Kitabı oku: «Flat Stanley in Space», sayfa 2

Washington

At the White House, in his famous Oval Office, the President shook hands with all the Lambchops.

‘Thanks for coming.’ He chuckled. ‘Bet you never thought when you woke up this morning that you’d get to meet me.’

‘Indeed not,’ Mr Lambchop said. ‘This is quite a surprise.’

‘Well, here’s another one,’ said the President. ‘The reason I asked you to come.’

He sat down behind his desk, serious now. ‘Tyrra! Never heard of it, right?’

The Lambchops all shook their heads.

‘Nobody ever heard of it. It’s a planet, up there somewhere. They sent a message, the first ever from outer space!’

The Lambchops were greatly interested. ‘Imagine!’ Mrs Lambchop exclaimed. ‘What did it say?’

‘Very friendly tone,’ the President said. ‘Peaceful, just checking around. Asked us to visit. Now, my plan –’

A side door of the Oval Office had opened suddenly to reveal a nicely-dressed lady wearing a crown. Mrs Lambchop recognised her at once as the Queen of England.

‘About the banquet, also the –’ the Queen began, and saw that the President was busy. ‘Ooops! We beg your pardon.’ She closed the door.

‘This place is a madhouse,’ the President said. ‘Visitors, fancy dinners, no end to it. Now, where –? Ah, yes! The Star Scout !’

He leaned forward.

‘That’s our new top-secret spaceship, just ready now! Send somebody up in the Star Scout, I thought, to meet with these Tyrrans. But who? Wouldn’t look peaceful to send soldiers, or even scientists. Then I thought: What could be more peaceful than just an ordinary American boy?’

The President smiled. ‘Why not Stanley Lambchop?’

‘Stanley?’ Mrs Lambchop gasped. ‘In a spaceship? To meet with an alien race?’

‘Oh, boy!’ said Stanley. ‘I would love to go!’

‘Me, too,’ said Arthur. ‘It’s not fair if –’

‘Arthur!’ Mr Lambchop drew in a deep breath. ‘Mr President, why Stanley ?’

‘It has to be someone that’s already had adventure experience,’ the President said. ‘Well, my Secret Service showed me a newspaper story about when Stanley was flat and caught two robbers. Robbers! That’s adventure!’

‘I’ve had them too!’ Arthur said. ‘A genie taught me to fly, and we had a Liophant, and –’

‘A what ?’

‘A Liophant,’ Arthur said. ‘Half lion, half elephant. They’re nice.’

‘Is that right? The Secret Service never –’

‘Mr President?’ Mrs Lambchop did not like to interrupt, but her concern was great.

‘Mr President?’ she said. ‘This mission: is it safe?’

‘My goodness, of course it’s safe!’ the President said. ‘We have taken great care, Mrs Lambchop. The Star Scout has all the latest scientific equipment. And it has been very carefully tested. First, we tried it on automatic pilot, with no passengers. It worked perfectly! Even then, ma’am, we were not satisfied. We sent the Star Scout up again, this time with our cleverest trained bird aboard. But hear for yourself.’ The President spoke into a little box on his desk. ‘Send in Dr Schwartz, please.’

A bearded man entered, wearing a white coat and carrying a birdcage with a cloth over it. Bowing, he removed the cloth to reveal a large, brightly-coloured parrot.

‘Thank you, Herman,’ the President said. ‘Dr Schwartz is our top space scientist,’ he told the Lambchops, ‘and this is Polly, the bird I spoke of. Polly, tell the folks here about your adventure into space.’

‘Piece of cake,’ said the parrot. ‘Terrific! Loved every minute of it!’

‘Thank you, Herman,’ the President said, and Dr Schwartz carried Polly away.

‘That was very reassuring, but it is out of the question for Stanley to go alone,’ Mrs Lambchop said. ‘However, we were planning a family vacation. Would it be possible, Mr President, for us all to go?’

‘Well, if you didn’t mind the crowding,’ the President said. ‘And skimped on baggage.’

‘Actually, we had in mind the seaside,’ Mr Lambchop said. ‘Or a tennis camp. But –’

The Queen of England looked in again. ‘May we ask if –’

‘Just a minute, for heaven’s sake!’ said the President.

‘We shall return anon.’ Looking peeved, the Queen went away.

Mr Lambchop had decided. ‘Mr President, the seaside will keep. We will go to Tyrra, sir.’

‘Wonderful!’ The President jumped up. ‘To the stars, Lambchops! Some training at the Space Centre, and you’re on your way!’

Taking Off

‘Ten!’ said the voice of Mission Control.

The count-down had begun. When it reached ‘Zero’ Chief Pilot Stanley Lambchop would press the ‘Start’ button, and the Star Scout would blast off for Tyrra.

‘Nine!’

Strapped into their seats, the Lambchops held their breaths, each thinking very different thoughts.

Stanley was wondering if the Tyrrans would mind that Earth had sent just an ordinary family. Suppose they were big stuck-ups and expected a general or a TV star, or even the President? Suppose – ‘Eight!’ said Control, and Stanley fixed his eyes on the panel before him.

Mr Lambchop was thinking that serving one’s country was noble, but this was a bit much. How did these things happen? Off to an unknown planet, the entire family! Other families didn’t have a son become flat. Other families didn’t find genies in the house. Other – Oh, well! Mr Lambchop sighed.

‘Seven!’ said Control.

Mrs Lambchop thought that Mr Lambchop seemed fretful. But why, now the Star Scout looked so nice ? Thanks to her, in fact. ‘They may call it a spaceship,’ she had said when she first saw it, ‘but where’s the space ? Just one room! And all grey . . .? Drab, I say!’ Much of the training at the Space Centre, however, was physical, and Mrs Lambchop, who jogged and exercised regularly, quickly passed the tests required. In the days that followed, while the others were being made fit, she used her free time to make the Star Scout more like home. Only so much weight was permitted, but she managed a bathroom scale for the shower alcove and a plastic curtain, pretty shades for the portholes, a Venetian blind for the Magnifying Exploration Window, and posters of Mexico and France.

‘Six! . . . Five! . . . Four! . . . Three! . . .’

Mrs Lambchop made sure her purse was snug beneath her seat.

Arthur, by nature lazy, was thinking that he was glad to be done with all the jogging, jumping, climbing ladders, and scaling walls. When he was super-strong, thanks to the genie, it would have been easy. But for just plain Arthur Lambchop, he thought, it was tiring.

‘Two!’ said Control. ‘Good luck, everybody! One!’

‘Pay attention, dear,’ Mrs Lambchop told Stanley.

‘Zero!’ said Control, and Stanley pressed the ‘Start’ button.

Whrooom ! Rockets roaring, the Star Scout rose from its launching pad.

Whroooooom ! Whroooooom ! Gaining speed, it soared higher and higher, carrying the Lambchops towards the farness where Tyrra lay.