Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures #12: Escape to California Read Online Free PDF Page A

along, miraculously rolling on the surface of the water. Doing the impossible .
    Stanley was overcome by a wave of happiness. Then a faint sound filled his ears: people cheering from the shore. Lily was almost there!

    Stanley got ready for the moment his friend would detach the wires, rolling onto the shore without anyone knowing how she’d crossed the bay. He felt a slight jerk as the line was released, and he let himself safely descend, floating down like he’d learned to do at the wind farm in Texas.
    Stanley fluttered on top of a building overlooking the press conference. Below, TV cameras were swarming around Lily. From the stage, his friend Oda Nobu said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lily Fox, the first person in history to escape from Alcatraz!”
    The crowd went wild. Lily beamed.
    â€œThank you! Thank you all!” she shouted into the microphone. “I couldn’t have done it alone! I had someone special looking down on me!” She scanned the rooftops, her eyes twinkling. And Stanley, invisible in his suit, took an invisible bow.

    Two hours later, Stanley was out for a crab dinner on Fisherman’s Wharf with his parents; his brother, Arthur; and his friend Thomas Anthony Jeffrey.
    â€œWhat do you mean you won’t tell us where you’ve been for the last three days?” cried Arthur.
    â€œIt’s a secret,” said Stanley.
    â€œGeorge, you said someone needed Stanley’s help,” said Stanley’s mother. “Who was it?”
    â€œI can’t say,” said Stanley’s father.
    â€œCome on, Stanley,” said Thomas. “Can’t you tell us anything about this latest adventure of yours?”

    Stanley looked down at his cracked crab. He felt bad. “I’ll let you try on my superhero suit,” he offered.
    â€œYou got a superhero suit?” cried Arthur. “How come I can’t have a superhero suit?”
    Suddenly a murmur swept through the restaurant. Everyone was turning to look. And then Stanley saw them: Lily and her parents had arrived, right on schedule. They rolled right up to the Lambchops’ table.
    Lily gave Stanley a triumphant high five.
    â€œYou’re the girl who escaped from Alcatraz!” Stanley’s mother exclaimed.
    â€œMay I have your autograph?” Thomas asked.
    â€œEveryone, this is my friend Lily,” said Stanley, “and these are her parents. You all want to know about my adventure? Well, it’s not my adventure to share. It’s hers.”

    â€œHi, everybody,” said Lily. “Thanks for lending me Stanley and Mr. Lambchop.” She paused, and Stanley was surprised to see that she was blushing. Then she took a deep breath and began. “It started with a dream. And the trick with any dream is figuring out how to make it real.”
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    When the Lambchops finally returned home the next day, Stanley was awfully happy to see his and Arthur’s room. Somehow, of all his adventures, this one seemed like the biggest journey.
    Stanley studied his bulletin board. There he had souvenirs from his travels: a newspaper article about how Stanley saved Mount Rushmore, a photo of him bullfighting in Mexico, and on and on. He rummaged through the front of his bag and pulled out the front page of this morning’s California Chronicle : “Daredevil Escapes Alcatraz Without Getting Wet.” In the photo was Lily, beaming. Stanley, of course, was nowhere to be seen.
    And, as he tacked the clipping to his bulletin board, Stanley realized that this was the souvenir that made him proudest of all.

What You Need to Know about Alcatraz and San Francisco
    The word alcatraz means “strange bird” or pelican. The island “de los alcatraces” was named by Spanish explorer Lt. Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775.
    Al Capone played the banjo in the Alcatraz prison band, the Rock Islanders, which gave concerts for other inmates.
    Thirty-six inmates put the