stairs and leaving Remi to stare at the golden duck, “do you know how to make the dominoes move?”
“Number eighty-eight,” Blop said, but then he stopped, having been given a different directive. “Why, yes, I do know how to make the dominoes move. It’s fun to watch. Would you like to move them?”
“I would,” Leo said.
“Pull the duck’s leg.”
Leo looked back at Remi, who already had his hand on the narrow leg of the golden duck.
“Like this?” Remi asked, and he pulled. The leg came up and the humming sound disappeared.
“Cool,” Remi said. He backed up two steps, letting go of the leg, and accidentally touched the heel of his shoe against a random metal domino. It fell over, knocking down other dominoes in their turn.
“Must be done in the right order, or the emergency lock will engage,” Blop said. “Only Merganzer can open it if that happens.”
The dominoes were falling fast, racing around the room with incredible speed. “We have to stop it before it’s too late!” Leo cried.
Remi took this to mean that he should dive onto the moving dominoes and try to stop them, which was funny to watch but not very helpful. He dove from section to section, trying to bring things to a halt, but dominoes kept falling all around him.
“Blop,” Leo said, staring up at the robot at the top of the stairs, “can we stop it?”
“Of course you can.”
“Can you tell me how?” Leo asked in his calmest voice. He wanted to freak out, but he knew Blop responded best to direct and simple commands.
“Push the duck’s leg back down.”
This time it was Leo running through the room, knocking down dominoes with almost every step he took. By the time he reached the golden duck, about ninety percent of all the dominoes had fallen. He pushed the golden leg back down and heard the humming sound return. Like magic, every domino jumped back to its starting position, all standing at attention like thousands of rectangular army men.
“Whew,” Remi said. “That was a close call.”
Leo stayed where he was and sent Remi back to the stairs, where he waited for Leo to pull the golden duck leg up again. When he did, Remi tapped the first domino. Leo and Remi got to watch as every last one fell in perfect order: up ramps, under bridges, through rings that had lit up with fire.
Near the end, the dominoes toppled up a long ramp that ended above the safe. The last domino fell, landing directly on the duck. There was a slot on the golden duck’s back and the domino fit perfectly inside.
Then the golden duck laid a golden egg, which dropped through a hole on top of the safe.
“It’s moving,” Remi said, pointing to the duck.
The golden duck began to rise into the air on a long, thin pole. Up it went past the ceiling, to places Leo and Remi couldn’t see.
“I think it’s on the roof,” Leo said, but he couldn’t be sure.
He grabbed the wooden handle in front of him and opened Merganzer D. Whippet’s safe.
The door was heavy as iron, but it glided on solid brass hinges without a sound. By the time Leo had the safe open, Remi was standing next to him. They both peered in at once.
“There’s the egg,” Leo said. The golden egg was perched on a stem that looked like a long, silver golf tee. It had landed perfectly. In the center of the safe was a round circle painted in white with a word in the middle:
Fizz.
“Better put the bottle there,” Leo said.
Remi took the last bottle of Flart’s Fizz out of his red jacket pocket and looked longingly at it one last time. It was orange or brown or sort of yellow inside, he couldn’t say. Flart’s Fizz was funny like that, a color that was not a color, with the best kind of surprise inside.
“He knows how to hit me where it hurts,” Remi said, but he knew it was for the best. It wasn’t his bottle of Flart’s Fizz.
Remi set the bottle in its place. “This is going really well, don’t you think?”
Leo thought about everything they’d already
“Number eighty-eight,” Blop said, but then he stopped, having been given a different directive. “Why, yes, I do know how to make the dominoes move. It’s fun to watch. Would you like to move them?”
“I would,” Leo said.
“Pull the duck’s leg.”
Leo looked back at Remi, who already had his hand on the narrow leg of the golden duck.
“Like this?” Remi asked, and he pulled. The leg came up and the humming sound disappeared.
“Cool,” Remi said. He backed up two steps, letting go of the leg, and accidentally touched the heel of his shoe against a random metal domino. It fell over, knocking down other dominoes in their turn.
“Must be done in the right order, or the emergency lock will engage,” Blop said. “Only Merganzer can open it if that happens.”
The dominoes were falling fast, racing around the room with incredible speed. “We have to stop it before it’s too late!” Leo cried.
Remi took this to mean that he should dive onto the moving dominoes and try to stop them, which was funny to watch but not very helpful. He dove from section to section, trying to bring things to a halt, but dominoes kept falling all around him.
“Blop,” Leo said, staring up at the robot at the top of the stairs, “can we stop it?”
“Of course you can.”
“Can you tell me how?” Leo asked in his calmest voice. He wanted to freak out, but he knew Blop responded best to direct and simple commands.
“Push the duck’s leg back down.”
This time it was Leo running through the room, knocking down dominoes with almost every step he took. By the time he reached the golden duck, about ninety percent of all the dominoes had fallen. He pushed the golden leg back down and heard the humming sound return. Like magic, every domino jumped back to its starting position, all standing at attention like thousands of rectangular army men.
“Whew,” Remi said. “That was a close call.”
Leo stayed where he was and sent Remi back to the stairs, where he waited for Leo to pull the golden duck leg up again. When he did, Remi tapped the first domino. Leo and Remi got to watch as every last one fell in perfect order: up ramps, under bridges, through rings that had lit up with fire.
Near the end, the dominoes toppled up a long ramp that ended above the safe. The last domino fell, landing directly on the duck. There was a slot on the golden duck’s back and the domino fit perfectly inside.
Then the golden duck laid a golden egg, which dropped through a hole on top of the safe.
“It’s moving,” Remi said, pointing to the duck.
The golden duck began to rise into the air on a long, thin pole. Up it went past the ceiling, to places Leo and Remi couldn’t see.
“I think it’s on the roof,” Leo said, but he couldn’t be sure.
He grabbed the wooden handle in front of him and opened Merganzer D. Whippet’s safe.
The door was heavy as iron, but it glided on solid brass hinges without a sound. By the time Leo had the safe open, Remi was standing next to him. They both peered in at once.
“There’s the egg,” Leo said. The golden egg was perched on a stem that looked like a long, silver golf tee. It had landed perfectly. In the center of the safe was a round circle painted in white with a word in the middle:
Fizz.
“Better put the bottle there,” Leo said.
Remi took the last bottle of Flart’s Fizz out of his red jacket pocket and looked longingly at it one last time. It was orange or brown or sort of yellow inside, he couldn’t say. Flart’s Fizz was funny like that, a color that was not a color, with the best kind of surprise inside.
“He knows how to hit me where it hurts,” Remi said, but he knew it was for the best. It wasn’t his bottle of Flart’s Fizz.
Remi set the bottle in its place. “This is going really well, don’t you think?”
Leo thought about everything they’d already
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