The Giants and the Joneses Read Online Free PDF Page A

whispered Colette,and she and Stephen lay down on the two beds.
    Within seconds, Poppy’s thumb had slipped from her mouth. She was asleep.
    Colette lay awake. She didn’t know if Stephen was awake too. She didn’t dare whisper anything to him.
    She felt very lonely as she lay there, half-listening to what she guessed must be a bedtime story being told in a droning voice by the giant mother. She tried not to think about her own mother and the three empty beds at home.
    The light went off, and before long Colette heard a rumbling sound coming from the direction of Jumbeelia’s bed.
    ‘Jumbo’s asleep,’ whispered Stephen.
    ‘I thought you were too!’ answered Colette, relieved that he wasn’t.
    ‘I’ve just thought of it,’ said Stephen.
    ‘Of what?’
    ‘A railway line.’
    ‘What are you talking about?’
    ‘You said to think of a way to get downstairs, and I have. Remember that plastic railway track near Jumbo’s bedroom door? It’s like the one I used to have – it’s made of different sections that clip together. If we can unclip one we could use it as a slide to get from stair to stair.’
    ‘That’s not a bad idea, Mr Know-All,’ admitted Colette.
    ‘Let’s do it, then.’
    ‘What, now? But Poppy’s asleep.’
    ‘Well, let’s try it out and then wake her up if it works.’
    They tiptoed out of the doll’s house, navigated their way to the railway track, and succeeded in unclipping one of the bright yellow sections. They were dragging it towards the door when an anguished, grating sound from under the bed made them jump.
    ‘What was that?’ whispered Colette.
    The sound came again. It was loud enough to wake the whole house, and this time there was no mistaking it.
    ‘Oh no,’ moaned Stephen softly. ‘Shut up, Baa Lamb!’

10
Discovery
    J UMBEELIA’S MOTHER , M IJ , was pottering about her bedroom when she heard a noise.
    She stood still and listened. Nothing, except for the annoying drip of the bathroom tap that wouldn’t turn off properly.
    Inside her, the bobbaleely kicked. He or she was already quite a lively character. Mij sat down on the bed and began thinking again about names. Woozly for a girl. (That meant cuddly.) If it was a boy, perhapsJinjarn – kind heart.
    Not that her other children had lived up to their names, she reflected sadly. Her son’s name, Zab, meant peace, but Zab was anything but peaceful. In fact, it was quite a relief when he was away at school. As for Jumbeelia, her name meant home-lover, but look how she had turned out! Her bedroom was always in a mess and she was forever wandering away from home, collecting yet more horrible dirty things.
    Where had Jumbeelia been today? Mij was supposed to have a rest every afternoon – it was the doctor’s orders – but how could she rest properly if her daughter was going to run off like that?
    Maybe Jumbeelia felt lonely playing by herself in the house. It wouldn’t help when Zab came home from school tomorrow; he wasn’t much of a companion for her, more of a tormentor. And how would it be once the bobbaleely was born? What if Jumbeelia felt jealous and neglected? Then she might start wandering off even more.
    Mij was no animal-lover, but she did sometimes wonder if she ought to get a pet for her daughter. Zabhad had a bird once, a yellow canary which his grandmother had given him, but he had never cared for it much and didn’t seem to miss it after it flew away when he left its cage open. Jumbeelia would surely be better at looking after a pet – or would she just lose interest in it? Her crazes always tended to wear off quite quickly.
    Oh, children were such a worry!
    Baaaa!
    There it was again! The sound was coming from Jumbeelia’s bedroom.
    By the light from the landing Mij saw that Jumbeelia was fast asleep. She was snoring slightly, but the noise she had heard was definitely not a snore.
    Mij glanced round the room. There was no sign of any intruder.
    Crunch. She had trodden on something. It was