Mrs. Snootcastle wearing an enormous velvet gown, her hands clasped before her. She stood at center stage, looked at the audience, took in a deep breath, and began to sing. Her voice rose higher and grew louder until the palm trees holding up the curtains began to shake and coconuts fell to the ground.
“Hurray!
Bravo!
” shouted the pirates. Several had tears in their eyes.
“That was my mother,” Cindy said proudly.
“Yes it was. Yes it was.” Jacob nodded happily.
Once again, out came the intrepid Shapiro and the fearless O’Toole. They announced several more acts. Mr. Peabody, the toy inventor, demonstrated his newyo-yo that let off fireworks as it spun. Except for the moment when Mr. Peabody’s trousers caught on fire, it was a success. After him came Marfa and Daniel, who performed some skateboarding tricks, with Daniel crashing only once.
Then there was Captain Sparkletooth. Captain Sparkletooth brought out his collection of mirrors. He had thirty-two of them.
“Impressive,” muttered the pirates.
“And finally,” announced O’Toole, while Shapiro blew into the conch shell, “our final act. Making a return to the ring after years in retirement, the only man who was ever a match for The Hooded Fang, please welcome one of the great wrestlers of all time,
The Mighty Morgenbesser!
”
Jacob watched as the curtains parted to reveal his friend. Dressed in green wrestling leotards, Morgenbesser flexed his arm muscles to show how strong he was. O’Toole declared that since there was no one on the island strong enough to wrestle him, Morgenbesser would take on all three Bubov Brothers at the same time.
The brothers came out and surrounded Morgenbesser, clenching their fists and making fiercefaces. Suddenly, the eldest brother jumped onto Morgenbesser’s back, while the other two grabbed Morgenbesser’s arms. Soon, all three brothers were flying through the air. Fortunately, they were nimble enough to land on their feet.
Next, the brothers all rushed toward Morgenbesser, screaming loudly. Morgenbesser just crossed his arms and let them bounce off his chest. Dizzy, the brothers got up again. Then they fell back down. And got up again. And fell down again.
“The winner and still champion,” said O’Toole, holding up the giant man’s hand, “The Mighty Morgenbesser!”
Whistles and foot-stomping came from the audience. Jacob and Cindy made the loudest noise of anyone.
“And now,” said Shapiro, “Captain Sparkletooth has a special announcement to make.”
The captain came out, adjusting his white cape and smiling his sparkling smile. “I have decided to turn the SS
Spring-a-Leak
into a showboat.”
“Great!” shouted the pirates. “Fantastic!”
Mr. Scrounger in the front row called out, “What’s a showboat?”
“Very simple,” said the captain. “It’s a boat with a show on it. The boat docks in port, and people buy tickets to come aboard and watch. You see, I realize just how handsome I look up on stage. There’s only one thing. Some of our performers are on their way to Canada. Their places need to be filled with new acts. We are hoping that you pirates might want to give up your life on the high seas to become performers.”
“We do! We do!” shouted the pirates.
“Wait a minute,” said Crossbones. He stood up and glared down at his men. “Nobody gives up being a pirate unless I say so. And I have a question. Just what sort of acts would we have?”
Now Jacob stood up. “You could put on a play!” he said. “A play about pirates! A play about pirates!”
Cindy stood up too. “You could fight with wooden swords. And you could sing pirate songs.”
All of the pirates looked hopefully at Crossbones. Crossbones rubbed his beard. “That sounds like something we could do. In fact, we’d probably be better at pretending to be pirates than actually
being
pirates. What do you say, mates? Shall we wear the greasepaint and tread the boards? Shall we makethe audience weep
“Hurray!
Bravo!
” shouted the pirates. Several had tears in their eyes.
“That was my mother,” Cindy said proudly.
“Yes it was. Yes it was.” Jacob nodded happily.
Once again, out came the intrepid Shapiro and the fearless O’Toole. They announced several more acts. Mr. Peabody, the toy inventor, demonstrated his newyo-yo that let off fireworks as it spun. Except for the moment when Mr. Peabody’s trousers caught on fire, it was a success. After him came Marfa and Daniel, who performed some skateboarding tricks, with Daniel crashing only once.
Then there was Captain Sparkletooth. Captain Sparkletooth brought out his collection of mirrors. He had thirty-two of them.
“Impressive,” muttered the pirates.
“And finally,” announced O’Toole, while Shapiro blew into the conch shell, “our final act. Making a return to the ring after years in retirement, the only man who was ever a match for The Hooded Fang, please welcome one of the great wrestlers of all time,
The Mighty Morgenbesser!
”
Jacob watched as the curtains parted to reveal his friend. Dressed in green wrestling leotards, Morgenbesser flexed his arm muscles to show how strong he was. O’Toole declared that since there was no one on the island strong enough to wrestle him, Morgenbesser would take on all three Bubov Brothers at the same time.
The brothers came out and surrounded Morgenbesser, clenching their fists and making fiercefaces. Suddenly, the eldest brother jumped onto Morgenbesser’s back, while the other two grabbed Morgenbesser’s arms. Soon, all three brothers were flying through the air. Fortunately, they were nimble enough to land on their feet.
Next, the brothers all rushed toward Morgenbesser, screaming loudly. Morgenbesser just crossed his arms and let them bounce off his chest. Dizzy, the brothers got up again. Then they fell back down. And got up again. And fell down again.
“The winner and still champion,” said O’Toole, holding up the giant man’s hand, “The Mighty Morgenbesser!”
Whistles and foot-stomping came from the audience. Jacob and Cindy made the loudest noise of anyone.
“And now,” said Shapiro, “Captain Sparkletooth has a special announcement to make.”
The captain came out, adjusting his white cape and smiling his sparkling smile. “I have decided to turn the SS
Spring-a-Leak
into a showboat.”
“Great!” shouted the pirates. “Fantastic!”
Mr. Scrounger in the front row called out, “What’s a showboat?”
“Very simple,” said the captain. “It’s a boat with a show on it. The boat docks in port, and people buy tickets to come aboard and watch. You see, I realize just how handsome I look up on stage. There’s only one thing. Some of our performers are on their way to Canada. Their places need to be filled with new acts. We are hoping that you pirates might want to give up your life on the high seas to become performers.”
“We do! We do!” shouted the pirates.
“Wait a minute,” said Crossbones. He stood up and glared down at his men. “Nobody gives up being a pirate unless I say so. And I have a question. Just what sort of acts would we have?”
Now Jacob stood up. “You could put on a play!” he said. “A play about pirates! A play about pirates!”
Cindy stood up too. “You could fight with wooden swords. And you could sing pirate songs.”
All of the pirates looked hopefully at Crossbones. Crossbones rubbed his beard. “That sounds like something we could do. In fact, we’d probably be better at pretending to be pirates than actually
being
pirates. What do you say, mates? Shall we wear the greasepaint and tread the boards? Shall we makethe audience weep
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