December, 2005 - Page 2
by Kenneth Oppel
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the luxury airship, Aurora. He loves the air. He was born on an airship over the Pacificus and has always felt that, if necessary, he could fly!
Matt is on watch aboard the Aurora when he spies a crippled hot air balloon. The crew of the Aurora tries to radio and make contact with the balloon, but they receive no response. The Aurora flies to meet the balloon, and Matt is lowered on the hook of a crane while the ship flies hundreds of feet above the ocean. The hot air balloon is hauled into the cargo bay and inside the balloon is an unconscious man on the verge of death. No one knows who he is or why he is there.
The man regains consciousness long enough to mutter something to Matt about discovering flying mammals that never land! During the night, the unknown man dies. Matt dismisses the man's last words as the visions of a dying man.
A year later, a very wealthy passenger on board the Aurora turns out to be the mysterious man's granddaughter. She is on a search for her grandfather's undiscovered species. The young woman, Kate, becomes friends with Matt and allows him to read her grandfather's diary. As the Aurora passes near the coordinates where Kate believes that her grandfather discovered the new species, a dark ship appears behind them on the horizon. No one is sure what ship this is, but they quickly have their answer: the sound of feet echoes off the top of the Aurora as the Airship is boarded by pirates!
The pirates raid the luxury airship and then try to get away. A huge storm pushes the pirate ship propellors into the skin of the Aurora! The pirate ship makes it away safely, but the Aurora is quickly dropping toward the sea! Amazingly, they make a crash landing on an uncharted island. The passengers and crew are stranded. Matt discovers that the coordinates of this island match those of Kate's grandfather's discovery. Kate wants to explore the island, but is it safe? What secrets does this island hold? Is there really a new species to be discovered? What else might be discovered on this island?
Find out by reading this exciting adventure story. You won't be disappointed.
A hawk glides
Down to land on a pole up high.
He sits awhile
And can't help to smile
Thinking of a trick to try.
Down he swoops,
Almost hitting a car's roof!
Who says hawks have no sense of humor?
falling
down from trees.
floating softly
down to the ground to go crunch underfoot.
wind blows
snow around
during winter
Stinging everybody's nose, cheeks and toes.
Mr. Donald decides he wants to try a fancy restaurant that he has heard about. When he goes there he finds that in order to be seated and served, he must answer a math riddle posed by the Host. Before he goes in, he decides to watch while other people enter.
A woman enters the restaurant. The host says, "Six" and the woman answers, "Three." The host then seats her in a very nice section of the restaurant. A gentleman in an expensive suit enters the restaurant. The host says, "Twelve" and the gentleman replies, "Six." The gentleman is then taken to a very nice table by the window. Mr. Donald decides that this is really quite easy, so he enters the restaurant.
The host looks at Mr. Donald and says, "Ten."
"That's easy," says Mr. Donald, "Five." Upon which he is promptly thrown out of the restaurant!
What should Mr. Donald have said?
