Our story starts some years ago (near El Paso, for those who may be interested), in the laboratory of the most renowned professor Hairibac, the great archaeologist.
“Perfect,” he said, consulting his watch, “we have exactly 16 minutes and 50 seconds to hurry to the plane, which will take us to adventure land!”
— “Yes, boss, OK, boss!” answered his assistant, Jack Cowtchip. “I sure hope it ain't gonna be too long, 'cause in this blasted machine, I've always got the impression that we will crash to the ground like a swallow attacked by a swarm of wasps. It makes me giddy, airsick, it...”
— “Reassure yourself, my
dear Jack, that it will last only ten or twelve hours.”
— “I don't know whether
I can live that long, boss!”
They got into a taxi, which
took them to the airport. After having bought the tickets, they boarded
their aircraft.
— “We're on our way
to India, boss!”
— “To Egypt, stup... er,
my dear assistant."
A long journey started, during
which the professor made his calculations and Jack listened to the Spice
Girls, the Walkman of his big sister on his ears.
Much sooner than expected,
the plane lands. As they came out, they were caught by such a strong gust
of wind that it sent them rolling next to the plane, feet up in the snow.
How's that?! In the snow,
in Egypt! Odd, no? It is also what our heroes thought:
— “Hey, I didn't know
that the weather was so cold in Egypt, boss!”
— “Indeed, said the
professor as he removed the snow from his behind. I think there's a good
chance that we didn't land in Alexandria.”
“But where the heck are we?”
— “In Alexandria? Hahaha,
hohoho!” guffawed an old hunchback who got out behind them, letting go
of his cane and holding his ribs for laughing so much. “But we are in Greenland!
In these twenty years that I knock about to the four corners of the world,
never have I heard a better one. You can be sure that I know what I'm talking
about!”
— “Hey, we must've
taken the wrong plane, boss!”
Illustrations
Francois, Guillaume, Martin, Charlotte and Alice .
(École de Lauzelle, Louvain-la-Neuve, BELGIUM)
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