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The next day, Uncle Robert and Aunt Louise decided to take Flat Stanley to see Hong Kong. They took along a map so that Stanley could see where they were traveling.
As they drove through the streets, Stanley was amazed at how many people there were. And there were buildings everywhere, except on the mountains. It seemed like every building was a skyscraper. "Where do people live?" asked Stanley. "In those tall buildings," responded Aunt Louise. "Most people in Hong Kong live in apartments, not houses. And most of the apartments are in really tall buildings. There just isn't enough space in Hong Kong for everyone to have their own house."
They drove by Victoria Harbor and looked out across to Hong Kong island. There were boats and ferries everywhere. To Stanley it looked like the water was as busy as a highway. On Hong Kong island, shiny buildings towered up in front of a tall mountain. As they drove, they went down into a tunnel. "Are we going through a mountain?" asked Stanley? "We're going under the harbor!" answered Aunt Louise. Stanley's eyes got big. He wasn't sure that he believed her. But after a few minutes they came out of the tunnel, and sure enough, they were on the other side of the water.
Now they were downtown, right in the middle of all the shiny skyscrapers. Business people dressed in suits walked quickly between buildings. Everybody seemed to be in a big hurry. Inside the skyscrapers Stanley could see banks and hotels, and restaurants and shops. And they were all full of people. |
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"My goodness," said Flat Stanley, "there are so many beaches here. Can we visit one?" Uncle Robert and Aunt Louise stopped the car and out jumped Stanley. He ran up onto the rocks overlooking the water and the beach. The waves were crashing into the rocks below him. "Be careful," yelled Aunt Louise. "We don't want you falling into the water." Looking towards the ocean, Stanley could see many different boats, from small water taxis and fishing boats to large cargo ships. |
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"Why don't we bury you in the sand?" asked Aunt Louise. Stanley was all for it. With Flat Stanley being so... flat, it didn't take much sand to cover him up. Aunt Louise was careful not to put sand on his head. She even let his feet peek out so that he could wiggle his toes.
After helping Stanley out of the sand, Uncle Robert spied something on the ground nearby. "Stanley!" he called. "You must see this!" Stanley came running over, but he didn't see anything. "What am I supposed to see? There are just a bunch of leaves and twigs on the ground." "Look carefully," replied Uncle Robert. "Oh my goodness! That stick, it's moving!" yelled Stanley. Indeed it was, but it wasn't a stick. It was a stick bug. "That's an insect," said Aunt Louise. "They look like sticks so that they can hide from other bugs and insects." "Does it bite? Does it sting?" asked Stanley? "No." replied Aunt Louise. Stanley crouched down next to the stick bug. It started to walk towards him. "Here it comes!" he yelled, and it walked right on to him.
"That was exciting," said Stanley. "Well we've got one more surprise for you." said Aunt Louise with a smile. "We didn't come all this way just to go to the beach and see stick bugs. "There's a very special place near here." As they walked away from the beach, Stanley was brimming with curiosity. "What is it? What is it?" he asked impatiently. "You'll know it when you see it," said Aunt Louise, keeping the secret to herself. As they rounded the bend in the path, Stanley looked out ahead of him and saw a little village. He cried, "I see it -- it's a town named after ME!" After a day of traveling through tunnels and skyscrapers, past beaches and bugs, they finally arrived at their destination. Flat Stanley was in... Stanley.
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Soon
they were driving away from the city, headed towards the south side of
Hong Kong island. But this area was very different from the busy
city center. There were very few skyscrapers and lots of green
trees. And the shoreline was very beautiful.
On
the beach, Stanley saw families, with many children playing in the water
and building sand castles. "That looks fun" he said.
