3 Gulp!

Chapter 3 GULP! The beam of the flashlight narrowed to a thin thread as Judy disappeared down the whale's throat. "Errrgggh!" yelled Andrew as his legs were pulled into the throat. It felt like the tightest rubber band was wrapping itself around him. "Gack! Gack! Gack!" cried the booby. Andrew held the booby over his head to keep it from being squashed. The throat squeezed and tugged and dragged Andrew down and down. It was like getting swallowed by a giant snake! meep… "Muscles in throat take us to whale stomachs!" said Thudd.

Andrew could barely breathe. He felt a pile of krill plop down on his head. THUMPA THUMPA THUMPA came a muffled drum-like sound. meep… "Hear heart of whale beating?" asked Thudd. "Heart is big as Water Bug!" Ploorp! It was the sound of Judy plopping out of the throat. "Yeeeuuuw!" came Judy's voice from below. For the first time, Andrew was glad to hear Judy say "Yeeeuuuw!" It meant she wasn't totally squashed! Ploorp! Andrew and the booby landed next to Judy in a heap of krill. "Whew!" said Andrew, taking a big breath. "At least there's room to breathe." "Gack!" The booby hopped out of Andrew's arms. It shook out its feathers, stretched its wings, and gobbled up a beakful of krill.

"Pee-yew!" said Judy. "What a stinky place!" meep… "First stomach of whale!" said Thudd. "Whale got three stomachs." Andrew grabbed the flashlight and flicked it around. They were in a closet-sized sack. Its yellowish walls were wavy and folded. There were some pebbles at the bottom, near Andrew's feet. The walls of the sack started to ripple. Bluuuuuurf! Piles of krill poured down from the whale's throat over Andrew and Judy. The booby fluttered out of the way. "Gross-a-mundo!" said Judy, wiping krill off her face mask. "And I'm allergic to seafood. I think I'm getting hives from these things!" She started scratching her arms through her Bubble Duds. "You'd better not do that," said Andrew. "You'll make it worse. Wow! Look at all this junk the whale swallowed."

Sticking out of the pile of krill were a tire, a tin can, bottles, a bunch of silver birthday balloons tied with red ribbons, and a rubber duck. Judy looked up to the top of the stomach. "Maybe we can get out the way we came in," she said. "Like Santa Claus." She pointed to

where the throat connected with the stomach. It looked like the opening of a dark chimney. The rippling walls of the stomach began moving in and out! "Uh-oh!" said Andrew. "Cheese Louise!" yelled Judy. It felt like a giant hand was squeezing the stomach. "Gack! Gack!" The booby flapped its wings nervously. Andrew wrapped his arms around it to calm it down. meep… "Whale not got teeth to smoosh food," said Thudd. "But whale got three stomachs. First stomach smoosh food. Little stones and pebbles help to smoosh." Thudd pointed to the booby. "Bird not got teeth, either. Bird eat little stones, too." The stomach gave a sudden squoosh that tumbled Andrew off his feet and into the smooshy krill goo. "Help!" yelled Judy.

When Andrew sat up, he saw the top half of Judy sticking out of an opening in the stomach wall. Andrew set the booby on a small pile of krill and handed Judy the flashlight. Then he grabbed her arms and tried to pull her back. But the stomach was stronger than Andrew. Judy's shoulders, then her head, disappeared into the hole. The stomach lurched and Andrew flopped backward. Before he could get up, his feet got pulled into the hole! Ooofers! thought Andrew. It feels like I'm getting squeezed through a drinking straw! Andrew reached for the booby and held it above his head again to protect it. After a minute of squishing, ploorp!— Andrew plopped through the hole. "Welcome to the purple palace!" said Judy. By the beam of the flashlight, Andrew saw he had landed in a purple sack. This stomach was