'Then why did we start sinking?' the Centipede asked.
'Perhaps we didn't start sinking,' the Old-Green-Grasshopper suggested. 'Perhaps we were all so frightened that we simply imagined it.'
This, in point of fact, was closer to the truth than any of them knew. A shark, you see, has an extremely long sharp nose, and its mouth is set very awkwardly underneath its face and a long way back. This makes it more or less impossible for it to get its teeth into a vast smooth curving surface such as the side of a peach. Even if the creature turns on to its back it still can't do it, because the nose always gets in the way. If you have ever seen a small dog trying to get its teeth into an enormous ball, then you will be able to imagine roughly how it was with the sharks and the peach.
'It must have been some kind of magic,' the Ladybird said. 'The holes must have healed up by themselves.'
'Oh, look! There's a ship below us!' shouted James.
Everybody rushed to the side and peered over. None of them had ever seen a ship before.
'It looks like a big one.'
'It's got three funnels.'
'You can even see the people on the decks!'
'Let's wave to them. Do you think they can see us?'
Neither James nor any of the others knew it, but the ship that was now passing beneath them was actually the Queen Mary sailing out of the English Channel on her way to America. And on the bridge of the Queen Mary, the astonished Captain was standing with a group of his officers, all of them gaping at the great round ball hovering overhead.
'I don't like it,' the Captain said.
'Nor do I,' said the First Officer.
'Do you think it's following us?' said the Second Officer.
'I tell you I don't like it,' muttered
the Captain.
'It could be dangerous,' the First Officer said.
'That's it!' cried the Captain. 'It's a secret weapon! Holy cats! Send a message to the Queen at once! The country must be warned! And give me ray telescope.'
The First Officer handed the telescope to the Captain. The Captain put it to his eye.
'There's birds everywhere!' he cried. 'The whole sky is teeming with birds! What in the world are they doing? And wait! Wait a second! There are people on it! I can see them moving! There's a - a - do I have this darned thing focused right? It looks like a little boy in short trousers! Yes, I can distinctly see a little boy in short trousers standing up there! And there's a - there's a - there's a - a - a - a sort of giant ladybird!'
'Now just a minute, Captain!' the First Officer said.
'And a colossal green grasshopper!'
'Captain!' the First Officer said sharply. 'Captain, please!'
'And a mammoth spider!'
'Oh dear, he's been at the whisky again,' whispered the Second Officer.
'And an enormous - a simply enormous centipede!' screamed the Captain.
'Call the Ship's Doctor,' the First Officer said. 'Our Captain is not well.'
A moment later, the great round ball disappeared into a cloud, and the people on the ship never saw it again.
Twenty-four
But up on the peach itself, everyone was still happy and excited.