Before I go deep into my writing, I want to say one of the most important things I took away from Chapter Seven. There are a LOT of big words. Mitochondria, farandole, Proginoskes, Echthroi, etc. Echthroi means enemies in Latin, by the way. So many that I had to re-read some pages A FEW times because I didn’t understand what they were saying. So, quickly I am going to relate something about mitochondria that I learned in science class. Mitochondria makes ATP or energy for the cell. Mitochondria make ATP from sugar and oxygen. Without mitochondria/energy, we cannot live. This relates to chapter seven because the Echthroi are attacking Charles Wallace’s mitochondrion and, as a result, killing them. As they kill the mitochondrion, they kill Charles Wallace. The reason why Meg, Calvin, Mr. Jenkins, Proginoskes, and Blajeny go to Metron Ariston is to fight the Echthroi. They are fighting the Echthroi to save the mitochondrion, to save Charles Wallace. Meg doesn’t know yet, but she will have to do something to overcome the Echthroi. The Echthroi are in Charles Wallace’s mitochondria, so they (Meg, Calvin, Progo, Blajeny, and Mr. Jenkins) have to go into Charles Wallace to save him. When they arrive at Metron Ariston, Meg is then able to kythe with Charles Wallace and sees that he is very sick. She sees their mother carrying his limp, weak body to his bedroom. She sees her mother putting him in bed and asking the twins to get more blankets and light the fire. She sees and hears her mother telling Charles that Meg (herself) will be back from school soon and that she will come straight up and read to him. But then, she sees Charles mumble with all the energy he has left that Meg isn’t in school… but his mother doesn’t pay attention and just brushes it off. After that, a soft fog drapes over her vision and she suddenly can’t see Charles or her mother anymore. In Metron Ariston they see another Echthroi impersonating Mr. Jenkins and it sends a shiver down his spine. Imagine how weird it would be to see another you. I would probably react the same way I do when I see a squirrel. Scream for five seconds, run away and hide in a bush until the coast is clear.
Mowgli, Kotick, Rikki Tikki, Bagheera, Nag and so many more come from the one and only, Rudyard Kipling.
Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30, 1865, and died on January 18, 1936. He lived to be 70 years old. He was born in Bombay, India. One of his most famous books is called The Jungle Book. In addition to his The Jungle Book he wrote other short stories. For example, he wrote about how the camel got its distinctive hump, how the rhinoceros got its armor-like skin, and many more. I thought that these stories were different and very imaginative; whether it was about a lazy and arrogant camel or if it was about an ill-mannered and rude rhino, I could still enjoy Kipling’s style of writing in The Just-So Stories as I would in his other stories.
Kipling has many awesome stories but the one that I read and worked on for the longest time was The Jungle Book. This is a thrilling tale that you will learn about later on in this essay. Right now I would like to talk about some of the other stories that Kipling had wrote. He wrote origin stories which can also be known as pourquoi tales. Pourquoi tales are stories that explain how something is created (The Just-So Stories). These aren’t just some old tales and myths, they are full of imagination and were something that I had not seen before.
I have written a lot about Rudyard’s stories. At first, I thought it would be complicated because his stories are not the easiest to understand. The Jungle Book is more of a sixth to tenth-grade book than an elementary school book. With that being said, it might even be hard to read for sixth graders. It wasn’t hard for me to read it but the hard part was understanding it and being able to write a couple of paragraphs on it. That is why the re-reading is so helpful. When I read this book at first it was a hard-to-understand book. You really have to ask yourself questions and reread most of the book. I would constantly read a chapter and then read it again two to three more times to make sure I really understood what is going on. But the constant re-reading was definitely worth it. The book was awesome and full of adventure and action. It helps you understand what is going on in the book and gives you the ability to write more and more. Going back to writing about his stories is complicated. It does get easier as you read more and more of his writing because then you can understand his own unique way of writing. In the beginning, I had no clue where to start. I would reread the question multiple times and then try to remember reading that in the story. If I couldn’t remember I would have to go back and sometimes I would end up reading the entire chapter over again. Although once I had a general idea of what I was supposed to write, the words started to flow through me. Then there was so much to say about his writing.
First edition!
The Jungle Book is a fascinating book about a child named Mowgli who is raised in a jungle with all types of animals. Mowgli needs to return to the man’s village because the tiger Shere Khan has returned and put his life in danger. The book is about his adventures throughout his journey across the jungle. Mowgli makes many new friends and learns lots of life lessons. For example, Mowgli must learn the “Law of the Jungle” because he was raised by wolves and needs to act like one. The Law of the Jungle is a rule that all the creatures in the jungle must follow. If anything at all were to happen in the jungle that bent or involved the Law, then it would immediately call for a serious council meeting.
For the man-cub, Mowgli, a special meeting was hosted. They decided the fate of the man-cub. The panther, Bagheera states that “the Law of the Jungle says that if there is a doubt which is not a killing matter in regard to a new cub, the life of that cub may be bought at a price. And the Law does not say who may or may not pay that price”. Basically, to summarize this very complicated explanation, Bagheera is saying that if the council isn’t debating whether to kill the cub or not, then the cub may be bought. But the Law doesn’t say who should buy the cub and the price that it pays. At the end of the meeting, the wolves adopt Mowgli and are ready to raise and defend him as their own. This is the Law of Jungle. The animal that takes Mowgli in does need to be ready to face any challenges and consequences that follow. Soon enough, Mowgli learns about the Law of the Jungle from Bagheera and Baloo. He recites the tongues of all creatures. For the hunting people, it is “We be of one blood, ye and I”. “A perfectly indescribable hiss,” for the snakes, and for the birds, it was the same but “with the Kite’s whistle at the end of the sentence.” He knew all of the tongues.
Even if he knew all of the languages, in the jungle, there is a very specific law that is extremely important. It is the law that forbids every beast to eat man, except when he is killing to show his children how to really kill. The reason behind this is that “if a creature kills one man, more men will come with guns and hunt them down till extinction, or at least scatter them to the winds, with gongs and rockets and torches.”
Mowgli was just a man-cub but soon later realized that even if he did not like the Law of the Jungle he must follow it. Mowgli had always wanted to learn how to hunt and kill animals for his own food but could only hunt when he was old enough. Mowgli thought he could kill any animal in the jungle until Bagheera told him that he must never touch cattle because “thou art strong enough to kill; thou must never kill or eat any cattle young or old. That is the Law of the Jungle.” Mowgli was heartbroken by his message but agreed. Mowgli never touched any cattle in his life.
One story that I particularly enjoyed was the story of Rikki Tikki Tavi. This story was also turned into a film like The Jungle Book except it wasn’t nearly as long. Rikki Tikki Tavi is about the eponymous mongoose, who is taken in by a family who found him on the ground nearly dead. They cared for Rikki and provided him with food and shelter. Rikki wanted to do the same so he protected the family from the horrible cobras, Nag and Nagaina. They are so horrible that they planned on killing the family. Nagaina hisses to her husband “Go in quietly, and remember that the big man who killed Karait is the first one to bite. Then come out and tell me, and we will hunt for Rikki-Tikki together.” So the snakes were planning on killing the father first, then the family, and then Rikki-Tikki himself.
“But are you sure that there is anything to be gained by killing the people?” said Nag. It seems like he might not be as rotten as Nagaina after all.
“Everything. When there were no people in the bungalow, did we have any mongoose in the garden? So long as the bungalow is empty, we are king and queen of the garden; and
remember that as soon as our eggs in the melon bed hatch (as they may tomorrow), our
children will need room and quiet.”
“I had not thought of that,” said Nag. “I will go, but there is no need that we should hunt
for Rikki-Tikki afterward. I will kill the big man and his wife, and the child if I can, and come away quietly. Then the bungalow will be empty, and Rikki-Tikki will go.” Well, I guess I was wrong about him not being as rotten as his wife. This is horrible! I mean what is going to happen? If you want to find out you should read it. It is a very exciting tale.
The story is about how Rikki Tikki returns the favor to his new family that had saved his life. The film is very much exactly like the story. I love Chuck Jones, one of the chief 20th-century animators, painters, and directors.
He was not only known for producing Tom & Jerry episodes (34 of them) but also for being in the creative team for the following unforgettable characters: Porky Pig,
Wile E. Coyote,
Road Runner, Daffy Duck,
and the famous Bugs Bunny. I praise him for his creative mind and awesome skills, making all of the characters in the films and the dialogue exactly the same as the Kipling story. Again, his film reminded me a lot of the Tom & Jerry episodes. No surprise because Chuck Jones also made Tom & Jerry. Did I tell you that? Whoops. I had hoped that Chuck Jones or someone else had decided to make more of Kipling’s books into films. I thought, wow if they do another one, the one that I really am looking forward to seeing is “The White Seal”. Turns out there is one! And better yet… Chuck Jones made it! This one was less like the short story but still had lots of similarities and the concept was the same. Chuck Jones really makes the character come to life by animating and narrating it in a fun way: for instance, when Rikki does get involved with the cobras, then attacks them and gets stuck in a snake hole with Nagaina, twisting and turning in a big spurt of dust… what will happen next? Go and find out.
S.E.A.L.
I have a club called the Saving Endangered Animals Lovingly club. I am very
passionate about animals and make it a goal to try and save endangered ones. One of Kipling’s
stories was called “The White Seal”, which really reminded me of my club. This connected with
my club because first of all, it was about a seal and my club’s name is S.E.A.L. (for obvious
reasons). Secondly, the story itself was about how a seal is trying to find a safe place for all of
the other seals. This really connected with me because that is what I am trying to do for
endangered animals.
The most memorable part of “The White Seal” for me was when Sea Catch (Kotick the white seal’s dad) said to Matkah (Kotick’s mother) that “there has never been a white seal before” meaning that Kotick was a unique seal. He was not liked by his father very much because he was different. He was a rare white seal. The story goes on and after hearing (in the movie, and seeing in the book) that humans are the main enemy to any seal, that the humans kill the seals, Kotick decided that he wanted to go on a mission. He wanted to find a place where no human could ever hurt or find a seal. He searched until he came across a wise walrus. The walrus told him to look for the Sea Pig. The only way he would know what the Sea Pig looked like was because “he is the only creature uglier than a walrus”.
Knowing that there might be someone that could help Kotick, he was determined now more than ever to find such a perfect place for his fellow seals. Kotick asked everyone he came across if they knew anything about such a thing called the Sea Pig. Not one living creature he asked knew until his fellow whale friend showed him the way to the Sea Pig. When Kotick finally met the Sea Pig he waited until he could be led into the place where no human could enter. After many days and weeks he is led to the secret entrance and Kotick followed Sea Pig underwater, through tunnels, and out into the open. Kotick saw a sandy beach, perfect water, and high sides made of land that formed a wall. This place to me looked like an asteroid that hit a piece of land and created a massive crater. When Kotick gets back to his home and excitedly tells everyone about this new amazing place… guess what? No one believes him. After years of searching and after finally finding a safe place no seal would come to because they wouldn’t believe the white seal, he gets into a fight with all of the alpha males and easily defeats them all. He has won and now every seal will follow him to the secret hidden island. Now thanks to Kotick the white seal, all seals have a safe place to stay and won’t be hunted by anymore of those terrible, horrible, disgusting, cruel humans. Kotick has succeeded! It makes me feel really good. It is always nice to read the end part of a book when a character who is having a hard time fitting in, turns out to save the whole seal population.
“Father Wolf woke up from his day’s rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in their tips.” An immediate picture sprung up into my mind about a large black and grayish father-looking wolf who when yawning shows all of his large, pointy, yellow teeth. The wolf is spreading his long paws first right then left, extending his claws then retreating in a stretching manner. These are the kinds of descriptive images that appear in my mind from just one sentence. It’s amazing.
If there are multiple books written by the same author and have similar settings then I would wonder whether they could all be connected. For example, Rikki Tikki Tavi has some scenes where it takes place in the jungle. Could that jungle be the same one that Mowgli had lived his life in? Who knows? Maybe Kaa (the snake in The Jungle Book) is related to Nagand Nagaina (the snake from Rikki Tikki Tavi). The human village that is always talked about in The Jungle Book could be the same village that Teddy and his family live in. Kipling stretches out his setting so that they include characters that have nothing to do with the ones who appear earlier.
Kipling’s place names are inventive – however, he uses real place names as well. In The White Seal, he uses “Novastoshnah Beach (an actual place – try pronouncing it!) as the beach that all of the seals start off on at the beginning of the story. He also uses the term “Sticky Water” which has a completely different meaning than you would think but is a very important place (the Equator). “Juan Fernandez is another beach that the white seal was on. In addition, Kotick was given instructions that he was to find and talk to the Sea Vitch who was on “Walrus Islet”. He added humor and made the animals talk as if they were humans. This is a tool that he uses in all the stories that I have read.
I think that Rudyard Kipling is one of the best authors that I have read. He really adds detail and imagery to his characters as well as the settings, comes up with creative names for places in all of his books, and finally connects to me through animal writing. For me, I think it is rare to find a book that’s for teens and is about animals. I am really grateful that I have been shown the amazing author: Rudyard Kipling.
The guard watched as Mother Nature took over the scene; the birds were chirping making beautiful noises – it sounded like harmony to the guard, but he shook his head and continued his vigilance. He’d been on duty since midnight and his relief was late.
Finally, his relief was here.
“Where were you? You’re late. It’s dawn already: you were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago!”
“It wasn’t my fault I was late – it was my wife’s fault – she had me make the breakfast and even clean up,” the relief exclaimed.
“Well let’s see what the boss has to say about this.”
“Please don’t, please don’t, I don’t want to get punished,” the relief begged. The sun was now peeking over the treetops across the field, the frosty ground was beginning to steam, and the guard’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten since about 3 am (a thin salami sandwich) and he was famished.
“Okay but only till I eat, then I will tell the boss. For now, I must be on my way: farewell,” the guard said, leaving the relief to hope for the best.
The guard walked along the green tents at the outpost, admiring how they camouflaged with the forest on the right side of the outpost – he looked to the left side of the outpost and saw the tranquil meadow filled with butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds going from one flower to another.
Finally, he saw what he came for: the bakery.
Ding, ding went the little bell that rings whenever you open the door to the bakery.
“How may I help you sir?”
“One chocolate croissant please and a glass of milk.”
“That will be 1.5 francs sir,” the cashier said.
The guard gave the cashier 1.5 francs and grabbed his chocolate croissant and glass of milk and went outside to eat his breakfast.
After devouring the pastry, he decided to go home and get some rest. But before he could even do anything he heard someone call out from behind him.
“Telegram, telegram, very important telegram for Mr. Arthur Jones!” someone called out. The guard’s ears perked up at the sound of his name. Arthur whipped his head around to see a messenger.
“Right here,” Arthur said. The messenger turned his head to look at Arthur.
“Are you Arthur Jones sir?” the messenger asked.
“Yes, that’s me, Arthur Jones,” Arthur confirmed.
“Well then here you go Mr. Jones,” the messenger said handing Arthur a telegram.
“Thank you,” Arthur said watching the messenger run off to deliver something else. As Arthur opened the telegram he paused and realized that the telegram might be fake and could be a bomb, so he threw the telegram on the floor to make sure that the telegram was not a bomb. Satisfied, he picked up the telegram and opened it. It read, “Dear Arthur this is the boss come urgently I have something important to discuss with you.” Arthur took a moment to take in everything that just happened. Well, I guess resting will have to wait, he thought to himself. So, Arthur folded the telegram and put it in his pocket and made his way to the (boss’s base).
Arthur, once again, walked past the camouflaged green tents. But this time he walked past his guarding post and around the corner, to a place where only guards know of. Finally, after studying the brick wall he saw what he was looking for, a brick with a line in the middle on the wall. Arthur quickly looked around to make sure no one was around. Satisfied, he pushed the brick, and after about three seconds he heard a clicking sound and the bricks started moving and made a hole big enough for Arthur to fit in. Arthur made his way through the hole and down a stairwell. There, Arthur found himself face to face with a dark door. There he knocked on the door in a coded manner and the dark red door opened and Arthur walked in. All around Arthur were doors upon doors, finally, he was here (boss’s base). All of a sudden, Arthur heard a door creak. CREAKK!
“You may come in,” a voice bellowed, sounding like thunder.
Arthur followed the voice to a pitch black door that read Boss in light red letters that shown like a flashlight in a pitch black room. he knocked on the door twice.
“Password please,” he heard someone say.
“1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27, 28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54, 55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81, 82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100, and 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,” Arthur said.
The door opened and inside, the boss sitting at a table – and the relief was standing to his right!
“What’s he dooiingg here,” Arthur said pointing to his relief.
“I have an assignment for you two,” said the boss.
“What’s the assignment?” Arthur asked.
“Your assignment is to go undercover in Paris and break into the French Grand Louvre, national museum and art gallery of France, housed in part of a large palace in Paris that was built on the right-bank site of the 12th-century fortress of Philip Augustus, with David, and steal the Mona Lisa,” said the boss. “Also, your reward will be 1,000,000 francs”. Arthur’s mouth dropped all the way to the floor – his eyes were like not even in his eye sockets anymore. 1,000,000 franks, I would be rich, I would be famous, Arthur thought to himself.
“Okay, I’m in, but how are we going to steal the Mona Lisa?” Arthur asked.
“Ah, follow me I will show you,” the boss said. So, the boss led Arthur and the relief out of his office and into a different room. “DAVID!” the boss yelled. David was the boss’s butler or servant. David came scurrying in. “Yes master,” David said.
“David, I want you to make this outfit,” the boss said showing David a picture and then giving it to him. Arthur was barely able to see the picture, but he saw a little bit of it. It was a picture of a man with blond hair wearing a tan coat, a dark blue scarf, and some black jeans. “Go to the sewing room you’ll find what you need there. Oh, and by the way make two but make one a different color,” the boss told David. “But what color do you want it to be?” David asked. “Hmm, I think maybe dark brown and only on the coat, okay,” said the boss. “Yes master,” said David as he went out of the room.
“Come, follow me. I have something to show you guys,” said the boss. So, Arthur and the relief followed the boss into the garage. “This will be your vehicle,” said the boss, pointing to a Cadillac type 55 opera coupe. “Cool,” said Arthur and his relief at the same time. At that exact moment David came running in with the two disguises.
David handed Arthur and his relief their disguises right away and when Arthur took his disguise, he noticed that the tan coat was made out of leather. “Where should I change?” Arthur asked the boss. “Come follow me – there are changing rooms over here,” the boss said. So, Arthur and the relief followed the boss to a door that led to another hallway that had like a dozen doors. “These are the changing rooms,” the boss said, gesturing to the doors. “Okay thanks,” Arthur said to the boss. Arthur went into a changing room and took off his armor and put on a black shirt. He immediately noticed how comfortable it was – it was like taking the wool from a sheep and covering your body with it. Arthur then put on the black jeans which looked not that bad on him. Then he put on the tan leather coat with buttons which he thought were really cool, and lastly, he put on the black leather boots and looked in the mirror, “Wow this must be what rich people look like,” Arthur thought to himself while looking in a mirror.
Once Arthur was done changing into his disguise, he came out of the changing room. Shortly after Arthur came out of the changing room, his relief came out of his changing room. “Come on you two, David is waiting for you in your vehicle,” said the boss. “Wait, David is driving?” blurted Arthur. “Yes, David is driving because he knows all possible escape routes and can carefully guide you two through Paris,” said the boss.
So, Arthur, the boss, and Arthur’s relief made their way to the garage. As they walked into the garage Arthur right away noticed that the black Cadillac type 55 opera coupe was brightly polished and was glistening in the light. Arthur put his hand on the front of the car; whoa, he thought to himself as he felt the glossy surface.
“Hop in,” said someone from inside the car. “Huh?” Arthur said as he stopped admiring the car. “Come on it’s just David!” yelled the relief as he ran to the car. “Wait for me!” yelled Arthur as he ran towards the car. As Arthur got in the car, he noticed the seats were made out of finely woven silk. “Whoa,” Arthur and his relief said at the same time. Neither Arthur nor his relief had ever been in a car before, so they were amazed how cool the car looked. “Good luck to you all,” said the boss as he flipped a switch. All of a sudden, the wall opened and revealed a pathway going up and out of the garage and outside to the surface. “Let’s go,” said Arthur with a hint of excitement in his voice; David turned the car on and stepped on it and they went zooming out of the garage.
“So, what’s the plan?” Arthur asked David.
“You guys are going to go inside the Louvre. Then you’re going to steal the Mona Lisa and replace it with a fake,” continued David.
“Wait, what fake?” asked the relief.
“The fake Mona Lisa in that black suitcase,” David said pointing under the chair. “Once you steal it, you’ll replace the real one with the fake one. After that you’ll put the real one in the black case where the fake one is,” David explained.
“Okay, I think we can manage that,” Arthur said.
“We’re officially in Paris,” David exclaimed. Arthur looked out the window and saw the Eiffel Tower. He saw lakes, rivers, and all kinds of different buildings. Finally, they were at the Louvre.
“You two are going to sneak around the back and climb a ladder. Next, you’re going to open the vent on the roof and crawl through there till you see the Mona Lisa. Well… you guys know what to do from there. Oh wait! Also, you need to wait for it to be unguarded,” said David.
“Okay got it,” said Arthur and his relief at the same time.
Arthur and his relief got out of the car and walked around the corner making no sound.
But before they could climb up the ladder, “SNAP”.
“What was that!” the relief hissed.
“My bad, I accidentally stepped on a twig, but what’s the worst that could happen?” Arthur said.
At that exact moment, Arthur and his relief could hear the shout of soldiers.
“WHAT WAS THAT!” a guard shouted, alarmed.
“See what you got us into!” the relief shrilled.
“What, it was an accident, calm down!”
The relief looked like he was about to explode: “Calm down. Calm down? You want me to calm down when we’re probably dead meat right now!”
“Well yeah, unless you actually want to be dead meat,” Arthur said.
“HEY WHO’S THERE!” a voice yelled from around the corner.
“It’s probably a guard – come on, we got to hide quickly!”
Arthur dragged the relief behind a garbage dumpster and sat there quietly.
“I think the coast is clear,” Arthur whispered.
“Okay, one sec, let me check,” the relief said. The relief peeked out from behind the dumpster.
“Yup, the coast is clear” the relief confirmed. The two came out from behind the garbage dumpster, and then climbed the ladder, opened the vent and climbed in. “Do you have the suitcase ready?” asked the Arthur. “Yes,” replied his relief as they were crawling through the vents.
The relief looked down through all the vents until he finally spottedthe Mona Lisa, the relief checked the surroundings for any guards. “The coast is clear,” said the relief.
“Okay let’s go in.”
But before they opened the vent, the relief, rummaging through the black case, asked “What is this?”
Arthur turned around to find a cable-like device.
“Look there’s a note from David!” Arthur said. The relief picked it up and read it out loud, “This is David. I forgot to tell you this, but this device will help you steal the Mona Lisa. One person will attach the cable device to the ceiling in the vent. If you are confused on how to attach it all you have to do is put the red marking on the ceiling and it will attach magnetically. The second person will attach the hook to the loop thingy on your belt that I specifically put there. Then the second person will hold the cable while getting lowered by the first person. Once the second person is ready to come out the first person will pull second person up,” the relief read from the note.
The relief attached the red mark onto the ceiling and crawled behind Arthur so he could hold the cable. Arthur attached the hook to his belt and took the suitcase with the fake Mona Lisa and gave the relief a thumbs-up signaling he was ready. The relief lowered Arthur down. Arthur carefully and quickly switched out the real Mona Lisa with the fake Mona Lisa. Yes we got the Mona Lisa, Arthur thought to himself.
Then out of nowhere, “Hey what are you doing!” a voice called out. Arthur’s eyes went wide, and his stomach lurched. Arthur slowly turned his head to see a guard. “PULL ME UP PULL ME UP!” Arthur shouted to the relief. The relief, realizing the dire situation, started pulling Arthur up as quick as he could. “HEY STOP RIGHT THERE!” the guard yelled as he withdrew his Ruby pistol and tried shooting Arthur. “PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!” was the sound of the Ruby pistol being fired.
The bullets missed Arthur by a fraction of an inch. The relief pulled Arthur up and they quickly detached the cable device, put it in a side pocket of the case, and crawled to the opening of the vent. As they crawled the sound of an alarm could be heard. “COME ON, WE GOT TO HURRY!” Arthur shouted. “Okay okay I’m going as fast as I can!” the relief said anxiously. So they crawled out of the vents went down the ladder and into the car.
“Did you guys get it,” David asked. “YES BUT GO, GO, GO, we’ve been discovered!” Arthur and his relief yelled frantically at the same time. David didn’t need telling twice; he slammed the gas and off they went. Right behind them Arthur could hear a siren. “WEE, OO, WEE, OO, WEE, OO!” was the sound of the sirens on the police cars.
“Come on, hurry up, we got company,” Arthur screeched.
“Okay, but I got a plan but you two… might…er… not like it,” David said unsteadily.
“Oh great what is it?” Arthur asked David. David quickly told Arthur and his relief his plan. “YOU WANT TO DO WHAT!” Arthur and his relief yelled simultaneously.
“Okay I know it’s a little crazy but it’s our only option,” David said.
“Fine,” Arthur said. So with the cops in pursuit David took action. David quickly turned a corner and into a parking garage. David quickly and expertly maneuvered around the parking garage and to the top. David’s plan was to drive to the top of this parking garage and jump off, while in the Opera Coupe, to a building just shorter than the parking garage. The building had a helicopter pad with a helicopter on it. David wanted to get on the helicopter and fly it back to the army camp.
“Hang on!” David said as he drove off the parking garage and onto the helicopter pad. “THUMP!” was the sound when the car landed on the helicopter pad. “Get out quickly!” David yelled. So Arthur, his relief, and David got out of the car and hopped in the helicopter. “You do know how to work this thing right?” Arthur asked. “Of course I do,” David said. So David turned on the helicopter. “Okay, let me do something really quick, David said as they flew up. David pressed a button, “Clank!” Arthur looked down to see that David dropped a magnet on the Opera Coupe and they were off.
As they were going up, up, and up, Arthur looked down to see that everything was getting smaller and smaller than it used to. As they flew by, Arthur could also see all the buildings passing by; he even saw the Eiffel Tower and then they had made it!
As they landed, Arthur looked down and gaped in awe. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, the roof of the boss’s base was opening and Arthur could make out a helicopter pad. Wow the boss has everything, he thought to himself. When they landed, Arthur felt tingle of pride. I can’t believe that I stole the Mona Lisa, he thought to himself. So Arthur and the relief walked out of the helicopter and was greeted by the boss. “Do you have it, do you have the Mona Lisa?” the boss anxiously asked.
“Yes, we got the Mona Lisa, but you have to pay up now,” Arthur said, gesturing to the relief and himself.
“Okay, okay, sheesh calm down I’m going to give it to you alright? But first let me see the Mona Lisa,” the boss said. So Arthur went back into the helicopter to retrieve the black suitcase where the Mona Lisa remained.
Arthur brought it back and showed the boss. “Very good indeed!” the boss said. Once the boss was satisfied at what he was seeing he signaled for David to come over.
“David can you put one million dollars in Arthur’s bank account and one million dollars in um… What’s your name, young man?” the boss asked, gesturing to the relief.
“My name is Noah Smith,” Noah replied. “And put one million dollars in Noah’s bank account,” the boss told David. “Oh! and don’t forget five hundred thousand dollars in your own bank account David, for guiding these two young men safely through the journey and bringing back a souvenir (the helicopter).” said the boss. David looked like he was about burst in tears.
“OH THANK YOU MASTER, oh thank you. I will use this money well, I promise!” David blubbered, with tears falling down his face.
Two years later.
“I still can’t believe we stole the Mona Lisa, even after two years,” Noah exclaimed. All of a sudden there was a terrific noise. “ALL GUARDS MUST COME TO THE BARRACKS RIGHT NOW! THERE’S GOING TO BE A MEETING HELD THERE! REMEMBER ONLY GUARDS ARE ALLOWED!” The speakers that had just been installed not too long ago were definitely loud. Arthur and Noah turned to each other with a look of uncertainty. “Come on, we got to go,” Noah said. So Arthur and Noah made their way to the barracks. When they got there they could see all the other guards but one of them they recognized: it was the general. So they made their way to the general.
“General, what’s going on?” Arthur asked.
“The boss has been arrested for theft of the Mona Lisa!” the general said.
“Arthur you know what that means, right?” Noah asked.
“Yup, we got to bust the Boss out of jail,” he replied in a deep voice.
