5 Bluffoooweeee!

Chapter 5 BLUFFOOOWEEE! Andrew struggled through the hole with the booby. Ploorp! He splashed down into a dark space. Wetness squished around him. I wish I had my flashlight, he thought. "Gack!" said the booby. Andrew patted the booby's head. "Yerrrgh!" came Judy's voice in the darkness. "I'm stuck! It feels like I'm being squeezed through a keyhole!" "Um, try to push," said Andrew. "Do you want me to pull your head or something?"

"No way, Bug-Brain!" said Judy. She grunted and struggled. "Okay okay" she sighed. "When I count to three, you pull my head and I'll push." Andrew put down the booby, felt around for Judy's head, and grabbed it. "One… two… three!" said Judy. Andrew yanked, Judy shoved, and finally— Ploorp! Judy ended up in the third stomach, too. As she poked the flashlight through the darkness, they saw they had landed in a place that looked like the inside of a green balloon. Sticky yellow-green goo was squirting out from a hose- like opening on one side of it. meep… "More juice to digest stuff," said Thudd. "From liver." Bluuuuuurf! A river of pink mush poured in from the second stomach. It didn't look like krill anymore.

"What time is it, Thudd?" asked Judy. meep… "Two o'clock," said Thudd. "So we have to get out of this whale before four o'clock," said Judy. "Before our Bubble Duds start

to fall apart and we turn into whale chow." THUMPA THUMPA THUMPA They were closer to the whale's heart. There was another, quieter sound, too. thumpa thumpa thumpa "It sounds like the whale has two hearts!" said Andrew. "Maybe it's an echo," said Judy. meep… "Not echo," said Thudd. "Sound echo off of hard stuff. Rocks. Metal. Whale made out of soft stuff. Whale not got two hearts, either. Big whale got baby whale inside." "Wow!" said Judy. "Jumping gerbils!" said Andrew. The last stomach gave them one more squirt of liver juice. Then it started to squeeze them out into something that seemed like a tight pink stocking. Andrew went in headfirst, holding the booby in front of him. It was slippery inside, and fuzzy, too, like a towel.

The pink tube squeezed and tugged. It was like being inside a boa constrictor. "Yuck-a-rama!" said Judy. meep… "Intestines!" said Thudd. "This part is small intestine. Fuzzy stuff pull food molecules into blood." Judy groaned. "There's only one thing that interests me about intestines. Getting out of them! It could take hours for the intestines to shove us out. We've got to get out fast! Move it, Andrew!" "Woofers!" said Andrew, crawling along and pushing the booby ahead of him. "It's so hot and stinky in here." meep… "Whales got warm blood, like humans," said Thudd. "Whales got same temperature as humans. That why whale got lots of blubber fat. Keep whale warm in cold water. Like fur keep polar bear warm in cold air. Lotsa years ago, people hunt whales for blubber. Melt blubber fat. Make oil. Use oil to burn in lamps. Make candles, soap, lotsa stuff." Spluuurt!

Slimy juices were squirting out of the intestine. "Gack! Gack!" said the booby. Andrew could feel it trying to flap its wings. "It's okay, little buddy," he said. "We'll get out soon—I hope." Judy passed the flashlight up to Andrew as they shoved their way through the goo. meep… "Whale intestine five hundred feet long," said Thudd. "Almost long as two football fields. Human intestine thirteen feet long." A soft rumble came up behind them. FFFLOOOOOOOOF! A big puff of wind, like air bursting out of a balloon, blew past them. "Pee-YEW!" said Judy. "That was unbelievably stinky!" meep… "Lotsa little bacteria eat stuff in intestine," said Thudd. "Yum!" said Judy. meep… "Then bacteria burp up stinky gas. Gas move through intestine. Make big noise!"