The Curse of the Werepenguin by Allan Woodrow

The Curse of the Werepenguin by Allan Woodrow

Author:Allan Woodrow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2019-08-12T16:00:00+00:00


“I know that you are the anointed prince of our Brotherhood. Or Sisterhood. Or whatever. But we have lived in peace with the penguins for years.”

“So we have,” agreed Günter. “But let us not forget the dark days when the Stranger came, one hundred years ago. No one cared that he waddled or walked around with a penguin egg. No one suspected he was secretly twisting the minds of the penguins and readying them for war. People ignored the signs. They dismissed the ransacking of fish shacks and the penguin tracks found in butter.”

“That’s how you can tell if a penguin is in your refrigerator,” said someone in the audience. Others nodded their heads.

“The Stranger declared penguins were meant to rule. He demanded the people sit on penguin eggs until they hatched. He commanded our ancestors to bake fish sticks for them. He insisted we dress only in tuxedos.”

Bolt looked at his tuxedo, and shrank farther into his seat.

“I know the tale,” Franz said.

“Do you?” shouted their leader with a sudden French-bread jab. “Then you know of the storm, a winter squall unlike any the town had seen. You know of the endless lightning that crackled, and the dense, hazardous snowflakes as big as onions.”

“Red onions or yellow onions?” asked someone in the audience.

“Vidalia onions!” shouted Günter. The crowd gasped. “The clouds turned purple, and thunder cried out in fury. Thunder snow, they called it. Everyone agreed they had never seen a storm so fearsome.”

“Blubber, blubber, blubber,” chanted a few in the audience.

Bolt looked around the room, still thankful no one paid any attention to him.

As he spoke, Günter’s voice grew louder and more forceful. “Then, as if the thunder trumpeted the start of war, the penguins came. The Stranger led them, crying, ‘Penguins were meant to rule!’ and ‘Beware the penguins!’ and ‘Has anyone seen my keys?’ because he had misplaced them. His army wrecked homes and looted fisheries. They didn’t return library books they checked out. They tore tags from mattresses. But the Brotherhood refused to bow to the penguins. We led the fight.”

“We led the fight,” echoed a few voices in the crowd.

“Blubber, blubber, blubber,” chanted others.

“The storm lasted for days,” continued the prince. “Feet of snow piled high on the ground, and an endless volley of lightning lit the sky like flames. The penguins came every night, destroying then romping. And sometimes romping then destroying. Or even worse, both at the same time.” He shivered.

“But the Brotherhood refused to surrender. We rained boulders from our rooftop catapults onto the evil creatures. Many birds were beaten back, but still more came. Boulders flew through the nighttime sky, and the penguins barked and fought.”

“Blubber, blubber, blubber,” said a couple of people in the crowd.

“Blubber, blubber,” echoed Bolt, carried away by the group’s enthusiasm.

“Finally, the Brotherhood drove the Stranger away. They thought the Baron, the Stranger’s evil assistant, was dead—although apparently they were misinformed. But since then we have lived in peace. Until now. The penguins grow bolder. Hordes of cruel penguins roam the countryside.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.