the ground awkwardly. The earth shook.
“Ow,” he said.
Max was about to apologize and call off the experiment, but Carol was determined to do what Max had asked. He jumped again, growling on the way up, and this time caught the branch with his teeth. He hung from the branch, and looked down at Max proudly.
“Like this?” he asked. With the tree in his mouth, it sounded like “Ike gish?”
“Yeah, that’s good,” Max said, truly impressed.
Neither Max nor Carol was sure what to do next. Carol didn’t want to jump down too soon, and Max was entertained by looking up at Carol, hanging there by his mouth.
“How’s the weather up there?” Max asked.
“Fine,” Carol tried to say.
Max laughed. “How much do you weigh?”
Carol tried to say “I don’t know” but it came out in a barky muffle. Max laughed harder.
“How’s it taste, that tree? Like pate?” he said.
Carol had no idea what pate was, but the ridiculous-sounding word caused him to laugh, and when he laughed, his teeth lost their grip, and he came plummeting down again. “Gow!” he yelled.
“Sorry,” Max said. He felt awful about the idea, and about causing Carol to fall.
“No, no!” Carol said, doing a quick dance of pain, spinning around, holding his mouth and stomping his foot. “Not your fault. It was fun. It’s just that something’s caught in my tooth or something.”
Douglas and Ira appeared. Douglas was dragging Ira by his feet, like a caveman with a bride, but backwards. Ira seemed exceedingly relaxed while being dragged, as if he were reclining on a hammock.
“Hey you guys,” Carol said, standing in front of them. “Look at this. Do I have a piece of bark in here?”
Carol approached Douglas and Ira and opened his giant wet mouth, revealing two hundred or so huge, extremely sharp teeth in three concentric rows. Douglas leaned slightly away from Carol.
“I don’t see anything,” he said. “Clean as a whistle.”
Carol looked down to Ira -- who was still laying on the ground -- searching for an answer.
“Nope. Clean as a whistle,” Ira said, though there was no possible way Ira could see anything from his angle. He looked up to Max and extended his hand. “We haven’t formally met. I’m Ira. I put the holes in the trees. Maybe you saw them? Or maybe not, I don’t know. Anyway, it’s what I do. It doesn’t really help anyone, like you do. It’s not crucial to the future of the world, like you are. And you probably already met Douglas. He’s the one who gets the work done around here. Indispensible. Builder. Maker. Steadier of the unsteady—”
“Hey. Focus here,” Carol said, pointing to his mouth again. “You gotta get closer.”
“Heh heh. Looks good,” Ira said. “All clear. Clean as a …”
“Yep, as a whistle,” Douglas finished. The two of them seemed to be in a terrible hurry to get away from Carol’s open mouth. “Come on, Ira, we have to go over there and … put some rocks in a pile.”
Douglas led Ira away. Watching them leave, Carol’s face hardened. Max saw all of this, concerned for Carol and the way Douglas and Ira didn’t seem to trust Carol not to eat them. As Max was trying to figure out why Carol’s good friends wouldn’t want to get close to Carol’s mouth, Carol turned to Max.
“Hey King, do I have something stuck in my teeth?” he said. He squatted down toward Max and opened his mouth.
Max peered into Carol’s mouth. “I don’t see anything.”
Carol opened his mouth wider. “Maybe you need to look farther in?”
Max, before he could think better of it, put his knee on Carol’s gum and ventured inside Carol’s mouth.
“No, no. Even farther,” Carol said.
Max went farther still, putting his knee onto the ridge of Carol’s mouth. It was wet inside, and the smell was astounding. “Whoo. You’ve got bad breath!”
“Watch it,” Carol said, laughing. “I could take your head off in one chomp.”
And now Max could see the problem. There was a
“Ow,” he said.
Max was about to apologize and call off the experiment, but Carol was determined to do what Max had asked. He jumped again, growling on the way up, and this time caught the branch with his teeth. He hung from the branch, and looked down at Max proudly.
“Like this?” he asked. With the tree in his mouth, it sounded like “Ike gish?”
“Yeah, that’s good,” Max said, truly impressed.
Neither Max nor Carol was sure what to do next. Carol didn’t want to jump down too soon, and Max was entertained by looking up at Carol, hanging there by his mouth.
“How’s the weather up there?” Max asked.
“Fine,” Carol tried to say.
Max laughed. “How much do you weigh?”
Carol tried to say “I don’t know” but it came out in a barky muffle. Max laughed harder.
“How’s it taste, that tree? Like pate?” he said.
Carol had no idea what pate was, but the ridiculous-sounding word caused him to laugh, and when he laughed, his teeth lost their grip, and he came plummeting down again. “Gow!” he yelled.
“Sorry,” Max said. He felt awful about the idea, and about causing Carol to fall.
“No, no!” Carol said, doing a quick dance of pain, spinning around, holding his mouth and stomping his foot. “Not your fault. It was fun. It’s just that something’s caught in my tooth or something.”
Douglas and Ira appeared. Douglas was dragging Ira by his feet, like a caveman with a bride, but backwards. Ira seemed exceedingly relaxed while being dragged, as if he were reclining on a hammock.
“Hey you guys,” Carol said, standing in front of them. “Look at this. Do I have a piece of bark in here?”
Carol approached Douglas and Ira and opened his giant wet mouth, revealing two hundred or so huge, extremely sharp teeth in three concentric rows. Douglas leaned slightly away from Carol.
“I don’t see anything,” he said. “Clean as a whistle.”
Carol looked down to Ira -- who was still laying on the ground -- searching for an answer.
“Nope. Clean as a whistle,” Ira said, though there was no possible way Ira could see anything from his angle. He looked up to Max and extended his hand. “We haven’t formally met. I’m Ira. I put the holes in the trees. Maybe you saw them? Or maybe not, I don’t know. Anyway, it’s what I do. It doesn’t really help anyone, like you do. It’s not crucial to the future of the world, like you are. And you probably already met Douglas. He’s the one who gets the work done around here. Indispensible. Builder. Maker. Steadier of the unsteady—”
“Hey. Focus here,” Carol said, pointing to his mouth again. “You gotta get closer.”
“Heh heh. Looks good,” Ira said. “All clear. Clean as a …”
“Yep, as a whistle,” Douglas finished. The two of them seemed to be in a terrible hurry to get away from Carol’s open mouth. “Come on, Ira, we have to go over there and … put some rocks in a pile.”
Douglas led Ira away. Watching them leave, Carol’s face hardened. Max saw all of this, concerned for Carol and the way Douglas and Ira didn’t seem to trust Carol not to eat them. As Max was trying to figure out why Carol’s good friends wouldn’t want to get close to Carol’s mouth, Carol turned to Max.
“Hey King, do I have something stuck in my teeth?” he said. He squatted down toward Max and opened his mouth.
Max peered into Carol’s mouth. “I don’t see anything.”
Carol opened his mouth wider. “Maybe you need to look farther in?”
Max, before he could think better of it, put his knee on Carol’s gum and ventured inside Carol’s mouth.
“No, no. Even farther,” Carol said.
Max went farther still, putting his knee onto the ridge of Carol’s mouth. It was wet inside, and the smell was astounding. “Whoo. You’ve got bad breath!”
“Watch it,” Carol said, laughing. “I could take your head off in one chomp.”
And now Max could see the problem. There was a
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