are you CRYING? Robots DON’T CRY!’ ‘You big baby!’ said Klunk. ‘Go home to your mammy!’
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Poor Bimbot! He climbed down the ladder and walked away, hanging his head and staring at the ground as he went.
He walked and he walked ...
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... and he walked some more.
‘Why are they so mean to me?’ he said. ‘I thought they were my fr– OOPS!’
He looked around and said, ‘Where am I? This isn’t home.’
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‘Oh no! I’ve wandered into the Dark Woods!’
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CHAPTER 2
Alone in the Woods Ever since Bimbot was a baby robot he had been warned not to go into the Dark Woods. ‘The Woods are full of slimy black slugs and scary blue frogs,’ said the Teach-o-bot. ‘There are goblins and gremlins and poisonous toadstools,’ declared his dad. ‘There’s quicksand and stinkberries and giant sticky clingers,’ said his mum.
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Bimbot turned to run home, but a creature blocked his path. It was covered in dark fur with a white stripe running from its nose to its tail.
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‘A SKUNK!’ yelled Bimbot, and he covered his nose. The skunk looked up at him sadly.
‘You don’t have to do that,’ he said. ‘I don’t smell.’ ‘Oh,’ said Bimbot. ‘That’s good.’ ‘Not if you’re a skunk,’ said the skunk. ‘None of the other skunks will
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play with me because I don’t smell like them.’ ‘Oh,’ said Bimbot. He knew how that felt. ‘Maybe we could find a smell for you?’ He thought for a moment ...
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‘I’ve got it!’ he said. ‘There’s always smelly stuff at the bottom of a well.’ ‘And I know where there’s a well!’ said the skunk excitedly. When they reached the well, Bimbot s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d his arm right down and scooped up a handful of sticky slimy muck. ‘Yuck!’ said Bimbot.
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‘Yum!’ said the skunk. He rolled around in the muck until he was covered all over in slime.
‘How do I smell now?’ he asked. ‘Like smelly socks, rotten cheese and sour milk,’ said Bimbot.
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‘Perfect!’ said the skunk. ‘Now I smell like a real skunk. Thank you so much, little robot. If you ever need my help, just follow the smell.’
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Well, Bimbot thought, he wasn’t scary at all, and he walked a little bit further into the Dark Woods.
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Bimbot felt a lot braver and happier after helping the skunk. He forgot all about the mean robots back in the treehouse.
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CHAPTER 3
Buzz Off! Suddenly Bimbot heard a noise. He stopped and listened.
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‘Where is that noise coming from?’ he said.
A small, fuzzy bee sat on a white daisy, sobbing and sniffing loudly. ‘Why are you crying?’ Bimbot asked. ‘You have lovely wings. You can fly. Why aren’t you happy?’
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‘What colour am I? ’ asked the little bee. ‘Yellow, of course,’ said Bimbot.
‘Yes,’ said the bee. ‘Just yellow. Where are my STRIPES??? All the other bees have stripes. No one will play with me because I don’t have stripes.’
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She gave such a big SNIFF that a daisy leaf went right up her nose.
‘ATCHOO!’ Bimbot had an idea. He picked a ripe blackberry and squeezed it. Then he lifted up the little bee. ‘Turn around,’ he instructed. As the bee turned, Bimbot painted three broad stripes on her back and tummy.
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‘Ooh, they’re lovely,’ said the bee. She flapped her wings very hard to dry her new stripes. Then she flew round and round, buzzing with delight.
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The bee disappeared into a bush. When she came out she was carrying a big jar of honey. ‘This is for you, little robot,’ she said. ‘You’re very kind.’ ‘Now I must buzz off!’ Bimbot whistled a happy song as he skipped and hopped further into the Dark Woods. After a while he sat down for a rest beside a clear stream.
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He watched frogs playing leapfrog and butterflies fluttering by.
Where are all the scary creatures everyone told me about? he wondered. 31
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reat g a n, ods. udde o s w a e f All o e from th e cam nois
It was so loud that the trees trembled and the grass shivered!
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‘A muh ... Muh ... MONSTER!’ gulped Bimbot.
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CHAPTER 4
What’s That?
Bimbot hid behind a rock. His metal knees were knocking together. All his nuts and bolts rattled with fear. Tears filled his eyes.
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Then he thought of how Rusty, Klunk and Klang had laughed at him. ‘Robots DON’T CRY,’ he said loudly. ‘Ever.’
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And just to show how brave he was, instead of running away from that terrible noise, he decided to follow it. ‘I’ll prove I’m not a baby!’
He hopped across streams.
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He ran across log bridges. He climbed hills. He swung from trees.
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The noise grew louder and LOUDER.
It was a BEAR! A big brown bear was sitting under a tree, growling and holding his head in his hands.
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‘Hell ... Hello, Mr Bear,’ Bimbot said nervously. ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Promise not to laugh?’ said the bear. ‘I promise.’ Bimbot put his hand over his little tin heart. ‘You see that yummy honey hanging from the tree?’ asked the bear. ‘Well, I LOVE honey, and I’m SO hungry...
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... but I can’t climb the tree because ... because ... I’m SCARED OF HEIGHTS!’
‘There’s no need to be hungry, Mr Bear,’ said Bimbot. ‘Have my honey.’ He handed over the jar of honey that the bee had given him. ‘All for me?’ the bear was delighted. ‘Thank you, little robot.’
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He put a paw deep in his fur and rummaged around. ‘Here,’ he handed Bimbot a card. ‘If you need me, just call.’
And off he went.
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CHAPTER 5
A Really Good Idea The sun was going down and the woods were getting cold. Bimbot decided it was time to go home.
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But he didn’t want to go home. Horrid Rusty and Klunk and Klang would only laugh at him again. They’d never believe he had been in the Dark Woods on his own! He sat on a tree stump and thought about the friends he had made today.
He had an idea ...
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He made a phone call and whispered the details of his plan. This was going to be
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FUN!
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Back in the treehouse outside Robot City, Rusty, Klunk and Klang were still playing.
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They were just finishing their jigsaw puzzle when ...
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‘Who could that be?’ asked Klang. ‘I bet it’s that crybaby Bimbot,’ said Klunk. ‘Don’t let him in,’ said Rusty. The knocking got louder.
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‘Open the door and tell him to go away,’ ordered Rusty. Klang pulled open the door, expecting to see a sad Bimbot. But there stood a SKUNK!
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It was a really smelly skunk and he wiggled his bum at Klang.
‘Yuck!’ yelled Rusty. ‘That smell! It’s like stinkberries and rotten eggs. I’m going to be sick! Quick, open the window!’
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Klunk ran to the window and threw it wide open. But instead of fresh air, a swarm of angry bees flew in.
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‘The trapdoor!’ Rusty shouted. ‘It’s our only escape!’
The three robots pushed and shoved through the trapdoor and fell in a heap at the foot of the tree. The bees still buzzed around their heads.
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Klang began to cry.
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‘Don’t be such a baby,’ Rusty said crossly. ‘ROBOTS DON’T CRY!’
‘I’m ... I’m not crying,’ sniffed Klang. ‘There’s something in my eye.’
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They didn’t notice a long dark shadow creeping towards them. Then Rusty looked up ...
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‘It’s a BEAR!’ he screamed.
The bear had long pointy fangs, huge paws and razor-sharp claws. Rusty, Klunk and Klang were so terrified that they couldn’t move.
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‘I’m scared,’ Klunk sobbed. ‘Me too,’ howled Rusty. ‘I want my Mammy,’ Klang bawled. 56
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CHAPTER 6
Robots DO Cry? Suddenly there was silence. The robots opened their eyes, and there stood ...
BIMBOT?
‘Well, well, well,’ said Bimbot. ‘What have we here? Looks like Robots DO cry after all!’ 57
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‘Buh-Buh-Bimbot!’ cried Rusty. ‘Look out! There’s a big scary bear!’ ‘And a swarm of very angry bees!’ blubbed Klunk.
‘And a skunk with a smell that would fry your circuits!’ yelped Klang.
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‘You mean my new friends?’ Bimbot laughed.
Rusty, Klunk and Klang were astonished. They wiped their eyes and tried to look brave. 59
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‘It’s okay to cry,’ Bimbot said. ‘Everyone cries sometimes. When you’re sad, or you’re hurt, or you’re frightened, it’s okay to cry. Even if you’re a robot.’
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‘You’re right, Bimbot.’ Rusty said. ‘We’re sorry we were horrible to you.’ ‘Will you come back to the treehouse?’ he asked.
‘Go on, little robot,’ said the bear. ‘We’ll be off now. Our job is done.’
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‘Promise you’ll come back and visit us sometime?’ said the skunk.
‘I promise,’ said Bimbot, waving goodbye.
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Back in the treehouse, all four robots played happily together until it was time to go home.
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flyers
flyers
O'BRIEN
15
Bimbot is thrown out of the treehouse gang for being a crybaby. Robots don’t cry, Rusty, Klunk and Klang tell him. In the woods, Bimbot meets a skunk with no smell, a bee with no stripes and a bear who is afraid of heights.
Can his new friends help him out?
LY E
R
FLYERS FLYERS
F
Written and illustrated by
15