The Great Gold Robbery Read Online Free Page B

king and the people of Norway that even though they’ve stolen my unusually good name and
sullied my reputation, I still have my pride.” Nilly’s voice quavered slightly. “Tell them this time they’re on their own, no Nilly is going to save them this time. Norway
is on its own! I’m heading for the hills!”
    And with that Nilly stood up and marched out. Hallgeir and Helge looked at each other in confusion. And then they looked at Petter.
    “I guess you guys haven’t seen it,” said Petter.
    “Seen what?” Helge asked.
    “Is it something secret?” Hallgeir asked eagerly, sounding excited.
    “No, it’s something on YouTube,” Petter said.
    “We only look at secret things,” Hallgeir said. “PBS and stuff like that.”
    “It was on TV, too,” Petter said. “
Norway’s Biggest Liar
.”
    “Oh, right. Nilly’s sister mentioned that show,” Helge said.
    Two minutes later Petter had the computer on and was playing the YouTube clip. It showed a reporter standing on Cannon Avenue in front of the yellow house that Helge and Hallgeir had just been
to a few hours earlier. The reporter whispered, grinning at the camera, “On today’s episode of
Norway’s Biggest Liar
, we’re visiting the Oslo home of the person
rumored to be the biggest—and probably also the smallest—liar in all of Norway. As usual, we will be pretending that we’re a serious show and that we believe
everything
he says. Come on, let’s go in and meet his mother and sister. . . .”
    The next scene showed two people on a sofa in a messy living room. One of them was the girl Helge and Hallgeir had spoken to at Nilly’s house; the other was a woman in a pink quilted
bathrobe.
    “Nilly started out by just exaggerating a little,” the woman said, looking somberly into the camera. “Gradually the exaggerations got bigger and bigger. Ultimately he claimed
that he and his friends had saved the world and traveled through time in a bathtub.”
    “Where do you think he got this compulsion to lie?” the reporter asked.
    “Not from me, at any rate. I’m sure it’s from his father’s side. His grandfather wrote a book called
Animals You Wish Didn’t Exist
. Solid lies from
beginning to end,” Nilly’s mother told the reporter.
    “From end to beginning,” Nilly’s sister added snidely.
    The next scene showed Nilly on his way into a talk show studio, victoriously raising both arms as the audience cheered wildly for him.

    “He has no idea they’re making fun of him,” Petter said with a sigh.
    “Welcome to the set of
Norway’s Biggest
(cough!)
ar
,” said the reporter, now wearing a nice suit. “Is it really true that you traveled back in time to
the Battle of Waterloo?”
    “Of course,” Nilly replied.
    The audience responded by applauding, and Nilly turned to face them and bowed politely.
    “So I suppose you met Napoléon, too, huh?” the reporter asked.
    “Of course,” Nilly said with a patient smile, and then clasped his hands and put his fingertips together. “Yes, for a while I actually
was
Napoléon.
That’s how I managed to prevent the battle.”
    “So you
were
Napoléon and you
stopped
the Battle of Waterloo and kept it from happening?” the reporter said.
    “Someone had to do it, and I happened to be there,” Nilly said as modestly as he could, studying his own well-nibbled fingernails.
    Wild cheers from the audience. Meanwhile close-ups showed that they were laughing so hard they were practically falling out of their seats.
    “And with that, a round of applause to thank Nilly, aka Napoléon!” the reporter exclaimed.
    Thunderous applause as an attractive woman escorted a waving, smiling Nilly offstage.
    Once Nilly was out of camera and hearing range, the reporter turned to face the camera and whispered, “I think we’ve got a strong contender here for the title of Norway’s
Biggest Liar. But the ultimate decision is up to you, viewers. When you cast your votes . . .”
    Petter turned off