again, and again, and again.
And the seagulls kept coming, and James caught them one after the other and tethered them to the peach stem.
‘One hundred seagulls!’ he shouted, wiping the sweat from his face.
‘Keep going!’ they cried. ‘Keep going, James!’
‘Two hundred seagulls!’
‘Three hundred seagulls!’
‘Four hundred seagulls!’
The sharks, as though sensing that they were in danger of losing their prey, were hurling themselves at the peach more furiously than ever, and the peach was sinking lower and lower still in the water.
‘Five hundred seagulls!’ James shouted.
‘Silkworm says she’s running out of silk!’ yelled the Centipede from below. ‘She says she can’t keep it up much longer. Nor can Miss Spider!’
‘Tell them they‘ve
got
to!’ James answered. ‘They can’t stop now!’
‘We’re lifting!’ somebody shouted.
‘No, we’re not!’
‘I felt it!’
‘Put on another seagull, quick!’
‘Quiet, everybody! Quiet! Here’s one coming now!’
This was the five hundred and first seagull, and the moment that James caught it and tethered it to the stem with all the others, the whole enormous peach suddenly started rising up slowly out of the water.
‘Look out! Here we go! Hold on, boys!’
But then it stopped.
And there it hung.
It hovered and swayed, but it went no higher.
The bottom of it was just touching the water. It was like a delicately balanced scale that needed only the tiniest push to tip it one way or the other.
‘One more will do it!’ shouted the Old-Green-Grasshopper, looking out of the tunnel. ‘We’re almost there!’
And now came the big moment. Quickly, the five hundred and second seagull was caught and harnessed to the peach-stem…
And then suddenly…
But slowly…
Majestically…
Like some fabulous golden balloon…
With all the seagulls straining at the strings above…
The giant peach rose up dripping out of the water and began climbing towards the heavens.
Twenty-three
In a flash, everybody was up on top.
‘Oh, isn’t it beautiful!’ they cried.
‘What a marvellous feeling!’
‘Good-bye, sharks!’
‘Oh, boy, this is the way to travel!’
Miss Spider, who was literally squealing with excitement, grabbed the Centipede by the waist and the two of them started dancing round and round the peach stem together. The Earthworm stood up on his tail and did a sort of wriggle of joy all by himself. The Old-Green-Grasshopper kept hopping higher and higher in the air. The Ladybird rushed over and shook James warmly by the hand. The Glow-worm, who at the best of times was a very shy and silent creature, sat glowing with pleasure near the tunnel entrance. Even the Silkworm, looking white and thin and completely exhausted, came creeping out of the tunnel to watch this miraculous ascent.
Up and up they went, and soon they were as high as the top of a church steeple above the ocean.
‘I‘m a bit worried about the peach,’ James said to the others as soon as all the dancing and the shouting had stopped. ‘I wonder how much damage those sharks have done to it underneath. It’s quite impossible to tell from up here.’
‘Why don’t I go over the side and make an inspection?’ Miss Spider said. ‘It’ll be no trouble atall, I assure you.’ And without waiting for an answer, she quickly produced a length of silk thread and attached the end of it to the peach stem. ‘I’ll be back in a jiffy,’ she said, and then she walked calmly over to the edge of the peach and jumped off, paying out the thread behind her as she fell.
The others crowded anxiously around the place where she had gone over.
‘Wouldn’t it be dreadful if the thread broke,’ the Ladybird said.
There was a rather long silence.
‘Are you all right, Miss Spider?’ shouted the Old-Green-Grasshopper.
‘Yes, thank you!’ her voice answered from below. ‘I‘m coming up now!’ And up she came, climbing foot over foot up the silk thread, and at
And the seagulls kept coming, and James caught them one after the other and tethered them to the peach stem.
‘One hundred seagulls!’ he shouted, wiping the sweat from his face.
‘Keep going!’ they cried. ‘Keep going, James!’
‘Two hundred seagulls!’
‘Three hundred seagulls!’
‘Four hundred seagulls!’
The sharks, as though sensing that they were in danger of losing their prey, were hurling themselves at the peach more furiously than ever, and the peach was sinking lower and lower still in the water.
‘Five hundred seagulls!’ James shouted.
‘Silkworm says she’s running out of silk!’ yelled the Centipede from below. ‘She says she can’t keep it up much longer. Nor can Miss Spider!’
‘Tell them they‘ve
got
to!’ James answered. ‘They can’t stop now!’
‘We’re lifting!’ somebody shouted.
‘No, we’re not!’
‘I felt it!’
‘Put on another seagull, quick!’
‘Quiet, everybody! Quiet! Here’s one coming now!’
This was the five hundred and first seagull, and the moment that James caught it and tethered it to the stem with all the others, the whole enormous peach suddenly started rising up slowly out of the water.
‘Look out! Here we go! Hold on, boys!’
But then it stopped.
And there it hung.
It hovered and swayed, but it went no higher.
The bottom of it was just touching the water. It was like a delicately balanced scale that needed only the tiniest push to tip it one way or the other.
‘One more will do it!’ shouted the Old-Green-Grasshopper, looking out of the tunnel. ‘We’re almost there!’
And now came the big moment. Quickly, the five hundred and second seagull was caught and harnessed to the peach-stem…
And then suddenly…
But slowly…
Majestically…
Like some fabulous golden balloon…
With all the seagulls straining at the strings above…
The giant peach rose up dripping out of the water and began climbing towards the heavens.
Twenty-three
In a flash, everybody was up on top.
‘Oh, isn’t it beautiful!’ they cried.
‘What a marvellous feeling!’
‘Good-bye, sharks!’
‘Oh, boy, this is the way to travel!’
Miss Spider, who was literally squealing with excitement, grabbed the Centipede by the waist and the two of them started dancing round and round the peach stem together. The Earthworm stood up on his tail and did a sort of wriggle of joy all by himself. The Old-Green-Grasshopper kept hopping higher and higher in the air. The Ladybird rushed over and shook James warmly by the hand. The Glow-worm, who at the best of times was a very shy and silent creature, sat glowing with pleasure near the tunnel entrance. Even the Silkworm, looking white and thin and completely exhausted, came creeping out of the tunnel to watch this miraculous ascent.
Up and up they went, and soon they were as high as the top of a church steeple above the ocean.
‘I‘m a bit worried about the peach,’ James said to the others as soon as all the dancing and the shouting had stopped. ‘I wonder how much damage those sharks have done to it underneath. It’s quite impossible to tell from up here.’
‘Why don’t I go over the side and make an inspection?’ Miss Spider said. ‘It’ll be no trouble atall, I assure you.’ And without waiting for an answer, she quickly produced a length of silk thread and attached the end of it to the peach stem. ‘I’ll be back in a jiffy,’ she said, and then she walked calmly over to the edge of the peach and jumped off, paying out the thread behind her as she fell.
The others crowded anxiously around the place where she had gone over.
‘Wouldn’t it be dreadful if the thread broke,’ the Ladybird said.
There was a rather long silence.
‘Are you all right, Miss Spider?’ shouted the Old-Green-Grasshopper.
‘Yes, thank you!’ her voice answered from below. ‘I‘m coming up now!’ And up she came, climbing foot over foot up the silk thread, and at
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