Over the Rainbow with Googol and Googolplex

by Nelly Kazenbroot

  Troy smiles. “A ball of wool! That was another thing on your list.”

  The robots’ eyes brighten.

  “You can make a scarf or a hat with it,” Pippa tells them.

  “Or you can play a game with it,” Troy says.

  Troy breaks off a short piece of yarn and ties it in a loop. Then he and Pippa show the robots how to do a cat’s cradle on their fingers.

  The robots bleep and blurp excitedly as they watch.

  “Can we try too?” Googol asks.

  Pippa and Troy show them some of the easier moves.

  “That should keep them busy until we get back tomorrow,” Troy says to Pippa as they return to the log cabin.

  They don’t notice the wind that is already ruffling the tops of the tall trees around them.

  Chapter Five

  Pied Pipers

  That night, a bad windstorm howls through the trees. It breaks branches. It rattles the cabin’s windows and doors.

  Aunt Sara, Pippa and Troy don’t sleep very well. They keep getting woken up. At seven o’clock in the morning they meet in the kitchen for hot tea and raisin scones.

  Aunt Sara lies back on the couch and listens as the wind dies away.

  “Boy, did I have some weird dreams last night,” she mumbles over her teacup. “First there were cows in my bedroom. Then I was visited by two little robots. And the robots were mooing!”

  Suddenly, Pippa and Troy are wide-awake. They stuff the rest of their raisin scones into their mouths and run to the back windows.

  Aunt Sara’s back lawn is covered with broken branches. In between the branches are dozens of hoofprints and some odd wheel tracks.

  Pippa and Troy throw jackets over their pajamas and slip into their boots.

  “Aunt Sara!” Troy calls as he heads out the door with Pippa. “We have to run down to see Farmer Ben for a moment. We think his cows might have gotten out.”

  Aunt Sara’s eyes are closed. She has to force them back open. “What? Oh, sure. You do that. Tell him there might be a few in my bedroom.”

  Pippa and Troy find a long line of cows going down the hill beside Aunt Sara’s log cabin. They are heading for a small opening in Farmer Ben’s fence. Leading them are Googol and Googolplex. The robots are both mooing, and the cows are following them.

  “Googol! Googolplex!” Pippa and Troy call as they run to catch up.

  The robots stop and wait for them on the other side of the fence. The cows stream back onto the field.

  “What happened?” Troy asks.

  “Branches fell down and broke Farmer Ben’s fences,” Googol tells them.

  “And then his cows got out.” Googolplex’s head spins around three times. “They were walking all over your Aunt Sara’s backyard. Some of them were going onto the road.”

  “We were worried they might get hurt,” Googol says. “So we brought them back.”

  “We hope Farmer Ben won’t be mad at us for being in his fields again,” Googolplex says.

  Pippa smiles at them. “Don’t you worry about that. Farmer Ben will be very happy to have all his cows back.”

  “Now we just have to make sure that they don’t get out again,” Troy says.

  He stands in front of the broken fence after the last cow goes through.

  Googolplex opens his chest compartment and takes out the red ball of wool that Pippa gave him yesterday. It is much smaller than before.

  “We have been using this to block the openings in the fences,” Googolplex says.

  Googol takes the ball of yarn and zigzags the thread from one fencepost to another.

  “What a great idea!” Troy says. “That should keep the cows in until Farmer Ben gets here.”

  “Here he comes right now!” Pippa tells them.

  Googol and Googolplex hide in the middle of all the cows.

  Farmer Ben walks right up to Pippa and Troy. He looks over their heads at the zigzag of red wool between his fenceposts.

  Farmer Ben takes off his cap and scratches his head. He looks down at the hoofprint tracks coming from the other side of the fence.

  “I don’t know how you kids managed it,” he says.

  “Once these cows find a way off the farm, it can take hours to get them back.”

  Pippa and Troy grin at each other.

  “They follow you if you moo,” Pippa says.

  “We wouldn’t have come onto your field again otherwise,” Troy says. “But it was the only way to bring them back.”

  Farmer Ben clears his throat. “Never mind that. I appreciate you bringing all my cows back for me. That was a devil of a windstorm. I’ve got fences down all over the farm. I’m miles behind on the milking.”

  “We can string together some more of your broken fences, if you like,” Pippa offers. She has the robots’ red ball of wool in her hands.

  “Then you could get on with milking,” Troy says.

  The corners of Farmer Ben’s mouth twitch. “Thank you kindly, but I think I’ll send up young Ritchie with a hammer and a few nails. A knitted fence won’t keep these knot-heads in for more than an hour or two.”

  Troy and Pippa look down at the ground.

  “Mind, I could use a little help bringing the cows down for milking,” Farmer Ben says. “If you two aren’t tuckered out.”

  Troy and Pippa shake their heads. They run to the front of the line of cows and start mooing. The cows go right on eating grass.

  “Oh, Troy, what are we going to do?” Pippa whispers.

  Troy smiles. “Listen.”

  Googol and Googolplex start mooing in the middle of the cows. All the cows lift their heads and moo back. When the robots move up behind the very first cow and walk down the hill toward Pippa and Troy, all the cows follow.

  “Well, I’ll be darned!” Farmer Ben exclaims as the cows pass him by. “I would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!”

  Chapter Six

  Milking Rosie

  Pippa and Troy are worried Farmer Ben might see Googol and Googolplex. The robots have come into the barn with all the cows. Sometimes Pippa and Troy can see their yellow toes.

  But Googol and Googolplex don’t follow the cows very far into the barn. They roll behind a tall stack of hay bales and hide.

  Farmer Ben takes each Jersey cow and hooks her up to an electric milking machine.

  Pippa and Troy are disappointed.

  “Don’t you ever milk any of them by hand?” Troy asks.

  Farmer Ben comes down the line of cows still waiting to be hooked up for milking. He pats the rump of the last cow. She is a little smaller than the rest. She has lots of white whiskers under her chin.

  “Only Rosie. She’s getting old. She kind of likes the personal touch now and again. Don’t you, old girl?”

  Rosie looks around at the sound of Farmer Ben’s voice and moos.

  Farmer Ben leads her into a big stall and sits down on a stool at her side. He places a silver bucket under her.

  The farmer’s big hands slip around two of Rosie’s long, pink teats. He gently strokes downward. A stream of white milk tinkles into the bucket.

  “Everyone thinks you have to squeeze or pull really hard to milk a cow,” Farmer Ben says as he strokes stream after stream of milk out of Rosie’s udder. “But it’s more like holding onto something just tightly enough so you can slide off.”

  Farmer Ben looks up at Troy. “You want to have a go?”

  Troy nods. It only takes him a couple of tries to get the milk flowing.

  Farmer Ben slaps Troy on the back. “You’re a natural, son.”

  Pippa gets the milk flowing almost the moment her hands touch Rosie’s teats.

  Farmer Ben laughs and shakes his head. “Well, you two don’t need my help, that’s for sure. I’ll leave you to it while I hook up the rest of the cows for milking.”

  After Farmer Ben disappears down the barn with another cow, Troy runs to get Googol and Googolplex.

  The robots’ heads spin around
three times when they see Pippa milking Rosie.

  “Milking cows looks like fun,” Googolplex says.

  “It is,” says Troy. “But I’m afraid you have to have soft hands to do it.”

  Googol and Googolplex beep very sadly as they look down at their hard metal hands.

  “Humans are so lucky,” Googolplex says.

  “So very, very lucky,” Googol says.

  “Hold on a moment,” Pippa says. “I think I might have something that will make your hands soft.”

  Pippa gets up from the stool and sticks both hands deep into her coat pockets. Her fingers come out holding a pair of newly knitted mittens Aunt Sara gave her to take home.

  Troy laughs. “Those just might do the trick!”

  Pippa slips a mitten on Googolplex’s left hand. Troy slips a mitten on his right. They fit perfectly.

  “Now stand in front of the stool and wrap your hands around two of Rosie’s teats,” Troy tells Googolplex.

  “Good,” Pippa says. “Now all you have to do is hold on a little tightly and slide your hands down.”

  The next thing they all hear is the tinkle of milk in the bucket.

  “Oh, I did! I did it!” Googolplex cries. All the lights on his body flash brightly.

  Googol does just as well. By the time he is finished, their bucket is full of bubbly white milk.

  “You better hide again before Farmer Ben gets back,” Pippa tells the robots.

  Troy sticks his head around the end of the stall.

  “It’s too late,” he tells them. “I can see Farmer Ben coming.”

  “Don’t worry,” Googol says.

  Both robots put down their super-retractable, self-adhesive wheels and roll right up the wall at the end of Rosie’s stall. Then they roll right out the window.

  “So, how are you two doing?” Farmer Ben asks them as he walks in beside Rosie.

  “The bucket’s full,” Pippa tells him.

  “Well, so it is.”

  Farmer Ben swings the bucket of milk out from under Rosie. He carries it over to a big vat of churning milk and pours it in. “That milk has to be heated up before you can drink it. It’s called pasteurizing.”

  Pippa and Troy sigh. Now they are back where they started. They have no milk to give Googol and Googolplex for their scavenger hunt.

  “But over here,” Farmer Ben says as he reaches above their heads, “I have a special bottle of milk for your cereal in the morning.”

  “Oh, that’s great!” Troy says.

  “Thank you so much!” Pippa says.

  Pippa takes the bottle of milk and presses it tightly against her chest. She isn’t letting it get away from her this time. She holds onto it with both hands all the way back to Googol and Googolplex’s spaceship.

  Chapter Seven

  A Good Likeness

  Aunt Sara sleeps until lunchtime. When she wakes up, she finds Pippa and Troy in the kitchen making lettuce-and-ham sandwiches.

  “Well, I’m glad someone’s on the ball today!” Aunt Sara says.

  She climbs off the couch and stretches.

  “Would you like mustard on your sandwich, Aunt Sara?” Pippa asks.

  “Mmm. Lots of it. And mayonnaise and a sliced dill pickle,” Aunt Sara says. “I don’t know why, but I’m absolutely starving.”

  Aunt Sara joins them in the kitchen. She takes the knife out of Pippa’s hand when she sees her niece trying to slice up a pickle.

  “I’ll do that,” Aunt Sara says. “You and Troy can sit down and eat your own sandwiches.”

  Aunt Sara brings a carton of soy milk to the table when she joins them. She frowns when she sees half a bottle of cow’s milk on her dining table.

  “Where did that come from?” she asks.

  “Farmer Ben,” Troy tells her.

  “He gave it to us after we helped him catch his cows,” Pippa says.

  Pippa and Troy fill their glasses with the cow’s milk.

  It is the best milk that they have ever tasted. They are very glad that Googol and Googolplex made them keep some for themselves. After all, none of the robots on their Sunship can eat or drink. The robots are solar powered. They get their energy from the sun.

  “Well,” Aunt Sara says when she finishes her lunch, “I’ve wasted the morning, but I don’t plan to waste the afternoon.”

  Pippa and Troy look up sleepily from their half-eaten sandwiches.

  Aunt Sara shakes her head. “You poor things! Go into the living room and watch a little TV. You’ve earned a rest after all your cow-chasing.”

  Pippa and Troy collapse in front of their favorite cartoon.

  “We should be trying to find a way to get all the colors of the rainbow for Googol and Googolplex,” Pippa mumbles.

  “Mmmm,” Troy murmurs. “We should be helping Aunt Sara rake up all those broken branches on her lawn. But I’m too tired to do anything.”

  Pippa and Troy are both fast asleep within minutes. The last thing they see before going to sleep is the TV screen. The first things they see when they wake up are two square-headed robots.

  Pippa’s eyes fly open. “Googol! Googolplex!”

  “What are you doing in Aunt Sara’s house?” Troy asks as he sits up.

  “Your aunt has gone out in her car to get something called pizza,” Googolplex answers. “So we thought we’d surprise you.”

  Googol points to the big note that is taped to the front of the TV.

  Gone to get pizza for dinner.

  Back in half an hour.

  “Have you been recharging your batteries?” Googolplex asks.

  Pippa smiles. “Yes. We call it sleeping.”

  Troy pushes off the big quilt that Aunt Sara must have wrapped around him while he was asleep.

  “You know, you really shouldn’t be in here,” Troy tells the robots. “You never know when my aunt will turn up.”

  The lights dim in Googol and Googolplex’s eyes.

  Troy sighs.

  “All right. Come on, then,” he says. “We’ll give you a quick tour.”

  The first time the robots came to earth, they slid down Pippa and Troy’s chimney into their living room. They didn’t get to see the rest of their house. They have never seen a bathroom before.

  “Oh, houses are very interesting,” Googol says after he flushes the toilet.

  “I wish we could take one back to our Sunship,” Googolplex says.

  Pippa laughs. “I don’t think a house would fit into your spaceship.”

  The robots’ favorite room is the art studio. They stand for a long time in front of the painting of sunflowers that Aunt Sara has just finished. They beep and blurp happily as they stare at the bright yellow flowers and the blue summer sky.

  “Your aunt is very clever!” Googolplex says.

  “Very clever!” Googol says.

  A new canvas leans on the easel that is facing the window. Pippa walks around to take a look at what her aunt is painting this time.

  “Oh, no!” Pippa gasps.

  “What is it?” Troy asks.

  He runs around to look at the painting too. Googol and Googolplex follow.

  Troy’s mouth drops open. The robots’ heads each spin around three times.

  “It’s us!” Googol squeaks.

  And sure enough, it is. Aunt Sara’s new painting has a big rainbow in it and lots of cows. But in front of everything are two red-headed robots with bright yellow feet. They look just like Googol and Googolplex.

  Chapter Eight

  Aunt Sara’s Gift

  Pippa and Troy are sitting on the living-room couch watching cartoons when Aunt Sara arrives with the pizza.

  “You’re awake! Great!” Aunt Sara drops the pizza on the kitchen counter. “Come and help me set the table.”

  Pippa gets some forks and knives. Troy brings the plates.

  “Are you hungry?” Aunt Sara asks as she opens the pizza box.

  Pippa and Troy look down at their plates and nod.

  Aunt Sara laughs
. “I think you’re still half asleep. Well, eating something will wake you up. That ham sandwich you made me for lunch sure got me going. I raked the lawns clean, and then I came in and started a new painting.”

  Pippa and Troy freeze with pizza slices halfway to their mouths.

  “You’re going to think I’m crazy when you see it.” Aunt Sara chews up a mouthful of mushrooms and mozzarella. “It’s my dream painting.”

  “Your dream painting?” Pippa says slowly.

  Aunt Sara laughs. “You remember. I told you about the cows in my bedroom and the robots at the window. Well, I did a painting of them while you were asleep. And I threw in a rainbow just for fun.”

  Pippa and Troy sink back in their chairs.

  They had thought that Aunt Sara had found out about Googol and Googolplex. They had thought she was going to tell the whole world about them. But Aunt Sara still thought the robots were nothing but a funny dream!

  “Come on,” Aunt Sara says. “Eat up. I can’t get through this whole pizza by myself.”

  After that, Pippa and Troy enjoy their pizza. They also enjoy learning to make bead bracelets with Aunt Sara when dinner is over.

  Aunt Sara has dozens of different beads. One glass jar is filled with prisms.

  “Look, Troy!” Pippa exclaims.

  Troy’s eyes light up when Pippa holds up a teardrop prism. The evening sunlight shines in through the prism and out again in all the colors of the rainbow.

  “Perfect!” Troy says.

  Pippa laughs because he sounds just like Googol and Googolplex.

  Aunt Sara smiles. “They are beautiful, aren’t they? Why don’t you each pick out your favorite and we’ll make leather cord necklaces?”

  The next day, Pippa and Troy wear their new necklaces when they go outside to play. Pippa is wearing the teardrop prism, and Troy is wearing a nice square one.

  Googol’s and Googolplex’s eyes light up when they see the prisms.

  “Those are very pretty,” Googol says.

  “They’re not just pretty,” Troy tells them.

  “Look!”

  Troy takes off his necklace. He holds the prism in front of one of the spaceship windows. Rainbows of color sparkle all over the walls and ceiling.