3. Getting Ready

3 Getting Ready Stanley loved sightseeing, but he couldn't wait to start his mission. And there was one important thing to do before he could attend a ball at Buckingham Palace. He had to find something to wear! The next morning, Mr. Lambchop led the way down a long escalator that took the family beneath the city of London. "Welcome to the Underground!" he said.

Arthur looked at the tunnel ahead of him. "Yes, we are definitely underground," he agreed. "But this does not look like a place to buy clothes." Mr. Lambchop laughed. "That is because this is the way to the store," he explained. Stanley noticed something as his eyes adjusted to the light. This was not just any tunnel. It was a train tunnel! "The London Underground is the city's subway," Mrs. Lambchop told the boys. "Some people also call it the Tube." Soon Stanley could feel a gust of wind coming from the end of the tunnel. He grabbed on to Arthur to steady himself as he saw a silver subway train gliding into the station. The doors opened, and people stepped out of the train. A voice came over a loudspeaker. "Mind the gap!" it said.

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Mind the gop, Stanley heard. The announcer sounded a lot like Detective Bates. "What does that mean?" asked Arthur. "What gap?" "The space between the train and the platform," said Mrs. Lambchop. Stanley looked down and saw a small, thin gap, which he could easily slip through. Carefully, he stepped into the train, making sure he did not fall into that space. But he had a much bigger problem than the gap! The Tube was very crowded. There were people in every seat, plus people standing in every inch of space between the seats. They were holding on to poles and bars, making a web with their arms. Their feet made a maze on the floor. "Excuse me," Arthur said politely, edging into a tiny spot. "Pardon me," Mrs. Lambchop said as she reached above her head for a bar to hold on to. Stanley slipped past a woman who was reading a magazine. He hopped over a briefcase that was sitting on the floor. By the time the train started moving again, he was leaning against the

wall, blending into an advertising poster. He was quite comfortable, because he did not take up much room. "Look!" said someone in the crowd. "Flat Stanley is performing in the Royal Theatre!" Suddenly everyone was looking at him. Well,

actually they were looking at the poster behind him. Stanley turned around to see it. It was an advertisement for an exciting new show. The way he was standing, it looked like he would be acting in the show himself! When he twisted, though, people could see they weren't looking at a picture of Flat Stanley. They were looking at the real Flat Stanley! "In person, you are even flotter than I expected," someone said. "May I have your autograph?" someone else asked. Stanley smiled. He was used to being famous by now. After all, that was why he was in London in the first place! No one would ever suspect him of attending a palace ball with a secret plan. But he did have one regret about his mission. The thing he was famous for—being flat—had nothing to do with the job. Sometimes being flat was useful. On this trip to London, being flat was just... flat.