Chapter Twenty Two

What was the role that each of the creatures played in James’s plan?

In Chapter 22, James' plan is ready to be put into action. Half of Earthworm's body is perched atop the peach, with James hidden just below the surface, waiting for the first seagull. The other creatures are down below in the peach, ready to pull the Earthworm down as soon as James gave the cue. James also holds a string of silk in his hands, and when the first seagull comes in to eat Earthworm, James calls for the others to pull Earthworm down and loops the silk around the seagull's neck.

James and his companions continue this process over and over again. Slowly they put silk ropes around the necks of 500 seagulls, but the peach still has not risen out of the water. Yet the sharks can anticipate that they are about to lose their prey, and they begin attacking more ferociously. Everyone can feel the peach slowly sinking into the sea. Silkworm and Miss Spider are not convinced that they can produce any more silk, but James urges them to keep trying. They manage enough to rope in a 501st seagull, and as James ties the silk around the gull's neck the peach lurches upwards, but the escape isn't yet assured. With the 502nd seagull, the peach takes off towards the heavens like a balloon.