UMKO the little robot alien lives on a green planet far, far away in the deepest depths of the galaxy. With his best dog friend Skipper, UMKO takes to the star lanes, exploring the universe all around him! Skipper is UMKO’s very best dog friend. And only UMKO can understand what Skipper says! One day, they were flying through a space portal back to their favourite planet – Earth! “Take us in, Captain Skip!” cheered UMKO. “I can’t wait to see our friends Anna and Matt again!” “Rruuff!” barked Skipper, steering the spaceship towards the planet. “Here we gooooooo!” WHOOOSSSH! At 249 Petunia Gardens, crazy-as-a-bent-banana Professor Storm was peering through his home-made telescope. The Professor was searching the skies for the little yellow alien robot who had visited Earth before. He was determined to capture UMKO to prove to the world that aliens really did exist! “Great Swirling Asteroid Belts!” squealed the Professor excitedly, when UMKO’s spaceship blasted out from the clouds. WHOOOSSSH! “The alien’s back! And this time I have a foolproof plan to catch him!” Anna and Matt were standing in a field with the rest of their school, preparing for the annual Sports Day! “I’m going to win all the events!” boasted Simon, the school bully. “Yeah, right!” snorted Matt. “You’re the most unfit kid here!” “We’ll see!” cackled Simon, hurrying off. Anna and Matt heard a happy voice shout out behind them. “Give me a smile!” UMKO zoomed towards his friends on his cosmic sneakers – WHIIISSSH! - Skipper running along beside him. “UMKO!” cheered Matt. “You’re back!” “Miss me much?” UMKO asked. “Oodles!” laughed Anna. Matt looked carefully around, but no one else had noticed UMKO. “It’s amazing!” he said. “No one can see you!” “Only those people who really believe in me can see me,” UMKO reminded him. “I’m quite safe here!” From inside a nearby bush, mad Professor Storm was spying on UMKO through binoculars. “Ha-Ha! My Alien Detector Unit has brought me right to the alien!” he cackled. “Soon he’ll be mine! All mine! Hahahahahaaa!” Matt wanted to know why UMKO had brought a rucksack with him. “This is my UMKObag!” grinned UMKO, opening it up. “I carry all my inventions in here!” He pulled out a palm-sized cell phone. “My UMKOphone allows you to make calls to the other side of the universe, send “c-mails” – that’s cosmic e-mails! And surf the galactic internet!” “Epic!” gasped Matt. “It has many great apps,” continued UMKO. “It can shrink things, enlarge things and make them lighter than air!” Skipper pulled out a wrist watch from the UMKObag. “My UMKOwatch,” explained UMKO. “It can tell the time anywhere across the galaxy! It can also turn back time, move time forward or even stop time altogether for a few minutes!” He bought out a large synthi-plas bottle. “And this,” he said proudly. “Is my UMKObottle! Each time you open it, there’s a different fruit drink to enjoy!” UMKO showed the children an icon to press on the bottle. “This is my special UMKOfizz drink! One drop and a person or object can move at fizzing super-speed!” The teachers called the children together for the first race. “Come and join us!” offered Anna. “Sports Day will be even more fun with you guys around!” UMKO and Skipper had never taken part in a Sports Day before! “UMKOtops!” laughed UMKO. The first event was the ball-and-spoon race! The children had to run to the other end of the field whilst balancing a ping pong ball on a teaspoon! “I’ll win easily!” cackled Simon, when all the children had lined up and slipped on their running shoes. “No chance!” laughed Matt. “There are slugs that move faster than you!” The whistle blew – PEEEEEP! – and they were off! Or – were they?! Everyone except Simon was struggling to run! “Ouch!” “Oww!” “Eeeek!” the children cried, painfully hobbling along. Their shoes were filled with small sharp stones! “UMKOyipes! Watch out, Matt!” gasped UMKO. Matt stumbled into UMKO, knocking him flying! WHAAM! And then UMKO fell into Skipper, knocking him over! WHUUMMP! “The winner!” cheered Simon, the only one to finish. “That’s strange! Why is Simon the only one without stones in his shoes?” wondered UMKO. “Because he put them there!” growled Matt. “The cheat!” “Oh, well!” said UMKO, smiling warmly. “Smile with me and be happy! I’m sure we’ll do better next time!” The next event was the sack race! Everyone picked up a sack from the pile. Anna was surprised to find that Simon already had his sack. “I’m going to win this event, too!” he boasted. “I’ve never played this game before,” giggled UMKO to Skipper, climbing into a sack. “But I’m sure we’ll have lots of FUN!” “Arrff!” agreed an excited Skipper. “Ready, Steady – GO!” shouted a teacher - and everyone started hopping frantically away in their sacks! BOING! BOING! BOING! And then - RIIIIIIP! went the sacks, tearing apart. The bottom of the sacks burst open, tripping everyone up! CRAASSH! “I win again!” cheered Simon, passing the finishing line. UMKO examined the broken sacks. “The thread has been pulled out!” he said. “That’s why they fell apart!” Anna glared accusingly at a grinning Simon! “Gurrr! If Simon can cheat,” she whispered to Matt. “We will, too!” Matt agreed. “Let’s beat him at his own game!” UMKO flew over to them. WHIIIISSSSH! “I’ll rejoin you later,” he told them. “First I have to take Skipper for a quick run! To keep fit and healthy, you should do a little exercise, every day!” Rising in the air on his cosmic sneakers, UMKO flew off – WHIIISSSH! - a happy Skipper in hot pursuit. “Woof! Woof!” While their space friends were away, Matt reached into the UMKObag. He pulled out the UMKObottle, UMKOphone and UMKOwatch! “These will help us to win!” he told Anna. “I’m sure UMKO won’t mind us borrowing them! We are his friends, after all!” On the other side of the field, UMKO and Skipper were having so much fun, they didn’t notice Professor Storm watching them! The Professor held a strange-looking device in his hand. “This gadget can disrupt any machine’s circuit boards – even an alien robot’s!” he cackled. “It will “freeze” him so that he can’t move! He won’t escape me now!” Anna had a drink from the UMKObottle. GLUGGLUGGLUG! “Wow! It really works!” she gasped, unable to stand still. “I’m fizzing with energy!” “Ha! You won’t beat – “ Simon started to say as the sprint race began but – ZOOOOOOM! – Anna had reached the finishing line before anyone else had even moved! “Wow! That is fast!” chuckles Matt, as Anna collected the trophy. Simon was furious! “You cheated!” he sulked. “What, like you, you mean?” Anna challenged him. But deep down, Anna was feeling awful! “I didn’t really win this trophy!” she groaned to Matt, after collecting her prize. “So it’s not really mine to have!” “Who cares?” snorted Matt. “Now watch me win the next event!” Professor Storm leapt out of the bush towards UMKO and Skipper! “Ha-Ha! I have you now!” he cackled. “Waah! It’s that loony Professor Storm!” cried UMKO. “Run, Captain Skip – RUN!” UMKO and Skipper dashed away, Professor Storm in hot pursuit! “Don’t worry, Captain Skip!” gasped UMKO, flying beside Skipper. “The inventions in my UMKObag will save us!” “Go on, Anna!” said Matt, before his turn in the pole vaulting event. “Zap me!” Anna pressed a button on the UMKOphone. A blue beam shot out, striking Matt! ZAAAAP! “Wow!” he gasped, struggling to stay on the ground. “I feel as light as a feather!” When it was Matt’s turn to jump, he ran and leapt high into the air! TWOONNG! As he did so, his pole snapped! SNAP! But Matt’s body was so light, he sailed high into the air and over the pole, before floating gently down to earth again! WHIIIISSSSH! “That’s impossible!” yelled Simon. “I sawed through everyone’s poles so they would break! I – Ulp!” The shadow of the Head Teacher appeared behind Simon. “So! That’s how you won all those events, Simon!” growled the teacher. “You cheated! Go back to the classroom! You’re banned from our Sports Day!” Matt collected his trophy, but with the other children clapping and cheering him, he felt very guilty. “Anna’s right!” he groaned. “It’s not special to win when you know that you cheated!” UMKO reached his UMKObag, only to find it - “Empty!” he gasped. He knew immediately who must have taken his inventions. “Oh, Anna! Matt!” he groaned. “What have you done?” Before UMKO could act – ZAAAAAAP! - he was struck by the powerful signal from Professor Storm’s device! UMKO circuit boards froze! He couldn’t move – or speak! “Ha! Now I have you!” cackled the Professor, scooping up UMKO and running off. “I’ll take you to a television studio and show you off to the whole world!” “Woof! Woof! Woof!” Skipper barked urgently to Anna and Matt! They watched Professor Storm making off with UMKO. “This is our fault!” groaned Matt. “If we hadn’t of taken UMKO’s belongings, he could have saved himself!” Anna snatched the UMKOwatch from Matt. “There’s still time to save UMKO!” she said, twisting the watch dial. A green light shot out of the watch - ZAAAAAAAP! It struck Professor Storm, freezing him! Because time had stopped around him, so had the Professor! Matt ran over and pulled UMKO free from his grasp. “UMKOwow! Thanks, guys!” cheered UMKO, his circuit boards quickly recovering. “Now this nutty Professor needs teaching a lesson!” UMKO’s antennae glowed brightly! A yellow beam shot out, striking Professor Storm! ZAAAAAAP! He lifted off the ground and floated over to the school pond, landing in front of it! WHIIIISSSSH! “Let’s turn time back on!” giggled UMKO, adjusting his watch. CLICKCLICKCLICK! All at once, time started up, and Professor Storm started running again – off the edge of the pond and into the freezing cold water! SPLOOOSSSH! “Waaggh!” he spluttered. “What happened?!” “No swimming in the school pond, Sir!” growled an angry security guard, pulling the soggy Professor out of the water. “I shall have to ask you to leave!” Professor Storm was very confused! “One moment I had the alien!” he groaned, after the security guard had thrown him into the street. WHUUMMP! “And then I didn’t! It‘s not fair! Waaaaaaah!” UMKO thanked the children for saving him. “But you should never take anything that doesn’t belong to you,” he told them kindly. “If you want to borrow something, first ask the owner! It’s only polite!” Matt and Anna felt very ashamed. “And we’re really sorry for cheating in the games,” groaned Anna. UMKO smiled brightly. “Keep smiling!” He turned back the dial on his watch – CLICKCLICKCLICK! “Hold tight!” laughed UMKO. “I’m taking you back through time!” The children gasped in amazement as they felt themselves spinning through the time stream! WHIIIIISSSSSH! Anna suddenly found herself at the starting line of the running race again! “Now you can run the race fairly!” laughed UMKO. So Anna did! She only came fourth, but Anna didn’t care! “At least I didn’t cheat!” she said proudly. And Matt didn’t win the pole vaulting event either! He came third. “I don’t mind!” he laughed. “I tried my best!” “It’s not the winning that counts,” UMKO told them. “It’s the taking part and having fun!” UMKO turned the dial on his UMKOwatch – CLICKCLICKCLICK! –and they all returned to the present time. WHIIIISSSSH! “Come on!” he giggled, rushing over to the other children. “Let’s take part in the rest of the Sports Day!” And that’s what they did – taking part in the obstacle race, the javelin, the discus and the hurdles! (Skipper won this event easily!) “What a FUNtastic day we’ve had!” laughed a happy UMKO, after the Sports Day was over. “It’s been UMKOtastic!” “Woof!” agreed Skipper. He was proudly holding up a spare trophy that Anna had found for him. UMKO didn’t win any events, but he didn’t care! “Smiles and laughter are the best prizes of them all!” he said. After saying goodbye to the children, UMKO and Skipper headed back home in their spaceship. WHOOOSSSH! “I can’t wait for our next return to Earth, Captain Skip!” chuckled UMKO. “It’s UMKOwow!” “Woof!” agreed a happy Skipper. “You can say that again!”