The Intrepid Canadian Expedition Page 3

  Afterward, at the reception, Stanley, Nick, and Arthur had a wonderful time together. Doctor Dave had been right about Arthur’s ankle—a few days of rest and it was as good as new.

  After a while, Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop came over to fetch the boys. “It’s time we congratulated the newlyweds.”

  As they walked over, Stanley told Nick about the groom. “Mr. Jones has a remarkable memory…. He never forgets anything!”

  And sure enough, when they reached Mr. Jones, he astonished them with his perfect recall. “Hello there, Stanley,” he said. “What do you hear from Egypt? That Sir Abu Shenti Hawara the fourth still in prison for trying to rob the tomb of Pharaoh Khufufull?”

  Mr. Lambchop came up then. “Congratulations, Ralph,” he said, shaking his friend’s hand. “That wonderful memory of yours should make for a happy marriage, I predict. At least you’ll never forget your anniversary!”

  “Let’s hope so,” Ralph Jones said. “But, you know, my excellent memory is the very thing that kept me from marrying Shelby years ago.” Here he paused to gaze down at his bride fondly. “All that time apart…what a waste!” He sighed.

  “What happened?” Stanley asked.

  “We went to high school together. I remembered that once, at a football game, Shelby had smiled fetchingly at the star quarterback. His name was B. F. Wellington. Big fellow. Everyone called him Beef. Beef Wellington…get it? Har, har. Except my heart was broken…. Shelby had smiled at him, not me. For all those years, Shelby denied it. But then finally, she admitted she had smiled at him…but only to make me jealous. So I forgave her and asked her to be my bride.”

  The new Mr. and Mrs. Jones kissed each other then.

  “In a marriage,” Mrs. Lambchop advised the groom, “forgiveness is much more important than memory.”

  “That sounds like good advice,” Mr. Jones said. “I’ll try to remember that.”

  That evening, the Lambchops enjoyed the Maple Leafs’ game very much. But all four of them agreed they were even happier to return home that evening.

  Stanley thumbtacked a newspaper clipping to the bulletin board over his bed. “OVER THE FALLS IS NO BARREL OF LAUGHS FOR TWO BRAVE BOYS,” read the headline.

  “That was quite a vacation,” Stanley said. “I wish you could have made the trip with me, though, Arthur.”

  “It was my fault,” Arthur said. “I was showing off on the ski slope. And Stanley…I’m sorry for all the teasing about your shape.”

  “That’s all right,” Stanley replied. “Actually, it’s kind of flat-tering.”

  He turned off the lamp, and the two brothers lay in their beds chuckling for a few minutes about Stanley’s joke. And then they fell fast asleep.

  THE END

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to

  DANA BONSTROM

  About the Authors

  JEFF BROWN created the beloved character of Flat Stanley as a bedtime story for his two sons. He has written other outrageous books about the Lambchop family, including FLAT STANLEY, STANLEY AND THE MAGIC LAMP, INVISIBLE STANLEY, STANLEY’S CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE, STANLEY IN SPACE, and STANLEY, FLAT AGAIN! You can learn more about Jeff Brown and Flat Stanley at www.flatstanleybooks.com.

  SARA PENNYPACKER is an award-winning writer whose books for children include the endearing CLEMENTINE. She lives in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

  MACKY PAMINTUAN is an accomplished illustrator. He lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with his wife and dog.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  CATCH FLAT STANLEY’S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES:

  The Mount Rushmore Calamity

  The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery

  The Japanese Ninja Surprise

  The Intrepid Canadian Expedition

  AND DON’T MISS ANY OF THESE OUTRAGEOUS STORIES:

  Flat Stanley: His Original Adventure!

  Stanley and the Magic Lamp

  Invisible Stanley

  Stanley’s Christmas Adventure

  Stanley in Space

  Stanley, Flat Again!

  Credits

  Jacket art by Macky Pamintuan

  Jacket design by Alison Klapthor

  Copyright

  FLAT STANLEY’S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES #4: THE INTREPID CANADIAN EXPEDITION. Text copyright © 2010 by the Trust u/w/o Richard C. Brown a/k/a Jeff Brown f/b/o Duncan Brown. Illustrations by Macky Pamintuan, copyright © 2010 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  EPub Edition © November 2009 ISBN: 978-0-06-196284-4

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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