Commander Toad and the Intergalactic Spy Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright Page

  Commander Toad PaperStars from Jane Yolen and Bruce Degen

  COMMANDER TOAD IN SPACE

  COMMANDER TOAD AND THE PLANET OF THE GRAPES

  COMMANDER TOAD AND THE BIG BLACK HOLE

  COMMANDER TOAD AND THE DIS-ASTEROID

  COMMANDER TOAD AND THE INTERGALACTIC SPY

  COMMANDER TOAD AND THE SPACE PIRATES

  For Sandy, our own Tip Toad

  —B.D.

  Text copyright © 1986 by Jane Yolen Illustrations copyright © 1986, 1997 by Bruce Degen

  All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form

  without permission in writing from the publisher. A PaperStar Book, published in 1997 by

  The Putnam & Grosset Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

  PaperStar Books and the PaperStar logo are trademarks of

  The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc. Originally published in 1986 by

  Coward-McCann, Inc. Published simultaneously in Canada.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Yolen, Jane. Commander Toad and the intergalactic spy.

  Summary: Commander Toad and the crew of Star Warts are asked

  to rout out Tip Toad, Space Fleet’s greatest and most elusive spy.

  [1. Toads—Fiction. 2. Science fiction] I. Degen, Bruce, ill.

  II. Title. PZ7.Y78 Cmi 1986

  eISBN : 978-1-101-14185-4

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  For my nephew

  John Gregory Yolen

  who lives in another world

  but sometimes comes here for a visit

  —J.Y.

  Long green ships

  fly through space

  past the winking

  of a thousand thousand stars.

  There is one ship,

  one mighty ship,

  long and green,

  called Star Warts.

  The captain of this ship

  is brave and bright,

  bright and brave.

  His name is

  COMMANDER TOAD.

  He guides his ship

  where no space ship

  has gone before.

  To find planets.

  To explore galaxies.

  To bring a little bit of Earth

  out to the alien stars.

  But he is not alone

  way out in space.

  He has a very fine crew.

  Mr. Hop

  is his copilot.

  Lieutenant Lily

  runs the ship.

  The computer chief

  is young Jake Skyjumper.

  And old Doc Peeper

  in his grass green wig

  makes sure everyone

  is hoppy and well.

  One day

  the commander

  calls his crew

  all together.

  He waves

  a piece of paper.

  “Star Fleet

  is sending us

  on a dangerous mission.

  Other ships

  have gone out

  on this mission.

  They have not come back.“

  Lieutenant Lily smiles.

  ”I am ready,“

  she says.

  “What is this

  dangerous mission?”

  asks Mr. Hop.

  “We must pick up

  a spy.

  An intergalactic spy.”

  Mr. Hop

  scratches his head.

  Lieutenant Lily asks,

  “What is dangerous

  about that?”

  “This is no

  ordinary spy,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “It is Space Fleet’s

  greatest spy.

  Agent 007½.”

  “Oooooh, ”

  says Lieutenant Lily,

  “I have heard of him.”

  “I have, too, ”

  says Jake.

  “His name is Tip Toad.

  He is a master of disguise.”

  “And I know him

  even better,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “He is my cousin.

  Even if he is

  wearing a disguise,

  I will

  recognize him,

  And so will you.

  Everyone in our family

  looks alike.

  Tip is tall and brown

  and toadally handsome.”

  “Just like you?”

  asks Mr. Hop.

  Commander Toad

  is not amused.

  He takes out

  a photograph.

  In it two small

  and brown

  and handsome young toads

  are on a riverbank

  playing hopscotch.

  “See for yourself,”

  says Commander Toad.

  They all look.

  “Which one is you,”

  asks Lieutenant Lily,

  “and which one is Tip Toad?”

  The commander just smiles.

  “I will plot our course,”

  says young Jake.

  “Where do we pick up

  your famous cousin?”

  Commander Toad

  shows them all the paper.

  It is covered

  with strange marks.

  “That is Toad Code,”

  says Mr. Hop.

  “Let me try to read it.”

  He looks

  at the paper

  for a very long time.

  At last he says,

  “Your cousin

  is on a planet

  called Eden.

  Eden is full

  of flowers.

  And full

  of spies.

  They are all

  in disguise.“

  ”All of them?“

  asks Doc Peeper.

  ”It is a spy

  convention,“

  says Mr. Hop.

  “Spies from

  all over the galaxy

  are dropped off.

  They try to trick

  one another.

  They try to learn

  one another’s secrets.

  Then they try

  to escape

  and leave the others

  behind.

  Tip Toad says

  no one must see him

  without his disguise

  or he will be in danger

  all the rest

  of his life.

  He will never be able

  to retire

  and live on the riverbank

  without a disguise.“

  “Poor Tip,”

  says Commander Toad.

  There is a tear

  in his eye.

  “Then we will have

  to figure out

  which one is Tip,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  “I am ready.”

  “Here are some clues,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “Tip will wear

  his Star Fleet wristwatch,

  the croak-a-dial.

  He will drink

  Croak-a-Cola.

  He will carry

  a photograph

  of his favorite cousin.”

  “I will know him,”

  says Lily.

  “But if we pick up

  the wrong spy

  and bring that one

  on board the ship,

  we will
all be in danger,

  says Mr. Hop.

  ”I will know him,“

  says Commander Toad.

  ”And so will you.

  Tip and I

  look just alike.“

  Jake finds Eden

  on the star map.

  Lieutenant Lily

  puts the ship

  into high wart speed.

  Off they go.

  The planet Eden

  is full of flowers.

  Red and orange,

  yellow and pink.

  Commander Toad

  and Lieutenant Lily,

  Mr. Hop

  and Doc Peeper

  climb into

  the sky skimmer.

  Only Jake Skyjumper

  stays behind.

  The sky skimmer

  floats down,

  down, down, down

  and lands in a field

  of buttercups.

  Bees hum.

  Birds sing.

  It is a lovely world.

  They leave the skimmer

  and walk around.

  They smell the sweet air.

  Suddenly,

  an enormous monster,

  all teeth and tail,

  appears before them.

  The monster smiles.

  His mouth is full

  of buttercups

  and teeth.

  He has 247 big teeth.

  He has 73 little teeth.

  “Run!” shouts

  old Doc Peeper.

  He starts to hop

  back to the skimmer.

  Lieutenant Lily

  does not run.

  She kneels down

  and points her gun

  right at the

  73 little teeth.

  Before she can shoot,

  the monster booms out,

  “HI, COUSIN HIP!”

  “STOP!!!”

  shouts Commander Toad.

  “Lily, do not shoot.

  That monster

  is my cousin.

  He was Tip-top

  and I was Hip-hop.

  We looked alike.

  We dressed alike.

  We spoke alike.

  No one

  could tell us apart.”

  “You sure do not

  look alike now,”

  says Doc Peeper.

  “No,” admits

  Commander Toad.

  “Now I am better looking.”

  “That is a great disguise,”

  says Mr. Hop.

  Commander Toad

  gives his monster cousin

  a great big hug.

  Suddenly,

  a second monster,

  long and slithery,

  with 257 big teeth

  and 63 little teeth,

  slides through the flowers

  toward them.

  Lieutenant Lily kneels.

  She aims her gun.

  “Hi, coussssssin Hip,”

  hisses the monster.

  “STOP!!!” shouts

  Commander Toad.

  “I have made

  a big mistake.

  That is my cousin.”

  “I do not understand,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  “You say your cousin Tip,

  master of disguise,

  is the only one

  who knows your nickname.

  But both these monsters

  know it.

  Can they both be

  Agent 007½?”

  “That is a great disguise,”

  says Mr. Hop.

  Suddenly,

  three more monsters

  with lots of teeth,

  both big and little,

  stomp through the field

  toward the crew.

  They shout,

  “HI, COUSIN HIP!”

  “We have a problem,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  “A monster of a problem,”

  adds Doc Peeper.

  “I knew this

  croak-and-dagger stuff

  would not be easy.”

  “That is a

  really

  great disguise,”

  says Mr. Hop.

  All five monsters

  are wearing

  croak-a-dials.

  All five monsters

  are sipping

  Croak-a-Cola.

  All five monsters

  are carrying

  photographs

  of small and brown

  and handsome young toads.

  “I am your cousin,

  Tip Toad,

  master of disguise,”

  say all five monsters

  together.

  “These other monsters

  are imposters.

  They are evil spies

  who want to

  get on board your ship

  and steal it

  and all its secrets

  away.”

  They growl

  at each other

  and smile

  toothy smiles

  at the Star Warts crew.

  The crew

  climbs quickly

  back into the skimmer.

  The skimmer lifts off

  above the monsters.

  Commander Toad needs

  time to think,

  just out of reach

  of monster claws

  and monster jaws.

  The five monsters

  lie back

  in the buttercups.

  They stick their feet

  and tails

  in the air,

  drink their Croak-a-Cola,

  and talk about

  the good old days

  when they were

  hoppy little toads.

  “Only one of them

  is telling the truth,”

  says Mr. Hop wisely.

  “That means that

  four of them

  are lying,”

  says Commander Toad,

  counting on his fingers.

  “But which is which?”

  Mr. Hop thinks out loud.

  “What does a toad do

  that no one else

  can do,

  even a master

  of disguise?”

  Commander Toad

  leaps up.

  The sky skimmer

  rocks dangerously

  from side to side.

  “I have it!”

  he shouts.

  “Have what?”

  asks Mr. Hop.

  “The answer

  to your question,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “Quick, Lily,

  fly us across Eden

  until you find

  a field full

  of tulips.”

  Lieutenant Lily

  does not ask questions.

  She salutes.

  “Aye, aye,

  Commander Toad,”

  she says.

  They peer over the side

  looking for the field.

  “There!”

  says Lieutenant Lily

  at last.

  “I see one. ”

  They look down

  and, sure enough,

  below them is a field

  full of tulips

  blowing prettily

  in a passing breeze.

  Commander Toad

  turns and cups

  his hands to his mouth.

  “Oh, cousin Tip,”

  he shouts.

  “Come here.”

  Five monsters

  stand up.

  Five monsters

  come running.

  STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

  “I have a test

  for all of you,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “What kind of test?”

  The monsters ask.

  “I am goi
ng to send

  Tip Toad

  through the tulips,”

  says Commander Toad.

  Everyone groans.

  “What good is that?”

  asks Mr. Hop.

  “You will see,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “Monster number one,

  start through. ”

  The big monster

  with the 247

  big teeth

  runs through the tulips.

  Bees and fleas

  buzz around his head.

  “Monster number two,”

  says Commander Toad,

  pointing to the slithery spy.

  He slips into the grass

  and slides along,

  disturbing

  wasps and gnats.

  “Monsters three and four—

  begin,”

  calls out Commander Toad.

  They humph

  and galumph

  and stumble

  through the tulips.

  All around them

  little insects

  buzz and hum.

  “Monster number five,

  calls out

  Commander Toad.

  The last monster,

  fat and striped,

  with one dark horn,

  lumbers to his feet.

  He swaggers

  through the field.

  He kicks up

  seventeen flies.

  Then flick—flick—flick,

  faster than the eye

  can follow,

  out of his monster mouth

  darts a long, sticky tongue.

  Flick—flick—flick.

  Seventeen times.

  Every single fly

  disappears.

  “He is the one,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “Only a toad

  as smart and as fast

  and as handsome

  as my cousin Tip

  can catch flies

  like that.”

  Old Doc Peeper laughs.

  “He catches flies

  and you catch spies.”

  “That’s some disguise!”

  says Mr. Hop.

  Lieutenant Lily

  pushes a button

  and a rope ladder

  unfolds.

  The bottom rung

  is right in front

  of Tip Toad’s nose.

  Quickly he climbs up.

  The other monsters

  run toward the ladder.

  They open their jaws.

  They show their claws.

  But they are too late.