The Gulliver Giant Page 2

  Jordan looked at the little man, confused.

  “What’s he talking about?” Kelly asked. “Silver oracle?”

  “When the Man-Mountain visited us, he always consulted the silver oracle,” Beardy explained. “It seemed to help him figure out what to do next.”

  Jordan looked to her fellow Pages. “Anyone know what that means?”

  Javier folded his arms and tapped his finger against his chin. “I think she’s talking about Gulliver from the book,” the librarian said. “They gave him the nickname Man-Mountain because of his size.”

  “Was he a giant too?” Jordan asked.

  “To them, he was,” Javier said.

  Baru scanned the island from Glum’s shoulder. “An oracle is usually an all-knowing being that can offer advice,” he said.

  “But it’s silver?” Jordan asked, directing her question at the two little people in her hand.

  “Yes,” Archer replied. “It shone in the sun.”

  “And he carried it in his hand,” Beardy added.

  “OK,” Jordan said. “That shouldn’t be too hard. We find the silver oracle, we ask it how to catch the enormous monkey, and we bring it to Glum. Easy, right?”

  Everyone looked at Jordan like she’d sprouted an extra eye on her forehead. “I’m kidding,” she said. “I have no idea how we’re going to find it.”

  “Let’s think this through,” said Cal. “If Gulliver held it in his hand, it has to be a decent sized object, right?”

  “Maybe,” Kelly said. “And since we’re the biggest things here in Lilliput besides the monkey and Glum, it should probably stick out.”

  Jordan looked at the field she had run across to get to the mountain before the giant girl had picked her up. Nothing silver there. She turned and squinted, trying to glimpse anything shiny lying in the small trees that made up the forest.

  “You’re sure Gulliver left the silver oracle behind?” Jordan asked.

  “I think so,” Beardy said. “Right after he betrayed us and refused to destroy these false egg—”

  “Oh, here we go,” Archer said, interrupting him. Jordan watched her reach for an arrow.

  “You’re not going to shoot an arrow at him,” Jordan warned. “Not while I’m holding you.”

  “Fine,” Archer said.

  “Can I hit her with my mallet?” Beardy asked. “Please?”

  “Let’s focus. Where could Gulliver have lost the oracle, if not here?” Cal asked.

  “Gulliver’s Travels is broken up into a number of journeys,” Baru said. “After Gulliver lost the respect of the Lilliputians, he sailed back home to his family in England. His next voyage brought him to the island where Glum is from.”

  “Brobdingnag,” giant Glum said. “The name of my home is a mouthful too.”

  “Did you see Gulliver carry anything silver when he visited your island?” Jordan asked.

  Glum wrinkled her eyebrows. “I don’t think so,” she said. “It would’ve been pretty small.”

  “So maybe he did lose it here,” Jordan said. “Or, you know, left it at home with the wife and kids.”

  “Guys?” Cal shouted from the edge of Glum’s shoulder. “I just saw a flash of light in the woods.”

  “Is it the oracle?” Kelly asked. “Is that where Gulliver Lilli-put it?”

  Cal groaned. Sometimes Kelly’s puns were just too hard to take.

  “Let’s go look,” Jordan said. “Glum, can you put us down somewhere safe?”

  Who am I kidding? Jordan thought. A giant monkey on the loose and tiny people fighting over eggs. Was there any safe place on the island?

  The giant waded close to the island. Very gently she lowered Javier and each of the Pages down onto the beach.

  “We’ll be back soon, Glum,” Kelly said. “Hopefully with your monkey.”

  “Thank you, my tiny friends,” Glum said. “Please be careful. He’s a bit of a stinker.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Oh, Rats

  Cal led the group of four Pages, two pocket-sized people, and one librarian toward the wooded area. “It’s not much farther,” he said.

  Jordan looked down at the two little ones she carried. They both seemed nervous as they peered over the edge of her cupped hands.

  “What’s the matter?” Jordan asked. “The two of you look a little—”

  “We know we’re little, giant!” Beardy shouted, cutting her off.

  “Easy,” Jordan said. “I was just trying to say that you both look a little worried.”

  Beardy looked at Archer, who glanced back at him and shrugged. “This isn’t a part of the island we visit often,” Beardy said. “We’ve sent scouts out this way, and they’ve never returned.”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem for us, though,” Jordan said. “We’re big enough to handle almost anything.”

  “We’ll see,” Beardy said. He turned the mallet in his hands a few times.

  Within minutes, the group was knee-deep in the woods. They sifted through the trees as if searching for a lost baseball in tall grass.

  Suddenly Baru jumped back in horror. “What’s that?” he shouted, backing up.

  A handful of small pine trees snapped beneath his feet like dry twigs.

  “Baru!” Javier shouted. “What happened?”

  “Something brushed past my leg,” he cried. “It was big and furry and . . .”

  Just then two large rats emerged from the tops of the trees. They were as large as golden retriever dogs. They eyed the group with their beady black eyes. Their pink noses sniffed the air.

  “Oh no!” Archer shouted. “The giant rats of Brobdingnag!”

  “Where did they come from?” Jordan cried.

  Cal pointed at the ground. “Holes,” he said. “I almost stepped in one!”

  Without warning, one of the rats pounced on Kelly, knocking her off her feet.

  Kelly shouted. “Get this thing off! Don’t let it bite me!”

  Jordan ran toward Kelly. Holding her pocket people tight, she wound up and kicked the rat in the ribs. The creature fell backward and hissed through its teeth.

  Jordan backed up as the rat advanced on her. Now what?

  The other rat swished its tail, cracking Javier across the back. The librarian dropped to one knee as Cal and Baru ran over to help him up.

  “We have to get out of here!” Baru shouted.

  “But the oracle!” Cal yelled back. “It was over there in that pile of junk!”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jordan noticed something shimmering in a pile of shredded papers, sticks, and tattered clothes.

  The rats scurried over to the stash of goodies. They stood in front of the rats’ nest, baring their teeth and swishing their tails as the Pages and Javier regrouped.

  From somewhere farther off, Jordan heard a rumble. Which meant only one thing.

  “The monkey is on the move again,” Jordan said. “We need to get this thing, and fast.”

  The rats started moving toward the group. Saliva dripped from their filthy mouths and their black eyes refused to blink.

  “Guys?” Kelly cried. “We need to do something!”

  “Open your hand, giant,” Archer said from within Jordan’s grasp.

  Jordan did as she was asked, and the little warrior pulled an arrow from her quiver and nocked it into her bowstring. She aimed it toward the rats and waited.

  One of the rats leapt at Cal, and Archer fired.

  Though it was almost impossible to see, Jordan caught sight of the tiny arrow. It looked like a wooden toothpick rocketing through the air. A moment later, the leaping rat screeched and rolled around, batting at its eye.

  The other rat retreated toward its stash. Catching sight of Archer loading another arrow, it quickly disappeared down the hole. The rat with the wounded eye quickly followed.

  The Pages cheered.

  “Nice shot, egg ruiner,” Beardy said.

  “Thank you, hairy face,” Archer replied, slinging the bow back over her sho
ulder.

  Cal cautiously walked over to the rats’ nest and recoiled. “Oh man,” he said. “It smells like rat poop and barf.”

  The land rumbled again, and Jordan felt the panic rise up inside of her. “Plug your nose and hurry,” Jordan cried. “That monkey is coming!”

  “OK, OK,” Cal said, fishing around in the filthy nest. “I think I’ve got something.”

  He held up a shiny, round object. A chain dangled from the top of it. Small bits of dirt were caked on its silver surface.

  “Is this it?” Cal asked.

  “Yes!” Beardy shouted. “By the heavens! It’s the silver oracle!”

  “Oh, OK,” Cal replied. “Because it just looks like an old pocket watch to me.”

  Jordan felt her heart sink as the monkey got closer and closer.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Getting Sleepy

  “Should we take it?” Cal asked, still holding the timepiece.

  “Yes, giant boy!” Beardy shouted. “Such a powerful thing should not be left to the monsters.”

  “Remind me,” Javier said to the Pages. “Did the Midnight Library have you all sign liability waivers when you first started here?”

  Kelly looked at the rest of the group quickly. “No,” she said. “Why?”

  There was a loud screech in the distance and the sound of giant feet slamming against the ground.

  “Because that monkey is coming,” Javier said. “We need to move, Pages. Now!”

  Jordan looked back toward the small Lilliput village. Barreling over the horizon was the crazed monkey. It bounded toward them on its hands, swinging its feet forward. It screeched again as it spotted them.

  “Go, go, go!” Jordan shouted. “Head toward the beach!”

  She looked and could see the giant girl still standing in the ocean, as if waiting for them. But as fast as the monkey was moving, Jordan knew there was no way they’d reach the beach, let alone Glum, in time.

  In her hand, she felt the little people clinging to her fingers for dear life.

  “That thing is really fast,” Baru shouted. “I’m not sure we’re—”

  And just like that, Baru was cut off. Jordan turned to see her friend snatched off his feet like he was a small toy. The monkey grabbed him and held him in front of his face.

  “Please don’t eat him!” Jordan shouted. Pretty please.

  “What do we do?” Cal cried. “We can’t leave him and we can’t fight that thing!”

  “Maybe we could—” Kelly began, then she too was snatched up by the monkey.

  “Keep running!” shouted Javier.

  Jordan watched Cal and Javier sprint across the grass as the monkey ran after them. It felt like the beach was a mile away. Before she knew it, Javier was plucked from the ground like a blade of grass.

  “We’re running out of chances!” Cal shouted. He was glancing over his shoulder in fear. “And out of people!”

  Jordan looked back and saw the monkey reach for Cal too.

  “Missed me!” Cal shouted. He dodged the monkey’s massive fingers by inches.

  Jordan thought about how tired she was when she’d gotten to the library and how easily she’d fallen asleep. That gave her an idea.

  “Toss the watch to me!” Jordan cried.

  A moment later, Cal was snatched off of his feet.

  “Jordan!” he shouted. “Catch!”

  She looked up and saw a glint of silver as the pocket watch dropped from the sky. Jordan caught it in her free hand.

  The monkey could no longer use his hands to run because of the prisoners he held in his grip. He had slowed down considerably, and Jordan was gaining some ground. Even so, she doubted she could get to the beach in time. As she looked to the shore, she noticed that Glum had disappeared.

  She kept running and felt the rumble of the monkey’s footsteps behind her and the heat of its breath on her back. Her ears picked up the shouts of her friends.

  “Keep running, giant girl,” Beardy cried. “You’re almost there!”

  Jordan’s legs burned and her lungs felt like they were on fire.

  Just a little closer . . .

  Jordan slowed down. The monkey screeched, and her friends shouted for her to keep running. Instead Jordan turned around and held up the pocket watch. She raised it high, letting the silver shine in the bright sunlight.

  “Hey, monkey!” Jordan shouted. “Check this out. Pretty, right?”

  The monkey skidded to a stop, sending chunks of dirt and grass toward Jordan. He looked confused.

  “What are you doing?” Kelly shouted from the monkey’s grip.

  “I’m not sure yet!” Jordan shouted back.

  Jordan let the watch swing back and forth. All the while, she kept backing up toward the deserted beach.

  “Wait!” Baru shouted. “Are you trying to hypnotize this thing?”

  “I don’t know if he’ll fall asleep,” Jordan replied, “but he sure seems interested!”

  She kept swinging the watch back and forth. Back and forth. The monkey’s head swung back and forth, matching its movements.

  “Come on, monkey,” Jordan said softly. “You’re getting sleepy. Very, very sleepy. You’re gently, very gently, lowering your hands to the ground.”

  The chimp carefully crouched toward the ground. He never looked away from the curious object in Jordan’s hand.

  “A little closer,” Jordan whispered. She could feel the ground was softer beneath her shoes. Sand!

  “Now you’re carefully opening your fists,” Jordan continued. The monkey blinked a few times and yawned as he gently released all of his captives onto the ground.

  “Hot monkey snot!” Jordan cried. “I think this is going to—”

  Before she could finish, two giant hands reached from the ocean and grabbed the monkey. Glum rose from the watery depths, waterfalls cascading down her hair and clothes.

  “Yes!” Jordan cried. The people in her hand cheered and so did her friends, who rushed over to her side. They watched Glum cradle the monkey like a baby, petting the chimp’s head and whispering to him.

  “Thank you, my little friends,” Glum said. “And I’m sorry to you even-littler friends that he terrorized your lands.”

  “Eh,” Beardy said. “It’s fine.”

  “And maybe your people could stop terrorizing each other,” whispered Jordan.

  They all waved goodbye to the giant as she and her beloved pet waded through theocean, back to the land of giants known as Brobdingnag.

  “So,” Cal said, looking around. “We got the monkey back to the giant. How come the library hasn’t changed back?”

  Jordan raised her hand, showing him the two passengers she still held in her hand. Beardy and Archer waved at him.

  “Oh,” Cal replied. “Right.”

  “Take us back to our fair town, giant girl,” Beardy ordered. “We have a score to settle with these egg abusers!”

  “Indeed,” Archer said, cracking her knuckles.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Meet in the Middle

  Jordan and the rest of the library team walked toward the tiny Lilliputian village.

  “Remind me to never stay up that late ever again,” she said. “I don’t care what video games Missy has.”

  “I smell like monkey,” Kelly complained. “I’m pretty sure this T-shirt is ruined.”

  “So you think we just need to drop these guys off and we’ll be all set?” Cal asked. “I mean, that’s really all there is left to do, right?”

  From where they stood, they could hear tiny shouts back and forth. The Blefuscuans were still on one side of the village and the Lilliputians on the other. Their temporary truce to find shelter during the monkey’s reign of terror had ended. They were fighting once more.

  “Wow,” Jordan said. “Is this really about eggs?”

  Javier shrugged. “Jonathan Swift’s book was a satire about the nature of humans,” he explained. “One of the things he meant to comment on was how ridiculous war an
dreligions can be. That’s what the whole egg-breaking debate was about.”

  “You guys are really fighting about how to break eggs?” Cal asked. “That’s . . . weird.”

  “Well, how do you break eggs, giant boy?” Beardy asked. “From the large end, right?”

  “A smart boy like him would surely break them from the small end,” Archer shouted. “Unlike you disrespectful Large Enders!”

  “Uh . . . my parents do most of the cooking,” Cal said.

  The shouts from the village changed as the little people noticed Jordan and the rest of her group approach.

  “The Girl-Mountain returns!” one of them shouted. “She still has our people captive!”

  “And she’s brought others like her! We’re doomed!” an older Lilliputian squeaked.

  “Release them, giant!” another shouted.

  “Be gone like the Man-Mountain before you!”

  Jordan realized they were talking about Gulliver and how he was banished from Lilliput back when he’d traveled to their island.

  “Quiet!” Beardy shouted. “The giant girl brought no harm to us. In fact, she’s rid our lands of the screeching beast!”

  There were murmurs of confusion among both sides of the egg debaters. They looked up at the Nightingale Pages in wonder. Jordan could tell that none of them knew what to expect. So, as an act of good faith (and because she was tired of carrying them), she set Beardy and Archer down.

  “Here,” Jordan said. “I’m returning your bravest warriors. But could you please stop fighting about eggs? It’s really not worth it.”

  There were shouts of disagreement from the crowd. Jordan groaned. It seemed no matter what anyone said about the eggs, the islanders grew upset. She wondered if this was how Swift felt about people who disagreed about things in the real world.

  Did the author really leave these poor people still arguing in the book? Jordan wondered. Had they really been fighting all this time since Gulliver left?

  “Look,” Jordan said. “I’m tired and I’m crabby and I just want to go home—where we don’t crack our eggs on the big side or the small side.”