Page 50 - Jeremiah Lollipop

“Soon, I will land,” he said, “But first I have to make some…

adjustments. Please give me time to prepare. Don’t panic. Especially

don’t do that… and keep smiling…. It’s good for your…muscle tone.”

The people of Earth waited and smiled, and smiled and waited. They

waited all day. They smiled all afternoon. They waited as the sun went

down. They waited and smiled till nine o’clock that night. That was the

time when the spaceship, under cover of darkness, flew closer to the city

it had selected, then it began to lower a long pipe, down and down, all

the way to a street in that city, which just happened to be the street

where Jeremiah lived.

Out of the end of the pipe a green gas began to come. It drifted about,

and as living things came in contact with it, they fell asleep. Insects,

microbes, birds, even trees.

The green gas wafted about, pouring over fences, slipping through

cracks in windows or under doors. It moved outwards from the pipe,

putting every living thing it touched into a peaceful, blissful sleep.

Jeremiah was standing on the front lawn when the pipe came down.

He heard it grate against the road. It was very hard to see because it was

black, and it seemed to blend in with its background, like a chameleon.

He went closer and watched as the green gas began to come out, then he

ran across the road and went to tell Mr. Flannel. It was pointless telling

his parents!

With dismay he saw that Mr. Flannel’s truck was not there.