UMKO the friendly little yellow robot lived on a green planet far, far away in the deepest depths of the galaxy. With his best dog friend Skipper, UMKO loved to travel the star lanes, exploring the amazing universe all around him! “Right, Captain Skip!” said UMKO one morning, inside the kitchen of their anti-gravitational home-in-the-sky. “Where shall we go today?” Skipper pressed a button on the table and a holographic star chart appeared. HMMMMM! Skipper pointed to a small blue/green planet orbiting an average star in the middle of the Milky Way galaxy. “Woof! Woof! Let’s go there!” Even though Skipper only spoke “doggy”, UMKO could understand every word he said! UMKO consulted his electronic UMKObook of Universal Knowledge, which was filled with information about all the stars and planets of the universe – and lots of other neat stuff, too! “Hmm. The planet “Earth”,” he read aloud. “Third planet from its Sun. Earth is approximately 4.54 billion years old – UMKOooh! That’s really young! – and is mostly made up of iron, oxygen and silicon. 70% of it is covered by something called waa-tar – I wonder what that is?!” “Arrff! Arrff!” barked Skipper. “We can soon find out!” UMKO and Slipper dashed excitedly outside to their spaceship! With Skipper flying the spaceship, it blasted off into the sky – WHOOOSSSH! – heading almost faster than the speed of light into the inky blackness of space! ZOOOM! With a flick of Skipper’s paw on the control panel, a space/time portal opened in front of the spaceship. HMMMMMMMMM! “Woof-Hoo!” cheered Skipper, guiding the spaceship into the portal and –ZIIIIIP! – within seconds the two friends had travelled far across the galaxy to arrive in orbit around the planet Earth! “Take us in, Captain Skip!” cheered UMKO. Skipper steered the spaceship down, down, into the Earth’s atmosphere! WHIIIIISSSSSH! At 249 Petunia Avenue, crazy-as-a-noodle Professor Storm was peering through his home-made giant telescope inside his home-made astronomical observatory, on top of his bungalow. It used to be a three tier house, but the weight of the observatory had sunk it into the ground! Every day, Professor Storm would peer through his telescope, hoping to catch a glimpse of a visiting alien spacecraft. And today – his wish came true! “Great Exploding Supernova!” he yelped, seeing UMKO’s spaceship burst out of the clouds. WHOOOSSSH! “It’s an alien! The aliens are coming!” The spaceship grew closer…and closer…! In fact, it was getting a bit too close! “Waaaah! It’s going to crash – onto my house!” squealed Professor Storm, leaping under his stool for safety. “The aliens are attacking! Save me!” Professor Storm pulled out his cell phone. “Call out the Army! Call out the Navy! Call out the Air Force!” he screamed. “We’re being invaded! Waaaaaaaah!” Inside the spaceship, UMKO was getting a little worried! “Whoa! Pull up, Captain Skip!” he cried, seeing the bungalow they were about to crash into. With a panicked “Yelp!”, Skipper covered his eyes with his paws! “No!” cried UMKO, grabbing hold of the steering column. He pulled it back as hard as he could! ZUUUUUUUUM! The spaceship skimmed over the top of Professor Storm’s house, tearing off most of his roof tiles! R-I-I--I-I-I-I-I-I-I-P! It spun madly around - “Whooooo-ooooo-oooooh!” yelled UMKO - before skimming like a giant stone across the river of a park! SPLIIISSSH! SPLAASSSH! SPLOOOSSSH! The spaceship smashed Into a wooden jetty! CRRAASSH! The glass canopy popped off and UMKO and Skipper were thrown out! “Waaa-aaah!” cried UMKO. They landed with a loud KER-SPLOOOSSSH! In the water! UMKO sat in the shallow river, dripping wet. “Glub! So this is what waa-tar is!” chuckled UMKO. “I can’t say I think much of it! It’s all wet!” The antennae on UMKO’s head sparkled brightly. HMMMMMM! UMKO, Skipper and the spaceship were surrounded by a golden blue light. BZZZZZZZZZZZ! They lifted out of the water and landed gently on the dry river bank! UMKO quickly checked over his spaceship. “Oh, dear!” he sighed. “The ship’s discombobulator is broken! And we can’t take off without it!” UMKO beamed a super-sunny smile. “Keep smiling, Captain Skip!” he laughed, lifting up into the air on his supersonic cosmic sneakers. WHIIIIISSSSSH! “Something’s sure to turn up! Let’s go exploring!” Elsewhere in the park, Anna and her best friend Matt were busy picking up litter. “Huh! I can think of better things to be doing on my weekend!” muttered Matt, stuffing a crumpled crisp packet into a huge bag. “Stop grumbling!” giggled Anna. “We’re being sponsored to clean up the town. And all the money we collect is going to charity”. Anna was interrupted by a loud “Whaaa-hoooo!” Their Very Worst Enemy Nasty Simon tore across the park his extra-speedy motorised go-cart. VROOOM! VROOOM! Simon was a spoilt bully and no one liked him! “Outta my way!” he cackled, tearing towards them. “Hey! Simon! Don’t!” cried Anna - but it was too late! The go-cart smashed through the many litter bags the children had filled – WHOOOMFH! They bags burst open! The litter flew everywhere! WHIIIIIIISSSSH! “You stinker, Simon!” yelled Anna crossly. “We’ve spent all morning cleaning up!” “Har-Har! Who cares?” laughed Simon, crashing through the bags a second time! BOOOOMFH! “This park belongs to me! So bug off!” A puzzled UMKO and Skipper had been watching Simon scattering the litter. “UMKOwow! This must be a strange Earth custom!” said UMKO, after Simon had driven away. “Come on, Captain Skip! Let’s join in!” UMKO and Skipper started kicking the litter in all directions! “Hoo-mans must like mess!” said UMKO, puzzled. “How odd! Personally, I hate it!” Anna and Matt stared at the newcomers in disbelief. “Nooo! You horrible creature!” wailed Anna. “Go away! You’re as bad and nasty as Simon!” UMKO was shocked to hear this! “Nasty? Me?! No! I’m a nice robot!” he said. “Really I am! I want to be your friend!” “Huh! You’ve got a funny way of showing it!” growled Matt. “Look at the mess you’ve made!” UMKO quickly realised his mistake. “UMKOoops!” He grinned cheekily. “Give me a smile! I’ll soon fix this!” UMKO’s antennae sparkled brightly. HMMMMMM! A small silver whirlwind appeared from out of nowhere! WHOOOSSSH! It sucked up all the litter in the park – SLUURRP! - and dropped it back into the litter bags! FLUUMMPH! “Wow!” gasped Matt. “How did you do that?” “I’m UMKO,” laughed UMKO. “I can do anything!” “Woof! Woof!” nodded Skipper. He can, you know! Back at Professor Storm’s house, the authorities had arrived in answer to his urgent call – an air force helicopter, a large army tank and a giant navy battleship on wheels! “Follow me!” shouted the excited Professor, studying his Alien Detector Unit, which was giving off a loud BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! “The alien has landed in the park! We’ve got him now! HAHAHAHAAA!” UMKO introduced himself and Skipper to the children. Matt was stunned to be meeting a robot from another planet! “You’re an – alien!” he gasped. “Awesome!! Wait until I tell my friends about you!” “I doubt if they’ll see me!” chuckled UMKO. “Only those who really believe in me can see me!” Anna grinned. “Matt and I have always believed in aliens!” Just then, Nasty Simon reappeared in his go-kart. VROOOOM! VROOM! “Oh, no!” groaned Matt. “Not him again!” “Hey!” growled Simon. “How did you tidy up all that litter so fast?!” Furious, Simon drove his go-kart through the littler bags a second time, throwing litter all over the ground! BOOOOMFH! This made UMKO very cross! “I’ve had quite enough of him!” he said. “I don’t like bullies!” UMKO’s antennae sparkled brightly. HMMMMM! A purple beam shot out, striking the spilled litter! ZAAAAP! The litter flew into the air, swirling madly around – WHIIIISSSSH! It began sticking together to create – a giant Litter Monster! “Rrrrrgggghhh!” roared the Litter Monster, glaring at Simon! “Aaaaaahh! A monster!” screamed Simon! The Litter Monster chased Simon all around the park! “Waaah! Go away!” wailed a terrified Simon. “Leave me alone!” The Litter Monster snatched up the go-kart, shaking it hard! RATTLE-RATTLE! “Yaaggh!” screamed Simon, louder still. “Put me down!” So the Litter Monster placed the go-kart gently on the ground! “That’s better!” snorted Simon. “I’m in charge around here!” Then the Litter-Monster sat down hard on him! WHUUMMP! “See how much you like litter!” snarled the Litter Monster. With that, the Litter Monster turned back into a giant pile of litter – FLUUMMPH! – burying Simon up to his neck in foul-smelling garbage! “Ewwww! It stinks!” choked Simon, his face turning a putrid green colour. He scrambled out of the litter and ran off home! Matt was astounded! “Wow! Simon never even saw you, UMKO!” he gasped. UMKO laughed. “I told you! Only people who believe in me can see me – like you and Anna!” Just then, an angry shout rang out! “There he is!” yelled Professor Storm, leading the helicopter, tank and battleship towards UMKO. “There’s the rotten alien who attacked my house!” “And Mad Professors like him!” groaned UMKO. UMKO found himself surrounded! “I’ve got you now!” cackled Professor Storm. “Your plan to conquer Earth is over! For you – there is no escape!” “Quick! Arrest him!” yelled Professor Storm, pointing at UMKO. But no one else could see UMKO! “What are you talking about, Professor?” snorted the Army Colonel crossly, from inside his tank. “There’s no one there!” “Guuurrr!! Oh, yes, there is!” growls the Professor, leaping at UMKO. “And I’ll prove it to you!” But to the Professor’s surprise, he sailed straight through UMKO! He crashed head-first into the tree! BONNNNNNNNG! “Uggh!” he groaned, crashing to the ground. The Navy Admiral made a quick phone call! Moments later, two doctors from the local hospital arrived, carrying a huge fishing net between them. “There, there, Professor,” said one, scooping up the bewildered Professor Storm inside the net. “Come with us!” “Yes,” said the other, kindly. “We have a nice rest home for nutty professors like you! You’ll be well taken care of!” “Nooo!” cried Professor Storm. “There is an alien! He’s right there! Let me go! Waaaaaah!” When everyone had left, Anna and Matt turned excitedly to UMKO. “How did the Professor go through you like that?” asked Anna. “That was so cool!” UMKO’s antennae sparkled brightly – HMMMMMM! - and dozens of holographic images of him appeared! “It’s easy-peasy!” he chuckles. “When you’re a clever little robot like me!” Matt pointed to all the litter. “Oh, well! We’d better starting picking this lot up again! It’s going to take ages!” UMKO pulled out his magical UMKOpen! “Smile with me and be happy!” he giggled. The little robot began to draw a picture - in the air! To the children’s amazement, a picture of a futuristic vacuum cleaner appeared! UMKO’s antennae sparkled brightly – HMMMMMM! An orange beam shot forward, striking the picture – ZAAAP! - turning it into a real vacuum cleaner, and giant-sized! “Hop aboard!” laughed UMKO. With a loud WHIIIIISSSSSH! the vacuum cleaner flew up in the air. It began sucking up the litter! SLUUURRRP! UMKO steered the vacuum cleaner across town, sucking up all litter! SLUUUUURRRRRP! “Awesome!” laughed Anna. “We’ll be finished in no time!” “I hate litter bugs!” UMKO told the children, once they had returned to the park. “If you’re my friends, don’t drop litter!” “Thanks, UMKO,” said Anna happily. “Now we’ll collect lots of money for charity!” “Woof!” barked Skipper, telling UMKO that it was time to go home. “We can’t go home, Skipper!” UMKO reminded him. “We need to find a discombobulator for our spaceship! And I haven’t a clue where to find one!” “Well, I don’t have one of those doscombobu-wotsits handy,” said Matt, digging deep into his pocket, and pulling out a large rubber band. “But will this do?” UMKO beamed happily and Skipper let out an excited bark. “Ruff!” “UMKOtops! It’s perfect!” laughed UMKO. “That’s what we call a discombobulator on my planet!” UMKO quickly repaired his spaceship. Then it was time to leave. “Keep smiling!” UMKO told the children, before climbing into the spaceship with Skipper. “I’ll see you soon!” “Bye, UMKO!” waved the children. “Thanks for everything!” UMKO sat in the pilot’s seat. “I’m driving, Captain Skip!” he said, grinning. “I’d like us to get home in one piece!” “Woof!” agreed Skipper, as the spaceship blasted off into the air - WHOOOSSSH! – and headed back into space. ZIIIIIIIIIIIP! Skipper had had quite enough of driving spaceships for one day!