Peter Carrot-top by Yolanda Jackson (ebook audio reader txt) 📖

/> The elves pointed the Carrot-Top family into a private entrance of the bird coach.
Sam looked back as he heard the crowd whispering, "That's the king and his family. They have beaten the curse.”
As the Carrot-Tops entered the main entrance into the hub of the bird, they could hear the creature’s beating heart. Every time the heart beat, there would be a wave of flute music.
As the family continued to walk through the massive meeting area, there were many guests from around Baja and from different worlds. They noticed there was quite a difference between the rich and the poor. All the rich folks had their servants with them, and all the businessmen and woman were huddled together talking business, all dressed up in business attire.
"We’re out of our league," Jane said to Sam.
This meeting hall was huge and overwhelming for the Carrot-Tops. There were ballrooms with chandeliers as big as mountains and many, many fireplaces. Everyone stared at the Carrot-Tops.
One snobbish lady asked her companion, "How could they be royal when they are dressed in rags?"
As the lady stuck her nose in the air at the Carrot-Top family; nevertheless, the family minded their own business and kept moving. Then they passed another meeting place where everything was underwater; Peter and his family stopped to watch as mermaids danced and had fun. To Peter, that was fantastic. He had never seen a mermaid. One of the mermaids saw Peter watching and came up to the glass that separates them, and blew him a kiss. Yes, indeed, Peter was very embarrassed and began to blush. His parents just laughed at their son’s shyness.
As they kept walking down the long golden corridor, there were many rooms. Some of the room doors were open. One room was a saloon where bar fights were going on. Quickly Sam and Jane covered their son's eyes to such violence, and one of the elves called for security on his secret watch communicator.
Another door held a big playland for the kids. Peter begged his parent to go in. They were reluctant, but they let him have a little fun for a while. Sam and Jane watched as their son ran toward the playground leaving them behind. The playground was huge, with a large sandbox. In it was a large worm; it had to be about 20 feet long, and had seats on its back for the children to sit in as they rode up and down through the air.
Everyone could hear the children's laughter. Peter immediately left his pet and parents behind and ran into the line for a ride with the sand worm. He could hardly wait! Once in front of the line, the trainer buckled Peter and the rest of the kids safely in their seats. Up and down the worm went, splashing sand all over the place.
"Wheeeeeeee!" shouted the children.
Peter was having the time of his life; waving his hands in the air as his proud parents looked on. After the fun ride, Peter socialized with the rest of the children. There he meet a young kid name Zack Bean; he was very slender and had long, golden blond hair that touched his shoulders, and big blue hypnotizing eyes. Zack was a very well-rounded child. He was very outgoing and easily made friends, and he was always the center of attention.
He also met Nicholas Webster, a very heavy, overweight child, who was a joy to be around. Nicholas had short black hair and wore glasses that were held together with a piece of tape. He wore big, baggy oversized clothing that was always tripping him or causing him to fall down. No matter what time of day or night it was, Nicholas was always eating a banana.
Next was Clara, tall and skinny, with fire-engine red hair that she kept in two ponytails. She wore dusty old overalls and miss-matched shoes. Clara was the type of girl that bullied boys around -- she was not to be messed with. Then there was Robert Clark, a Beanpole of a child who was very, very skinny indeed. He was so skinny that he could hide behind a pole. Robert was an unusual child for being only 10 years old; he was 7 feet tall with slick, greasy black hair. He wore ripped jeans and shirts and carried 10 watches on both wrists. Robert was more strange than unusual.
Last, but not least, there was Benjamin Franklin. He had a gene disorder that caused fur to grow all over his body. He was an average-size child with a great appetite for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches -- that's all he ever wanted. As he was covered in fur, no one knew what he really looked like. He had straight white fur from head to toe. No matter what he put on, the fur poked out. It didn’t matter whether it was clothing or a hat; the fur stuck out and was a pain to work with.
Now Peter had a whole new set of friends to play with. Back in the land of the living, he had had a hard time making friends. But here in Baja, it was much easier for him. Peter's parents were so proud to see their son finally make friends and being a normal kid.
Suddenly, the horn blew very loudly, and down came a big floating pirate ship out of the sky. The kids began to scream with excitement.
"It's Captain Johnny!" one of the kids shouted.
Peter was a little awestruck once again for he had never seen anything like this before in his life. The pirate ship was huge. It flashed through the sky like a bird moving vigorously back and forth. This was a big brown ship of some sort with crewmen onboard waving their swords at the kids. Peter went over to Robert and asked him about the ship. Robert told him that this was the best ride in Baja, and that Captain Johnny rides were the best.
Peter's parents ran over, fearing the worst. He ran to meet them, and told them that this was a kids’ ride and there was nothing to be worried about. As his parents were leaving, Dingo, Peter's pet, jumped on his shoulder wanting to go with him.
"All right, boy, you can go with me," Peter said to Dingo as he rubbed his head.
The children watched as the pirate ship came down. This was a huge vessel, made of deep maple red wood. The ship had to be at least 100 feet long. There were missiles and cannons onboard that shot out fireworks. Its long white sails fluttered in the winds. The ship came hovering down.
The children began to scream, "Captain! Captain! Captain!" as they chanted for his quick arrival.
As the ship landed, a well-built man came forward in his captain's outfit. He had a patch over one eye, and he wore a red bandanna with the outline of a skull and crossbones. His goatee came down to his stomach, and his long white hair was braided into one long braid with beads and sea shells throughout it.
As the children chanted his name, Captain Johnny came forward raised his hands to the sky, and did backflips over and over. The kids loved him.
"All aboard, all aboard," Captain Johnny said.
The kids climbed up into the vessel. Peter had a nervous look on his face. He grabbed ahold of Dingo, and off the ship flew, back and forth, swinging higher and higher. Then the ship spun around and around in circles with the speed of light. The children screamed with excitement. This was one of the best times they had ever had, but poor little Dingo clutched onto Peter's shirt. His paw-like hands began to tremble.
"It's okay, boy," Peter said like a proud papa protecting his young.
The kids rode the pirate ship for well over 20 minutes, then they were invited to start the fireworks. What a blast Peter was having! But it was time to go. Peter said good-bye to all the new friends he had made, and was on his way again with the magical flying bird.
The elves came back and greeted the Carrot-Tops, and they showed the family to their room. It was a huge place with high ceilings and Victorian decor. Dingo was glad to be on solid ground, and he jumped out of Peter's hand and onto the floor, rolling and chasing his tail. The Carrot-Tops were told that they would be arriving in Baja any minute, and that they needed to spruce up a bit. They complied and changed into clothing made for royalty.
Peter wore a silk lace suit that was all white, and on his head was a crown. His clothing had the same mystical symbols as everything else in Baja. His parents were also dressed in all white with crowns that graced their heads. They looked like a true royal family.
Then in came a servant snapping pictures and taking them away quickly. The family began to get nervous, not knowing what they were up against. Then a loud sounding alarm began to blow. Peter ran to the window and saw a beautiful sight. It was the land of Baja, very colorful and unique. Trees were 100 feet tall or taller, and there were beanstalks that giants were sliding down. As Peter looked over to the right, he could see a group of colorful birds flying back and forth with welcome signs in their beaks.
The sun was shining brightly, and there were chariots flying through the sky carrying kings, queens, and descendants of royalty. Peter called over his parents, and they rushed to the window. They had not seen Baja in so long. Jane began to cry. Baja was a beautiful mystical land where the impossible co-existed with the possible.
"What's wrong, Mother?" Peter asked as he saw Jane crying.
She explained to him that she was the one that grew all of those flowers and trees, and that her magical gifts were the reason plants flourished. Peter told his mother that he was so proud of her.
Down below, Sam could also see the empires that he helped build. Because of Sam’s magical ability to move objects of any size, he was sought after to build a massive empire for the elders. The family embraced each other as the door opened and a servant walked in and stated that they were in Baja, and their royal presence was needed.
Peter was excited and was the first Carrot-Top to the door. As the servant opened it, they were greeted by armed guards. They were dressed in all black with their faces covered. The same mystical symbols glittered on their clothing. They each carried a secret weapon. One had a silver sword that could stretch 10 feet long. The next had a ball that created explosions, and the last one had a golden bow and arrow. Peter stared the three guards up and down, trying to see if they would look at him, but they never did. They were focused and never talked or made a move unless the Carrot-Tops did so first.
Off they went; they were led by two elves through a big double door. They were so huge that the Carrot-Tops had to look all the way up to see the door handles. The door was solid gold with different secret codes scattered all over it. The door had two big lion heads that looked like they were moving.
The family kept moving and looking over their shoulders. As they came closer to the door, it began to open. A beaming bright light came through the crack of the opening, blinding the family. They quickly put their hands over their faces and proceeded through the door.
At first the family could only see the bright beam of white light,