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.When he saw the girls, he lifted himself higher in order to see what they were standing on.Then he smiled."Well, young ladies.Who might you be?""Are you Jack?" Sabrina asked."That's the name I was given," he replied with a chuckle."The Jack?" Daphne asked."As in 'Jack and the Beanstalk'?""Indeed I am, duck.But as you can see, I'm a little indisposed to be signing autographs." He laughed."We need your help!" Daphne cried."Well, I don't know if you happened to have noticed, but this isn't a country club I'm relaxing in.This is the county jail.Unless you need some help making license plates, I think you've got the wrong bloke.""We need your help with a giant," Sabrina said.Jack's eyes grew wide and a smile briefly lit up his features.Then he grew terribly serious and pulled his face closer to the bars."A giant, you said?""He's taken our grandmother," Sabrina replied."And we want her back!" Daphne added."Well, I don't blame you," the young man said."But exactly how does a human go about getting themselves in trouble with a giant?""We're Sabrina and Daphne Grimm.Our grandmother is.""Relda Grimm," Jack interrupted with a smirk."I should have guessed.Went and got herself in trouble with a big boy, eh?""Yes, she and Mr.Canis both," Daphne said."Canis, eh? Can't say I feel sorry about that," Jack growled."So what do you want from me?""We were told you were an expert on giants," Sabrina answered."We need you to tell us everything you can about how to stop this one and save our family.""It's true, I am an expert on the big boys.Killed nearly fifty of them in my day," Jack boasted."The books said it was less than twenty," Daphne said."Don't believe everything you read, duck," said Jack."I've sent more than my fair share of big boys to the grave.Why, there was a time when people used to call me Jack the Giant Killer.I was famous, oh yes.My name was once synonymous with bravery and daring.That was until the spell that trapped me in this barmy town.""What does barmy mean?" Daphne whispered to her sister.Sabrina shrugged.She was having trouble keeping up with Jack's accent."Now I'm taking any work I can.Do you know what the mighty Jack does for a living?"Sabrina began to get nervous as the young man's face filled with rage.She knew the answer to his question but thought it best to lie."No, I don't.""I sell shoes and suits at Harold's House of Big and Tall," Jack exploded."A lowly sales boy! I sat with kings.I drank the finest wines in the world.I filled my belly with exotic meats and socialized with the world's most interesting people and now, because of that cursed spell that keeps us here, I spend my days measuring inseams and helping people pick out insoles!""We're sorry," Daphne said."At least that's what I used to do.Today I quit!" Jack bragged."I have a feeling Jack the Giant Killer's luck is going to change.""So how did you end up in jail?" Sabrina asked."That miserable cur, Charming," Jack raged."Runs this town like it's his own personal kingdom and wants to keep the rest of us as peasants.""Did he give you the fat lip?" asked Sabrina."No.I had a disagreement with some business associates," Jack said, wiping his wound with a bloody handkerchief."No worries.You can't keep a bloke like me down, can you? No-siree-bob! You can count on that!""Jack, I hate to interrupt, but we've really got to hurry.Is there anything you can tell us that will help?" Sabrina said."Oh, I'm going to be a big help to you ladies," he said with a confident grin."Just as soon as the two of you break me out of jail."Chapter 8abrina gasped."You want us to help you break out of prison?"Jack nodded his head."Quite right.""How are we supposed to do that?" Sabrina asked."Easy, you go in through the front door and distract the guard.Then the little one here will hit him in the gob with a club or something and snatch his keys.""I'm seven years old.I can't hit someone with a club, and not in the gob—whatever that is!" Daphne cried."Sure you can.Deputy Crane isn't going to put up a fight.He's daft in the head and jumpy as a flea.But if he does happen to put up a fight, all you have to do is hit him in the shins.He'll fall over like a sack of potatoes," Jack replied."She's not hitting anyone with a club," Sabrina said."Well, if saving your granny and her pal isn't that important to you, I can just stay in the nick."Sabrina looked into Jack's hopeful face.How could this odd little man actually be the key to Granny and Mr [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]