Horrid Henry's Homework (story)

"Horrid Henry's Homework" is a short story by American author Francesca Simon.
==Synopsis==
Horrid Henry has a bad time with his spelling homework.
== Plot ==
The story begins with Henry relaxing on the sofa after a long, hard day at school, eating crisps and watching TV. Then Mum comes in and asks Henry if he's done his homework, which is to learn five spelling words. When Henry says he hasn't, Mum grabs the remote control and turns off the TV, telling him no more TV until he's done his homework. After Peter says he's done all his homework, and enjoyed it so much, he's already done tomorrow's as well, Henry pounces on him as a cannibal tenderising his victim for the pot. Mum responds by sending Henry to his room and ordering him not to come out until he's learnt all his spelling words.
Henry spends the next two hours reading comics and playing with his knights. The prize for getting all the words correct in tomorrow's spelling test is a pack of Big Bopper sweets, so he tries to get in the mood to do his homework by playing some soothing music, sending the sounds of the Driller Cannibals booming through the house. Mum and Dad storm in and turn off Henry's music, with Dad threatening him with no TV for a week unless he gets all the words right in the test.
Faced with no sweets and no TV if he doesn't get top marks, Henry gives in and attempts to learn his spelling words, which are:
* Goat
* Boat
* Said
* Stoat
* Friend
Then, Henry has a brilliant, spectacular idea. He sits next to Clever Clare, who always knows the spelling words. All he has to do is double-check his answers by taking a little peek at what she's written. 
The following day, Henry's plan works and he spells all five words correctly, much to Miss Battle-Axe's surprise, and gets his Big Boppers. Thrilled by the improvement to his work, Miss Battle-Axe decides to promote Henry to the top spelling group, requiring him to learn twenty-five extra words a night. But not just any words. Awful, mean, long and hard words, such as Hieroglyphs, Trapezium and Diarrhoea. Realising his plan backfired, Henry shrieks 'AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!'.
==Characters==
* Horrid Henry
** Horrid Cannibal
* Perfect Peter
* Mum
* Dad
* Miss Battle-Axe
* Clever Clare (doesn't speak)
* Beefy Bert (doesn't speak)
* Rude Ralph (mentioned)
* Fluffy (referenced)
* Moody Margaret (referenced)
* Jolly Josh (referenced)
==Behind the Scenes==
"Horrid Henry's Homework" was written by Francesca Simon and features art from Tony Ross.
==Appears In==
*Horrid Henry: The Mummy's Curse (2000)
*Horrid Henry's Big Bad Book (2004)
Category:Stories