2. Go!

2 GO! The next day, after a hearty breakfast, the Lambchop family began to pack the car for their big trip. In went the tent, four sleeping bags, and the rest of the camping gear. In went the suitcases, the cameras, and coolers. Arthur came out with his arms full—his authentic cowboy saddle, his authentic cowboy harmonica, and his authentic cowboy lasso.

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Lambchop murmured, surveying the overstuffed car. "There doesn't seem to be much room for the boys!" "Playing cowboys is for little kids," Stanley said. "Now that I've been in the newspaper, I'm too grown-up for that sort of thing. I think Arthur should leave all that stuff behind."

Arthur glared at his brother. "Stanley can ride on the roof," he suggested. Mr. Lambchop considered this. "Well, if we lash him down securely…" "I think not," decided Mrs. Lambchop. "We will be pointing out many sights along the way. I don't want Stanley to miss them." And so both boys squeezed into the backseat with much grumbling, and the family set out. Along the way, the Lambchops did indeed come upon many wondrous sights: inspiring cityscapes, fields of bountiful crops, and numerous glories of nature. "We should all be grateful to have good eyesight as we travel through this great land of ours," Mr. Lambchop noted. The rest of the Lambchops agreed they were very fortunate indeed. Every time they crossed into a new state, the family recited its motto and sang its song. They played License Plate Bingo and I Spy, and the hours passed fairly quickly. Nonetheless, everyone was delighted to arrive at the gates of Mount Rushmore State Park. The boys craned their heads out the windows to gaze up at the sixty-foot-tall faces carved in the mountain, while Mr. Lambchop

paid the admission fees. And as soon as the car was parked, they sprang out. "I'm all crumpled!" Stanley groused, trying to smooth himself out. "Well, I'm practically flattened!" complained Arthur. "Boys, hurry along," said Mrs. Lambchop. "We're just in time to catch the last tour group." The Lambchops fell in with a group of cheerful-looking tourists. "In nineteen thirty-seven," the tour guide was telling them, "a bill was introduced to add Susan B. Anthony as a fifth face. This bill failed, so today we still have the original four: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, who is directly below us now."

Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop were fascinated by the interesting facts the tour guide related. But the boys wandered away from the group—they were still feeling a little rambunctious after spending so many hours cramped in the car.

They were also still feeling, it must be said, a little irritable with each other. "Ha, ha!" Arthur taunted his brother from the edge of the mountain. "I can stand right out here, but you can't! You'd blow away now that you're flat!" Suddenly, the ground shook. "Arthur!" Stanley cried. "You'd better come ba—" With a terrible sound, a large crack split open along Abraham Lincoln's hairline. The great carved face began to slide away down the mountainside… with Arthur on it! Without thinking of his own safety, Stanley lunged out and grabbed hold of the retreating rock face. He held on tight. "Climb over me!" he called to his brother. "Use me as a bridge!" Arthur did. In a moment he was back on firm ground, where Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop ran to embrace him. Just then, a park ranger appeared. "You! Flat Boy! Can you hold on a little longer?" he called out to Stanley. "The repair crew is on the way."