The Balloon People
It was most unusual. Oliver and Tilly's parents were expected home today for the first time in almost a month, and yet their caretaker, Mrs. Handimaker, was up early and quietly moving throughout the house packing boxes of clothes, and shoes and books.
Oliver and Tilly had risen late, tired from having spent much of the previous day at an amusement park with friends, but as they followed Mrs. Handimaker about the house they noticed packed boxes everywhere, which disturbed them greatly.
"Mrs. Handimaker. Why are you packing all these boxes? Are you leaving us?" Tilly asked as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.
Mrs. Handimaker continued to move from box to box placing items inside, but stopped just long enough to offer a furtive look to Tilly. "Not now Tilly, I have to finish packing these boxes. And I want you and Oliver to get out your suitcases and pack your things right away," she replied.
This was troubling for the brother and sister to hear. Were they in trouble? Did something happen to mom and dad?
"Us...pack?" Oliver complained. "We are going to the airport in a few hours to pick up mom and dad so they can come home and un-pack!" Oliver stated. ""Why should we be packing?"
Mrs. Handimaker paused from all her busyness, and smiled warmly at the two kids standing in front of her. "Yes, you will be seeing your parents soon enough. There is no need to worry. But I do need you to pack your things and be ready to leave right away."
Oliver and Tilly obeyed Mrs. Handimaker's directions, but reluctantly. They were confused and had no idea what was going on, but their mom and dad would be home soon and that was all that mattered.
Within the hour they were dressed, and had everything they needed packed in their suitcases. Mrs. Handimaker inspected their suitcases at the door to make sure they had packed properly, and then motioned the kids towards the car that was awaiting them in the drive.
As she stood in the door, she turned and examined the house she had spent so many years of her life in caring for the Johnson family, then sighed a melancholy sigh. As her eyes gazed toward the kitchen she spied the family dog, still sitting at the kitchen door awaiting his morning breakfast. She smiled at him amenably and then called to him. "Come on Traveler, I'll get you some biscuits for the trip".
The airport was not far away. It was not a large airport, but it did have a very nice road leading to it, and Oliver knew they were not on it. "Mrs. Handimaker, this is not the road to the airport" Oliver protested.
"We are taking the back road" Mrs. Handimaker replied coyly.
"I didn't know there was a back road", Oliver exclaimed with a puzzled look. As he looked ahead he could see where the road came to an end at an open farm field.
"This is a farm field. What are we doing here? he exclaimed.
Mrs. Handimaker pulled the car to the side of the road next to the farm field. "Let's go kids".
"Go where", Tilly wondered. "This is just a big field"
"Come on", she prodded again as she exited the car and headed to the field, with Traveler trotting faithfully behind her.
"Oliver and Tilly were bewildered. Reluctantly they left the car, and walked to the edge of the farm field protesting to Mrs. Handimaker every step of the way, coming to a stop next to her underneath a large grove of oak and maple trees.
"What is going on?" Tilly pleaded. "We are supposed to be at the airport to pick up our parents!"
Before Mrs. Handimaker could answer, a humming sound in the distance captured their attention. Within a few minutes the humming turned into a steadily increasing, weird sort of pulsing sound, which made them all a bit nervous. Was it a helicoptor? A plane? And if so, what was it doing out here near this farm field?
Oliver looked all around and finally spied a truck coming down the road they had come in on. "Oh, it's just that big moving truck coming down the road", he exclaimed.
The moving truck came to a stop next to the family car and turned off its engine, "That's weird that they would stop here", he muttered to himself. But as soon as the truck engine was turned off he realized the sound did not come from the moving van, for the pulsing sound continued on, and was getting louder.
The entire family began to look toward the skies, trying to identify what was creating the sound, but the trees blocked their view. Ominously, they saw a very large shadow covering the road they had come in on. The shadow seemed to grow bigger the closer it came to them. It covered the family car, then it covered the moving van, then it covered the trees all around them.
"Let's go out into the field to see what it is!" Tilly called out as she began to make her way out to the field.
Swiftly, Mrs. Handimaker grabbed her by the shoulder and held her firm. "No, just wait here!" she exclaimed.
The pulsing sound became louder and louder and the shadow was now so large it covered every inch of ground around them. It seemed as if it would drop right upon their heads and it frightened them greatly.
"Stay under the trees", Mrs. Handimaker yelled out loudly.
And then breaking forth into the field before them, they finally saw it. It was not a helicopter, and it was not a plane. It was an enormous balloon!
But this balloon was not a hot air balloon, but a “blimp”. The blimp was pointy like a football, and it wasn’t filled with air, it was filled with “helium”. Helium is lighter than air. It was also very colorful. On one side there was a picture of the earth, with the words "Big Globe" underneath. On the other side were pictures of animals from all over the world, such as lions, monkeys, alligators, bears, flamingos, and toucans.
They stood at the edge of the field and watched the blimp move with agile speed, then descended lower and lower until it finally came to rest in the middle of the farm field.
Soon, a kindly man in a captain’s hat appeared from a door in the gondola, which is a large cabin underneath the blimp. He pulled a lever that slowly lowered a large set of stairs to the ground. Seeing the group at the edge of the field he tipped his hat, then disappeared back inside the gondola.
Next, two more people appeared in the doorway and looked over the farm field, then made their way down the stairs. Oliver and Tilly could not believe their eyes. Coming down the steps was their mom and dad, Walter and Jane!
"Mrs. Handimaker, you tricked us. Why didn't you tell us we were coming here to see mom and dad?
"Oh, it was a great secret", she responded gleefully. "And Traveler and I swore an oath not to tell a single soul, didn't we Traveler?"
"Woof" Traveler responded in joyful agreement.
With great excitement, Oliver and Tilly sprinted towards the great balloon, which was winding down its powerful engines, and into the waiting arms of their parents.
"Are you surprised to see us?" they asked with a hearty laugh.
“I’ll say!” exclaimed Oliver. “Where did you ever get this balloon?”
Walter gazed slyly at his wife, and then looked into the kids waiting eyes. “We’ve got a very special surprise for you two. Motioning to the great blimp Walter exclaimed, "Oliver, Tilly. This blimp is going to be your new home!”
Oliver and Tilly thought they were hearing things. “Our new home? Did you say this is our new home?” Tilly asked dumbfounded.
“Yes we did!” Jane responded gleefully as she hugged Tilly.
Walter, expecting the children’s bewilderment, motioned the family to sit down on the steps of the blimp and began to explain. “Your mother and I are very tired of being away from you while we are on assignment. So the company we work for, Big Globe, has let us use this blimp for a time. Now we can live together as a family while we carry on our work.”
“You mean we’re really going to live in there?” Oliver asked in amazement.
“Yes we are!”
“But where will we eat?”
“There’s a kitchen on board,” Jane replied. "Complete with a refrigerator, a stove, and a microwave oven.”
“And where will we sleep?” questioned Tilly.
Jane smiled contently. “Of course there are beds and a bedroom for each of us, though they are quite small.”
“And what will we do about school while we are traveling around?”
Walter and Jane laughed heartily.
Walter pointed again at the big blimp. “This blimp is a classroom in the air!” he stated proudly. In our work for Big Globe magazine we do all kinds of science experiments. We have documented many different kinds of plants and animals. And we have taken pictures and produced documentaries of people and places all over the world!”
“And if that’s not enough, you know I spent a few years as a schoolteacher. I will provide regular lessons for you,” Mrs. Handimaker chided.
"Ugh" the kids replied.
The kindly man with the captain’s hat, Cap'n Bert, stuck his head through the doorway. This time he appeared a bit concerned. “Walter, Jane. There’s an urgent call for you from Big Globe.
“We’d better answer that right away,” Walter exclaimed.
Walter and Jane gathered their family and Mrs. Handimaker and led them up the stairs into the gondola. Traveler, not wanting to be left behind, leaped up the stairs gleefully after them.
Dixie, Cap'n Bert's co-pilot, greeted them at the door. “Hi, I’m Dixie. I’ll be helping Cap’n Bert fly the blimp. Would you like me to show you around before we get started?”
“Sure,” Tilly replied. “Are you really a pilot?”
“Yes, I am, she replied. “But this is only my second assignment on a blimp. Come on, let me show you around.”
The gondola was shaped like a very long rectangle, but it was rounded on the ends. The gondola also had two levels, with stairs on each end to go up and down. The doorway in which they stood was positioned in the middle of the gondola. To either side of them was a small hallway that led to the ends of the gondola.
Down the hallway were doors that lead to the working rooms. The working rooms contained the cockpit where Cap'n Bert and Dixie flew the blimp, as well as seats behind the cockpit for the family to sit in, two different science labs, the kitchen, a bathroom, and the engine room (which was actually on both levels) that powered the blimp and the mighty air scoops that forced air into the ballonets. Ballonets are big bags inside of the blimp that hold air.
Then Dixie showed them the second level where all of the bedrooms and bathrooms were at. There was also a large living space toward the front of the blimp they could all gather and relax as a family. Finally they made their way back downstairs to the cockpit where Walter and Jane had just hung up from their emergency phone call.
“A baby Peregrine Falcon has fallen from its nest on a very high cliff. It is one of the few baby Peregrines that have been born in Lost Monument State Park. It is too young to fly and it is trapped on a ledge above Big River. The park rangers have tried to rescue it, but it has proved to be too dangerous. We don't usually do search and rescue missions, but since we are so close, Big Globe wants us to go there as soon as we can and rescue it.” Walter stated.
"Cap'n Bert, we will need to come back for our belongings from the moving truck, but right now we need to rescue the baby Perigren".
“Roger that!” Cap’n Bert replied in agreement. Immediately Cap’n Bert and Dixie took their seats in the cockpit and fired up the big engines.
“B-b-broom,” roared the twin engines.
“Kids, take your seats,” Jane said, pointing to a row of seats just behind the cockpit.
Dixie turned on a switch that blew air out of the ballonets. Then she flipped another switch that checked the helium levels in the blimp. After it was confirmed it had the right mixture of helium, Cap’n Bert lifted the elevators, which allow the blimp go up and down, and threw his hands on the steering wheel. “Here we go!” he exclaimed in his gravelly voice.
The blimp lifted gracefully into the sky and turned toward the east, destined for the tall cliffs above Big River.
Oliver and Tilly could feel their knees shake from excitement. They stared wondrously out the windows of the gondola. They couldn’t believe they were actually flying above the clouds. They had always wondered what it was like to fly through the air. Now they had their chance!
Soon they reached the area where the cliffs towered above Big River. Walter surveyed the site carefully. “Hmm, the blimp is too big to allow us to get close to the baby peregrine. We’ll have to take the lift.”
“Lift? What’s a lift?” Oliver questioned.
“Sometimes the blimp is too large to land. The lift is how we get down to the ground and then back up again without having to land the blimp,” Jane replied. “Come on, we’ll show you.”
Jane unbuckled from her seat, and then led the kids down the hallway to the back of the gondola, all except for Cap’n Bert who steadied the blimp above the cliffs. Dixie had left some time ago. Oliver and Tilly weren’t quite sure where she had gone, but they figured she had work to do.
Jane opened a door near the gondola's engine room. It was a door they hadn’t gone in yet. To their surprise they saw Dixie, readying a very large basket.
“Wow, what’s that?” Tilly questioned curiously.
“This is the lift,” Dixie replied. This is how we bring supplies on board the blimp. Sometimes we even bring hurt animals up in it when we need to help them.”
“Like the Peregrine?” Oliver questioned.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Dixie replied thoughtfully.
“How does it work?” Tilly asked curiously.
“The basket is connected to these very strong wires. The wires are very long and they are connected to this big winch over your heads. When I press this red button a trap door opens underneath. The basket drops through the trap door towards the ground. I can control how fast the basket drops with these levers though,” she stated, pointing to a row of levers within the basket.
“Wow, looks like fun. Can we go dad?” asked Oliver with great excitement.
“I’m sorry son. This trip will be too dangerous,” he replied. “You and Tilly watch from the view port with Mrs. Handimaker.”
“We're all set folks.” Dixie stated, as she waved Walter and Jane towards the basket.
Jane grabbed a very thick pair of gloves from a nearby shelf and jumped into the basket. Walter jumped in also, carrying a very long stick. When they were all situated, Dixie pressed the red button.
“Grr-r-r.”
The trap door underneath the basket opened swiftly. Oliver and Tilly could feel a gust a cold air blow in through the opening. Dixie flipped down one of the levers and the basket slowly began to drop.
“Come children. Let's watch them through the view port,” said Mrs. Handimaker, leading them away from the opening in the floor.
The children obeyed Mrs. Handimaker's instructions and walked to the side of the gondola to look out the view port. They could see Dix carefully guiding the basket towards the ledge where the frightened baby Peregrine lay.
Suddenly, a very large bird darted all around the basket. It was the mother Peregrine. She was very concerned for her baby. She was especially nervous that strangers were approaching the young bird.
Walter used the long pole to keep the mother bird from attacking the basket. Dixie managed to direct the basket close enough to the tiny bird for Jane to reach out and grab it from its resting spot. Carefully, she picked up the little bird and brought it safely into the basket.
“There, there. It will be alright,” she whispered happily to the squawking baby.
The mother falcon became even more violent, attacking them from every side. Walter fought the bird off valiantly, doing his best not to inflict any injury to the bird.
Jane checked the baby’s weight and made sure its wings were not broken. Then she put a special band around the bird’s leg. Scientists, called ornithologists, could then watch the little bird to make sure it was healthy and safe.
When Jane gave the ok, Dixie threw another lever and this time the basket began to rise upwards. She guided the basket back up the cliff towards the Peregrines nest. When they reached the nest she carefully put the young bird back into the nest with its brother and sister. Then she weighed, measured, and banded the brother and sister Peregrines so the ornithologists could monitor the whole family.
“You’d better hurry Jane. The mother bird is getting very angry,” Walter said nervously as he worked hard with his pole to keep the ferocious bird away.
“Just another minute,” she replied calmly. Jane took out her camera, and then snapped a few pictures of the squawking family. “Alright, you can take us up now Dixie,” she said as she waved goodbye to the frightened birds.
Dixie flipped the “up” lever. Slowly the basket lifted higher and higher until it reentered the gondola and sailed snuggly through the trap door. Then she pressed another button that closed the trap door underneath them. Walter and Jane jumped out onto the floor of the gondola. Oliver and Tilly ran to their parents and gave them a great big hug. Walter and Jane were glad to be back aboard the blimp and away from the angry mother falcon.
“This is exciting living on a blimp!” Tilly exclaimed. “Where are we going to next?”
Just then Cap’n Bert called out over the intercom. “Walter, Jane. You have an urgent call from Big Globe!”
U.Art.Known;