had many ideas on every subject. As he yammered on and on about Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry and their uses of doors and windows, Comet, who had been asleep in Alfred’s jacket pocket, popped his head out and looked around. He made a squeaky duckling sound and shook his head awake.
“I’ve got it!” Leo said. “And it is a very Merganzer kind of riddle.”
“Do tell,” Alfred Whitney said, taking Comet out of his pocket and holding him fondly. The two were growing closer by the minute.
Leo started moving around the glass enclosure, searching for letters. As he did, Remi watched a shadow moving across the glass where no one else was looking.
Something was out there.
It was huge, like a monster.
And it was staring at them.
“Hey, Leo,” Remi stammered as Leo began touching letters, first an E , then a G .
“It’s an egg!” Leo yelled, looking up and reading the message once more. “‘I have a little house in which I live all alone. It has no doors or windows, and if I want to go out I must break through a wall.’”
“I’m not so sure we want out of this thing,” Remi said. He put Blop in his pocket for safekeeping and watched as the shadow came nearer. The shadow was so big it covered the whole back wall of glass and crept over the glass ceiling.
“There!” Leo said, “Another G , up high!”
Alfred lifted his cane and poked the G — spelling out egg — just as Remi screamed, “Don’t do it!”
But of course it was too late. As soon as Alfred touched the G and spelled the answer to the riddle, the glass ceiling evaporated into fog. The walls, too. And through the wall of fog Alfred and Leo saw what Remi had seen — the shadow of a very large, unseen thing. Comet dove into Alfred’s pocket and shivered quietly, as the one man among them pushed the two boys back and held his ground.
“Whatever it is, I’ll protect you. Don’t worry!”
It was the first time Remi or Leo had heard him take command, and it did make them feel a little bit better, even if the shadow was way bigger than Alfred was.
“Back, you beast!” Alfred said, waving his cane to and fro, cutting through the fog until the air cleared andthe three of them saw the second floor of the new Whippet Hotel. The first thing they realized was that the beast they’d called out was only four inches tall. There was a bright light behind the little creature, which had made its shadow very big.
“Is that what I think it is?” Leo asked, walking out from behind Alfred. The two boys carefully moved forward, resting their elbows on the top edge of a squat glass wall.
“It totally is,” Remi answered, his voice full of wonder. “It’s a T. rex.”
And it was. A miniature dinosaur was looking up at them, roaring with all its might, which sounded sort of like the electric shaver Captain Rickenbacker used to shave the hair off his knuckles (because, he said, hairy knuckles are for villains, not superheroes). The T. rex would have had a real fight on its hands against a hamster. It was that small.
“This is a tiny dino zoo,” Remi said, looking around in every direction. “Coolest thing ever !”
Giant boulders and strange trees poked out along a path, creating all sorts of shadowy corners and secret places. Alfred and the boys spread out, walking past a lot more glass enclosures they could peer down into. They held the kinds of things that barely fit inside a boy’s imagination.
“Check this out!” Leo yelled, and Remi came running, with Alfred limping behind. They all leaned over a low rail and looked down into a field filled with long-necked Brachiosauruses. Tail to head they were less than a foot long, but they still swayed in a way that made them look like they were moving in slow motion. There were six of them, and they were staring intently into holes in the floor, waiting for something to happen. A burst of green leaves appeared out of the holes and they began eating them contentedly.
“Hey — look at
“I’ve got it!” Leo said. “And it is a very Merganzer kind of riddle.”
“Do tell,” Alfred Whitney said, taking Comet out of his pocket and holding him fondly. The two were growing closer by the minute.
Leo started moving around the glass enclosure, searching for letters. As he did, Remi watched a shadow moving across the glass where no one else was looking.
Something was out there.
It was huge, like a monster.
And it was staring at them.
“Hey, Leo,” Remi stammered as Leo began touching letters, first an E , then a G .
“It’s an egg!” Leo yelled, looking up and reading the message once more. “‘I have a little house in which I live all alone. It has no doors or windows, and if I want to go out I must break through a wall.’”
“I’m not so sure we want out of this thing,” Remi said. He put Blop in his pocket for safekeeping and watched as the shadow came nearer. The shadow was so big it covered the whole back wall of glass and crept over the glass ceiling.
“There!” Leo said, “Another G , up high!”
Alfred lifted his cane and poked the G — spelling out egg — just as Remi screamed, “Don’t do it!”
But of course it was too late. As soon as Alfred touched the G and spelled the answer to the riddle, the glass ceiling evaporated into fog. The walls, too. And through the wall of fog Alfred and Leo saw what Remi had seen — the shadow of a very large, unseen thing. Comet dove into Alfred’s pocket and shivered quietly, as the one man among them pushed the two boys back and held his ground.
“Whatever it is, I’ll protect you. Don’t worry!”
It was the first time Remi or Leo had heard him take command, and it did make them feel a little bit better, even if the shadow was way bigger than Alfred was.
“Back, you beast!” Alfred said, waving his cane to and fro, cutting through the fog until the air cleared andthe three of them saw the second floor of the new Whippet Hotel. The first thing they realized was that the beast they’d called out was only four inches tall. There was a bright light behind the little creature, which had made its shadow very big.
“Is that what I think it is?” Leo asked, walking out from behind Alfred. The two boys carefully moved forward, resting their elbows on the top edge of a squat glass wall.
“It totally is,” Remi answered, his voice full of wonder. “It’s a T. rex.”
And it was. A miniature dinosaur was looking up at them, roaring with all its might, which sounded sort of like the electric shaver Captain Rickenbacker used to shave the hair off his knuckles (because, he said, hairy knuckles are for villains, not superheroes). The T. rex would have had a real fight on its hands against a hamster. It was that small.
“This is a tiny dino zoo,” Remi said, looking around in every direction. “Coolest thing ever !”
Giant boulders and strange trees poked out along a path, creating all sorts of shadowy corners and secret places. Alfred and the boys spread out, walking past a lot more glass enclosures they could peer down into. They held the kinds of things that barely fit inside a boy’s imagination.
“Check this out!” Leo yelled, and Remi came running, with Alfred limping behind. They all leaned over a low rail and looked down into a field filled with long-necked Brachiosauruses. Tail to head they were less than a foot long, but they still swayed in a way that made them look like they were moving in slow motion. There were six of them, and they were staring intently into holes in the floor, waiting for something to happen. A burst of green leaves appeared out of the holes and they began eating them contentedly.
“Hey — look at
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