The Giants and the Joneses by Julia Donaldson Page A

glove and there, peeping back at her from one of the fingers, was the boy iggly plop. He was waving a nail and looking fierce.
    Jumbeelia saw that the other two were there as well, tucked inside two more fingers. How could Zab have just left them there like that?
    Never mind – they were safe now. She spoke to them reassuringly, telling them that she would take them back home, get Pij to build them a newer, bigger, cage, and that she wouldn’t let Zab or the spratchkin get them, not ever again. She would put them in her collecting bag now and take them straight back home …
    ‘Nug!’ a voice interrupted her.
    It wasn’t the boy this time. It wasn’t the wild girl either. It was the iggliest one, and it was speaking to her in Groilish!
    ‘Nug, Jumbeelia. Glay jum, boff bimplestonk.’

28
Over the edge
    ‘G LAY JUM, BOFF bimplestonk,’ repeated Poppy.
    Colette could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her little sister, who couldn’t even speak English properly, was talking away to a giant. And Jumbeelia was answering her. They were having a proper conversation.
    When Colette thought back, it began to make sense. Poppy had spent nearly a week on her own with Jumbeelia. And more recently, in the cage, she had beenchatted to every day in giant language – not just by Jumbeelia but by her father and grandmother.
    Although Colette couldn’t understand the words, she could read the expressions on Jumbeelia’s face. The girl giant looked puzzled at first, and then a little disappointed.
    ‘What was all that gobbledygook?’ Stephen asked.
    ‘I saying go home down beanstalk,’ said Poppy.
    ‘What beanstalk?’ Stephen sounded like his old irritable self, but Poppy wasn’t put out. ‘Big girl got beans,’ she said.
    Jumbeelia started spouting some more giant language. Colette didn’t think she sounded happy at all.
    ‘What’s she saying now?’
    ‘Big girl saying she likes us. She’s got nice house.’
    ‘Tell her we want to see our mum and dad again.’
    ‘Oggle woor mij tweeko, oggle woor pij tweeko,’ Poppy pleaded with Jumbeelia.
    Jumbeelia seemed to understand at last. Her face cleared, and she lowered the glove gently down to the ground.
    The three children scrambled out. Jumbeeliasquatted beside them, and Colette saw that she was holding a box, made of different shapes of painted wood. She was fiddling about with it, as if she was searching for something on its surface, a hidden lever or panel. Suddenly a drawer in the box sprang open. She lowered it so they could all see the squirly wrinkled round things inside.
    ‘Bimples,’ she said.
    ‘Big girl saying beans,’ said Poppy.
    ‘Obviously,’ said Stephen, but he couldn’t guess Jumbeelia’s meaning when she then announced, ‘Bimplestonk chingulay.’
    ‘Beanstalk tomorrow,’ Poppy translated proudly.
    ‘She’s going to throw one of them over the edge,’ said Colette. ‘That must be how the last beanstalk sprang up.’
    A warm feeling of relief spread through her whole body. Bean today, beanstalk tomorrow. Just one more day! That wasn’t long to wait. And now Jumbeelia was on their side!
    She looked up gratefully and saw that Jumbeelia was smiling down at her. Suddenly the girl giant felt like a real friend.
    Jumbeelia reached into the box to pick up a bean.
    At the same time, a figure emerged from the mist and they heard a voice.
    ‘Wahoy!’
    Colette’s relief chilled into terror. It was Zab.
    ‘Quick! Hide!’ yelled Stephen. He took Poppy’s hand and pulled her behind the carved boulder. Colette ran after them, but she was too late. Zab had spotted her. She heard his leering laugh, and the next moment his fingers were curled around her body, squeezing her and lifting her up in the air.
    And now he was stretching his arm, reaching out into the cold mist beyond the edge of the land.
    He wouldn’t really do it, surely? He wouldn’t throw her off? He was just trying to wind up his sister, wasn’t he? Colette’s heart beat