There are some difference to the story in the 1985 Hippo Books/Scolastic Book Services Inc. book of the same name.
- Sylv looks for Ernie in the raspberry canes and under the lupins.
- Rather than falling asleep next to the well, Fat Tulip goes for a little stroll around the garden before cooking himself an enormous breakfast.
- Between Farouk and Dorian visiting the well, Costello the sparrow also takes a look and is scared off by the 'duck monster'.
- When Dorian first visits the well, there is a line missing in the book where Ernie shouts 'get me out'. The next line, in which the echo turns his words into 'miaow... miaow' is present and correct.
- Ernie shouts 'get a ladder', which the echo turns into 'adder... adder... adder'.
- The entire garden goes into a panic after Dorian announces the well is full of monsters: woodlice rolled up into balls, worms dived down their holes, a shrew named Norman wrapped himself in an old wet comic and Farouk the greenfly hid under a packet of seeds in the greenhouse.
- Dorian tries to hide under a Frisbee in the book rather than behind a flowerpot.
- Fat Tulip calls Dorian a great Clod instead of a woozle.
- Dorian thinks Fat Tulip is silly to chase him, because of his size, and decides to chase Fat Tulip instead.
- Underground, the worms think that Dorian is being very brave , daring to bark at the monsters.
- In the evening, a worm called Tariq brings a large bunch of forget-me-nots to Dorian as thanks for chasing the monsters away from all the insects in the garden. But Dorian can't quite remember if he actually did that.
