Commander Toad and the Planet of the Grapes Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright Page

  Ever since 1928, when Wanda Gág’s classic Millions of Cats appeared, Coward-McCann has been publishing books of high quality for young readers. Among them are the easy-to-read stories known as Break-of-Day books. This series appears under the colophon shown above—a rooster crowing in the sunrise—which is adapted from one of Wanda Gág’s illustrations for Tales from Grimm.

  Though the language used in Break-of-Day books is deliberately kept as clear and as simple as possible, the stories are not written in a controlled vocabularly. And while chosen to be within the grasp of readers in the primary grades, their content is far-ranging and varied enough to captivate children who have just begun crossing the momentous threshold into the world of books.

  For my Tad,

  Alexander

  (the Great)

  —B.D.

  Text copyright © 1982 by Jane Yolen Illustrations copyright © 1982, 1996 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 1996 by

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

  PaperStar is a registered trademark of The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc.

  The PaperStar logo is a trademark of The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc.

  Originally published in 1982 by Coward-McCann, Inc., New York.

  Published simultaneously in Canada.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Yolen, Jane H. Commander Toad and the planet of the grapes.

  Summary: In search of new worlds to explore, Commander Toad

  and his crew land their space ship “Star Warts” on the strange

  Planet of the Grapes. [1. Toads—Fiction. 2. Science fiction.]

  I. Degen, Bruce. II. Title. PZ7.Y78Cn [Fic] 81-3120 AACR2

  eISBN : 978-1-101-14184-7

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  For Mariette,

  who has kept me laughing

  since 10th grade

  —J.Y.

  There are many ships

  that fly

  from star to star.

  But only one

  is long and green.

  Only one

  is flown by

  Commander Toad.

  Brave and bright,

  bright and brave,

  Commander Toad

  brings his ship

  through deep hopper space.

  That ship is called

  the Star Warts.

  Its mission:

  to find new worlds,

  to explore new planets,

  to bring

  a little bit of Earth

  out to the alien stars.

  Commander Toad

  has a very fine crew.

  Mr. Hop

  is his copilot.

  He thinks a lot.

  His thoughts are

  cool and deep

  as winter ponds.

  Lieutenant Lily

  is in charge

  of the engine room.

  She knows every

  rod and dial.

  Young Jake Skyjumper

  makes the maps

  that show where they

  are going

  and where they have been.

  And old Doc Peeper,

  in his grass-green wig,

  keeps them healthy

  as they fly.

  Many days

  and many nights

  go by in space.

  Sometimes the crew

  plays games

  like chess

  or checkers

  or leapfrog-and-toad.

  Sometimes

  they sing songs.

  “Hoppy birthday”

  is one of their favorites.

  And sometimes

  they get very bored.

  There is nothing to see

  outside the ship

  but deep, dark space

  lit only by

  the faraway stars.

  At last a new planet

  comes into sight.

  “It is a fine place

  for my tired crew,”

  says brave and bright

  Commander Toad.

  The Star Warts

  hangs over the planet

  like a great green pickle.

  Commander Toad

  and Lieutenant Lily

  sail down in

  a little sky skimmer.

  They will make sure

  that nothing nasty

  or mean

  waits for the crew

  on this brand-new world.

  Commander Toad

  leaps out of the skimmer

  and laughs as he lands.

  “A fine, quiet planet

  for a picnic.

  Come join me,

  Lieutenant Lily.”

  Lily smiles.

  Then she sneezes.

  “Ah-chippity-choo.

  There is something

  on this calm world

  I am allergic to,”

  she says

  and sneezes once again.

  She wipes her nose

  with a regulation

  starfleet

  nose-kerchief

  and prepares to

  leap from the skimmer.

  But before she can move,

  something begins to grow

  under Commander Toad’s feet.

  First it is a bump.

  Then it is a lump.

  Then it is a bubble

  that looks like

  a giant grape.

  “Wait a bit,”

  warns Commander Toad.

  “Things grow

  too quickly

  on this quiet world.”

  The bump-lump-grape

  has become a bunch

  of twenty or more

  bumpy-lumpy things.

  They move like

  player-piano keys

  under Commander Toad,

  playing a silly

  tickle song

  on the bottoms of his

  webbed feet.

  “Ho-ho-ho,”

  sings Commander Toad.

  Hop-hop-hop

  go his feet.

  “Quick, Commander,”

  Lieutenant Lily calls,

  sneezing twice.

  She leans over

  the skimmer’s side,

  holding one hand

  to her nose

  and the other hand

  out to Commander Toad.

  “Stop hopping around

  and hop in.”

  But it is too late.

  As she watches,

  one lump-bump

  grows up and around

  Commander Toad

  and swallows him.

  “Burp!” says the bubble grape.

  “Oh, Commander,”

  Lieutenant Lily cries.

  She takes out her gun,

  but she is afraid

  to fire.

  What if she hits

  Commander Toad,

  and what if he is not

  a grape dinner

  or a grape dessert,

  but is only the guest

  of a grape,

  getting inside information

  instead of getting eaten?

  Lily puts her gun away.

  She will go back

  up to the Star Warts.

  She will ask the others br />
  to help.

  Mr. Hop will think.

  Old Doc Peeper

  will bring Band-Aids.

  And young Jake Skyjumper

  will stay on the ship.

  “Don’t go away,

  Commander Toad,”

  says Lieutenant Lily,

  “Ah-chippity-choo.”

  “Burp!” says the grape.

  Commander Toad

  says nothing.

  Lieutenant Lily

  pushes the button

  that sends the skimmer

  up to the waiting ship.

  On board again,

  Lily tells them all

  what has happened.

  Mr. Hop

  thinks for a moment,

  his chin in his hand.

  “Very interesting,”

  says old Doc Peeper.

  “I’ll get my bag.”

  Then Doc Peeper

  and Lieutenant Lily

  and Mr. Hop

  ride the skimmer down.

  Only young Jake

  is left aboard

  to guide the great ship home

  if anything bad happens

  to the rest of the crew

  on the calm but scary

  Planet of the Grapes.

  The skimmer hovers

  above the planet,

  where only a bunch

  of great grapes

  waits to greet them.

  “One of those grapes

  is Commander Toad,

  brave and bright,

  bright and brave,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  She sneezes.

  “Which one?”

  asks Mr. Hop.

  “I do not know,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  “All grapes look alike to me.”

  “That one

  might be the commander,”

  says Mr. Hop.

  “The one with the lump

  where his hat

  would be.”

  Mr. Hop calls down

  to the lumpy grape.

  “Don’t worry, Commander.

  We are here to help.”

  He turns to the others.

  “I have been thinking:

  As long as we

  move very fast,

  there will be no time

  for a grape

  to grab us.”

  He hops out.

  “Wait!” cries Lily,

  ending with a sneeze.

  But it is too late.

  No sooner

  do Mr. Hop’s feet

  touch the ground

  than a bunch of grapes

  grows like blisters

  all around him.

  One grape,

  bigger than the rest,

  swallows Mr. Hop.

  “Burp!” says the grape.

  “Ah-chippity-choo,”

  says Lieutenant Lily sadly.

  “Very interesting,”

  says old Doc Peeper.

  He fixes his wig.

  Then he takes

  a great big needle

  out of his bag.

  “Before we save

  Commander Toad

  and Mr. Hop

  from being graped,

  I will give you a shot

  to stop your sneezes

  and your

  chippity-choos.

  It is hard to be brave

  when your nose

  is running

  faster than your feet.”

  But while Doc Peeper

  moves toward

  Lieutenant Lily’s

  side of the skimmer,

  an enormous bubble

  is growing

  underneath them.

  It grows up

  and around the skimmer,

  quiet as air,

  silent as sleep.

  And before

  Lieutenant Lily

  can sneeze

  or old Doc Peeper

  can give her a shot,

  the skimmer is caught

  in the biggest lump

  of them all.

  “This bump is so big,

  it must be

  Alexander the Grape,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  Doc Peeper groans.

  It is dark

  inside the grape,

  and hot.

  Doc Peeper

  finds his flashlight.

  He turns it on.

  It makes things brighter

  but it does not

  make them clearer.

  Suddenly

  the sky skimmer

  tips sideways,

  and head over heels,

  webbed feet over wig,

  Lieutenant Lily

  and Doc Peeper

  are spilled out.

  Lieutenant Lily

  falls on her gun

  and it jams.

  Doc Peeper

  falls on the handle

  of his needle.

  The needle

  goes into the bubble—

  Whoosh!—

  and most of the medicine

  is shot

  into the bubble’s side.

  “Burp!” says

  Alexander the Grape.

  “Ah-chippity-choo,”

  Lieutenant Lily replies.

  Then far above them

  is a sudden pinprick

  of light.

  Is it a window?

  Is it a star?

  Is it an opening

  in the top of the grape?

  Doc Peeper

  gives Lily

  the rest of the medicine

  and then he gives her

  a boost up.

  She sticks her head

  out of the hole

  and looks around.

  The opening grows wider.

  Lieutenant Lily

  crawls through.

  Soon the grape

  has opened like a flower.

  Doc Peeper steps out.

  “I do not get it,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  Doc Peeper says,

  “I do.”

  He takes another needle

  out of his black bag

  and goes over to

  the lump

  with the hat.

  No sooner does he give

  the lump a shot

  than the grape

  peels itself

  and out steps

  Commander Toad.

  “Have a grape day,”

  says Commander Toad,

  shaking Doc Peeper’s hand.

  Doc Peeper

  gives a final shot

  to the Mr. Hop lump.

  When Mr. Hop

  steps out,

  he looks around.

  “I am very grapeful

  to be out of there,”

  he says.

  Commander Toad

  leaps into the skimmer,

  and behind him

  come Mr. Hop,

  Lieutenant Lily,

  and old Doc Peeper.

  The sky skimmer

  lifts off.

  “What was that

  all about?”

  asks Commander Toad.

  Doc Peeper smiles.

  “Just as Lily

  is allergic

  to the planet,

  so this planet

  is allergic

  to us.

  We gave it warts

  and hives

  and a bad

  case of the grapes.”

  Lieutenant Lily

  puts her hand to her nose.

  “No more sneezes,”

  she says.

  “Your shot worked on me.”

  They look over

  the side of the skimmer.

  Far below, on the planet,

  they can see

  only one grape left.

  It i
s wearing

  a silly green wig.

  “And it worked

  on the planet, too,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  “Hummmmmm,” says Mr. Hop.

  “If the planet

  is allergic to us,

  it would not be

  a good idea

  to go back again.

  Besides,

  those grapes were

  an awfully tight fit.”

  “And they liked

  to wine a lot,”

  says Commander Toad.

  He slaps his leg

  and laughs

  at his own joke.

  Old Doc Peeper

  looks serious.

  “There is something more,”

  he says

  as he puts the needle

  into the bag.

  “Anyone who sets foot

  on that planet

  seems to tell

  very bad grape jokes.”

  “Bad?” says Commander Toad.

  “I thought those jokes

  were the grapest.”

  The sky skimmer

  floats up

  to the mother ship.

  Jake Skyjumper

  welcomes them aboard.

  “I think we got away

  just in time,”

  says Commander Toad.

  “There is nothing worse

  than a bad grape joke.”

  “I do not get it,”

  says Jake Skyjumper.

  “Just be glad

  that they did not get you,”

  says Lieutenant Lily.

  They tell him

  all about it

  as the ship takes off

  into deep hopper space.

  “Let’s find some

  new planets,”

  says Commander Toad.

  Then they leapfrog

  across the galaxy

  from star

  to star

  to star.

 

 

  Jane Yolen, Commander Toad and the Planet of the Grapes

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