Think your typing mistakes are all your fault?

Think again!

The Honourable H.D. Spellchecker was explaining how Dot and her crew might help Sid the Shopper get the right shopping order out to the Watts family - after it had been messed up by a Grimble. He drew them in closer to him and dropped his voice so only Dot and the crew and Sid could hear.

"Those wicked little Grimbles" he whispered "have one weakness. They love to hang around and see the results of their mischief. You know... being in the classroom when your jumbled up homework is read out, or in a company meeting when a report comes in full of mistakes."

He shook his head solemnly. "There was one time when they managed to replace the 's' in the word 'sum' with a 'b' right through a 300 page annual report on maths teaching...oh dear oh dear." Dot and Wizard giggled. "That Grimble - Gregory it was, naughty little devil! - was actually in a corner of the computer screen all the time it was being read out. Now maybe the spellchecker fishes could lead you to the Grimble who's messed up poor Sid… "

"But what would we do then?" asked Dot.

"Ah!" said the Honourable HD, holding up a wing. "If you can trick a Grimble into giving you the RIGHT spelling for something, then he's got to give you three wishes. And you could use one of the wishes to fix Sid's problem!"

"Neat!" said Wiz.

"Hey hang on there" said Mr Mouse. Unusually for him, he was looking very nervous and unsure of himself. "I sure don't want to dive into that!" He waved his paw at the nearest Spellchecker pool. It was glittering away gently, little cyberwaves flowing across it. Every so often, a sparkling pattern would cross it as well, flickering like tiny bits of lightning.

As it did so a strange music came from it, very low and quiet - like the kind of humming you hear when your Mum's busy round the house, or your Dad's happily fixing something. Mr Mouse shivered "That looks kinda dangerous for a small mouse-person - and what's more, wet!"

"Ooh no, ooh no" said the Honourable H.D. Spellchecker. "Not wet at all I assure you, my dear Mr Mouse. Look!" He trailed his wing gently on the surface of the pool. The sparkling pattern flowed softly across it with its gentle singing sound. "This is a cyber pool. It can't hurt Internet voyagers like you and your chums - not at all. It's just another way into the Net. Go on, touch it!"

Mr Mouse looked round doubtfully at Dot and Wizard. Wizzie gave his head a shake so that his big silky ears flopped about. "Scared?" he grinned. "Mr Mouse scared? You won't get me to believe that!"

"OK wise guy" grumped Mr Mouse. Very carefully he went to the pool's edge, stretched out a paw towards it and shut his eyes. Once again, the gentle singing sound could be heard and tiny silvery patterns wove their way around the trembling little paw.

"Hey!" said Mr Mouse with relief. "That feels good!"

"You see?" said the Honourable H.D., beaming. He bent down and gave the Canadian cheesehunter a pat on his back. "So - do you think you can do it?" Mr Mouse gave himself a shake. "Sure!" he said, his old sassy self once more. "No problem! I was just, er, checking - like your guys do."

"Good!" said H.D.

"Wait a minute though" said Dot. "What do these Grimbles look like?"

"Ah!" said the Honourable H.D. He took out a Palm Pilot and tapped the screen. "We did get a picture once." He leant over and the crew crowded round to look.

"Oh!" said Dot. "Right. And do they always have one of those?"

"Oh yes" said the Honourable. "It's how they get about the Net so quickly, you see." He straightened up. "Of course... no-one should go into a cyber-pool really... it's against all our rules." He winked at them. "But, erm...I'm just off for a quick check round" he said in a careless way, stretching out his penguin wings. "See you in a bit perhaps." With that, he strolled away among his busy lads and lasses.

"Let's do it!" said Mr Mouse excitedly. Dot took a deep breath. "OK everyone" she said nervously. "Back on board Sid!" There was a rattling of the trolley's locking chain as they all clambered into Sid's basket. "Mind the aubergines!" he said in a worried way.

"1- 2- 3" They were off! With a whoosh and a swoop - down they went - diving straight into the electric blue of the cyber-pool!