The Story of the Blue Planet Read Online Free Page B

thinker.
    “Are we really interested in listening to some boring vacuum-cleaner-techno-baloney?” asked Jolly-Goodday. “You don’t need to understand. Can’t you see that the sun’s shining and the sky is clear and blue?”
    “Hooray,” shouted the children and they flew off into the air.
    They went higher and higher until they became little black dots in the clear blue sky. The whole island echoed with the shouts of children’s laughter, which drowned even the noise of the screeching terns and wailing gulls. Sometimes a wondrous cry could be heard when they saw something new and amazing. Sometimes sighs of happiness could be heard when the children tasted delicious fruits that grew on the tallest trees, which they had never been able to reach before Jolly-Goodday had taught them to fly.
    The scent of flowers filled the air. But soon a strange smell began to be borne on the wind. Wherever the children went they could smell the disgusting stink.

     

The Strangest Stink
     
    “What is that stink, kids?” cried Jolly-Goodday from where he sat on the beach. He was lathered in suntan lotion and slurping a cold drink to keep himself cool.
    “What stink?” asked the children innocently.
    “It’s not like the smell from a volcano, more like a mixture of rotten eggs and smelly feet,” said Jolly-Goodday and grimaced. “Has someone just farted?”
    The children looked all around.
    “Oh, now I remember,” said Magni, “it’s farting season for the hippos.”
    “And the zebras air their toes at exactly this time of year,” added Brimir.
    “Are you trying to fool me, kids? It’s impossible to breathe here.”
    Jolly-Goodday sprayed himself with an after-shave, which was so strong that flies dropped dead all around him.
    There was a long silence.
    “Actually we are fooling you,” said Elva as she floated like a bee around a cherry tree in full bloom. “It’s so boring to wash ourselves in the waterfall.”
    “The butterfly powder could be washed off,” said the children, “so we’ve stopped having baths.”
    “Aren’t you suffocated by the stink?” asked Jolly-Goodday, holding his nose.
    “If we fly fast enough the wind blows the stink away,” said Elva as she whizzed past.
    “My dear kiddies, it’s the easiest thing in the world to fix this stink.”
    “Do you know a way to do that as well?”
    “I know the answer to everything,” said Jolly-Goodday. “Follow me to the waterfall.”
    The children glided in the direction of Fairmost Falls, hovering over Jolly-Goodday like seagulls as he walked along the path to the waterfall, which fell with a tremendous roar into a canyon. The children were overwhelmed when they felt the power of the waterfall. The roar was so loud it was difficult to hear anyone speak. A huge rainbow formed as the sun shone through the waterfall’s misty spray.
    “Just look at how depressing this is, kids,” shouted Jolly-Goodday, looking down into the immensely deep canyon.
    “What?” shouted the children surprised.
    “A whole waterfall going to waste, of no use to anyone.”
    “But it’s beautiful,” exclaimed Elva.
    “It’s a childish waste of time to stare at waterfalls. Now watch carefully.”
    Jolly-Goodday rolled up his sleeves and took out a hammer. He beat the rainbow in the canyon from all directions and battered it into the shape of a little ball. He stirred into it all the waterfall’s misty spray and its loud roar, and created a brown gooey mess, which he then thrust into an aerosol can. Rainbowless, roarless, and mistless, the waterfall trickled feebly into the canyon like a runny nose.
    “What have you done?” whispered the children, listening to the silence.
    “I made a magic stuff out of the roar, the spray, and the rainbow, so you’ll never need to wash yourselves again,” said Jolly-Goodday, and he shook the aerosol can before spraying the stuff over the children.
    “Magic stuff?”
    “This is Teflon ® wonder stuff, which makes you so