3. A Hero’s Welcome

3 A Hero's Welcome The military helicopter zoomed through the sky over America. Inside, the governor briefed the Lambchops. "The National Medal of Achievement," the governor explained, "has been awarded to the greatest scientists, artists, and political leaders in American history." "But I didn't do anything," Stanley said quietly. "Leaping Liberty Bell! That's not what I read," said the governor. "I read that you saved Mount Rushmore!" "He was only a Band-aid on one of the foreheads," grumbled Arthur. Stanley nodded in agreement. The governor punched Stanley's shoulder playfully, and it bent backward for a moment like the corner of a piece of paper. "Stanley," he said

admiringly, "there is nothing more heroic than humility." Stanley turned and gazed out the window. They had passed over yellow prairies and green, rolling hills. Now, they were moments from landing in Washington, DC. He knew he was supposed to be excited, but he felt that someone had made a terrible mistake. "You'll be under twenty-four-hour guard during your stay in the capital, Stanley," said the governor. "We can't risk an international incident." "Do you think Stanley is in danger?" Mrs. Lambchop said, shooting an anxious look at Stanley's father. The governor leaned forward. "Did you think he was in danger the night you lay him down to sleep under an innocent-looking bulletin board?" Stanley's parents' eyes widened. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of him, ma'am," said one of the officers sitting behind them. "Look!" cried Arthur.

Out the window, the top of a thin white tower loomed, looking close enough to touch. "The Washington Monument," said the governor. "Built to honor our first president, General George Washington. Begun in 1848, and not completed until another forty years later. At the time, it was the tallest building on Earth." As the helicopter touched down a few moments later, Stanley glimpsed an enormous crowd of people waving American flags. "Ready, Stanley?" asked the governor.

Stanley had looked into the eyes of sneak thieves while hiding in a painting at the National Museum. He had been kidnapped by spies in Mexico and foiled grave robbers in Egypt. But he had never been more frightened than this. There was a rustling in his ears, and he

realized his whole body was shaking like a leaf. I shouldn't be here, he thought desperately. Stanley's parents took his hands as the door swung open, and his feet were immediately blown out from beneath him by the helicopter's rotors. He flapped wildly between his mother and father. But then the rotors slowed to a stop, and Stanley realized that the roar he was hearing wasn't the helicopter. It was the sea of people before him. Even more shocking, they weren't waving flags. They were waving… Stanleys. There were hundreds and hundreds of posters cut out to look like Stanley in his flag costume. "Flat Stanley! Flat Stanley! Flat Stanley!" The crowd surged forward. A screaming girl tried to grab Stanley's head. Someone stepped on his leg, and Stanley imagined a piece of dough being fed into a rolling machine. I'll be trampled! he thought. In a panic, Stanley broke free from his parents' grip. He twisted his body and squeezed between two people and then two more, using his flatness to slide through the tight spaces in the crowd. His

ears rang with people screaming his name. He slipped and slid and squeezed on and on. Finally, the crowd started to thin out, and he bent his legs beneath him. Now he was a blur, springing through the air, hopping the way he'd learned from the kangaroos in Australia. And before he realized what he was doing, Stanley Lambchop was running away.