then, in a very sneaky way, they tell you that Part A won’t connect to Part B until after you’ve connected Part F to Part M, which first have to be linked to Part Z.”
“That doesn’t sound so difficult, Max.”
“Part M looked exactly like Part Y.”
“Oh. Well, I can see how that-”
“Ouch!”
“What happened, Max?”
“Nothing. I just gouged myself in the hand with Part Z.”
“Part Z?”
“This branch.”
“Oh.”
“Putting that tricycle together taught me a good lesson, 99. After I lost my temper and threw Parts A through L into the incinerator and Parts M through Z into the garbage disposal, I realized that there’s never much to be gained by losing your head.”
“What made you decide that, Max?”
“Well, I had to go out and buy another tricycle and try to put it together. And a few minutes later I was back at the incinerator and the garbage disposal with the second set of Parts A through L and M through Z.”
“How’s the trap coming, Max?”
“Fine. Yes, 99, that experience taught me- Oh-oh.”
“What now, Max?”
“I tied my thumb to Part B.”
“Max, forget about the trap. We’ll eat berries.”
“99, I am not going to let a simple thing like a trap defeat me. I learned my lesson last Christmas Eve. If you keep your head-”
“Max? What is it?”
Silence.
“Max?”
“I think it would be better for all concerned, 99, if you didn’t babble at me while I’m trying to construct a very complicated- Drat!”
“Max-don’t lose your head!”
“I can’t find Part D!”
“Max-”
“Where is the incinerator around here!” Max shouted, jumping up.
“Max, remember the lesson you learned!”
“I remember!” he raged. “This is it!”
He threw the trap to the ground and stomped on it, smashing the lengths of branches to twigs.
“Max, you lost your head,” 99 said sadly.
“Maybe so, 99. But I kept my sanity. In a world that expects a man to assemble a tricycle by himself, if he has any brains, he’ll lose his head.”
“Could you phrase that another way, Max?”
“Yes. Pass the berries.”
Nothing was said while Max and 99 munched on the berries. Max fumed silently, and 99 watched him hopefully. Finally, when the last berry was gone, he spoke again.
“I’m still hungry,” he said.
“Shall I gather some more berries, Max?”
“I think I’d rather starve than eat another berry, 99. Our only chance, as I see it, is to find that castle. There will be food there.”
99 looked around. “It would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”
“Harder.”
“Harder?”
“If you sit down in a haystack often enough the law of averages will find the needle for you eventually. But sitting in this jungle won’t help us a bit.”
“Should we just strike out and hope for the best, Max?”
“We’ve already struck out, 99. Let’s try walking.”
They plunged into the jungle again, following the stream as before. Hours passed, but they found nothing that resembled a castle. The jungle was steamy hot. The vines lashed at their faces and the thickets tore at their clothes. Weak from hunger, they stumbled on.
“Max. . I can’t go on. .” 99 whimpered.
“Courage, 99. Remember, it’s always darkest just before the dawn.”
“Max, it’s the middle of the day and the sun is burning down on us.”
“99, don’t blame me if that old saying doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t make it up.”
“Max. . I have to rest. .”
He stopped. “All right. We’ll stay here until it gets dark. It will be easier to travel when the sun goes down.”
They collapsed on the ground. And seconds later they were both sound asleep.
Max was the first one to awaken. He shook 99. “99, we can go on, now.”
She opened her eyes. “Max!” she cried. “Where are you? I’ve gone blind from hunger!”
“You can’t go blind from hunger, 99.”
“I can’t see you!”
“It’s night.”
“Oh.”
“Can you walk, 99?”
“I think so.” She got to her feet. “Yes, that rest helped me a lot. Let’s go, Max.”
Once more, they proceeded. Then Max suddenly halted. He pushed aside a vine and peered into the darkness ahead. “99!” he said. “We’ve found- Oh, no, that’s not it.”
“What, Max?”
“I thought there for a second that we’d found the castle.”
“I can’t see-what is it?”
“Well, it certainly looks like the castle. But it couldn’t be.”
“Why not, Max?”
“Well, it isn’t white, and it doesn’t have a trunk.”
“Oh. . Max. .” 99 groaned weakly.
3
99 pushed the vine aside and peered into the dimness. “Max, it is the castle,” she said. “See the towers? And, look, there’s a light in a window. This is it, Max! This is the castle we’ve been looking for!”
“All right, 99, I’ll take your word for it. You know more about white elephants than I do. If you say they have towers and lights in the window, then- 99! Down!”
They sank into the underbrush. A moment later, a man in uniform marched past their hiding place. He was staring straight ahead, a vacant expression on his face.
“Max, did you see that?” 99 said, puzzled, raising up. “What a strange look.”
“It was almost no look at all,” Max said.
“He seemed to be under some kind of spell.”
“Maybe he just came from a movie,” Max suggested. “I sometimes look like that myself right after I step out of a dark movie theater into the light.”
“Max, it’s dark out here.”
