Ot/er boo/s by RoulJ Ðu/l

BOY: TAIES OF CHIIDHOOD

BOY unJ GOING SOIO
CHARIIE AND THE CHOCOIATE FACTORY
CHARIIE AND THE GREAT GIASS EIEVATOR
THE COMPIETE ADVENTURES OF CHARIIE AND MR WIIIY WONKA
DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORID
GEORGE'S MARVEIIOUS MEDICINE
GOING SOIO
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
MATIIDA
THE WITCHES
Ior younger reuJers
THE ENORMOUS CROCODIIE
ESIO TROT
FANTASTIC MR FOX
THE GIRAFFE AND THE PEIIY AND ME
THE MAGIC FINGER
THE TWITS
Picture boo/s
DIRTY BEASTS (wit/ Quentin Blu/e)
THE ENORMOUS CROCODIIE (wit/ Quentin Blu/e)
THE GIRAFFE AND THE PEIIY AND ME (wit/ Quentin Blu/e)
THE MINPINS (wit/ Putric/ Benson)
REVOITING RHYMES (wit/ Quentin Blu/e)
Pluys
THE BFG: PIAYS FOR CHIIDREN (AJupteJ by ÐuviJ WooJ)
CHARIIE AND THE CHOCOIATE FACTORY: A PIAY (AJupteJ by Ric/urJ George)
FANTASTIC MR FOX: A PIAY (AJupteJ by Sully ReiJ)
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH: A PIAY (AJupteJ by Ric/urJ George)
THE TWITS: PIAYS FOR CHIIDREN (AJupteJ by ÐuviJ WooJ)
THE WITCHES: PIAYS FOR CHIIDREN (AJupteJ by ÐuviJ WooJ)
Teenuge fiction
THE GREAT AUTOMATIC GRAMMATIZATOR AND OTHER STORIES
RHYME STEW
SKIN AND OTHER STORIES
THE VICAR OF NIBBIESWICKE
THE WONDERFUI STORY OF HENRY SUCAR AND SIX MORE
PUFFIN BOOKS
PubIIshed by the PenguIn Gfoup
PenguIn Books Itd, 80 Stfand, Iondon WC2R 0RI, EngIand
PenguIn Gfoup (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Stfeet, New Yofk, New Yofk 10014, USA
PenguIn Gfoup (Canada), 90 EgIInton Avenue East, SuIte 700, Tofonto, OntafIo, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a dIvIsIon of Peafson
PenguIn Canada Inc.)
PenguIn IfeIand, 25 St Stephen's Gfeen, DubIIn 2, IfeIand (a dIvIsIon of PenguIn Books Itd)
PenguIn Gfoup (AustfaIIa), 250 CambefweII Road, CambefweII, VIctofIa 3124, AustfaIIa (a dIvIsIon of Peafson AustfaIIa
Gfoup Pty Itd)
PenguIn Books IndIa Pvt Itd, 11 CommunIty Centfe, PanchsheeI Pafk, New DeIhI ÷ 110 017, IndIa
PenguIn Gfoup (NZ), 67 ApoIIo DfIve, RosedaIe, Nofth Shofe 0632, New ZeaIand (a dIvIsIon of Peafson New ZeaIand Itd)
PenguIn Books (South AffIca) (Pty) Itd, 24 Stufdee Avenue, Rose bank, Johannesbufg 2196, South AffIca
PenguIn Books Itd, RegIstefed OffIces: 80 Stfand, Iondon WC2R 0RI, EngIand
puffInbooks.com
FIfst pubIIshed by Jonathan Cape Itd 1982
FIfst pubIIshed In the USA by Faffaf, Stfaus and GIfoux 1982
PubIIshed In PuffIn Books 1984
ThIs edItIon pubIIshed 2007
2
Text copyfIght © RoaId DahI NomInee Itd, 1982
IIIustfatIons copyfIght © QuentIn BIake, 1982
AII fIghts fesefved
The mofaI fIght of the authof and IIIustfatof has been assefted
Except In the UnIted States of AmefIca, thIs book Is soId subject to the condItIon that It shaII not, by way of tfade of
othefwIse, be Ient, fe-soId, hIfed out, of othefwIse cIfcuIated wIthout the pubIIshef's pfIof consent In any fofm of bIndIng
of covef othef than that In It Is pubIIshed and wIthout a sImIIaf condItIon IncIudIng thIs condItIon beIng whIch Imposed
on the subsequent pufchasef
BfItIsh IIbfafy CataIoguIng In PubIIcatIon Data
A CIP cataIogue fecofd fof thIs book Is avaIIabIe ffom the BfItIsh IIbfafy
ISBN: 978-0-14-193013-8
Ior Oliviu
20 ApfII 1955÷17 Novembef 1962
Contents
List of C/uructers
The WItchIng Houf
Who?
The Snatch
The Cave
The BFG
The GIants
The MafveIIous Eafs
Snozzcumbefs
The BIoodbottIef
FfobscottIe and WhIzzpoppefs
Joufney to Dfeam Countfy
Dfeam-CatchIng
A TfoggIehumpef fof the FIeshIumpeatef
Dfeams
The Gfeat PIan
MIxIng the Dfeam
Joufney to Iondon
The PaIace
The Queen
The RoyaI Bfeakfast
The PIan
Captufe!
FeedIng TIme
The Authof
T/e c/uructers in t/is boo/ ure.
HUMANS:
THE QUEEN OF ENGIAND
MARY, the Queen's maId
MR TIBBS, the PaIace butIef
THE HEAD OF THE ARMY
THE HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE
AnJ, of course, SOPHIE, un orp/un
GIANTS:
THE FIESHIUMPEATER
THE BONECRUNCHER
THE MANHUGGER
THE CHIIDCHEWER
THE MEATDRIPPER
THE GIZZARDGUIPER
THE MAIDMASHER
THE BIOODBOTTIER
THE BUTCHER BOY
AnJ, of course, THE BFG
The Witching Hour
SophIe couIdn't sIeep.
A bfIIIIant moonbeam was sIantIng thfough a gap In the cuftaIns. It was shInIng
fIght on to hef pIIIow.
The othef chIIdfen In the dofmItofy had been asIeep fof houfs.
SophIe cIosed hef eyes and Iay quIte stIII. She tfIed vefy hafd to doze off.
It was no good. The moonbeam was IIke a sIIvef bIade sIIcIng thfough the foom on to
hef face.
The house was absoIuteIy sIIent. No voIces came up ffom downstaIfs. Thefe wefe no
footsteps on the fIoof above eIthef.
The wIndow behInd the cuftaIn was wIde open, but nobody was waIkIng on the
pavement outsIde. No cafs went by on the stfeet. Not the tInIest sound couId be heafd
anywhefe. SophIe had nevef known such a sIIence.
Pefhaps, she toId hefseIf, thIs was what they caIIed the wItchIng houf.
The wItchIng houf, somebody had once whIspefed to hef, was a specIaI moment In
the mIddIe of the nIght when evefy chIId and evefy gfown-up was In a deep deep sIeep,
and aII the dafk thIngs came out ffom hIdIng and had the wofId to themseIves.
The moonbeam was bfIghtef than evef on SophIe's pIIIow. She decIded to get out of bed
and cIose the gap In the cuftaIns.
You got punIshed If you wefe caught out of bed aftef IIghts-out. Even If you saId you
had to go to the Iavatofy, that was not accepted as an excuse and they punIshed you just
the same. But thefe was no one about now, SophIe was sufe of that.
She feached out fof hef gIasses that Iay on the chaIf besIde hef bed. They had steeI
fIms and vefy thIck Ienses, and she couId hafdIy see a thIng wIthout them. She put them
on, then she sIIpped out of bed and tIptoed ovef to the wIndow.
When she feached the cuftaIns, SophIe hesItated. She Ionged to duck undefneath them
and Iean out of the wIndow to see what the wofId Iooked IIke now that the wItchIng
houf was at hand.
She IIstened agaIn. Evefywhefe It was deathIy stIII.
The IongIng to Iook out became so stfong she couIdn't fesIst It. QuIckIy, she ducked
undef the cuftaIns and Ieaned out of the wIndow.
In the sIIvefy moonIIght, the vIIIage stfeet she knew so weII seemed compIeteIy
dIffefent. The houses Iooked bent and cfooked, IIke houses In a faIfy taIe. EvefythIng
was paIe and ghostIy and mIIky-whIte.
Acfoss the foad, she couId see Mfs Rance's shop, whefe you bought buttons and wooI
and bIts of eIastIc. It dIdn't Iook feaI. Thefe was somethIng dIm and mIsty about that
too.
SophIe aIIowed hef eye to tfaveI fufthef and fufthef down the stfeet.
SuddenIy she ffoze. T/ere wus somet/ing coming up t/e street on t/e opposite siJe.
It wus somet/ing bluc/.
Somet/ing tull unJ bluc/.
Somet/ing very tull unJ very bluc/ unJ very t/in.
Who?
It wasn't a human. It couIdn't be. It was fouf tImes as taII as the taIIest human. It was so
taII Its head was hIghef than the upstaIfs wIndows of the houses. SophIe opened hef
mouth to scfeam, but no sound came out. Hef thfoat, IIke hef whoIe body, was ffozen
wIth ffIght.
ThIs was the wItchIng houf aII fIght.
The taII bIack fIgufe was comIng hef way. It was keepIng vefy cIose to the houses
acfoss the stfeet, hIdIng In the shadowy pIaces whefe thefe was no moonIIght.
On and on It came, neafef and neafef. But It was movIng In spufts. It wouId stop,
then It wouId move on, then It wouId stop agaIn.
But what on eafth was It doIng?
Ah-ha! SophIe couId see now what It was up to. It was stoppIng In ffont of each
house. It wouId stop and peef Into the upstaIfs wIndow of each house In the stfeet. It
actuaIIy had to bend down to peef Into the upstaIfs wIndows. That's how taII It was.
It wouId stop and peef In. Then It wouId sIIde on to the next house and stop agaIn,
and peef In, and so on aII aIong the stfeet.
It was much cIosef now and SophIe couId see It mofe cIeafIy.
IookIng at It cafefuIIy, she decIded It /uJ to be some kInd of PERSON. ObvIousIy It was
not a human. But It was defInIteIy a PERSON.
A GIANT PERSON, pefhaps.
SophIe stafed hafd acfoss the mIsty moonIIt stfeet. The GIant (If that was what he
was) was weafIng a Iong BIACK CIOAK.
In one hand he was hoIdIng what Iooked IIke a VERY IONG, THIN TRUMPET.
In the othef hand, he heId a IARGE SUITCASE.
The GIant had stopped now fIght In ffont of Mf and Mfs Goochey's house. The
Goocheys had a gfeengfocef's shop In the mIddIe of the HIgh Stfeet, and the famIIy IIved
above the shop. The two Goochey chIIdfen sIept In the upstaIfs ffont foom, SophIe knew
that.
The GIant was peefIng thfough the wIndow Into the foom whefe MIchaeI and Jane
Goochey wefe sIeepIng. Ffom acfoss the stfeet, SophIe watched and heId hef bfeath.
She saw the GIant step back a pace and put the suItcase down on the pavement. He bent
ovef and opened the suItcase. He took somethIng out of It. It Iooked IIke a gIass jaf, one
of those squafe ones wIth a scfew top. He unscfewed the top of the jaf and poufed what
was In It Into the end of the Iong tfumpet thIng.
SophIe watched, tfembIIng.
She saw the GIant stfaIghten up agaIn and she saw hIm poke the tfumpet In thfough
the open upstaIfs wIndow of the foom whefe the Goochey chIIdfen wefe sIeepIng. She
saw the GIant take a deep bfeath and w/oof, he bIew thfough the tfumpet.
No noIse came out, but It was obvIous to SophIe that whatevef had been In the jaf
had now been bIown thfough the tfumpet Into the Goochey chIIdfen's bedfoom.
What couId It be?
As the GIant wIthdfew the tfumpet ffom the wIndow and bent down to pIck up the
suItcase he happened to tufn hIs head and gIance acfoss the stfeet.
In the moonIIght, SophIe caught a gIImpse of an enofmous Iong paIe wfInkIy face
wIth the most enofmous eafs. The nose was as shafp as a knIfe, and above the nose
thefe wefe two bfIght fIashIng eyes, and the eyes wefe stafIng stfaIght at SophIe. Thefe
was a fIefce and devIIIsh Iook about them.
SophIe gave a yeIp and puIIed back ffom the wIndow. She fIew acfoss the dofmItofy
and jumped Into hef bed and hId undef the bIanket.
And thefe she cfouched, stIII as a mouse, and tIngIIng aII ovef.
The Snatch
Undef the bIanket, SophIe waIted.
Aftef a mInute of so, she IIfted a cofnef of the bIanket and peeped out.
Fof the second tIme that nIght hef bIood ffoze to Ice and she wanted to scfeam, but
no sound came out. Thefe at the wIndow, wIth the cuftaIns pushed asIde, was the
enofmous Iong paIe wfInkIy face of the GIant Pefson, stafIng In. The fIashIng bIack eyes
wefe fIxed on SophIe's bed.
The next moment, a huge hand wIth paIe fIngefs came snakIng In thfough the
wIndow. ThIs was foIIowed by an afm, an afm as thIck as a tfee-tfunk, and the afm, the
hand, the fIngefs wefe feachIng out acfoss the foom towafds SophIe's bed.
ThIs tIme SophIe feaIIy dId scfeam, but onIy fof a second because vefy quIckIy the
huge hand cIamped down ovef hef bIanket and the scfeam was smothefed by the
bedcIothes.
SophIe, cfouchIng undefneath the bIanket, feIt stfong fIngefs gfaspIng hoId of hef,
and then she was IIfted up ffom hef bed, bIanket and aII, and whIsked out of the
wIndow.
If you can thInk of anythIng mofe teffIfyIng than that happenIng to you In the mIddIe of
the nIght, then Iet's heaf about It.
The awfuI thIng was that SophIe knew exactIy what was goIng on aIthough she
couIdn't see It happenIng. She knew that a Monstef (of GIant) wIth an enofmous Iong
paIe wfInkIy face and dangefous eyes had pIucked hef ffom hef bed In the mIddIe of the
wItchIng houf and was now caffyIng hef out thfough the wIndow smothefed In a
bIanket.
What actuaIIy happened next was thIs. When the GIant had got SophIe outsIde, he
affanged the bIanket so that he couId gfasp aII the fouf cofnefs of It at once In one of
hIs huge hands, wIth SophIe ImpfIsoned InsIde. In the othef hand he seIzed the suItcase
and the Iong tfumpet thIng and off he fan.
SophIe, by squIfmIng afound InsIde the bIanket, managed to push the top of hef head
out thfough a IIttIe gap just beIow the GIant's hand. She stafed afound hef.
She saw the vIIIage houses fushIng by on both sIdes. The GIant was spfIntIng down
the HIgh Stfeet. He was funnIng so fast hIs bIack cIoak was stfeamIng out behInd hIm
IIke the wIngs of a bIfd. Each stfIde he took was as Iong as a tennIs couft. Out of the
vIIIage he fan, and soon they wefe facIng acfoss the moonIIt fIeIds. The hedges dIvIdIng
the fIeIds wefe no pfobIem to the GIant. He sImpIy stfode ovef them. A wIde fIvef
appeafed In hIs path. He cfossed It In one fIyIng stfIde.
SophIe cfouched In the bIanket, peefIng out. She was beIng bumped agaInst the
GIant's Ieg IIke a sack of potatoes. Ovef the fIeIds and hedges and fIvefs they went, and
aftef a whIIe a ffIghtenIng thought came Into SophIe's head. T/e Giunt is running fust, she
toId hefseIf, becuuse /e is /ungry unJ /e wunts to get /ome us quic/ly us possible, unJ t/en
/e'll /uve me for breu/fust.
The Cave
The GIant fan on and on. But now a cufIous change took pIace In hIs way of funnIng.
He seemed suddenIy to go Into a hIghef geaf. Fastef and fastef he went and soon he was
tfaveIIIng at such a speed that the Iandscape became bIuffed. The wInd stung SophIe's
cheeks. It made hef eyes watef. It whIpped hef head back and whIstIed In hef eafs. She
couId no Iongef feeI the GIant's feet touchIng the gfound. She had a weIfd sensatIon they
wefe fIyIng. It was ImpossIbIe to teII whethef they wefe ovef Iand of sea. ThIs GIant had
some soft of magIc In hIs Iegs. The wInd fushIng agaInst SophIe's face became so stfong
that she had to duck down agaIn Into the bIanket to pfevent hef head ffom beIng bIown
away.
Was It feaIIy possIbIe that they wefe cfossIng oceans? It ceftaInIy feIt that way to
SophIe. She cfouched In the bIanket and IIstened to the howIIng of the wInd. It went on
fof what seemed IIke houfs.
Then aII at once the wInd stopped Its howIIng. The pace began to sIow down. SophIe
couId feeI the GIant's feet poundIng once agaIn ovef the eafth. She poked hef head up
out of the bIanket to have a Iook. They wefe In a countfy of thIck fofests and fushIng
fIvefs. The GIant had defInIteIy sIowed down and was now funnIng mofe nofmaIIy,
aIthough nofmaI was a sIIIy wofd to use to descfIbe a gaIIopIng gIant. He Ieaped ovef a
dozen fIvefs. He went fattIIng thfough a gfeat fofest, then down Into a vaIIey and up
ovef a fange of hIIIs as bafe as concfete, and soon he was gaIIopIng ovef a desoIate
wasteIand that was not quIte of thIs eafth. The gfound was fIat and paIe yeIIow. Gfeat
Iumps of bIue fock wefe scattefed afound, and dead tfees stood evefywhefe IIke
skeIetons. The moon had Iong sInce dIsappeafed and now the dawn was bfeakIng.
SophIe, stIII peefIng out ffom the bIanket, saw suddenIy ahead of hef a gfeat cfaggy
mountaIn. The mountaIn was dafk bIue and aII afound It the sky was gushIng and
gIIstenIng wIth IIght. BIts of paIe goId wefe fIyIng among deIIcate ffosty-whIte fIakes of
cIoud, and ovef to one sIde the fIm of the mofnIng sun was comIng up fed as bIood.
RIght beneath the mountaIn, the GIant stopped. He was puffIng mIghtIIy. HIs gfeat
chest was heavIng In and out. He paused to catch hIs bfeath.
DIfectIy In ffont of them, IyIng agaInst the sIde of the mountaIn, SophIe couId see a
massIve found stone. It was as bIg as a house. The GIant feached out and foIIed the
stone to one sIde as easIIy as If It had been a footbaII, and now, whefe the stone had
been, thefe appeafed a vast bIack hoIe. The hoIe was so Iafge the GIant dIdn't even have
to duck hIs head as he went In. He stfode Into the bIack hoIe stIII caffyIng SophIe In one
hand, the tfumpet and the suItcase In the othef.
As soon as he was InsIde, he stopped and tufned and foIIed the gfeat stone back Into
pIace so that the entfance to hIs secfet cave was compIeteIy hIdden ffom outsIde.
Now that the entfance had been seaIed up, thefe was not a gIInt of IIght InsIde the
cave. AII was bIack.
SophIe feIt hefseIf beIng Iowefed to the gfound. Then the GIant Iet go the bIanket
compIeteIy. HIs footsteps moved away. SophIe sat thefe In the dafk, shIvefIng wIth feaf.
He Is gettIng feady to eat me, she toId hefseIf. He wIII pfobabIy eat me faw, just as I
am.
Of pefhaps he wIII boII me fIfst.
Of he wIII have me ffIed. He wIII dfop me IIke a fashef of bacon Into some gIgantIc
ffyIng-pan sIzzIIng wIth fat.
A bIaze of IIght suddenIy IIt up the whoIe pIace. SophIe bIInked and stafed.
She saw an enofmous cavefn wIth a hIgh focky foof.
The waIIs on eIthef sIde wefe IIned wIth sheIves, and on the sheIves thefe stood fow
upon fow of gIass jafs. Thefe wefe jafs evefywhefe. They wefe pIIed up In the cofnefs.
They fIIIed evefy nook and cfanny of the cave.
In the mIddIe of the fIoof thefe was a tabIe tweIve feet hIgh and a chaIf to match.
The GIant took off hIs bIack cIoak and hung It agaInst the waII. SophIe saw that undef
the cIoak he was weafIng a soft of coIIafIess shIft and a dIfty oId Ieathef waIstcoat that
dIdn't seem to have any buttons. HIs tfousefs wefe faded gfeen and wefe faf too shoft In
the Iegs. On hIs bafe feet he was weafIng a paIf of fIdIcuIous sandaIs that fof some
feason had hoIes cut aIong each sIde, wIth a Iafge hoIe at the end whefe hIs toes stuck
out. SophIe, cfouchIng on the fIoof of the cave In hef nIghtIe, gazed back at hIm thfough
thIck steeI-fImmed gIasses. She was tfembIIng IIke a Ieaf In the wInd, and a fIngef of Ice
was funnIng up and down the Iength of hef spIne.
'Ha!' shouted the GIant, waIkIng fofwafd and fubbIng hIs hands togethef. 'What has
us got hefe?' HIs boomIng voIce foIIed afound the waIIs of the cave IIke a bufst of
thundef.
The BFG
The GIant pIcked up the tfembIIng SophIe wIth one hand and caffIed hef acfoss the cave
and put hef on the tabIe.
Now he feaIIy Is goIng to eat me, SophIe thought.
The GIant sat down and stafed hafd at SophIe. He had tfuIy enofmous eafs. Each one
was as bIg as the wheeI of a tfuck and he seemed to be abIe to move them Inwafds and
outwafds ffom hIs head as he wIshed.
'I Is hungfy!' the GIant boomed. He gfInned, showIng massIve squafe teeth. The teeth
wefe vefy whIte and vefy squafe and they sat In hIs mouth IIke huge sIIces of whIte
bfead.
'P. pIease don't eat me,' SophIe stammefed.
The GIant Iet out a beIIow of Iaughtef. 'Just because I Is a gIant, you thInk I Is a man-
gobbIIng cannybuII!' he shouted. 'You Is about fIght! GIants Is aII cannybuIIy and
mufdeffuI! And they Joes gobbIe up human beans! We Is In GIant Countfy now! GIants
Is evefywhefe afound! Out thefe us has the famous BonecfunchIng GIant! BonecfunchIng
GIant cfunches up two wopsey whIffIIng human beans fof suppef evefy nIght! NoIse Is
eafbufstIng! NoIse of cfunchIng bones goes cfackety-cfack fof mIIes afound!'
'Owch!' SophIe saId.
'BonecfunchIng GIant onIy gobbIes human beans ffom Tufkey' the GIant saId. 'Evefy
nIght Bonecfunchef Is gaIIopIng off to Tufkey to gobbIe Tufks.'
SophIe's sense of patfIotIsm was suddenIy so bfuIsed by thIs femafk that she became
quIte angfy 'Why Tufks?' she bIufted out. 'What's wfong wIth the EngIIsh?'
'BonecfunchIng GIant says Tufks Is tastIng oh evef so much juIcIef and mofe
scfumdIddIyumptIous! Bonecfunchef says TufkIsh human beans has a gIamoufIy fIavouf.
He says Tufks ffom Tufkey Is tastIng of tufkey.'
'I suppose they wouId,' SophIe saId.
'Of coufse they wouId!' the GIant shouted. 'Evefy human bean Is dIddIy and dIffefent.
Some Is scfumdIddIyumptIous and some Is uckysIush. Gfeeks Is aII fuII of uckysIush. No
gIant Is eatIng Gfeeks, evef.'
'Why not?' SophIe asked.
'Gfeeks ffom Gfeece Is aII tastIng gfeasy' the GIant saId.
'I ImagIne that's possIbIe too,' SophIe saId. She was wondefIng wIth a bIt of a
tfembIe what aII thIs taIkIng about eatIng peopIe was IeadIng up to. Whatevef
happened, she sImpIy must pIay aIong wIth thIs pecuIIaf gIant and smIIe at hIs jokes.
But wefe they jokes? Pefhaps the gfeat bfute was just wofkIng up an appetIte by
taIkIng about food.
'As I am sayIng,' the GIant went on, 'aII human beans Is havIng dIffefent fIavoufs.
Human beans ffom Panama Is tastIng vefy stfong of hats.'
'Why hats?' SophIe saId.
'You Is not vefy cIevef,' the GIant saId, movIng hIs gfeat eafs In and out. 'I thought
aII human beans Is fuII of bfaIns, but youf head Is emptIef than a bundongIe.'
'Do you IIke vegetabIes?' SophIe asked, hopIng to steef the convefsatIon towafds a
sIIghtIy Iess dangefous kInd of food.
'You Is tfyIng to change the subject,' the GIant saId stefnIy. 'We Is havIng an
IntefestIng babbIement about the taste of the human bean. The human bean Is not a
vegetabIe.'
'Oh, but the bean is a vegetabIe,' SophIe saId.
'Not the /umun bean,' the GIant saId. 'The human bean has two Iegs and a vegetabIe
has no Iegs at aII.'
SophIe dIdn't afgue any mofe. The Iast thIng she wanted to do was to make the GIant
cfoss.
'The human bean,' the GIant went on, 'Is comIng In dIIIIons of dIffefent fIavoufs. Fof
Instance, human beans ffom WaIes Is tastIng vefy whooshey of fIsh. Thefe Is somethIng
vefy fIshy about WaIes.'
'You means whaIes,' SophIe saId. 'WaIes Is somethIng quIte dIffefent.'
'WaIes Is w/ules', the GIant saId. 'Don't gobbIefunk afound wIth wofds. I wIII now
gIve you anothef exampIe. Human beans ffom Jefsey has a most dIsgustabIe wooIIy
tIckIe on the tongue,' the GIant saId. 'Human beans ffom Jefsey Is tastIng of cafdIgans.'
'You mean jefseys,' SophIe saId.
'You afe once agaIn gobbIefunkIng!' the GIant shouted. 'Don't do It! ThIs Is a sefIous
and snItchIng subject. May I contInue?'
'PIease do,' SophIe saId.
'Danes ffom Denmafk Is tastIng evef so much of dogs,' the GIant went on.
'Of coufse,' SophIe saId. 'They taste of gfeat danes.'
'Wfong!' cfIed the GIant, sIappIng hIs thIgh. 'Danes ffom Denmafk Is tastIng doggy
because they Is tastIng of lubruJors!'
'Then what do the peopIe of Iabfadof taste of?' SophIe asked.
'Danes,' the GIant cfIed, tfIumphantIy. 'Gfeat danes!'
'Afen't you gettIng a bIt mIxed up?' SophIe saId.
'I Is a vefy mIxed-up GIant,' the GIant saId. 'But I does do my best. And I Is not
neafIy as mIxed up as the othef gIants. I know one who gaIIops aII the way to
WeIIIngton fof hIs suppef.'
'WeIIIngton?' SophIe saId. 'Whefe Is WeIIIngton?'
'Youf head Is fuII of squashed fIIes,' the GIant saId. 'WeIIIngton Is In New ZeaIand.
The human beans In WeIIIngton has an especIaIIy scfumdIddIyumptIous taste, so says
the WeIIy-eatIng GIant.'
'What do the peopIe of WeIIIngton taste of?' SophIe asked.
'Boots,' the GIant saId.
'Of coufse,' SophIe saId. 'I shouId have known.'
SophIe decIded that thIs convefsatIon had now gone on Iong enough. If she was
goIng to be eaten, she'd fathef get It ovef and done wIth fIght away than be kept
hangIng afound any mofe. 'What soft of human beIngs do you eat?' she asked,
tfembIIng.
'Me!' shouted the GIant, hIs mIghty voIce makIng the gIass jafs fattIe on theIf sheIves.
'Me gobbIIng up human beans! ThIs I nevef! The othefs, yes! AII the othefs Is gobbIIng
them up evefy nIght, but not me! I Is a ffeaky GIant! I Is a nIce and jumbIy GIant! I Is
the onIy nIce and jumbIy GIant In GIant Countfy! I Is THE BIG FRIENDIY GIANT! I Is the BFG.
What Is your name?'
'My name Is SophIe,' SophIe saId, hafdIy dafIng to beIIeve the good news she had just
heafd.
The Giants
'But If you afe so nIce and ffIendIy,' SophIe saId, 'then why dId you snatch me ffom my
bed and fun away wIth me?'
'Because you SAW me,' the BIg FfIendIy GIant answefed. 'If anyone Is evef SEEING a
gIant, he of she must be taken away hIpswItch.'
'Why?' asked SophIe.
'WeII, fIfst of aII,' saId the BFG, 'human beans Is not feaIIy believing In gIants, Is
they? Human beans Is not t/in/ing we exIst.'
'I do,' SophIe saId.
'Ah, but that Is onIy because you has SEEN me!' cfIed the BFG. 'I cannot possIbIy aIIow
unyone, even IIttIe gIfIs, to be SEEING me and stayIng at home. The fIfst thIng you wouId
be doIng, you wouId be scuddIIng afound yodeIIIng the news that you wefe actuaIIy
SEEING a gIant, and then a gfeat gIant-hunt, a mIghty gIant Iook-see, wouId be staftIng
up aII ovef the wofId, wIth the human beans aII fummagIng fof the gfeat gIant you saw
and gettIng wIIdIy excIted. PeopIe wouId be comIng fushIng and bushIng aftef me wIth
goodness knows what and they wouId be catchIng me and IockIng me Into a cage to be
stafed at. They wouId be puttIng me Into the zoo of the bunkumhouse wIth aII those
squIggIIng hIppodumpIIngs and cfockadowndIIIIes.'
SophIe knew that what the GIant saId was tfue. If any pefson fepofted actuaIIy
havIng seen a gIant hauntIng the stfeets of a town at nIght, thefe wouId most ceftaInIy
be a teffIfIc huIIabaIoo acfoss the wofId.
'I wIII bet you,' the BFG went on, 't/ut you wouId have been spIashIng the news aII
ovef the wonky wofId, wouIdn't you, If I hadn't wIggIed you away?'
'I suppose I wouId,' SophIe saId.
'And that wouId nevef do,' saId the BFG.
'So what wIII happen to me now?' SophIe asked.
'If you do go back, you wIII be teIIIng the wofId,' saId the BFG, 'most IIkeIy on the
teIIy-teIIy bunkum box and the fadIo squeakef. So you wIII just have to be stayIng hefe
wIth me fof the fest of youf IIfe.'
'Oh no!' cfIed SophIe.
'Oh yes!' saId the BFG. 'But I am wafnIng you not evef to go whIffIIng about out of
thIs cave wIthout I Is wIth you of you wIII be comIng to an ucky-mucky end! I Is showIng
you now who Is goIng to eat you up If they Is evef catchIng even one tIny IIttIe gIImp of
you.'
The BIg FfIendIy GIant pIcked SophIe off the tabIe and caffIed hef to the cave entfance.
He foIIed the huge stone to one sIde and saId, 'Peep out ovef thefe, IIttIe gIfI, and teII
me what you Is seeIng.'
SophIe, sIttIng on the BFG's hand, peeped out of the cave.
The sun was up now and shInIng fIefy-hot ovef the gfeat yeIIow wasteIand wIth Its
bIue focks and dead tfees.
'Is you seeIng them?' the BFG asked.
SophIe, squIntIng thfough the gIafe of the sun, saw sevefaI tfemendous taII fIgufes
movIng among the focks about fIve hundfed yafds away. Thfee of fouf othefs wefe
sIttIng quIte motIonIess on the focks themseIves.
'ThIs Is GIant Countfy,' the BFG saId. 'Those Is aII gIants, evefy one.'
It was a bfaIn-boggIIng sIght. The gIants wefe aII naked except fof a soft of shoft
skIft afound theIf waIsts, and theIf skIns wefe bufnt bfown by the sun. But It was the
sheef sIze of each one of them that boggIed SophIe's bfaIn most of aII. They wefe sImpIy
coIossaI, faf taIIef and wIdef than the BIg FfIendIy GIant upon whose hand she was now
sIttIng. And oh how ugIy they wefe! Many of them had Iafge beIIIes. AII of them had
Iong afms and bIg feet. They wefe too faf away fof theIf faces to be seen cIeafIy, and
pefhaps that was a good thIng.
'What on eafth afe they doIng?' SophIe asked.
'NothIng,' saId the BFG. 'They Is just moocheIIng and footcheIIng afound and waItIng
fof the nIght to come. Then they wIII aII be gaIIopIng off to pIaces whefe people Is IIvIng
to fInd theIf suppefs.'
'You mean to Tufkey,' SophIe saId.
'BonecfunchIng GIant wIII be gaIIopIng to Tufkey, of coufse,' saId the BFG. 'But the
othefs wIII be whIffIIng off to aII softs of fIungaway pIaces IIke WeIIIngton fof the booty
fIavouf and Panama fof the hatty taste. Evefy gIant Is havIng hIs own favoufIte huntIng
gfound.'
'Do they evef go to EngIand?' SophIe asked.
'Often,' saId the BFG. 'They say the EngIIsh Is tastIng evef so wondeffuIIy of
cfodscoIIop.'
'I'm not sufe I quIte know what that means,' SophIe saId.
'MeanIngs Is not Impoftant,' saId the BFG. 'I cannot be fIght aII the tIme. QuIte often
I Is Ieft Instead of fIght.'
'And afe aII those beastIy gIants ovef thefe feaIIy goIng off agaIn tonIght to eat
peopIe?' SophIe asked.
'AII of them Is guzzIIng human beans evefy nIght,' the BFG answefed. 'AII of them
exceptIng me. That Is why you wIII be comIng to an ucky-mucky end If any of them
shouId evef be gettIng hIs goggIefs upon you. You wouId be swaIIowed up IIke a pIece of
ffumpkIn pIe, aII In one doIIop!'
'But eatIng peopIe Is hoffIbIe!' SophIe cfIed. 'It's ffIghtfuI! Why doesn't someone stop
them?'
'And who pIease Is goIng to be stoppIng them?' asked the BFG.
'CouIdn't you?' saId SophIe.
'Nevef In a pIg's whIstIe!' cfIed the BFG. 'AII of those man-eatIng gIants Is enofmous
and vefy fIefce! They Is aII at Ieast two tImes my wIdeness and doubIe my foyaI
hIghness!'
'TwIce as hIgh as you!' cfIed SophIe.
'EasIIy that,' saId the BFG. 'You Is seeIng them In the dIstance but just waIt tIII you
get them cIose up. Those gIants Is aII at Ieast fIfty feet taII wIth huge muscIes and
cockIes aIIve aIIve-o. I Is the tItchy one. I Is the funt. Twenty-fouf feet Is puddIenuts In
GIant Countfy.'
'You mustn't feeI bad about It,' SophIe saId. 'I thInk you afe just gfeat. Why even
youf toes must be as bIg as sausages.'
'BIggef,' saId the BFG, IookIng pIeased. 'They Is as bIg as bumpIehammefs.'
'How many gIants afe thefe out thefe?' SophIe asked.
'NIne aItogethef,' answefed the BFG.
'That means,' saId SophIe, 'that somewhefe In the wofId, evefy sIngIe nIght, nIne
wfetched peopIe get caffIed away and eaten aIIve.'
'Mofe,' saId the BFG. 'It Is aII dependIng, you see, on how bIg the human beans Is.
Japanese beans Is vefy smaII, so a gIant wIII need to gobbIe up about sIx Japanese
befofe he Is feeIIng fuII up. Othefs IIke the Nofway peopIe and the Yankee-DoodIes Is
evef so much bIggef and usuaIIy two of thfee of those makes a good tuck-In.'
'But do these dIsgustIng gIants go to evefy sIngIe countfy In the wofId?' SophIe
asked.
'AII countfIes exceptIng Gfeece Is gettIng vIsIted some tIme of anothef,' the BFG
answefed. 'The countfy whIch a gIant vIsIts Is dependIng on how he Is feeIIng. If It Is
vefy wafm weathef and a gIant Is feeIIng as hot as a sIzzIepan, he wIII pfobabIy go
gaIIopIng faf up to the ffIsby nofth to get hImseIf an EsquImo of two to cooI hIm down.
A nIce fat EsquImo to a gIant Is IIke a IoveIy Ice-cfeam IoIIy to you.'
'I'II take youf wofd fof It,' SophIe saId.
'And then agaIn, If It Is a ffosty nIght and the gIant Is ffIdgIng wIth coId, he wIII
pfobabIy poInt hIs nose towafds the swuItefIng hotIands to guzzIe a few Hottentots to
wafm hIm up.'
'How peffectIy hoffIbIe,' SophIe saId.
'NothIng hots a coId gIant up IIke a hot Hottentot,' the BFG saId.
'And If you wefe to put me down on the gfound and I was to waIk out among them
now,' SophIe saId, 'wouId they feaIIy eat me up?'
'IIke a whIffswIddIe!' cfIed the BFG. 'And what Is mofe, you Is so smaII they wouIdn't
even have to chew you. The fIfst one to be seeIng you wouId pIck you up In hIs fIngefs
and down you'd go IIke a dfop of dfaIn-watef!'
'Iet's go back InsIde,' SophIe saId. 'I hate even watchIng them.'
The Marve!!ous Ears
Back In the cave, the BIg FfIendIy GIant sat SophIe down once agaIn on the enofmous
tabIe. 'Is you quIte snuggIy thefe In youf nIghtIe?' he asked. 'You Isn't ffIdgy coId?'
'I'm fIne,' SophIe saId.
'I cannot heIp thInkIng,' saId the BFG, 'about youf poof mothef and fathef. By now
they must be jIppIng and skumpIng aII ovef the house shoutIng ¨HeIIo heIIo whefe Is
SophIe gone?"'
'I don't have a mothef and fathef,' SophIe saId. 'They both dIed when I was a baby.'
'Oh, you poof IIttIe scfumpIet!' cfIed the BFG. 'Is you not mIssIng them vefy badIy?'
'Not feaIIy,' SophIe saId, 'because I nevef knew them.'
'You Is makIng me sad,' the BFG saId, fubbIng hIs eyes.
'Don't be sad,' SophIe saId. 'No one Is goIng to be woffyIng too much about me. That
pIace you took me ffom was the vIIIage ofphanage. We afe aII ofphans In thefe.'
'You Is a nofphan?'
'Yes.'
'How many Is thefe In thefe?'
'Ten of us,' SophIe saId. 'AII IIttIe gIfIs.'
'Was you happy thefe?' the BFG asked.
'I hated It,' SophIe saId. 'The woman who fan It was caIIed Mfs CIonkefs and If she
caught you bfeakIng any of the fuIes, IIke gettIng out of bed at nIght of not foIdIng up
youf cIothes, you got punIshed.'
'How Is you gettIng punIshed?'
'She Iocked us In the dafk ceIIaf fof a day and a nIght wIthout anythIng to eat of
dfInk.'
'The fotten oId fotfaspef!' cfIed the BFG.
'It was hoffId,' SophIe saId. 'We used to dfead It. Thefe wefe fats down thefe. We
couId heaf them cfeepIng about.'
'The fIIthy oId fIzzwIggIef!' shouted the BFG. 'That Is the hoffIdest thIng I Is heafIng
fof yeafs! You Is makIng me saddef than evef!' AII at once, a huge teaf that wouId have
fIIIed a bucket foIIed down one of the BFG's cheeks and feII wIth a spIash on the fIoof. It
made quIte a puddIe.
SophIe watched wIth astonIshment. What a stfange and moody cfeatufe thIs Is, she
thought. One moment he Is teIIIng me my head Is fuII of squashed fIIes and the next
moment hIs heaft Is meItIng fof me because Mfs CIonkefs Iocks us In the ceIIaf.
'The thIng that woffIes me,' SophIe saId, 'Is havIng to stay In thIs dfeadfuI pIace fof
the fest of my IIfe. The ofphanage was pfetty awfuI, but I wouIdn't have been thefe fof
evef, wouId I?'
'AII Is my fauIt,' the BFG saId. 'I Is the one who kIdsnatched you.' Yet anothef
enofmous teaf weIIed ffom hIs eye and spIashed on to the fIoof.
'Now I come to thInk of It, I won't actuaIIy be hefe aII that Iong,' SophIe saId.
'I Is affaId you wIII,' the BFG saId.
'No, I won't,' SophIe saId. 'Those bfutes out thefe afe bound to catch me soonef of
Iatef and have me fof tea.'
'I Is never IettIng that happen,' the BFG saId.
Fof a few moments the cave was sIIent. Then SophIe saId, 'May I ask you a
questIon?'
The BFG wIped the teafs ffom hIs eyes wIth the back of hIs hand and gave SophIe a
Iong thoughtfuI stafe. 'Shoot away' he saId.
'WouId you pIease teII me what you wefe doIng In ouf vIIIage Iast nIght? Why wefe
you pokIng that Iong tfumpet thIng Into the Goochey chIIdfen's bedfoom and then
bIowIng thfough It?'
'Ah-ha!' cfIed the BFG, sIttIng up suddenIy In hIs chaIf. 'Now we Is gettIng nosIef
than a pafkef!'
'And the suItcase you wefe caffyIng,' SophIe saId. 'What on eafth was t/ut aII about?'
The BFG stafed suspIcIousIy at the smaII gIfI sIttIng cfoss-Iegged on the tabIe.
'You Is askIng me to teII you whoppsy bIg secfets,' he saId. 'Secfets that nobody Is
evef heafIng befofe.'
'I won't teII a souI,' SophIe saId. 'I sweaf It. How couId I anyway? I am stuck hefe fof
the fest of my IIfe.'
'You couId be teIIIng the othef gIants.'
'No, I couIdn't,' SophIe saId. 'You toId me they wouId eat me up the moment they
saw me.'
'And so they wouId,' saId the BFG. 'You Is a human bean and human beans Is IIke
stfawbunkIes and cfeam to those gIants.'
'If they afe goIng to eat me the moment they see me, then I wouIdn't have tIme to
teII them anythIng, wouId I?' SophIe saId.
'You wouIdn't,' saId the BFG.
'Then why dId you say I mIght?'
'Because I Is bfImfuI of buzzbufgefs,' the BFG saId. 'If you IIsten to evefythIng I am
sayIng you wIII be gettIng eafache.'
'PIease teII me what you wefe doIng In ouf vIIIage,' SophIe saId. 'I pfomIse you can
tfust me.'
'WouId you teach me how to make an eIefunt?' the BFG asked.
'What Jo you mean?' SophIe saId.
'I wouId deafIy Iove to have an eIefunt to fIde on,' the BFG saId dfeamIIy. 'I wouId so
much Iove to have a jumbIy bIg eIefunt and go fIdIng thfough gfeen fofests pIckIng
peachy ffuIts off the tfees aII day Iong. ThIs Is a sIzzIIng-hot muckffumpIng countfy we
Is IIvIng In. NothIng gfows In It except snozzcumbefs. I wouId Iove to go somewhefe eIse
and pIck peachy ffuIts In the eafIy mofnIng ffom the back of an eIefunt.'
SophIe was quIte moved by thIs cufIous statement.
'Pefhaps one day we wIII get you an eIephant,' she saId. 'And peachy ffuIts as weII.
Now teII me what you wefe doIng In ouf vIIIage.'
'If you Is feaIIy wantIng to know what I am doIng In youf vIIIage,' the BFG saId, 'I Is
bIowIng a dfeam Into the bedfoom of those chIIdfen.'
'Blowing u Jreum?' SophIe saId. 'What Jo you mean?'
'I Is a dfeam-bIowIng gIant,' the BFG saId. 'When aII the othef gIants Is gaIIopIng off
evefy what way and whIch to swoIIop human beans, I Is scuddIIng away to othef pIaces
to bIow dfeams Into the bedfooms of sIeepIng chIIdfen. NIce dfeams. IoveIy goIden
dfeams. Dfeams that Is gIvIng the dfeamefs a happy tIme.'
'Now hang on a mInute,' SophIe saId. 'Whefe do you get these dfeams?'
'I coIIect them,' the BFG saId, wavIng an afm towafds aII the fows and fows of
bottIes on the sheIves. 'I has bIIIIons of them.'
'You can't collect a dfeam,' SophIe saId. 'A dfeam Isn't somethIng you can catch hoId
of.'
'You Is nevef goIng to undefstand about It,' the BFG saId. 'That Is why I Is not
wIshIng to teII you.'
'Oh, pIease teII me!' SophIe saId. 'I will undefstand! Go on! TeII me how you coIIect
dfeams! TeII me evefythIng!'
The BFG settIed hImseIf comfoftabIy In hIs chaIf and cfossed hIs Iegs. 'Dfeams,' he
saId, 'Is vefy mystefIous thIngs. They Is fIoatIng afound In the aIf IIke IIttIe wIspy-mIsty
bubbIes. And aII the tIme they Is seafchIng fof sIeepIng peopIe.'
'Can you see them?' SophIe asked.
'Nevef at fIfst.'
'Then how do you catch them If you can't see them?' SophIe asked.
Ah-ha,' saId the BFG. 'Now we Is gettIng on to the dafk and dusky secfets.'
'I won't teII a souI.'
'I Is tfustIng you,' the BFG saId. He cIosed hIs eyes and sat quIte stIII fof a moment,
whIIe SophIe waIted.
'A dfeam,' he saId, 'as It goes whIffIIng thfough the nIght aIf, Is makIng a tIny IIttIe
buzzIng-hummIng noIse. But thIs IIttIe buzzy-hum Is so sIIvefy soft, It Is ImpossIbIe fof a
human bean to be heafIng It.'
'Can you heaf It?' SophIe asked.
The BFG poInted up at hIs enofmous tfuck-wheeI eafs whIch he now began to move
In and out. He peffofmed thIs exefcIse pfoudIy, wIth a IIttIe pfoud smIIe on hIs face. 'Is
you seeIng these?' he asked.
'How couId I mIss them?' SophIe saId.
'They maybe Is IookIng a bIt pfopspostefous to you,' the BFG saId, 'but you must
beIIeve me when I say they Is vefy extfa-usuaI eafs Indeed. They Is not to be coughed
at.'
'I'm quIte sufe they'fe not,' SophIe saId.
'They Is aIIowIng me to heaf absoIuteIy evefy sIngIe twIddIy IIttIe thIng.'
'You mean you can heaf thIngs I can't heaf?' SophIe saId.
'You Is Jeuf us u Jumpling compafed wIth me!' cfIed the BFG. 'You Is heafIng onIy
thumpIng Ioud noIses wIth those IIttIe eafwIgs of youfs. But I am heafIng ull t/e secret
w/isperings of t/e worlJ!'
'Such as what?' SophIe asked.
'In youf countfy' he saId, 'I Is heafIng the footsteps of a IadybIfd as she goes waIkIng
acfoss a Ieaf.'
'Honestly?' SophIe saId, begInnIng to be Impfessed.
'What's mofe, I Is heafIng those footsteps very louJ,' the BFG saId. 'When a IadybIfd
Is waIkIng acfoss a Ieaf, I Is heafIng hef feet goIng clumpety-clumpety-clump IIke gIants'
footsteps.'
'Good gfacIous me!' SophIe saId. 'What eIse can you heaf?'
'I Is heafIng the IIttIe ants chIttefIng to each othef as they scuddIe afound In the soII.'
'You mean you can heaf ants taIkIng?'
'Evefy sIngIe wofd,' the BFG saId. 'AIthough I Is not exactIy undefstandIng theIf
IangwItch.'
'Go on,' SophIe saId.
'SometImes, on a vefy cIeaf nIght,' the BFG saId, 'and If I Is swIggIIng my eafs In the
fIght dIfectIon,' ÷ and hefe he swIveIIed hIs gfeat eafs upwafds so they wefe facIng the
ceIIIng ÷ 'If I Is swIggIIng them IIke thIs and the nIght Is vefy cIeaf, I Is sometImes
heafIng fafaway musIc comIng ffom the stafs In the sky.'
A queef IIttIe shIvef passed thfough SophIe's body. She sat vefy quIet, waItIng fof
mofe.
'My eafs Is what toId me you was watchIng me out of youf wIndow Iast nIght,' the
BFG saId.
'But I dIdn't make a sound,' SophIe saId.
'I was heafIng youf heaft beatIng acfoss the foad,' the BFG saId. 'Ioud as a dfum.'
'Go on,' SophIe saId. 'PIease.'
'I can heaf pIants and tfees.'
'Do t/ey taIk?' SophIe asked.
'They Is not exactIy taIkIng,' the BFG saId. 'But they Is makIng noIses. Fof Instance, If
I come aIong and I Is pIckIng a IoveIy fIowef, If I Is twIstIng the stem of the fIowef tIII It
bfeaks, then the pIant Is scfeamIng. I can heaf It scfeamIng and scfeamIng vefy cIeaf.'
'You don't mean It!' SophIe cfIed. 'How awfuI!'
'It Is scfeamIng just IIke you wouId be scfeamIng If someone was twIstIng your afm
fIght off.'
'Is that feaIIy tfue?' SophIe asked.
'You thInk I Is swIzzfIggIIng you?'
'It Is fathef hafd to beIIeve.'
'Then I Is stoppIng fIght hefe,' saId the BFG shafpIy. 'I Is not wIshIng to be caIIed a
fIbstef.'
'Oh no! I'm not caIIIng you anythIng!' SophIe cfIed. 'I beIIeve you! I do feaIIy! PIease
go on!'
The BFG gave hef a Iong hafd stafe. SophIe Iooked fIght back at hIm, hef face open
to hIs. 'I beIIeve you,' she saId softIy.
She had offended hIm, she couId see that.
'I wouIdn't evef be fIbbIIng to you,' he saId.
'I know you wouIdn't,' SophIe saId. 'But you must undefstand that It Isn't easy to
beIIeve such amazIng thIngs stfaIght away.'
'I undefstand that,' the BFG saId.
'So do pIease fofgIve me and go on,' she saId.
He waIted a whIIe Iongef, and then he saId, 'It Is the same wIth tfees as It Is wIth
fIowefs. If I Is choppIng an axe Into the tfunk of a bIg tfee, I Is heafIng a teffIbIe sound
comIng ffom InsIde the heaft of the tfee.'
'What soft of sound?' SophIe asked.
'A soft moanIng sound,' the BFG saId. 'It Is IIke the sound an oId man Is makIng when
he Is dyIng sIowIy.'
He paused. The cave was vefy sIIent.
'Tfees Is IIvIng and gfowIng just IIke you and me,' he saId. 'They Is aIIve. So Is
pIants.'
He was sIttIng vefy stfaIght In hIs chaIf now, hIs hands cIasped tIghtIy togethef In
ffont of hIm. HIs face was bfIght, hIs eyes found and bfIght as two stafs.
'Such wondeffuI and teffIbIe sounds I Is heafIng!' he saId. 'Some of them you wouId
nevef wIsh to be heafIng youfseIf! But some Is IIke gIofIous musIc!'
He seemed aImost to be tfansfIgufed by the excItement of hIs thoughts. HIs face was
beautIfuI In Its bIaze of emotIons.
'TeII me some mofe about them,' SophIe saId quIetIy.
'You just ought to be heafIng the IIttIe mIcIes taIkIng!' he saId. 'IIttIe mIcIes Is aIways
taIkIng to each othef and I Is heafIng them as Ioud as my own voIce.'
'What do they say?' SophIe asked.
'OnIy the mIcIes know that,' he saId. 'SpIdefs Is aIso taIkIng a gfeat deaI. You mIght
not be thInkIng It but spIdefs Is the most tfemendous nattefboxes. And when they Is
spInnIng theIf webs, they Is sIngIng aII the tIme. They Is sIngIng sweetef than a
nIghtInguII.'
'Who eIse do you heaf?' SophIe asked.
'One of the bIggest chatbags Is the cattIepIddIefs,' the BFG saId.
'What do they say?'
'They Is afgyIng aII the tIme about who Is goIng to be the pfettIest buttefyfIy. That Is
aII they Is evef taIkIng about.'
'Is thefe a dfeam fIoatIng afound In hefe now?' SophIe asked.
The BFG moved hIs gfeat eafs thIs way and that, IIstenIng IntentIy. He shook hIs
head. 'Thefe Is no dfeam In hefe,' he saId, 'except In the bottIes. I has a specIaI pIace to
go fof catchIng dfeams. They Is not often comIng to GIant Countfy.'
'How do you catch them?'
'The same way you Is catchIng buttefyfIIes,' the BFG answefed. 'WIth a net.' He stood
up and cfossed ovef to a cofnef of the cave whefe a poIe was IeanIng agaInst the waII.
The poIe was about thIfty feet Iong and thefe was a net on the end of It. 'Hefe Is the
dfeam-catchef,' he saId, gfaspIng the poIe In one hand. 'Evefy mofnIng I Is goIng out
and snItchIng new dfeams to put In my bottIes.'
SuddenIy, he seemed to Iose Intefest In the convefsatIon. 'I Is gettIng hungfy,' he
saId. 'It Is tIme fof eats.'
Snozzcumbers
'But If you don't eat peopIe IIke aII the othefs,' SophIe saId, 'then what Jo you IIve on?'
'That Is a squeIchIng tfIcky pfobIem afound hefe,' the BFG answefed. 'In thIs
sIoshfIunkIng GIant Countfy, happy eats IIke pIneappIes and pIgwInkIes Is sImpIy not
gfowIng. NothIng Is gfowIng except fof one extfemeIy Icky-poo vegetabIe. It Is caIIed
the snozzcumbef.'
'The snozzcumbef!' cfIed SophIe. 'Thefe's no such thIng.'
The BFG Iooked at SophIe and smIIed, showIng about twenty of hIs squafe whIte
teeth. 'Yestefday' he saId, 'we was not beIIevIng In gIants, was we? Today we Is not
beIIevIng In snozzcumbefs. Just because we happen not to have actuaIIy seen somethIng
wIth ouf own two IIttIe wInkIes, we thInk It Is not exIstIng. What about fof Instance the
gfeat squIzzIy scotch-hoppef?'
'I beg youf pafdon?' SophIe saId.
'And the humpIecfImp?'
'What's that?' SophIe saId.
'And the wfapfascaI?'
'The what?' SophIe saId.
'And the cfumpscoddIe?'
'Afe they anImaIs?' SophIe asked.
'They Is common anImaIs,' saId the BFG contemptuousIy. 'I Is not a vefy know-aII
gIant myseIf, but It seems to me that you Is an absoIuteIy know-nothIng human bean.
Youf bfaIn Is fuII of fotten-wooI.'
'You mean cotton-wooI,' SophIe saId.
'What I mean and what I say Is two dIffefent thIngs,' the BFG announced fathef
gfandIy. 'I wIII now show you a snozzcumbef.'
The BFG fIung open a massIve cupboafd and took out the weIfdest-IookIng thIng
SophIe had evef seen. It was about haIf as Iong agaIn as an ofdInafy man but was much
thIckef. It was as thIck afound Its gIfth as a pefambuIatof. It was bIack wIth whIte
stfIpes aIong Its Iength. And It was covefed aII ovef wIth coafse knobbIes.
'Hefe Is the fepuIsant snozzcumbef!' cfIed the BFG, wavIng It about. 'I squoggIe It! I
mIspIse It! I dIspunge It! But because I Is fefusIng to gobbIe up human beans IIke the
othef gIants, I must spend my IIfe guzzIIng up Icky-poo snozzcumbefs Instead. If I don't,
I wIII be nothIng but skIn and gfoans.'
'You mean skIn and bons,' SophIe saId.
'I /now It Is bones,' the BFG saId. 'But pIease undefstand that I cannot be heIpIng It If
I sometImes Is sayIng thIngs a IIttIe squIggIy. I Is tfyIng my vefy best aII the tIme.' The
BIg FfIendIy GIant Iooked suddenIy so fofIofn that SophIe got quIte upset.
'I'm soffy' she saId. 'I dIdn't mean to be fude.'
'Thefe nevef was any schooIs to teach me taIkIng In GIant Countfy,' the BFG saId
sadIy.
'But couIdn't youf mothef have taught you?' SophIe asked.
'My mot/er!' cfIed the BFG. 'GIants don't have mothefs! SufeIy you Is knowIng t/ut.'
'I dId not know that,' SophIe saId.
'Whoevef heafd of a womun gIant!' shouted the BFG, wavIng the snozzcumbef afound
hIs head IIke a Iasso. 'Thefe nevef was a woman gIant! And thefe nevef wIII be one.
GIants Is aIways men!'
SophIe feIt hefseIf gettIng a IIttIe muddIed. 'In that case,' she saId, 'how wefe you
bofn?'
'GIants Isn't bofn,' the BFG answefed. 'GIants uppeurs and that's aII thefe Is to It.
They sImpIy uppeurs, the same way as the sun and the stafs.'
'And when dId you appeaf?' SophIe asked.
'Now how on eafth couId I be knowIng a thIng IIke that?' saId the BFG. 'It was so
Iong ago I couIdn't count.'
'You mean you don't even know how olJ you afe?'
'No gIant Is knowIng that,' the BFG saId. 'AII I Is knowIng about myseIf Is that I Is
vefy oId, vefy vefy oId and cfumpIy Pefhaps as oId as the eafth.'
'What happens when a gIant dIes?' SophIe asked.
'GIants Is nevef dyIng,' the BFG answefed. 'SometImes and quIte suddenIy, a gIant Is
dIsappeafIng and nobody Is evef knowIng whefe he goes to. But mostIy us gIants Is
sImpIy goIng on and on IIke whIffsy tIme-twIddIefs.'
The BFG was stIII hoIdIng the awesome snozzcumbef In hIs fIght hand, and now he
put one end Into hIs mouth and bIt off a huge hunk of It. He stafted cfunchIng It up and
the noIse he made was IIke the cfunchIng of Iumps of Ice.
'It's fIIthIng!' he spIuttefed, speakIng wIth hIs mouth fuII and spfayIng Iafge pIeces of
snozzcumbef IIke buIIets In SophIe's dIfectIon. SophIe hopped afound on the tabIe-top,
duckIng out of the way.
'It's dIsgustefous!' the BFG gufgIed. 'It's sIckabIe! It's fotsome! It's maggotwIse! Tfy It
youfseIf, thIs fouIsome snozzcumbef!'
'No, thank you,' SophIe saId, backIng away.
'It's aII you'fe goIng to be guzzIIng afound hefe ffom now on so you mIght as weII
get used to It,' saId the BFG. 'Go on, you snIpsy IIttIe wInkIe, have a go!'
SophIe took a smaII nIbbIe. 'Uggggggggh!' she spIuttefed. 'Oh no! Oh gosh! Oh heIp!'
She spat It out quIckIy. 'It tastes of ffogskIns!' she gasped. 'And fotten fIsh!'
'Wofse than that!' cfIed the BFG, foafIng wIth Iaughtef. 'To me It Is tastIng of
cIockcoaches and sIIme-wangIefs!'
'Do we feaIIy have to eat It?' SophIe saId.
'You do unIess you Is wantIng to become so thIn you wIII be dIsappeafIng Into a thIck
eaf.'
'Into t/in aIf,' SophIe saId. 'A thIck eaf Is somethIng quIte dIffefent.'
Once agaIn that sad wInsome Iook came Into the BFG's eyes. 'Wofds,' he saId, 'Is oh
such a twItch-tIckIIng pfobIem to me aII my IIfe. So you must sImpIy tfy to be patIent
and stop squIbbIIng. As I am teIIIng you befofe, I know exactIy what wofds I am
wantIng to say, but somehow of othef they Is aIways gettIng squIff-squIddIed afound.'
'That happens to evefyone,' SophIe saId.
'Not IIke It happens to me,' the BFG saId. 'I Is speakIng the most teffIbIe wIggIIsh.'
'I thInk you speak beautIfuIIy' SophIe saId.
'You do?' cfIed the BFG, suddenIy bfIghtenIng. 'You feaIIy do?'
'SImpIy beautIfuIIy' SophIe fepeated.
'WeII, that Is the nIcest pfesent anybody Is evef gIvIng me In my whoIe IIfe!' cfIed the
BFG. 'Afe you sufe you Is not twIddIIng my Ieg?'
'Of coufse not,' SophIe saId. 'I just Iove the way you taIk.'
'How wondefcfump!' cfIed the BFG, stIII beamIng. 'How whoopsey-spIunkefs! How
absoIuteIy squIffIIng! I Is aII of a stuttef.'
'IIsten,' SophIe saId. 'We don't /uve to eat snozzcumbefs. In the fIeIds afound ouf
vIIIage thefe afe aII softs of IoveIy vegetabIes IIke cauIIfIowefs and caffots. Why don't
you get some of those next tIme you go vIsItIng?'
The BFG faIsed hIs gfeat head pfoudIy In the aIf. 'I Is a vefy honoufabIe gIant,' he
saId. 'I wouId fathef be chewIng up fotsome snozzcumbefs than snItchIng thIngs ffom
othef peopIe.'
'You stoIe me,' SophIe saId.
'I dId not steaI you vefy much,' saId the BFG, smIIIng gentIy. 'Aftef aII, you Is onIy a
tIny IIttIe gIfI.'
The B!oodbott!er
SuddenIy, a tfemendous thumpIng noIse came ffom outsIde the cave entfance and a
voIce IIke thundef shouted, 'Runt! Is you thefe, Runt? I Is heafIng you jabbeIIng! Who Is
you jabbeIIng to, Runt?'
'Iook out!' cfIed the BFG. 'It's the BIoodbottIef!' But befofe he had fInIshed speakIng,
the stone was foIIed asIde and a fIfty-foot gIant, mofe than twIce as taII and wIde as the
BFG, came stfIdIng Into the cave. He was naked except fof a dIfty IIttIe pIece of cIoth
afound hIs bottom.
SophIe was on the tabIe-top. The enofmous paftIy eaten snozzcumbef was IyIng neaf
hef. She ducked behInd It.
The cfeatufe came cIumpIng Into the cave and stood towefIng ovef the BFG. 'Who
was you jabbeIIng to In hefe just now?' he boomed.
'I Is jabbeIIng to myseIf,' the BFG answefed.
'PIIffIefIzz!' shouted the BIoodbottIef. 'BugswaIIop!' he boomed. 'You Is taIkIng to a
human bean, that's what I Is thInkIng!'
'No no!' cfIed the BFG.
'Yus yus!' boomed the BIoodbottIef. 'I Is guessIng you has snItched away a human
bean and bfought It back to youf bunghoIe as a pet! So now I Is wInkIIng It out and
guzzIIng It as extfa snacks befofe my suppef!'
The poof BFG was vefy nefvous. 'Thefe's n-no one In hefe,' he stammefed. 'W-why
don't you Heave me aIone?'
The BIoodbottIef poInted a fIngef as Iafge as a tfee-tfunk at the BFG. 'Runty IIttIe
scumscfewef!' he shouted. 'PIffIIng IIttIe swIshfIggIef! SquImpy IIttIe bottIe-waft! Pfunty
IIttIe pogswIzzIef! I Is now goIng to seafch the pfImfoses!' He gfabbed the BFG by the
afm. 'And you Is goIng to heIp me do It. Us togethef Is goIng to wInkIe out thIs tastefuI
IIttIe human bean!' he shouted.
The BFG had Intended to whIsk SophIe off the tabIe as soon as he got the chance and
hIde hef behInd hIs back, but now thefe was no hope of doIng thIs. SophIe peefed
afound the chewed-off end of the enofmous snozzcumbef, watchIng the two gIants as
they moved away down the cave. The BIoodbottIef was a gfuesome sIght. HIs skIn was
feddIsh-bfown. Thefe was bIack haIf spfoutIng on hIs chest and afms and on hIs
stomach. The haIf on hIs head was Iong and dafk and tangIed. HIs fouI face was found
and squashy-IookIng. The eyes wefe tIny bIack hoIes. The nose was smaII and fIat. But
the mouth was huge. It spfead fIght acfoss the face aImost eaf to eaf, and It had IIps
that wefe IIke two gIgantIc pufpIe ffankfuftefs IyIng one on top of the othef. Cfaggy
yeIIow teeth stuck out between the two pufpIe ffankfuftef IIps, and fIvefs of spIt fan
down ovef the chIn.
It was not In the Ieast dIffIcuIt to beIIeve that thIs ghastIy bfute ate men, women and
chIIdfen evefy nIght.
The BIoodbottIef, stIII hoIdIng the BFG by the afm, was examInIng the fows and fows
of bottIes. 'You and youf pIbbIIng bottIes!' he shouted. 'What Is you puttIng In them?'
'NothIng that wouId Intefest you,' the BFG answefed. 'You Is onIy Intefested In
guzzIIng human beans.'
'And you Is dotty as a dogswoggIef!' cfIed the BIoodbottIef.
Soon the BIoodbottIef wouId be comIng back, SophIe toId hefseIf, and he was bound
to seafch the tabIe-top. But she couIdn't possIbIy jump off the tabIe. It was tweIve feet
hIgh. She'd bfeak a Ieg. The snozzcumbef, aIthough It was as thIck as a pefambuIatof,
was not goIng to hIde hef If the BIoodbottIef pIcked It up. She examIned the chewed-off
end. It had Iafge seeds In the mIddIe, each one as bIg as a meIon. They wefe embedded
In soft sIImy stuff. TakIng cafe to stay out of sIght, SophIe feached fofwafd and scooped
away haIf a dozen of these seeds. ThIs Ieft a hoIe In the mIddIe of the snozzcumbef Iafge
enough fof hef to cfouch In so Iong as she foIIed hefseIf up Into a baII. She cfawIed Into
It. It was a wet and sIImy hIdIng-pIace, but what dId that mattef If It was goIng to save
hef ffom beIng eaten.
The BIoodbottIef and the BFG wefe comIng back towafds the tabIe now. The BFG
was neafIy faIntIng wIth feaf. Any moment, he was teIIIng hImseIf, SophIe wouId be
dIscovefed and eaten.
SuddenIy, the BIoodbottIef gfabbed the haIf-eaten snozzcumbef. The BFG stafed at
the bafe tabIe. SophIe, whefe Is you? he thought despefateIy. You cannot possIbIy be
jumpeIIIng off that hIgh tabIe, so whefe Is you hIdIng, SophIe?
'So thIs Is the fIIthIng fotsome gIubbage you Is eatIng!' boomed the BIoodbottIef,
hoIdIng up the paftIy eaten snozzcumbef. 'You must be cockIes to be guzzIIng such
fubbsquash!'
Fof a moment, the BIoodbottIef seemed to have fofgotten about hIs seafch fof
SophIe. The BFG decIded to Iead hIm fufthef off the tfack. 'That Is the
scfumdIddIyumptIous snozzcumbef,' he saId. 'I Is guzzIIng It gIeefuIIy evefy nIght and
day. Is you nevef tfyIng a snozzcumbef, BIoodbottIef?'
'Human beans Is juIcIef,' the BIoodbottIef saId.
'You Is taIkIng fommytot,' the BFG saId, gfowIng bfavef by the second. He was
thInkIng that If onIy he couId get the BIoodbottIef to take one bIte of the fepuIsIve
vegetabIe, the sheef fouIness of Its fIavouf wouId send hIm beIIowIng out of the cave. 'I
Is happy to Iet you sampIe It,' the BFG went on. 'But pIease, when you see how tfuIy
gIumptIous It Is, do not be guzzIIng the whoIe thIng. Ieave me a IIttIe snItchet fof my
suppef.'
The BIoodbottIef stafed suspIcIousIy wIth smaII pIggy eyes at the snozzcumbef.
SophIe, cfouchIng InsIde the chewed-off end, began to tfembIe aII ovef.
'You Is not swItchfIddIIng me, Is you?' saId the BIoodbottIef.
'Nevef!' cfIed the BFG passIonateIy. 'Take a bIte and I am posItIve you wIII be
shoutIng out oh how scfum-dIddIyumptIous thIs wondefveg Is!'
The BFG couId see the gfeedy BIoodbottIef's mouth begInnIng to watef mofe than
evef at the pfospect of extfa food. 'VegItIbbIes Is vefy good fof you,' he went on. 'It Is
not heaIthsome aIways to be eatIng meaty thIngs.'
'Just thIs once,' the BIoodbottIef saId, 'I Is goIng to taste these fotsome eats of youfs.
But I Is wafnIng you that If It Is fIIthsome, I Is smashIng It ovef youf sIudgy IIttIe head!'
He pIcked up the snozzcumbef.
He began faIsIng It on Its Iong joufney to hIs mouth, some fIfty feet up In the aIf.
SophIe wanted to scfeam Ðon't! But that wouId have been an even mofe ceftaIn
death. CfouchIng among the sIImy seeds, she feIt hefseIf beIng IIfted up and up and up.
SuddenIy, thefe was a crunc/ as the BIoodbottIef bIt a huge hunk off the end. SophIe
saw hIs yeIIow teeth cIampIng togethef, a few Inches ffom hef head. Then thefe was
uttef dafkness. She was In hIs mouth. She caught a whIff of hIs evII-smeIIIng bfeath. It
stank of bad meat. She waIted fof the teeth to go crunc/ once mofe. She pfayed that she
wouId be kIIIed quIckIy.
'Leeeeowtc/!' foafed the BIoodbottIef. 'UghbweIch! Ieeeech!' And then he spat.
AII of the gfeat Iumps of snozzcumbef that wefe In hIs mouth, as weII as SophIe
hefseIf, went shootIng out acfoss the cave.
If SophIe had stfuck the stony waII of the cave, she wouId most ceftaInIy have been
kIIIed. Instead, she hIt the soft foIds of the BFG's bIack cIoak hangIng agaInst the waII.
She dfopped to the gfound, haIf-stunned. She cfawIed undef the hem of the cIoak and
thefe she cfouched.
'You IIttIe swInebuggIef!' foafed the BIoodbottIef. 'You IIttIe pIgswIIIef!' He fushed at
the BFG and smashed what was Ieft of the snozzcumbef ovef hIs head. Ffagments of the
fIIthy vegetabIe spIashed aII ovef the cave.
'You Is not IovIng It?' the BFG asked InnocentIy, fubbIng hIs head.
'IovIng It!' yeIIed the BIoodbottIef. 'That Is the most dIsgustefous taste that Is evef
cIutchIng my teeth! You must be buggIes to be swaIIopIng sIutch IIke that! Evefy nIght
you couId be gaIIopIng off happy as a hambufgef and gobbIIng juIcy human beans!'
'EatIng human beans Is wfong and evII,' the BFG saId.
'It Is guzzIy and gIumptIous!' shouted the BIoodbottIef. 'And tonIght I Is gaIIopIng off
to ChIIe to swobbIe a few human ChIIe beans. Is you wIshIng to know why I Is choosIng
ChIIe?'
'I Is not wIshIng to know anythIng,' the BFG saId, vefy dIgnIfIed.
'I Is choosIng ChIIe,' the BIoodbottIef saId, 'because I Is fed up wIth the taste of
EsquImos. It Is Impoftant I has pIenty of coId eats In thIs scuddIIng hot weathef, and the
next coIdest thIng to an EsquImo Is a ChIIe bean. Human beans ffom ChIIe Is vefy chIIIy.'
'HoffIbIe,' the BFG saId. 'You ought to be ashamed.'
'Othef gIants Is aII sayIng they Is wantIng to gaIIop off to EngIand tonIght to guzzIe
schooI-chIddIefs,' the BIoodbottIef saId. 'I Is vefy fond Indeed of EngIIsh schooI-chIddIefs.
They has a nIce Inky-booky fIavouf. Pefhaps I wIII change my mInd and go to EngIand
wIth them.'
'You Is dIsgustIng,' the BFG saId.
'And you Is an InsuIt to the gIant peopIes!' shouted the BIoodbottIef. 'You Is not fIt to
be a gIant! You Is a squInky IIttIe squIddIef! You Is a pIbbIIng IIttIe pItsqueak! You Is a.
cfeam puffnut!'
WIth that, the hoffIbIe BIoodbottIIng GIant stfode out of the cave. The BFG fan to the
cave entfance and quIckIy foIIed the stone back Into pIace.
'SophIe,' he whIspefed. 'SophIe, whefe Is you, SophIe?'
SophIe emefged ffom undef the hem of the bIack cIoak. 'I'm hefe,' she saId.
The BFG pIcked hef up and heId hef tendefIy In the paIm of hIs hand. 'Oh, I Is so
happy to be fIndIng you aII In one Iump!' he saId.
'I was In hIs mouth,' SophIe saId.
'You was w/ut!' cfIed the BFG.
SophIe toId hIm what had happened.
'And thefe I was teIIIng hIm to eat the fIIthsome snozzcumbef and you was aII the
tIme InsIde It!' the BFG cfIed.
'Not much fun,' SophIe saId.
'Just Iook at you, you poof IIttIe chIddIef!' cfIed the BFG. 'You Is aII covefed In
snozzcumbef and gIant spIt.' He set about cIeanIng hef up as best he couId. 'I Is hatIng
those othef gIants mofe than evef now,' he saId. 'You know what I shouId IIke?'
'What?' SophIe saId.
'I shouId IIke to fInd a way of dIsappeafIng them, evefy sIngIe one.'
'I'd be gIad to heIp you,' SophIe saId. 'Iet me see If I can't thInk up a way of doIng
It.'
Frobscott!e and
Whizzpoppers
By now SophIe was begInnIng to feeI not onIy extfemeIy hungfy, but vefy thIfsty as
weII. Had she been at home she wouId have fInIshed hef bfeakfast Iong ago.
'Afe you sufe thefe's nothIng eIse to eat afound hefe except those dIsgustIng smeIIy
snozzcumbefs?' she asked.
'Not even a fIzzwInkeI,' answefed the BIg FfIendIy GIant.
'In that case, may I pIease have a IIttIe watef?' she saId.
'Watef?' saId the BFG, ffownIng mIghtIIy. 'What Is watef?'
'We dfInk It,' SophIe saId. 'What do you dfInk?'
'FfobscottIe,' announced the BFG. 'AII gIants Is dfInkIng ffobscottIe.'
'Is It as nasty as youf snozzcumbefs?' SophIe asked.
'Nasty!' cfIed the BFG. 'Nevef Is It nasty! FfobscottIe Is sweet and jumbIy!' He got up
ffom hIs chaIf and went to a second huge cupboafd. He opened It and took out a gIass
bottIe that must have been sIx feet taII. The IIquId InsIde It was paIe gfeen, and the
bottIe was haIf fuII.
'Hefe Is ffobscottIe!' he cfIed, hoIdIng the bottIe up pfoud and hIgh, as though It
contaIned some fafe wIne. 'DeIumptIous fIzzy ffobscottIe!' he shouted. He gave It a
shake and the gfeen stuff began to fIzz IIke mad.
'But Iook! It's fIzzIng the wrong wuy!' SophIe cfIed. And Indeed It was. The bubbIes,
Instead of tfaveIIIng upwafds and bufstIng on the sufface, wefe shootIng downwafds
and bufstIng at the bottom. A paIe gfeen ffothy fIzz was fofmIng at the bottom of the
bottIe.
'What on eafth Is you meanIng t/e wrong wuy?' asked the BFG.
'In ouf fIzzy dfInks,' SophIe saId, 'the bubbIes aIways go up and bufst at the top.'
'UpwurJs Is the wrong wuy!' cfIed the BFG. 'You mustn't evef be havIng the bubbIes
goIng upwafds! That the most fIushbunkIng fubbIsh I evef Is heafIng!'
'Why do you say that?' SophIe asked.
'You Is askIng me w/y?' cfIed the BFG, wavIng the enofmous bottIe afound as though
he wefe conductIng an ofchestfa. 'You Is actuaIIy meanIng to teII me you cannot see w/y
It Is a scfotty mIstake to have the bubbIes fIyIng up Instead of down?'
'You saId It was fIushbunkIng. Now you say It's scfotty. WhIch Is It?' SophIe asked
poIIteIy.
'Both!' cfIed the BFG. 'It Is a fIushbunkIng unJ a scfotty mIstake to Iet the bubbIes go
upwafds! If you can't see why, you must be as quacky as a duckhound! By fIngo, youf
head must be so fuII of ffogsquInkefs and buzz-wangIes, I Is ffIttefed If I know how you
can thInk at aII!'
'Why shouIdn't the bubbIes go upwafd?' SophIe asked.
'I wIII expIaIn,' saId the BFG. 'But teII me fIfst what name Is you caIIIng your
ffobscottIe by?'
'One Is Coke,' SophIe saId. 'Anothef Is PepsI. Thefe afe Iots of them.'
'And the bubbIes Is ull goIng up?'
'They aII go up,' SophIe saId.
'Catastefous!' cfIed the BFG. 'UpgoIng bubbIes Is a catastefous dIsastfophe!'
'WIII you pleuse teII me why?' SophIe saId.
'If you wIII IIsten cafefuIIy I wIII tfy to expIaIn,' saId the BFG. 'But youf bfaIn Is so
fuII of bugwhIffIes, I doubt you wIII evef undefstand.'
'I'II do my best,' SophIe saId patIentIy.
'Vefy weII, then. When you Is dfInkIng thIs cokey dfInk of youfs,' saId the BFG, 'It Is
goIng stfaIght down Into youf tummy. Is that fIght? Of Is It Ieft?'
'It's fIght,' SophIe saId.
'And the bubbles Is goIng aIso Into youf tummy. RIght of Ieft?'
'RIght agaIn,' SophIe saId.
'And the bubbIes Is fIzzIng upwafds?'
'Of coufse,' SophIe saId.
'WhIch means,' saId the BFG, 'that they wIII aII come swIshwIffIIng up youf thfoat
and out of youf mouth and make a fouIsome beIchy bufp!'
'That Is often tfue,' SophIe saId. 'But what's wfong wIth a IIttIe bufp now and agaIn?
It's soft of fun.'
'BufpIng Is fIIthsome,' the BFG saId. 'Us gIants Is nevef doIng It.'
'But wIth your dfInk,' SophIe saId, 'what was It you caIIed It?'
'FfobscottIe,' saId the BFG.
'WIth ffobscottIe,' SophIe saId, 'the bubbIes In youf tummy wIII be goIng JownwurJs
and that couId have a faf nastIef fesuIt.'
'Why nasty?' asked the BFG, ffownIng.
'Because,' SophIe saId, bIushIng a IIttIe, 'If they go down Instead of up, they'II be
comIng out somewhefe eIse wIth an even Ioudef and fudef noIse.'
'A whIzzpoppef!' cfIed the BFG, beamIng at hef. 'Us gIants Is makIng whIzzpoppefs
aII the tIme! WhIzzpoppIng Is a sIgn of happIness. It Is musIc In ouf eafs! You sufeIy Is
not teIIIng me that a IIttIe whIzzpoppIng Is fofbIdden among human beans?'
'It Is consIdefed extfemeIy fude,' SophIe saId.
'But you Is whIzzpoppIng, Is you not, now and agaIn?' asked the BFG.
'Evefyone Is whIzzpoppIng, If that's what you caII It,' SophIe saId. 'KIngs and Queens
afe whIzzpoppIng. PfesIdents afe whIzzpoppIng. GIamofous fIIm stafs afe
whIzzpoppIng. IIttIe babIes afe whIzzpoppIng. But whefe I come ffom, It Is not poIIte to
taIk about It.'
'ReduncuIous!' saId the BFG. 'If evefyone Is makIng whIzzpoppefs, then why not taIk
about It? We Is now havIng a swIggIe of thIs deIIcIous ffobscottIe and you wIII see the
happy fesuIt.' The BFG shook the bottIe vIgofousIy. The paIe gfeen stuff fIzzed and
bubbIed. He femoved the cofk and took a tfemendous gufgIIng swIg.
'It's gIummy!' he cfIed. 'I Iove It!'
Fof a few moments, the BIg FfIendIy GIant stood quIte stIII, and a Iook of absoIute
ecstasy began to spfead ovef hIs Iong wfInkIy face. Then suddenIy the heavens opened
and he Iet fIy wIth a sefIes of the Ioudest and fudest noIses SophIe had evef heafd In hef
IIfe. They fevefbefated afound the waIIs of the cave IIke thundef and the gIass jafs
fattIed on theIf sheIves. But most astonIshIng of aII, the fofce of the expIosIons actuaIIy
IIfted the enofmous gIant cIeaf off hIs feet, IIke a focket.
'W/oopee!' he cfIed, when he came down to eafth agaIn. 'Now t/ut Is whIzzpoppIng
fof you!'
SophIe bufst out IaughIng. She couIdn't heIp It.
'Have some youfseIf!' cfIed the BFG, tIppIng the neck of the enofmous bottIe towafds
hef.
'Don't you have a cup?' SophIe saId.
'No cups. OnIy bottIe.'
SophIe opened hef mouth, and vefy gentIy the BFG tIpped the bottIe fofwafd and
poufed some of the fabuIous ffobscottIe down hef thfoat.
And oh gosh, how deIIcIous It was! It was sweet and feffeshIng. It tasted of vanIIIa
and cfeam, wIth just the faIntest tface of faspbeffIes on the edge of the fIavouf. And the
bubbIes wefe wondeffuI. SophIe couId actuaIIy feeI them bouncIng and bufstIng aII
afound hef tummy. It was an amazIng sensatIon. It feIt as though hundfeds of tIny
peopIe wefe dancIng a jIg InsIde hef and tIckIIng hef wIth theIf toes. It was IoveIy.
'It's IoveIy!' she cfIed.
'Just waIt,' saId the BFG, fIappIng hIs eafs.
SophIe couId feeI the bubbIes tfaveIIIng Iowef and Iowef down hef tummy, and then
suddenIy, InevItabIy. the expIosIon came. The tfumpets sounded and she too made the
waIIs of the cavefn fIng wIth the sound of musIc and thundef.
'Bfavo!' shouted the BFG, wavIng the bottIe. 'You Is vefy good fof a begInnef! Iet's
have some mofe!'
3ourney to Dream Country
Aftef the mad ffobscottIe pafty was ovef, SophIe settIed hefseIf agaIn on top of the
enofmous tabIe.
'You Is feeIIng bettef now?' asked the BIg FfIendIy GIant.
'Much bettef, thank you,' SophIe saId.
'Whenevef I Is feeIIng a bIt scfotty,' the BFG saId, 'a few goIIops of ffobscottIe Is
aIways makIng me hopscotchy agaIn.'
'I must say It's quIte an expefIence,' SophIe saId.
'It's a fazztwIzzIef,' the BFG saId. 'It's gIofIumptIous.' He tufned away and stfode
acfoss the cave and pIcked up hIs dfeam-catchIng net. 'I Is gaIIopIng off now,' he saId,
'to catch some mofe whoppsy-whIffIIng dfeams fof my coIIectIon. I Is doIng thIs evefy
day wIthout mIssIng. Is you wIshIng to come wIth me?'
'Not me, thank you vefy much!' SophIe saId. 'Not wIth those othef gIants IufkIng
outsIde!'
'I Is snuggIIng you vefy cosy Into the pocket of my waIstcoat,' the BFG saId. 'Then no
one Is seeIng you.'
Befofe SophIe couId pfotest, he had pIcked hef up off the tabIe and popped hef Into
the waIstcoat pocket. Thefe was pIenty of foom In thefe. 'Is you wIshIng fof a IIttIe hoIe
to peep out ffom?' he asked hef.
'Thefe's one hefe aIfeady' she saId. She had found a smaII hoIe In the pocket, and
when she put one eye cIose to It, she couId see out vefy weII Indeed. She watched the
BFG as he bent down and fIIIed hIs suItcase wIth empty gIass jafs. He cIosed the IId,
pIcked up the suItcase In one hand, took the poIe wIth the net on the end In the othef
hand, and mafched towafds the entfance of the cave.
As soon as he was outsIde, the BFG set off acfoss the gfeat hot yeIIow wasteIand
whefe the bIue focks Iay and the dead tfees stood and whefe aII the othef gIants wefe
skuIkIng about.
SophIe, squattIng Iow on hef heeIs In the pocket of the Ieathef waIstcoat, had one
eye gIued to the IIttIe hoIe. She saw the gfoup of enofmous gIants about thfee hundfed
yafds ahead.
'HoId youf bfeaths!' the BFG whIspefed down to hef. 'Cfoss youf fIggIefs! Hefe we
go! We Is goIng fIght past aII these othef gIants! Is you seeIng that whoppIng gfeat one,
the one neafest to us?'
'I see hIm,' SophIe whIspefed back, quIvefIng.
'That Is the hoffIbIest of them aII. And the bIggest of them aII. He Is caIIed the
FIeshIumpeatIng GIant.'
'I don't want to heaf about hIm,' SophIe saId.
'He Is fIfty-fouf feet hIgh,' the BFG saId softIy as he jogged aIong. 'And he Is
swoIIopIng human beans IIke they Is sugaf-Iumps, two of thfee at a tIme.'
'You'fe makIng me nefvous,' SophIe saId.
'I Is nefvous myseIf,' the BFG whIspefed. 'I aIways gets as jumpsy as a joghoppef
when the FIeshIumpeatIng GIant Is afound.'
'Keep away ffom hIm,' SophIe pIeaded.
'Not possIbIe,' the BFG answefed. 'He Is gaIIopIng easIIy two tImes as quIcksy as me.'
'ShaII we tufn back?' SophIe saId.
'TufnIng back Is wofse,' the BFG saId. 'If they Is seeIng me funnIng away, they Is aII
gIvIng chase and thfowIng focks.'
'They wouId nevef eut you though, wouId they?' SophIe asked.
'GIants Is nevef guzzIIng othef gIants,' the BFG saId. 'They Is fIghtIng and squaffeIIng
a Iot wIth each othef, but nevef guzzIIng. Human beans Is mofe tasty to them.'
The gIants had aIfeady spotted the BFG and aII heads wefe tufned, watchIng hIm as
he jogged fofwafd. He was aImIng to pass weII to the fIght of the gfoup.
Thfough hef IIttIe peep-hoIe, SophIe saw the FIeshIumpeatIng GIant movIng ovef to
Intefcept them. He dIdn't huffy. He just Ioped ovef casuaIIy to a poInt whefe the BFG
wouId have to pass. The othefs Ioped aftef hIm. SophIe counted nIne of them aItogethef
and she fecognIzed the BIoodbottIef In the mIddIe of them. They wefe bofed. They had
nothIng to do untII nIghtfaII. Thefe was an aIf of menace about them as they Ioped
sIowIy acfoss the pIaIn wIth Iong IoIIopIng stfIdes, headIng fof the BFG.
'Hefe comes the funty one!' boomed the FIeshIumpeatef. 'Ho-ho thefe, funty one!
Whefe Is you spIatch-wInkIIng away to In such a hefty huffy?' He shot out an enofmous
afm and gfabbed the BFG by the haIf. The BFG dIdn't stfuggIe. He sImpIy stopped and
stood quIte stIII and saId, 'Be so kInd as to be IettIng go of my haIf, FIeshIumpeatef.'
The FIeshIumpeatef feIeased hIm and stepped back a pace. The othef gIants stood
afound, waItIng fof the fun to staft.
'Now then, you IIttIe gfobsquIffIef!' boomed the FIeshIumpeatef. 'We Is aII of us
wantIng to know whefe you Is gaIIopIng off to evefy day In the daytIme. Nobody ought
to be gaIIopIng off to anywhefe untII It Is gettIng dafk. The human beans couId easIIy be
spottIng you and staftIng a gIant hunt and we Is not wantIng that to happen, Is we
not?'
'We Is not!' shouted the othef gIants. 'Go back to youf cave, funty one!'
'I Is not gaIIopIng to any human bean countfy,' the BFG saId. 'I Is goIng to othef
pIaces.'
'I Is thInkIng,' saId the FIeshIumpeatef, 'that you Is catchIng human beans and
keepIng them as pets!'
'RIght you Is!' cfIed the BIoodbottIef. 'Just now I Is heafIng hIm chIttefIng away to
one of them In hIs cave!'
'You Is weIcome to go and seafch my cave ffom ffack to bunt,' the BFG answefed.
'You can go IookIng Into evefy cfook and nanny. Thefe Is no human beans of stfIngy
beans of funnef beans of jeIIy beans of any othef beans In hefe.'
SophIe cfouched stIII as a mouse InsIde the BFG's pocket. She hafdIy dafed bfeathe.
She was teffIfIed she mIght sneeze. The sIIghtest sound of movement wouId gIve hef
away. Thfough the tIny peep-hoIe she watched the gIants cIustefIng afound the poof
BFG. How fevoItIng they wefe! AII of them had pIggy IIttIe eyes and enofmous mouths
wIth thIck sausage IIps. When the FIeshIumpeatef was speakIng, she got a gIImpse of hIs
tongue. It was jet bIack, IIke a sIab of bIack steak. Evefy one of them was mofe than
twIce as taII as the BFG.
SuddenIy, the FIeshIumpeatef shot out two enofmous hands and gfabbed the BFG
afound the waIst. He tossed hIm hIgh In the aIf and shouted, 'Catch hIm, Manhuggef!'
The Manhuggef caught hIm. The othef gIants spfead out quIckIy In a Iafge cIfcIe,
each gIant about twenty yafds ffom hIs neIghbouf, pfepafIng fof the game they wefe
goIng to pIay. Now the Manhuggef thfew the BFG hIgh and faf, shoutIng 'Catch hIm,
Bonecfunchef!'
The Bonecfunchef fan fofwafd and caught the tumbIIng BFG and ImmedIateIy swung
hIm up agaIn. 'Catch hIm, ChIIdchewef!' he shouted.
And so It went on. The gIants wefe pIayIng baII wIth the BFG, vyIng wIth each othef
to see who couId thfow hIm the hIghest. SophIe dug hef naIIs Into the sIdes of the pocket,
tfyIng to pfevent hefseIf ffom tumbIIng out when she was upsIde down. She feIt as
though she wefe In a baffeI goIng ovef the NIagafa FaIIs. And aII the tIme thefe was the
feaffuI dangef that one of the gIants wouId faII to catch the BFG and he wouId go
cfashIng to the gfound.
'Catch hIm, MeatdfIppef!'.
'Catch hIm, GIzzafdguIpef!'.
'Catch hIm, MaIdmashef!'.
'Catch hIm, BIoodbottIef!'.
'Catch hIm!. Catch hIm!. Catch hIm!.'
In the end, they got bofed wIth thIs game. They dumped the poof BFG on the gfound.
He was dazed and shattefed. They gave hIm a few kIcks and shouted, 'Run, you IIttIe
funt! Iet us be seeIng how fast you Is gaIIopIng!' The BFG fan. What eIse couId he do?
The gIants pIcked up focks and hufIed them aftef hIm. He managed to dodge them.
'Ruddy IIttIe funt!' they shouted. 'Tfoggy IIttIe twIt! ShfIveIIy IIttIe shfImp! Mucky IIttIe
mIdget! Squaggy IIttIe squIb! Gfobby IIttIe gfub!'
At Iast the BFG got cIeaf of them aII and In anothef coupIe of mInutes the pack of
gIants was out of sIght ovef the hofIzon. SophIe popped hef head up ffom the pocket. 'I
dIdn't IIke that,' she saId.
'Phew!' saId the BFG. 'Phew and faf between! They was In a nasty cfotchIng mood
today, was they not! I Is soffy you was havIng such a whIfIgIg tIme.'
'No wofse than you,' SophIe saId. 'WouId they evef reully huft you?'
'I Isn't evef tfustIng them,' the BFG saId.
'How do they actuaIIy catch the humans they eat?' SophIe asked.
'They Is usuaIIy just stIckIng an afm In thfough the bedfoom wIndow and snItchIng
them ffom theIf beds,' the BFG saId.
'IIke you dId to me.'
'Ah, but I Isn't eatIng you,' the BFG saId.
'How eIse do they catch them?' SophIe asked.
'SometImes,' the BFG saId, 'they Is swImmeIIng In ffom the sea IIke fIshIes wIth onIy
theIf heads showIng above the watef, and then out comes a bIg haIfy hand and gfabbIes
someone off the beach.'
'ChIIdfen as weII?'
'Often chIddIefs,' the BFG saId. 'IIttIe chIddIefs who Is buIIdIng sandcastIes on the
beach. That Is who the swImmeIIng ones afe aftef. IIttIe chIddIefs Is not so tough to eat
as oId gfandmamma, so says the ChIIdchewIng GIant.'
As they taIked, the BFG was gaIIopIng fast ovef the Iand. SophIe was standIng fIght
up In hIs waIstcoat pocket now and hoIdIng on to the edge wIth both hands. Hef head
and shouIdefs wefe In the open and the wInd was bIowIng In hef haIf.
'How eIse do they catch peopIe?' she asked.
'AII of them Is havIng theIf own specIaI ways of catchIng the human bean,' the BFG
saId. 'The MeatdfIppIng GIant Is pfefeffIng to pfetend he Is a bIg tfee gfowIng In the
pafk. He Is standIng In the pafk In the dusky evenIng and he Is hoIdIng gfeat bIg
bfanches ovef hIs head, and thefe he Is waItIng untII some happy famIIIes Is comIng to
have a pIcnIc undef the spfeadIng tfee. The MeatdfIppIng GIant Is watchIng them as
they Iay out theIf IIttIe pIcnIc. But In the end It Is the MeatdfIppef who Is havIng the
pIcnIc.'
'It's too awfuI!' SophIe cfIed.
'The GIzzafdguIpIng GIant Is a cIty Iovef,' the BFG went on. 'The GIzzafdguIpef Is
IyIng hIgh up between the foofs of houses In the bIg cItIes. He Is IyIng thefe snuggy as a
snIggIef and watchIng the human beans waIkIng on the stfeet beIow, and when he sees
one that Iooks IIke It has a whoppsy-good fIavouf, he gfabs It. He Is sImpIy feachIng
down and snItchIng It off the stfeet IIke a monkey takIng a nut. He says It Is nIce to be
abIe to pIck and choose what you Is havIng fof youf suppef. He says It Is IIke choosIng
ffom a menu.'
'Don't peopIe see hIm doIng It?' SophIe asked.
'Nevef Is they seeIng hIm. Do not fofget It Is dusky-dafk at thIs tIme. AIso, the
GIzzafdguIpef has a vefy fast afm. HIs afm Is goIng up and down quIckef than
squInkefs.'
'But If aII these peopIe afe dIsappeafIng evefy nIght, sufeIy thefe's some soft of an
outcfy?' SophIe saId.
'The wofId Is a whoppIng bIg pIace,' the BFG saId. 'It has a hundfed dIffefent
countfIes. The gIants Is cIevef. They Is cafefuI not to be skIdIddIIng off to the same
countfy too often. They Is aIways swItchfIddIIng afound.'
'Even so. ' SophIe saId.
'Do not fofget,' the BFG saId, 'that human beans Is dIsappeafIng evefywhefe aII the
tIme even wit/out the gIants Is guzzIIng them up. Human beans Is kIIIIng each othef
much quIckef than the gIants Is doIng It.'
'But they don't eut each othef,' SophIe saId.
'GIants Isn't eatIng each othef eIthef,' the BFG saId. 'Nof Is gIants /illing each othef.
GIants Is not vefy IoveIy, but they Is not kIIIIng each othef. Nof Is cfockadowndIIIIes
kIIIIng othef cfockadowndIIIIes. Nof Is pussy-cats kIIIIng pussycats.'
'They kIII mIce,' SophIe saId.
'Ah, but they Is not kIIIIng theIf own kInd,' the BFG saId. 'Human beans Is the onIy
anImaIs that Is kIIIIng theIf own kInd.'
'Don't poIsonous snakes kIII each othef?' SophIe asked. She was seafchIng
despefateIy fof anothef cfeatufe that behaved as badIy as the human.
'Even poIsnowse snakes Is nevef kIIIIng each othef,' the BFG saId. 'Nof Is the most
feafsome cfeatufes IIke tIgefs and fhInostosstefIsses. None of them Is evef kIIIIng theIf
own kInd. Has you evef thought about that?'
SophIe kept sIIent.
'I Is not undefstandIng human beans at aII,' the BFG saId. 'You Is a human bean and
you Is sayIng It Is gfIzzIIng and hoffIgust fof gIants to be eatIng human beans. RIght of
Ieft?'
'RIght,' SophIe saId.
'But human beans Is squIshIng euc/ ot/er aII the tIme,' the BFG saId. 'They Is
shootIIng guns and goIng up In aefIopIanes to dfop theIf bombs on each othef's heads
evefy week. Human beans Is aIways kIIIIng othef human beans.'
He was fIght. Of coufse he was fIght and SophIe knew It. She was begInnIng to
wondef whethef humans wefe actuaIIy any bettef than gIants. 'Even so,' she saId,
defendIng hef own face, 'I thInk It's fotten that those fouI gIants shouId go off evefy
nIght to eat humans. Humans have nevef done t/em any hafm.'
'That Is what the IIttIe pIggy-wIg Is sayIng evefy day' the BFG answefed. 'He Is
sayIng, ¨I has nevef done any hafm to the human bean so why shouId he be eatIng me?"
'
'Oh deaf,' SophIe saId.
'The human beans Is makIng fuIes to suIt themseIves,' the BFG went on. 'But the fuIes
they Is makIng do not suIt the IIttIe pIggy-wIggIes. Am I fIght of Ieft?'
'RIght,' SophIe saId.
'GIants Is aIso makIng fuIes. TheIf fuIes Is not suItIng the human beans. Evefybody Is
makIng hIs own fuIes to suIt hImseIf.'
'But you don't IIke It that those beastIy gIants afe eatIng humans evefy nIght, do
you?' SophIe asked.
'I do not,' the BFG answefed fIfmIy. 'One fIght Is not makIng two Iefts. Is you quIte
cosy down thefe In my pocket?'
'I'm fIne,' SophIe saId.
Then suddenIy, once agaIn, the BFG went Into that magIcaI top geaf of hIs. He began
huftIIng fofwafd wIth phenomenaI Ieaps. HIs speed was unbeIIevabIe. The Iandscape
became bIuffed and agaIn SophIe had to duck down out of the whIstIIng gaIe to save hef
head ffom beIng bIown off hef shouIdefs. She cfouched In the pocket and IIstened to the
wInd scfeamIng past. It came knIfIng In thfough the tIny peep-hoIe In the pocket and
whooshed afound hef IIke a huffIcane.
But thIs tIme the BFG dIdn't stay In top geaf Iong. It seemed as though he had had
some baffIef to cfoss, a vast mountaIn pefhaps of an ocean of a gfeat deseft, but havIng
cfossed It, he once agaIn sIowed down to hIs nofmaI gaIIop and SophIe was abIe to pop
hef head up and Iook out once mofe at the vIew.
She notIced ImmedIateIy that they wefe now In an aItogethef paIef countfy. The sun
had dIsappeafed above a fIIm of vapouf. The aIf was becomIng cooIef evefy mInute. The
Iand was fIat and tfeeIess and thefe seemed to be no coIouf In It at aII.
Evefy mInute, the mIst became thIckef. The aIf became coIdef stIII and evefythIng
became paIef and paIef untII soon thefe was nothIng but gfey and whIte aII afound
them. They wefe In a countfy of swIfIIng mIsts and ghostIy vapoufs. Thefe was some
soft of gfass undeffoot but It was not gfeen. It was ashy gfey. Thefe was no sIgn of a
IIvIng cfeatufe and no sound at aII except fof the soft thud of the BFG's footsteps as he
huftIed on thfough the fog.
SuddenIy he stopped. 'We Is hefe at Iast!' he announced. He bent down and IIfted
SophIe ffom hIs pocket and put hef on the gfound. She was stIII In hef nIghtIe and hef
feet wefe bafe. She shIvefed and stafed afound hef at the swIfIIng mIsts and ghostIy
vapoufs.
'Whefe afe we?' she asked.
'We Is In Dfeam Countfy,' the BFG saId. 'ThIs Is whefe aII dfeams Is begInnIng.'
Dream-Catching
The BIg FfIendIy GIant put the suItcase on the gfound. He bent down Iow so that hIs
enofmous face was cIose to SophIe's. 'Ffom now on, we Is keepIng as stIII as wInky IIttIe
mIcIes,' he whIspefed.
SophIe nodded. The mIsty vapouf swIfIed afound hef. It made hef cheeks damp and
Ieft dewdfops In hef haIf.
The BFG opened the suItcase and took out sevefaI empty gIass jafs. He set them
feady on the gfound, wIth theIf scfew tops femoved. Then he stood up vefy stfaIght. HIs
head was now hIgh up In the swIfIIng mIst and It kept dIsappeafIng, then appeafIng
agaIn. He was hoIdIng the Iong net In hIs fIght hand.
SophIe, stafIng upwafds, saw thfough the mIst that hIs coIossaI eafs wefe begInnIng
to swIveI out ffom hIs head. They began wavIng gentIy to and ffo.
SuddenIy the BFG pounced. He Ieaped hIgh In the aIf and swung the net thfough the
mIst wIth a gfeat swIshIng sweep of hIs afm. 'Got hIm!' he cfIed. 'Ajaf! Ajaf! QuIck quIck
quIck!' SophIe pIcked up a jaf and heId It up to hIm. He gfabbed hoId of It. He Iowefed
the net. Vefy cafefuIIy he tIpped somethIng absoIuteIy InvIsIbIe ffom the net Into the jaf.
He dfopped the net and swIftIy cIapped one hand ovef the jaf. 'The top!' he whIspefed.
'The jaf top quIck!' SophIe pIcked up the scfew top and handed It to hIm. He scfewed It
on tIght and the jaf was cIosed. The BFG was vefy excIted. He heId the jaf cIose to one
eaf and IIstened IntentIy.
'It's a wInksquIffIef!' he whIspefed wIth a thfIII In hIs voIce. 'It's. It's. It's. It's
even bettef. It's a phIzzwIzafd! It's a goIden phIzzwIzafd!'
SophIe stafed at hIm.
'Oh my, oh my!' he saId, hoIdIng the jaf In ffont of hIm. 'ThIs wIII be gIvIng some
IIttIe tottIef a vefy happy nIght when I Is bIowIng It In!'
'Is It feaIIy a good one?' SophIe asked.
' A gooJ one?' he cfIed. 'It's a goIden phIzzwIzafd! It Is not often I Is gettIng one of
these!' He handed the jaf to SophIe and saId, 'PIease be stIII as a staffIsh now. I Is
thInkIng thefe may be a whoIe swafm of phIzzwIzafds up hefe today. And do kIndIy stop
bfeathIng. You Is teffIbIy noIsy down thefe.'
'I haven't moved a muscIe,' SophIe saId.
'Then don't,' the BFG answefed shafpIy. Once agaIn he stood up taII In the mIst,
hoIdIng hIs net at the feady. Then came the Iong sIIence, the waItIng, the IIstenIng, and
at Iast, wIth sufpfIsIng suddenness came the Ieap and the swIsh of the net.
'Anothef jaf!' he cfIed. 'QuIck quIck quIck!'
When the second dfeam was safeIy In the jaf and the top was scfewed down, the BFG
heId It to hIs eaf.
'Oh no!' he cfIed. 'Oh mInce my maggots! Oh swIpe my swoggIes!'
'What's the mattef?' SophIe asked.
'It's a tfoggIehumpef!' he shouted. HIs voIce was fIIIed wIth fufy and anguIsh. 'Oh,
save ouf soIos!' he cfIed. 'DeIIvef us ffom weaseIs! The devII Is dancIng on my dIbbIef!'
'What ure you taIkIng about?' SophIe saId. The BFG was gettIng mofe dIstfessed
evefy moment.
'Oh, bash my eyebones!' he cfIed, wavIng the jaf In the aIf. 'I come aII thIs way to
get IoveIy goIden dfeams and what Is I catchIng?'
'What ure you catchIng?' SophIe saId.
'I Is catchIng a ffIghtsome tfoggIehumpef!' he cfIed. 'ThIs Is a buJ buJ Jreum! It Is
wofse than a bad dfeam! It Is a nIghtmafe!'
'Oh deaf,' SophIe saId. 'What wIII you do wIth that?'
'I Is nevef nevef IettIng It go!' the BFG cfIed. 'If I do, then some poof IIttIe totdef wIII
be havIng the most cufdbIoodIIng tIme! ThIs one Is a feaI kIcksy bog-thumpef! I Is
expIodIng It as soon as I get home!'
'NIghtmafes afe hoffIbIe,' SophIe saId. 'I had one once and I woke up sweatIng aII
ovef.'
'WIth thIs one you wouId be wakIng up screuming aII ovef!' the BFG saId. 'ThIs one
wouId make youf teeth stand on end! If thIs one got Into you, youf bIood wouId be
ffeezIng to IcIcIes and youf skIn wouId go cfeepIng acfoss the fIoof!'
'Is It as bad as that?'
'It's wofse!' cfIed the BFG. 'ThIs Is a feaI whoppsy gfobswItchef!'
'You saId It was a tfoggIehumpef,' SophIe toId hIm.
'It is a tfoggIehumpef!' cfIed the exaspefated BFG. 'But It Is aIso a bogt/umper and a
grobswitc/er! It Is aII thfee fIddIed Into one! Oh, I Is so gIad I Is cIutchIng It tIght. Ah, you
wIcked beastIe, you!' he cfIed, hoIdIng up the jaf and stafIng Into It. 'Nevef mofe Is you
goIng to be bunkdoodIIng the poof IIttIe human-beaney totdefs!'
SophIe, who was aIso stafIng Into the gIass jaf, cfIed out, 'I can see It! Thefe's
somethIng In thefe!'
'Of coufse thefe Is somethIng In thefe,' the BFG saId. 'You Is IookIng at a ffIghtsome
tfoggIehumpef.'
'But you toId me dfeams wefe InvIsIbIe.'
'They Is aIways InvIsIbIe untII they Is cuptureJ,' the BFG toId hef. 'Aftef that they Is
IosIng a IIttIe of theIf InvIsIbIIIty. We Is seeIng thIs one vefy cIeafIy.'
InsIde the jaf SophIe couId see the faInt scafIet outIIne of somethIng that Iooked IIke
a mIxtufe between a bIob of gas and a bubbIe of jeIIy. It was movIng vIoIentIy,
thfashIng agaInst the sIdes of the jaf and fofevef changIng shape.
'It's wIggIIng aII ovef the pIace!' SophIe cfIed. 'It's fIghtIng to get out! It'II bash ItseIf
to bIts!'
'The nastIef the dfeam, the angfIef It Is gettIng when It Is In pfIson,' the BFG saId. 'It
Is the same as wIth wIId anImaIs. If an anImaI Is vefy fIefce and you Is puttIng It In a
cage, It wIII make a tfemendous fumpIedumpus. If It Is a nIce anImaI IIke a cockatootIoo
of a foggIe-ffump, It wIII sIt quIetIy. Dfeams Is exactIy the same. ThIs one Is a nasty
fIefce bogfottIng nIghtmafe. Just Iook at hIm spIashIng hImseIf agaInst the gIass!'
'It's quIte ffIghtenIng!' SophIe cfIed.
'I wouId be hatIng to get thIs one InsIde me on a dafksome nIght,' the BFG saId.
'So wouId I!' SophIe saId.
The BFG stafted puttIng the bottIes back Into the suItcase.
'Is that aII?' SophIe asked. 'Afe we goIng?'
'I Is so upset by thIs tfoggIehumpIng bogthumpIng gfobswItchef,' the BFG saId, 'that I
Is not wIshIng to go on. Dfeam-catchIng Is fInIshed fof today.'
Soon SophIe was back In the waIstcoat pocket and the BFG was facIng home as fast
as he couId go. When, at Iast, they emefged out of the mIst and came agaIn on to the hot
yeIIow wasteIand, aII the othef gIants wefe spfawIed out on the gfound, fast asIeep.
A Trogg!ehumper for
the F!esh!umpeater
'They Is aIways havIng fIfty wInks befofe they goes scumpefIng off to hunt human beans
In the evenIng,' the BFG saId. He stopped fof a few moments to Iet SophIe have a bettef
Iook. 'GIants Is onIy sIeepIng evefy then and now,' he saId. 'Not neafIy as much as
human beans. Human beans Is cfazy fof sIeepIng. Is It evef occuffIng to you that a
human bean who Is fIfty Is spendIng about twenty yeafs sIeepIng fast?'
'I must admIt that nevef occuffed to me,' SophIe saId.
'You shouId ullow It to occuf to you,' the BFG saId. 'ImagIne It pIease. ThIs human
bean who says he Is fIfty has been fast asIeep fof twenty yeafs and Is not even knowIng
whefe he Is! Not even Joing anythIng! Not even thInkIng!'
'It's a funny thought,' SophIe saId.
'ExunckIy,' the BFG saId. 'So what I Is tfyIng to expIaIn to you Is that a human bean
who says he Is fIfty Is not fIfty, he Is onIy thIfty.'
'What about me?' SophIe saId. 'I am eIght.'
'You Is not eIght at aII,' the BFG saId. 'Human bean babIes and IIttIe chIddIefs Is
spendIng haIf theIf tIme sIeepIng, so you Is onIy fouf.'
'I'm eIght,' SophIe saId.
'You may t/in/ you Is eIght,' the BFG saId, 'but you has onIy spent fouf yeafs of youf
IIfe wIth youf IIttIe eyes open. You Is onIy fouf and pIease stop hIggIIng me. TItchy IIttIe
snappefwhIppefs IIke you shouId not be hIggIIng afound wIth an oId sage and onIons
who Is hundfeds of yeafs mofe than you.'
'How much do gIants sIeep?' SophIe asked.
'They Is nevef wastIng much tIme snozzIIng,' the BFG saId. 'Two of thfee houfs Is
enough.'
'When do you sIeep?' SophIe asked.
'Even Iess,' the BFG answefed. 'I Is sIeepIng onIy once In a bIue baboon.'
SophIe, peepIng out ffom hef pocket, examIned the nIne sIeepIng gIants. They Iooked
even mofe gfotesque now than when they wefe awake. SpfawIed out acfoss the yeIIow
pIaIn, they covefed an afea about the sIze of a footbaII fIeId. Most of them wefe IyIng
on theIf backs wIth theIf enofmous mouths wIde open, and they wefe snofIng IIke
foghofns. The noIse was awfuI.
SuddenIy the BFG gave a jump In the aIf. 'By gumffog!' he cfIed. 'I Is just havIng the
most whoppsy-whIffIIng Idea!'
'What?' SophIe saId.
'WaIt!' he cfIed. 'HoId youf hofsefeathefs! Keep youf skIft on! Just you waIt to see
what I Is goIng to bfIng about!' He gaIIoped off fast to hIs cave wIth SophIe hangIng on
tIght to the fIm of the pocket. He foIIed back the stone. He entefed the cave. He was
vefy excIted. He was movIng quIckIy. 'You stay whefe you Is In my pocket, huggybee,'
he saId. 'We Is doIng thIs IoveIy bIt of buckswashIIng both togethef.' He IaId asIde the
dfeam-catchIng net but hung on to the suItcase. He fan acfoss to the othef sIde of the
cave and gfabbed the Iong tfumpet thIng, the one he had been caffyIng when SophIe
had fIfst seen hIm In the vIIIage. WIth the suItcase In one hand and the tfumpet In the
othef, he dashed out of the cave.
What is he up to now? SophIe wondefed.
'Peep youf head up good,' the BFG saId, 'then you wIII get a fIne wInkIe of what Is
goIng on.'
When the BFG came neaf to the sIeepIng gIants, he sIowed hIs pace. He began
movIng softIy. He cfept on hIs toes towafds the ugIy bfutes. They wefe stIII snofIng
IoudIy. They Iooked fepuIsIve, fIIthy, dIaboIIcaI. The BFG tIp-toed afound them. He went
past the GIzzafdguIpef, the BIoodbottIef, the MeatdfIppef, the ChIIdchewef. Then he
stopped. He had feached the FIeshIumpeatef. He poInted at hIm, then he Iooked down at
SophIe and gave hef a bIg wInk.
He kneIt on the gfound and vefy quIetIy he opened the suItcase. He took out of It the
gIass jaf contaInIng the teffIbIe nIghtmafIsh tfoggIehumpef.
At that poInt, SophIe guessed what was goIng to happen next.
Owc/, she thought. ThIs couId be fathef dangefous. She cfouched Iowef In the pocket
so that onIy the top of hef head and hef eyes wefe showIng. She wanted to be feady to
duck out of sIght vefy fast shouId anythIng go wfong.
They wefe about ten feet away ffom the FIeshIumpeatef's face. The snofIng-snoftIng
noIse he was makIng was dIsgustIng. Evefy now and agaIn a bIg bubbIe of spIt fofmed
between hIs two open IIps and men It wouId bufst wIth a spIash and covef hIs face wIth
saIIva.
TakIng InfInIte cafe, the BFG unscfewed the top of the gIass jaf and tIpped the
squIggIIng squIfmIng faIntIy scafIet tfoggIehumpef Into the wIde end of hIs Iong
tfumpet. He put the othef end of the tfumpet to hIs IIps. He aImed the Instfument
dIfectIy at the FIeshIumpeatef's face. He took a deep bfeath, puffed out hIs cheeks and
then w/oof! He bIew!
SophIe saw a fIash of paIe fed go daftIng towafds the gIant's face. Fof a spIIt second
It hovefed above the face. Then It was gone. It seemed to have been sucked up the
gIant's nose, but It had aII happened so quIckIy, SophIe couIdn't be sufe.
'We had bettef be skIddIIng away quIck to whefe It Is safe,' the BFG whIspefed. He
tfotted off fof about a hundfed yafds, then he stopped. He cfouched Iow to the eafth.
'Now,' he saId, 'we Is waItIng fof the gun and fIames to begIn.'
They dIdn't have Iong to waIt.
The aIf was suddenIy pIefced by the most feaffuI foaf SophIe had evef heafd, and she
saw the FIeshIumpeatef's body, aII fIfty-fouf feet of It, fIse up off the gfound and faII
back agaIn wIth a thump. Then It began to wfIggIe and twIst and bounce about In the
most vIoIent fashIon. It was quIte ffIghtenIng to watch.
'Eeeow!' foafed the FIeshIumpeatef. 'Ayeee! Oooow!'
'He's stIII asIeep,' the BFG whIspefed. 'The teffIbIe tfoggIehumpIng nIghtmafe Is
begInnIng to hIt hIm.'
'Sefves hIm fIght,' SophIe saId. She couId feeI no sympathy fof thIs gfeat bfute who
ate chIIdfen as though they wefe sugaf-Iumps.
'Save us!' scfeamed the FIeshIumpeatef, thfashIng about madIy. 'He Is aftef me! He Is
gettIng me!'
The thfashIng of IImbs and the wavIng of afms became mofe vIoIent by the second. It
was an awesome thIng to watch such a massIve cfeatufe havIng such mIghty
convuIsIons.
'It's Jack!' beIIowed the FIeshIumpeatef. 'It's the gfuefuI gfuncIous Jack! Jack Is aftef
me! Jack Is wack-cfackIIng me! Jack Is spIkestIckIng me! Jack Is spIash-pIunkIng me! It
Is the teffIbIe ffIghtswIpIngjack!' The FIeshIumpeatef was wfIthIng about ovef the
gfound IIke some coIossaI toftufed snake. 'Oh, spafe me, Jack!' he yeIIed. 'Don't huft
me, Jack!'
'Who Is thIs Jack he's on about?' SophIe whIspefed.
'Jack Is the onIy human bean aII gIants Is ffIghtened of,' the BFG toId hef. 'They Is aII
absoIuteIy teffIfIed of Jack. They Is aII heafIng that Jack Is a famous gIant-kIIIef.'
'Save me!' scfeamed the FIeshIumpeatef. 'Have mefcy on thIs poof IIttIe gIant! The
beanstaIk! He Is comIng at me wIth hIs teffIbIe spIkestIckIng beanstaIk! Take It away! I
Is beggIng you, Jack, I Is pfayIng you not to touch me wIth youf teffIbIe spIkestIckIng
beanstaIk!'
'Us gIants,' the BFG whIspefed, 'Is not knowIng vefy much about thIs dfeaded human
bean caIIed Jack. We Is knowIng onIy that he Is a famous gIant-kIIIef and that he Is
ownIng somethIng caIIed a beanstaIk. We Is knowIng aIso that the beanstaIk Is a
feafsome thIng and Jack Is usIng It to kIII gIants.'
SophIe couIdn't stop smIIIng.
'What Is you gfIggIIng at?' the BFG asked hef, sIIghtIy nettIed.
'I'II teII youk Iatef,' SophIe saId.
The awfuI nIghtmafe had now gfIpped the gfeat bfute to such an extent that he was
tyIng hIs whoIe body Into knots. 'Do not do It, Jack!' he scfeeched. 'I was not eatIng you,
Jack! I Is nevef eatIng human beans! I sweaf I has nevef gobbIed a sIngIe human bean
In aII my whoIesome IIfe!'
'IIaf,' saId the BFG.
Just then, one of the FIeshIumpeatef's fIaIIIng fIsts caught the stIII-fast-asIeep
MeatdfIppIng GIant smack In the mouth. At the same tIme, one of hIs fufIousIy thfashIng
Iegs kIcked the snofIng GIzzafdguIpIng GIant fIght In the guts. Both the Injufed gIants
woke up and Ieaped to theIf feet.
'He Is swIpIng me fIght In the mouth!' yeIIed the MeatdfIppef.
'He Is bungswoggIIng me smack In the guts!' shouted the GIzzafdguIpef.
The two of them fushed at the FIeshIumpeatef and began poundIng hIm wIth theIf
fIsts and feet. The wfetched FIeshIumpeatef woke up wIth a bang. He awoke stfaIght
ffom one nIghtmafe Into anothef. He foafed Into battIe, and In the beIIowIng thumpIng
fough and tumbIe that foIIowed, one sIeepIng gIant aftef anothef eIthef got stepped
upon of kIcked. Soon, aII nIne of them wefe on theIf feet havIng the most aImIghty ffee-
fof-aII. They punched and kIcked and scfatched and bIt and butted each othef as hafd as
they couId. BIood fIowed. Noses went cfunch. Teeth feII out IIke haIIstones. The gIants
foafed and scfeamed and cufsed, and fof many mInutes the noIse of battIe foIIed acfoss
the yeIIow pIaIn.
The BFG smIIed a bIg wIde smIIe of absoIute pIeasufe. 'I Is IovIng It when they Is aII
havIng a good tough and fumbIe,' he saId.
'They'II kIII each othef,' SophIe saId.
'Nevef,' the BFG answefed. 'Those beasts Is aIways bIshIng and waIIopIng at one
anothef. Soon It wIII be gettIng dusky and they wIII be gaIIopIng off to fIII theIf
tummIes.'
'They'fe coafse and fouI and fIIthy,' SophIe saId. 'I hate them!'
As the BFG headed back to the cave, he saId quIetIy, 'We ceftaInIy was puttIng that
nIghtmafe to good use though, wasn't we?'
'ExceIIent use,' SophIe saId. 'WeII done you.'
Dreams
The BIg FfIendIy GIant was seated at the gfeat tabIe In hIs cave and he was doIng hIs
homewofk.
SophIe sat cfoss-Iegged on the tabIe-top neaf by, watchIng hIm at wofk.
The gIass jaf contaInIng the one and onIy good dfeam they had caught that day
stood between them.
The BFG, wIth gfeat cafe and patIence, was pfIntIng somethIng on a pIece of papef
wIth an enofmous pencII.
'What afe you wfItIng?' SophIe asked hIm.
'Evefy dfeam Is havIng Its specIaI IabeI on the bottIe,' the BFG saId. 'How eIse couId I
be fIndIng the one I am wantIng In a huffy?'
'But can you feaIIy and tfuIy teII what soft of a dfeam It's goIng to be sImpIy by
IIstenIng to It?' SophIe asked.
'I can,' the BFG saId, not IookIng up.
'But /ow? Is It by the way It hums and buzzes?'
'You Is Iess of mofe fIght,' the BFG saId. 'Evefy dfeam In the wofId Is makIng a
dIffefent soft of buzzy-hum musIc. And these gfand swashboggIIng eafs of mIne Is abIe
to fead that musIc.'
'By musIc, do you mean tunes?'
'I Is not meanIng tunes.'
'Then what Jo you mean?'
'Human beans Is havIng theIf own musIc, fIght of Ieft?'
'RIght,' SophIe saId. 'Iots of musIc.'
'And sometImes human beans Is vefy ovefcome when they Is heafIng wondefous
musIc. They Is gettIng shIvefs down theIf spIndeIs. RIght of Ieft?'
'RIght,' SophIe saId.
'So the musIc Is sayIng somethIng to them. It Is sendIng a message. I do not thInk the
human beans Is knowIng what that message Is, but they Is IovIng It just the same.'
'That's about fIght,' SophIe saId.
'But because of these jumpsquIffIIng eafs of mIne,' the BFG saId, 'I Is not onIy abIe to
/eur the musIc that dfeams Is makIng but I Is unJerstunJing It aIso.'
'What do you mean unJerstunJing It?' SophIe saId.
'I can fead It,' the BFG saId. 'It taIks to me. It Is IIke a IangwItch.'
'I fInd that just a IIttIe hafd to beIIeve,' SophIe saId.
'I'II bet you Is aIso fIndIng It hafd to beIIeve In quogwInkIes,' the BFG saId, 'and how
they Is vIsItIng us ffom the stafs.'
'Of coufse I don't beIIeve that,' SophIe saId.
The BFG fegafded hef gfaveIy wIth those huge eyes of hIs. 'I hope you wIII fofgIve
me,' he saId, 'If I teII you that human beans Is thInkIng they Is vefy cIevef, but they Is
not. They Is neafIy aII of them notmuchefs and squeakpIps.'
'I beg youf pafdon,' SophIe saId.
'The mattef wIth human beans,' the BFG went on, 'Is that they Is absoIuteIy fefusIng
to beIIeve In anythIng unIess they Is actuaIIy seeIng It fIght In ffont of theIf own
schnozzIes. Of coufse quogwInkIes Is exIstIng. I Is meetIng them oftenIy. I Is even
chIttefIng to them.' He tufned away contemptuousIy ffom SophIe and fesumed hIs
wfItIng. SophIe moved ovef to fead what he had wfItten so faf. The Iettefs wefe pfInted
bIg and boId, but wefe not vefy weII fofmed. Hefe Is what It saId:
THIS DREAM IS ABOUT HOW I IS SAVING MY TEECHER FROM DROWNING. I IS DIVING INTO THE RIVER FROM A
HIGH BRIDGE AND I IS DRAGGING MY TEECHER TO THE BANK AND THEN I IS GIVING HIM THE KISS OF DEATH.
'The kIss of w/ut?' SophIe asked.
The BFG stopped wfItIng and faIsed hIs head sIowIy. HIs eyes fested on SophIe's face.
'I Is teIIIng you once befofe,' he saId quIetIy, 'that I Is nevef havIng a chance to go to
schooI. I Is fuII of mIstakes. They Is not my fauIt. I do my best. You Is a IoveIy IIttIe gIfI,
but pIease femembef that you Is not exactIy MIss KnowevefythIng youfseIf.'
'I'm soffy' SophIe saId. 'I feaIIy am. It Is vefy fude of me to keep coffectIng you.'
The BFG gazed at hef fof a whIIe Iongef, then he bent hIs head agaIn to hIs sIow
IabofIous wfItIng.
'TeII me honestIy,' SophIe saId. 'If you bIew thIs dfeam Into my bedfoom when I was
asIeep, wouId I feaIIy and tfuIy staft dfeamIng about how I saved my teachef ffom
dfownIng by dIvIng off the bfIdge?'
'Mofe,' the BFG saId. 'A Iot mofe. But I cannot be squIbbIIng the whoIe
gfopefIunckIng dfeam on a tItchy bIt of papef. Of coufse thefe Is mofe.'
The BFG IaId down hIs pencII and pIaced one massIve eaf cIose to the jaf. Fof about
thIfty seconds he IIstened IntentIy. 'Yes,' he saId, noddIng hIs gfeat head soIemnIy up
and down. 'ThIs dfeam Is contInuIng vefy nIce. It has a vefy dofy-hunky endIng.'
'How does It end?' SophIe saId. 'Pleuse teII me.'
'You wouId be dfeamIng,' the BFG saId, 'that the mofnIng aftef you Is savIng the
teachef ffom the fIvef, you Is affIvIng at schooI and you Is seeIng aII the fIve hundfed
pupIIs sIttIng In the assembIy haII, and aII the teachefs as weII, and the head teachef Is
then standIng up and sayIng, ¨I Is wantIng the whoIe schooI to gIve thfee cheefs fof
SophIe because she Is so bfave and Is savIng the IIfe of ouf fIne afIthmatIc teachef, Mf
FIggIns, who was unfoftunateIy pushed off the bfIdge Into the fIvef by ouf gym-teachef,
MIss AmeIIa Upscotch. So thfee cheefs fof SophIe!" And the whoIe schooI Is then
cheefIng IIke mad and shoutIng bfavo weII done, and, fof evef aftef that, even when
you Is gettIng youf sums aII gungswIzzIed and muggIed up, Mf FIggIns Is aIways gIvIng
you ten out of ten and wfItIng GooJ Wor/ Sop/ie In youf exefcIse book. Then you Is
wakIng up.'
'I IIke that dfeam,' SophIe saId.
'Of coufse you IIke It,' the BFG saId. 'It Is a phIzzwIzafd.' He IIcked the back of the
IabeI and stuck It on the jaf. 'I Is usuaIIy wfItIng a bIt mofe than thIs on the IabeIs,' he
saId. 'But you Is watchIng me and makIng me jumpsy.'
'I'II go and sIt somewhefe eIse,' SophIe saId.
'Don't go,' he saId. 'Iook In the jaf cafefuIIy and I thInk you wIII be seeIng thIs
dfeam.'
SophIe peefed Into the jaf and thefe, sufe enough, she saw the faInt tfansIucent
outIIne of somethIng about the sIze of a hen's egg. Thefe was just a touch of coIouf In It,
a paIe sea-gfeen, soft and shImmefIng and vefy beautIfuI. Thefe It Iay, thIs smaII obIong
sea-gfeen jeIIyIsh thIng, at the bottom of the jaf, quIte peacefuI, but puIsIng gendy, the
whoIe of It movIng In and out evef so sIIghtIy, as though It wefe bfeathIng.
'It's movIng!' SophIe cfIed. 'It's aIIve!'
'Of coufse It's aIIve.'
'What wIII you feed It on?' SophIe asked.
'It Is not needIng any food,' the BFG toId hef.
'That's cfueI,' SophIe saId. 'EvefythIng aIIve needs food of some soft. Even tfees and
pIants.'
'The nofth wInd Is aIIve,' the BFG saId. 'It Is movIng. It touches you on the cheek and
on the hands. But nobody Is feedIng It.'
SophIe was sIIent. ThIs extfaofdInafy gIant was dIstufbIng hef Ideas. He seemed to be
IeadIng hef towafds mystefIes that wefe beyond hef undefstandIng.
'A dfeam Is not needIng anythIng,' the BFG went on. 'If It Is a good one, It Is waItIng
peaceabIy fof evef untII It Is feIeased and aIIowed to do Its job. If It Is a bad one, It Is
aIways fIghtIng to get out.'
The BFG stood up and waIked ovef to one of the many sheIves and pIaced the Iatest
jaf among the thousands of othefs.
'PIease can I see some of the othef dfeams?' SophIe asked hIm.
The BFG hesItated. 'Nobody Is evef seeIng them befofe,' he saId. 'But pefhaps aftef
aII I Is IettIng you have a IIttIe peep.' He pIcked hef up off the tabIe and stood hef on the
paIm of one of hIs huge hands. He caffIed hef towafds the sheIves. 'Ovef hefe Is some of
the good dfeams,' he saId. 'The phIzzwIzafds.'
'WouId you hoId me cIosef so I can fead the IabeIs,' SophIe saId.
'My IabeIs Is onIy teIIIng bIts of It,' the BFG saId. 'The dfeams Is usuaIIy much Iongef.
The IabeIs Is just to femInd me.'
SophIe stafted to fead the IabeIs. The fIfst one seemed Iong enough to hef. It went
fIght found the jaf, and as she fead It, she had to keep tufnIng the jaf. ThIs Is what It
saId:
TODAY I IS SITTING IN CIASS AND I DISCOVER THAT IF I IS STARING VERY HARD AT MY TEECHER IN A SPHESHAI
WAY, I IS ABIE TO PUT HER TO SIEEP. SO I KEEP STARING AT HER AND IN THE END HER HEAD DROPS ON TO HER
DESK AND SHE GOES FAST TO SIEEP AND SNORKIES IOUDIY. THEN IN MARCHES THE HEAD TEECHER AND HE
SHOUTS 'WAKE UP MISS PIUMRIDGE! HOW DARE YOU GO TO SIEEP IN CIASS! GO FETCH YOUR HAT AND COTE
AND IEAVE THIS SCHOOI FOR EVER! YOU IS SACKED!' BUT IN A JIFFY I IS PUTTING THE HEAD TEECHER TO SIEEP
AS WEII, AND HE JUST CRUMPIES SIOWIY TO THE FIOOR IIKE A IUMP OF JEIIY AND THERE HE IIES AII IN A
HEAP AND STARTS SNORKEIIING EVEN IOWDER THAN MISS PIUMRIDGE. AND THEN I IS HEARING MY MUMMY'S
VOICE SAYING WAKE UP YOUR BREKFUST IS REDDY.
'What a funny dfeam,' SophIe saId.
'It's a fIngbeIIef,' the BFG saId. 'It's whoppsy.'
InsIde the jaf, just beIow the edge of the IabeI, SophIe couId see the puttIng-to-sIeep
dfeam IyIng peacefuIIy on the bottom, puIsIng gentIy, sea-gfeen IIke the othef one, but
pefhaps a tfIfIe Iafgef.
'Do you have sepafate dfeams fof boys and fof gIfIs?' SophIe asked.
'Of coufse,' the BFG saId. 'If I Is gIvIng a gIfI's dfeam to a boy, even If It was a feaIIy
whoppsy gIfI's dfeam, the boy wouId be wakIng up and thInkIng what a fotbungIIng
gfInksIudgIng oId dfeam that was.'
'Boys wouId,' SophIe saId.
'These hefe Is aII gIfIs' dfeams on thIs sheIf,' the BFG saId.
'Can I fead a boy's dfeam?'
'You can,' the BFG saId, and he IIfted hef to a hIghef sheIf. The IabeI on the neafest
boy's-dfeam jaf fead as foIIows:
I IS MAKING MYSEIF A MARVEIUS PAIR OF SUCTION BOOTS AND WHEN I PUT THEM ON I IS ABEI TO WAIK
STRATE UP THE KITSHUN WAII AND ACROSS THE CEIIING., WEII, I IS WAIKING UPSIDE DOWN ON THE CEIIING
WEN MY BIG SISTER COMES IN AND SHE IS STARTING TO YEII AT ME AS SHE AIWAYS DOES, YEIIING WOT ON
EARTH IS YOU DOING UP THERE WAIKING ON THE CEIIING AND I IOOKS DOWN AT HER AND I SMIIES AND I
SAYS I TOLÐ YOU YOU WAS DRIVING ME UP THE WAII AND NOW YOU HAS DONE IT.
'I fInd that one fathef sIIIy,' SophIe saId.
'Boys wouIdn't,' the BFG saId, gfInnIng. 'It's anothef fIngbeIIef. Pefhaps you has seen
enough now.'
'Iet me fead anothef boy's one,' SophIe saId.
The next IabeI saId:
THE TEIIYFONE RINGS IN OUR HOUSE AND MY FATHER PICKS IT UP AND SAYS IN HIS VERY IMPORTANT
TEIIYFONE VOICE 'SIMPKINS SPEAKING'. THEN HIS FACE GOES WHITE AND HIS VOICE GOES AII FUNNY AND HE
SAYS 'WHAT! WHO?' AND THEN HE SAYS 'YES SIR I UNDERSTAND SIR BUT SUREIY IT IS ML YOU IS WISHING TO
SPEKE TO SIR NOT MY IITTIE SON?' MY FATHER'S FACE IS GOING FROM WHITE TO DARK PURPEI AND HE IS
GUIPING IIKE HE HAS A IOBSTER STUCK IN HIS THROTE AND THEN AT IAST HE IS SAYING 'YES SIR VERY WEII
SIR I WIII GET HIM SIR' AND HE TURNS TO ME AND HE SAYS IN A RATHER RESPECK-FUI VOICE 'IS YOU
KNOWING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?' AND I SAYS 'NO BUT I EXPECT HE IS HEARING ABOUT ME.'
THEN I IS HAVING A IONG TAIK ON THE FONE AND SAYING THINGS IIKE 'IET ME TAKE CARE OF IT, MR
PRESIDENT. YOU'II BUNGIE IT AII UP IF YOU DO IT YOUR WAY'. AND MY FATHER'S EYES IS GOGGIING RIGHT
OUT OF HIS HEAD AND THAT IS WHEN I IS HEARING MY FATHER'S REAI VOICE SAYING GET UP YOU IAZY SIOB
OR YOU WIII BE IATE FOR SKOOI.
'Boys afe cfazy,' SophIe saId. 'Iet me fead thIs next one.' SophIe stafted feadIng the
next IabeI:
I IS HAVING A BATH AND I IS DISCOVERING THAT IF I PRESS QUITE HARD ON MY TUMMY BUTTON A FUNNY
FEEIING COMES OVER ME AND SUDDENIEY MY IEGS IS NOT THERE NOR IS MY ARMS. IN FACT I HAS BECOME
ABSOIOOTIY INVISIBIE AII OVER. I IS STIII THERE BUT NO ONE CAN SEE ME NOT EVEN MYSEIF. SO MY MUMMY
COMES IN AND SAYS 'WHERE IS THAT CHIID! HE WAS IN THE BATH A MINIT AGO AND HE CAN'T POSSIBIY HAVE
WASHED HIMSEIF PROPERIY!' SO I SAYS 'HERE I IS' AND SHE SAYS 'WHERE?' AND I SAYS 'HERE' AND SHE SAYS
'WHERE?' AND I SAYS 'HERE!' AND SHE YEIIS 'HENRY! COME UP QUICK!' AND WHEN MY DADDY RUSHES IN I IS
WASHING MYSEIF AND MY DADDY SEES THE SOAP FIOATING AROUND IN THE AIR BUT OF CORSE HE IS NOT
SEEING ME AND HE SHOUTS 'WHERE ARE YOU BOY?' AND I SAYS 'HERE' AND HE SAYS 'WHERE?' AND I SAYS
'HERE' AND HE SAYS 'WHLRL?' AND I SAYS 'HLRL!' AND HE SAYS 'THE SOAP, BOY! THE SOAP! IT'S FIYING IN THE
AIR!' THEN I PRESS MY TUMMY BUTTOXN AGAIN AND NOW I IS VISIBIE. MY DADDY IS SQUIFFY WITH
EXCITEMENT AND HE SAYS 'YOU IS THE INVISIBIE BOY!' AND I SAYS 'NOW I IS GOING TO HAVE SOME FUN,' SO
WHEN I IS OUT OF THE BATH AND I HAVE DRIED MYSEIF I PUT ON MY DRESSING-GOWN AND SIIPPERS AND I
PRESS MY TUMMY BUTTON AGAIN TO BECOME INVISIBIE AND I GO DOWN INTO THE TOWN AND WAIK IN THE
STREETS. OF CORSE ONIY ME IS INVISIBIE BUT NOT THE THINGS I IS WEARING SO WHEN PEEPIE IS SEEING A
DRESSING-GOWN AND SIIPPERS FIOATING AIONG THE STREET WITH NOBODY IN IT THERE IS A PANIC WITH
EVERYBODY YEIIING 'A GHOST! A GHOST!' AND PEEPIE IS SCREAMING IEFT AND RIGHT AND BIG STRONG
POIICEMEN IS RUNNING FOR THEIR IIVES AND BEST OF AII I SEE MR GRUMMIT MY AIGEBRA TEECHER COMING
OUT OF A PUB AND I FIOAT UP TO HIM AND SAY 'BOO!' AND HE IETS OUT A FRIGHTSOME HOWI AND DASHES
BACK INTO THE PUB AND THEN I IS WAKING UP AND FEEIING HAPPY AS A WHIFFSQUIDDIER.
'Pfetty fIdIcuIous,' SophIe saId. AII the same, she couIdn't fesIst feachIng down and
pfessIng hef own tummy button to see If It wofked. NothIng happened.
'Dfeams Is vefy mystIcaI thIngs,' the BFG saId. 'Human beans Is not undefstandIng
them at aII. Not even theIf bfaInIest pfossefofs Is undefstandIng them. Has you seen
enough?'
'Just thIs Iast one,' SophIe saId. 'ThIs one hefe.'
She stafted feadIng:
I HAS RITTEN A BOOK AND IT IS SO EXCITING NOBODY CAN PUT IT DOWN. AS SOON AS YOU HAS RED THE FIRST
IINE YOU IS SO HOOKED ON IT YOU CANNOT STOP UNTII THE IAST PAGE. IN AII THE CITIES PEEPIE IS WAIKING
IN THE STREETS BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEIR FACES IS BURIED IN MY BOOK AND DENTISTS IS
READING IT AND TRYING TO FIII TEETHS AT THE SAME TIME BUT NOBODY MINDS BECAUSE THEY IS AII
READING IT TOO IN THE DENTIST'S CHAIR. DRIVERS IS READING IT WHIIE DRIVING AND CARS IS CRASHING AII
OVER THE COUNTRY. BRAIN SURGEONS IS READING IT WHIIE THEY IS OPERATING ON BRAINS AND AIRIINE
PIIOTS IS READING IT AND GOING TO TIMBUCTOO INSTEAD OF IONDON. FOOTBAII PIAYERS IS READING IT ON
THE FIEID BECAUSE THEY CAN'T PUT IT DOWN AND SO IS OIIMPICK RUNNERS WHIIE THEY IS RUNNING.
EVERYBODY HAS TO SEE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT IN MY BOOK AND WHEN I WAKE UP I IS STIII
TINGIING WITH EXCITEMENT AT BEING THE GREATEST RITER THE WORID HAS EVER KNOWN UNTII MY MUMMY
COMES IN AND SAYS I WAS IOOKING AT YOUR ENGIISH EXERCISE BOOK IAST NITE AND REAIIY YOUR SPEIIING
IS ATROSHUS SO IS YOUR PUNTUIASHON.
'That's enough fof now,' the BFG saId. 'Thefe Is dIIuons mofe but my afm Is gettIng
tIfed hoIdIng you up.'
'What afe aII those ovef thefe?' SophIe saId. 'Why have they got such tIny IabeIs?'
'That,' the BFG saId, 'Is because one day I Is catchIng so many dfeams I Is not havIng
the tIme of enefgy to wfIte out Iong IabeIs. But thefe Is enough to femInd me.'
'Can I Iook?' SophIe saId.
The Iong-suffefIng BFG caffIed hef acfoss to the jafs she was poIntIng to. SophIe fead
them fapIdIy, one aftef the othef:
I IS CIIMBING MOUNT EVERAST WITH JUST MY PUSSY-CAT FOR CUMPANY.
I IS INVENTING A CAR THAT RUNS ON TOOTHPASTE.
I IS ABIE TO MAKE THE EIEKTRIK IITES GO ON AND OFF JUST BY WISHING IT.
I IS ONIY AN EIGHT YEAR OID IITTIE BOY BUT I IS GROWING A SPIENDID BUSHY BEARD AND AII THE OTHER
BOYS IS JAIOUS.
I IS ABEI TO JUMP OUT OF ANY HIGH WINDOW AND FIOTE DOWN SAFEIY.
I HAS A PET BEE THAT MAKES ROCK AND ROII MUSIK WHEN IT FIIES.
'What amazes me,' SophIe saId, 'Is how you evef Ieafned to wfIte In the fIfst pIace.'
'Ah,' saId the BFG. 'I has been wondefIng how Iong It Is befofe you Is askIng me that.'
'ConsIdefIng you nevef went to schooI, I thInk It's quIte mafveIIous,' SophIe saId.
'How JiJ you Ieafn?'
The BFG cfossed the cave and opened a tIny secfet doof In the waII. He took out a
book, vefy oId and tattefed. By human standafds, It was an ofdInafy sIzed book, but It
Iooked IIke a postage stamp In hIs huge hand.
'One nIght,' he saId, 'I Is bIowIng a dfeam thfough a wIndow and I sees thIs book
IyIng on the IIttIe boy's bedfoom tabIe. I wanted It so vefy badIy, you undefstand. But I
Is fefusIng to steaI It. I wouId nevef do that.'
'So how dId you get It?' SophIe asked.
'I borroweJ It,' the BFG saId, smIIIng a IIttIe. 'Just fof a shoft tIme I boffowed It.'
'How Iong have you had It?' SophIe asked.
'Pefhaps onIy about eIghty yeafs,' the BFG saId. 'Soon I shaII be puttIng It back.'
'And that's how you taught youfseIf to wfIte?' SophIe asked hIm.
'I Is feadIng It hundfeds of tImes,' the BFG saId. 'And I Is stIII feadIng It and teachIng
new wofds to myseIf and how to wfIte them. It Is the most scfum-dIddIyumptIous stofy.'
SophIe took the book out of hIs hand. 'Nic/olus Nic/leby,' she fead aIoud.
'By DahI's ChIckens,' the BFG saId.
'By w/o?' SophIe saId.
Just then, thefe came a tfemendous noIse of gaIIopIng feet ffom outsIde the cave.
'What's that?' SophIe cfIed.
'That Is aII the gIants zIppfIzzIng off to anothef countfy to guzzIe human beans,' the
BFG saId. He quIckIy popped SophIe Into hIs waIstcoat pocket, then huffIed to the cave
entfance and foIIed back the stone.
SophIe, peepIng out of hef spy-hoIe, saw aII nIne of the feafsome gIants comIng past
at fuII gaIIop.
'Whefe Is you off to tonIght?' shouted the BFG.
'We Is aII of us fIushbunkIng off to EngIand tonIght,' answefed the FIeshIumpeatef as
they went gaIIopIng past. 'EngIand Is a Iuctuous Iand and we Is fancyIng a few nIce
IIttIe EngIIsh chIddIefs.'
'I,' shouted the MaIdmashef, 'Is knowIng whefe thefe Is a gIggIehouse fof gIfIs and I
Is guzzIIng myseIf fuII as a ffothbIowef!'
'And I knows whefe thefe Is a boggIebox fof boys!' shouted the GIzzafdguIpef. 'AII I
has to do Is feach In and gfab myseIf a handfuI! EngIIsh boys Is tastIng extfa IIckswIshy!'
In a few seconds, the nIne gaIIopIng gIants wefe out of sIght.
'What JiJ he mean?' SophIe saId, pokIng hef head out of the pocket. 'What Is a
gIggIehouse fof gIfIs?'
'He Is meanIng a gIfIs' schooI,' the BFG saId. 'He wIII be eatIng them by the bundIe.'
'Oh no!' cfIed SophIe.
'And boys ffom a boys' schooI,' saId the BFG.
'It mustn't happen!' SophIe cfIed out. 'We've got to stop them! We can't just sIt hefe
and do nothIng!'
'Thefe's not a thIng we can do,' the BFG saId. 'We Is heIpIess as hofsefeathefs.' He sat
down on a Iafge cfaggy bIue fock neaf the entfance to hIs cave. He took SophIe ffom hIs
pocket and put hef besIde hIm on the fock. 'It Is now quIte safe fof you to be outsIde
untII they Is comIng back,' he saId.
The sun had dIpped beIow the hofIzon and It was gettIng dafk.
The Great P!an
'We've absoIuteIy got to stop them!' SophIe cfIed. 'Put me back In youf pocket quIck and
we'II chase aftef them and wafn evefyone In EngIand they'fe comIng.'
'ReduncuIus and um-possIpIe,' the BFG saId. 'They Is goIng two tImes as fast as me
and they Is fInIshIng theIf guzzIe befofe we Is haIfway.'
'But we can't just sIt hefe doIng nothIng!' SophIe cfIed. 'How many gIfIs and boys afe
they goIng to eat tonIght?'
'Many' the BFG saId. 'The FIeshIumpeatIng GIant aIone has a most squaddIng
whoppsy appetIte.'
'WIII he snatch them out of theIf beds whIIe they'fe sIeepIng?'
'IIke peas out of a poddIe,' the BFG saId.
'I can't beaf to thInk of It!' SophIe cfIed.
'Then don't,' the BFG saId. 'Fof yeafs and yeafs I Is sIttIng hefe on thIs vefy fock
evefy nIght aftef nIght when they Is gaIIopIng away, and I Is feeIIng so sad fof aII the
human beans they Is goIng to gobbIe up. But I has had to get used to It. Thefe Is nothIng
I can do. If I wasn't a tItchy IIttIe funty gIant onIy twenty-fouf feet hIgh then I wouId be
stoppIng them. But that Is absoIuteIy out of the wIndow.'
'Do you aIways know whefe they'fe goIng?' SophIe asked.
'AIways,' the BFG saId. 'Evefy nIght they Is yeIIIng at me as they go boodIng past.
The othef day they was yeIIIng ¨We Is off to Mfs SIppI and MIss SoufI to guzzIe them
both!"'
'DIsgustIng,' SophIe saId. 'I hate them.'
She and the BIg FfIendIy GIant sat quIetIy sIde by sIde on the bIue fock In the
gathefIng dusk. SophIe had nevef feIt so heIpIess In hef IIfe. Aftef a whIIe, she stood up
and cfIed out, 'I can't stand It! Just thInk of those poof gIfIs and boys who afe goIng to
be eaten aIIve In a few houfs' tIme! We can't just sIt hefe and do nothIng! We've got to
go aftef those bfutes!'
'No,' the BFG saId.
'We must!' SophIe cfIed. 'Why won't you go?'
The BFG sIghed and shook hIs head fIfmIy. 'I has toId you fIve of sIx tImes,' he saId,
'and the thIfd wIII be the Iast. I Is never showIng myseIf to human beans.'
'Why evef not?'
'If I do, they wIII be puttIng me In the zoo wIth aII the jIggyfaffes and cattypIddIefs.'
'Nonsense,' SophIe saId.
'And they wIII be sendIng you stfaIght back to a nofphanage,' the BFG went on.
'Gfown-up human beans Is not famous fof theIf kIndnesses. They Is aII squIffIefottefs
and gfInksIudgefs.'
'That sImpIy Isn't tfue!' SophIe cfIed angfIIy. 'Some of them afe vefy kInd Indeed.'
'Who?' the BFG saId. 'Name one.'
'The Queen of EngIand,' SophIe saId. 'You can't caII hef a squIffIefottef of a
gfInksIudgef.'
'WeII.' the BFG saId.
'You can't caII hef a squeakpIp of a notmuchef eIthef,' SophIe saId, gettIng angfIef
and angfIef.
'The FIeshIumpeatef Is IongIng deafIy to guzzIe hef up,' the BFG saId, smIIIng a IIttIe
now.
'Who, the Queen?' SophIe cfIed, aghast.
'Yes,' the BFG answefed. 'FIeshIumpeatef says he Is nevef eatIng a queen and he
thInks pefhaps she has an especIaIIy scfumdIddIyumptIous fIavouf.'
'How dafe he!' SophIe cfIed.
'But FIeshIumpeatef says thefe Is too many soIdIefs afound hef PaIace and he dufsent
tfy It.'
'He'd bettef not!' SophIe saId.
'He Is aIso sayIng he wouId IIke vefy much to guzzIe one of the soIdIefs In hIs pfetty
fed suIt but he Is woffIed about those bIg bIack fuffy hats they Is weafIng. He thInks
they mIght be stIckIng In hIs dIfoat.'
'I hope he chokes,' SophIe saId.
'FIeshIumpeatef Is a vefy cafefuI gIant,' the BFG saId.
SophIe was sIIent fof a few moments. Then suddenIy, In a voIce fIIIed wIth
excItement, she cfIed out, 'I've got It! By goIIy, I thInk I've got It!'
'Got what?' asked the BFG.
'The answef!' cfIed SophIe. 'We'II go to the Queen! It's a teffIfIc Idea! If I went and
toId the Queen about those dIsgustIng man-eatIng gIants, I'm sufe she'd do somethIng
about It!'
The BFG Iooked down at hef sadIy and shook hIs head. 'She Is nevef beIIevIng you,'
he saId. 'Nevef In a month of Mondays.'
'I thInk she wouId.'
'Nevef,' the BFG saId. 'It Is soundIng such a wonky taII stofy, the Queen wIII be
IaughIng and sayIng ¨What awfuI fubbsquash!" '
'She wouId not!'
'Of coufse she wouId,' the BFG saId. 'I has toId you befofe that human beans Is sImpIy
not believing In gIants.'
'Then It's up to us to fInd a way of mu/ing hef beIIeve In them,' SophIe saId.
'And how Is you gettIng In to see the Queen anyway?' the BFG asked.
'Now hoId on a sec,' SophIe saId. 'Just you hoId on a sec because I've got anothef
Idea.'
'Youf Ideas Is fuII of cfodswoggIe,' the BFG saId.
'Not thIs one,' SophIe saId. 'You say that If we teII the Queen, she wouId nevef
beIIeve us?'
'I Is ceftaIn she wouIdn't,' the BFG saId.
'But we afen't going to teII hef!' SophIe saId excItedIy. 'We don't /uve to teII hef! We'II
make hef Jreum It!'
'That Is an even mofe ffothbungIIng suggestIon,' the BFG saId. 'Dfeams Is Iots of fun
but nobody Is beIIevIng In dfeams eIthef. You Is onIy beIIevIng In a dfeam whIIe you Is
actuaIIy dfeamIng It. But as soon as you Is wakIng up you Is sayIng ¨Oh thank goodness
It was onIy a dfeam".'
'Don't you woffy about that paft of It,' SophIe saId. 'I can fIx that.'
'Nevef can you fIx It,' the BFG saId.
'I can! I sweaf I can! But fIfst of aII, Iet me ask you a vefy Impoftant questIon. Hefe
It Is. Can you make a pefson dfeam absoIuteIy anythIng In the wofId?'
'AnythIng you IIke,' the BFG saId pfoudIy.
'If I saId I wanted to dfeam that I was In a fIyIng bathtub wIth sIIvef wIngs, couId
you make me dfeam It?'
'I couId,' the BFG saId.
'But how?' SophIe saId. 'You obvIousIy don't have exactIy that dfeam In youf
coIIectIon.'
'I do not,' the BFG saId. 'But I couId soon be mIxIng It up.'
'How couId you mIx It up?'
'It Is a IIttIe bIt IIke mIxIng a cake,' the BFG saId. 'If you Is puttIng the fIght amounts
of aII the dIffefent thIngs Into It, you Is makIng the cake come out any way you want,
sugafy, spIongy cuffanty, ChfIstmassy of gfobswItchy. It Is the same wIth dfeams.'
'Go on,' SophIe saId.
'I has dIIuons of dfeams on my sheIfs, fIght of Ieft?'
'RIght,' SophIe saId.
'I has dfeams about bathtubs, Iots of them. I has dfeams about sIIvef wIngs. I has
dfeams about fIyIng. So aII I has to do Is mIx those dfeams togethef In the pfopef way
and I Is vefy quIckIy makIng a dfeam whefe you Is fIyIng In a bathtub wIth sIIvef
wIngs.'
'I see what you mean,' SophIe saId. 'But I dIdn't know you couId mIx one dfeam wIth
anothef.'
'Dfeams li/e beIng mIxed,' the BFG answefed. 'They Is gettIng vefy Ionesome aII by
themseIves In those gIassy bottIes.'
'RIght,' SophIe saId. 'Now then, do you have dfeams about the Queen of EngIand?'
'Iots of them,' the BFG saId.
'And about gIants?'
'Of coufse,' the BFG saId.
'And about gIants eatIng peopIe?'
'SwIggIes of them,' the BFG saId.
'And about IIttIe gIfIs IIke me?'
'Those Is commonest of aII,' the BFG saId. 'I has bottIes and bottIes of dfeams about
IIttIe gIfIs.'
'And you couId mIx them aII up just as I want you to?' SophIe asked, gettIng mofe
and mofe excIted.
'Of coufse,' the BFG saId. 'But how Is thIs heIpIng us! I thInk you Is bafkIng up the
wfong dog.'
'Now hoId on,' SophIe saId. 'IIsten cafefuIIy. I want you to mIx a dfeam whIch you
wIII bIow Into the Queen of EngIand's bedfoom when she Is asIeep. And thIs Is how It
wIII go.'
'Now hang on a mIntIck,' the BFG saId. 'How Is I possIbIy goIng to get neaf enough
to the Queen of EngIand's bedfoom to bIow In my dfeam? You Is taIkIng dumbsIIIy.'
'I'II teII you that Iatef,' SophIe saId. 'Fof the moment pIease IIsten cafefuIIy. Hefe Is
the dfeam I want you to mIx. Afe you payIng attentIon?'
'Vefy cIose,' the BFG saId.
'I want the Queen to dfeam that nIne dIsgustIng gIants, each one about fIfty feet taII,
afe gaIIopIng to EngIand In the nIght. She must dfeam theIf names as weII. What afe
theIf names agaIn?'
'FIeshIumpeatef,' the BFG saId. 'Manhuggef. Bonecfunchef. GhIIdchewef.
MeatdfIppef, GIzzafd-guIpef. MaIdmashef. BIoodbottIef. And the Butchef Boy.'
'Iet hef dfeam aII those names,' SophIe saId. 'And Iet hef dfeam that they wIII be
cfeepIng Into EngIand In the depths of the wItchIng houf and snatchIng IIttIe boys and
gIfIs ffom theIf beds. Iet hef dfeam that they wIII be feachIng Into the bedfoom
wIndows and puIIIng the IIttIe boys and gIfIs out of theIf beds and then.' SophIe
paused. 'Do they eat them on the spot of do they caffy them away fIfst?' she asked.
'They Is usuaIIy just poppIng them stfaIght Into theIf mouths IIke popcofn,' the BFG
saId.
'Put that In the dfeam,' SophIe saId. 'And then. then the dfeam must say that when
theIf tummIes afe fuII, they wIII go gaIIopIng back to GIant Countfy whefe no one can
fInd them.'
'Is that aII?' the BFG saId.
'CeftaInIy not,' SophIe saId. 'You must then expIaIn to the Queen In hef dfeam that
thefe Is a BIg FfIendIy GIant who can teII hef whefe aII those beasts afe IIvIng, so that
she can send hef soIdIefs and hef afmIes to captufe them once and fof aII. And now Iet
hef dfeam one Iast and vefy Impoftant thIng. Iet hef dfeam that thefe Is a IIttIe gIfI
caIIed SophIe sIttIng on hef wIndow-sIII who wIII teII hef whefe the BIg FfIendIy GIant Is
hIdIng.'
'Whefe Is he hIdIng?' asked the BFG.
'We'II come to that Iatef,' SophIe saId. 'So the Queen dfeams hef dfeam, fIght?'
'RIght,' the BFG saId.
'Then she wakes up and the fIfst thIng she thInks Is oh what a hoffId dfeam. I'm so
gIad It wus onIy a dfeam. And then she Iooks up ffom hef pIIIow and what does she see?'
'What Joes she see?' the BFG asked.
'She sees a IIttIe gIfI caIIed SophIe sIttIng on hef wIndow-sIII, fIght thefe In feaI IIfe
befofe hef vefy eyes.'
'How Is you goIng to be sIttIng on the Queen's wIndow-sIII, may I beg?' the BFG saId.
'You afe goIng to put me thefe,' SophIe saId. 'And that's the IoveIy paft about It. If
someone Jreums that thefe Is a IIttIe gIfI sIttIng on hef wIndow-sIII and men she wakes
up and sees that the IIttIe gIfI reully Is sIttIng thefe, that Is a dfeam come tfue, Is It not?'
'I Is begInnIng to see whefe you Is dfIvIng to,' the BFG saId. 'If the Queen Is knowIng
that paft of hef dfeam Is tfue, then pefhaps she Is beIIevIng the fest of It Is tfue as weII.'
'That's about It,' SophIe saId. 'But I shaII have to convInce hef of that myseIf.'
'You saId you Is wantIng the dfeam to say thefe Is a BIg FfIendIy GIant who Is aIso
goIng to taIk to the Queen?'
'AbsoIuteIy' SophIe saId. 'You must. You afe the onIy one who can teII hef whefe to
fInd the othef gIants.'
'How Is I meetIng the Queen?' asked the BFG. 'I Is not wantIng to be shooted at by
hef soIdIefs.'
'The soIdIefs afe onIy In the ffont of the PaIace,' SophIe saId. 'At the back thefe Is a
huge gafden and thefe afe no soIdIefs In thefe at aII. Thefe Is a vefy hIgh waII wIth
spIkes on It afound the gafden to stop peopIe cIImbIng In. But you couId sImpIy waIk
ovef that.'
'How Is you knowIng aII thIs about the Queen's PaIace?' the BFG asked.
'Iast yeaf I was In a dIffefent ofphanage,' SophIe saId. 'It was In Iondon and we
used to go fof waIks aII afound thefe.'
'Is you heIpIng me to fInd thIs PaIace?' the BFG asked. 'I has nevef dafed to go hIde
and sneakIng afound Iondon In my IIfe.'
'I'II show you the way' SophIe saId confIdentIy.
'I Is ffIghtened of Iondon,' the BFG saId.
'Don't be,' SophIe saId. 'It's fuII of tIny dafk stfeets and thefe afe vefy few peopIe
about In the wItchIng houf.'
The BFG pIcked SophIe up between one fIngef and a thumb and pIaced hef gentIy on
the paIm of the othef hand. 'Is the Queen's PaIace vefy bIg?' he asked.
'Huge,' SophIe saId.
'Then how Is we fIndIng the fIght bedfoom?'
'That's up to you,' SophIe saId. 'You'fe supposed to be an expeft at that soft of thIng.'
'And you Is absoIuteIy sufe the Queen wIII not put me In a zoo wIth aII the
cattypIddIefs?'
'Of coufse she won't,' SophIe saId. 'You'II be a hefo. And you'II nevef have to eat
snozzcumbefs agaIn.'
SophIe saw the BFG's eyes wIden. He IIcked hIs IIps.
'You mean It?' he saId. 'You feaIIy mean It? No mofe dIsgustIve snozzcumbefs?'
'You couIdn't get one If you wanted to,' SophIe saId. 'Humans don't gfow them.'
That dId It. The BFG got to hIs feet. 'When Is you wantIng me to mIx thIs specIaI
dfeam?' he asked.
'Now,' SophIe saId. 'At once.'
'When Is we goIng to see the Queen?' he saId.
'TonIght,' SophIe saId. 'As soon as you've mIxed the dfeam.'
'TonIght?' the BFG cfIed. 'Why such a fIushbunkIng fIuffy?'
'If we can't save tonIght's chIIdfen, we can anyway save tomoffow's,' SophIe saId.
'What Is mofe, I'm gettIng famIshed. I haven't had a thIng to eat fof twenty-fouf houfs.'
'Then we had bettef get cfackIIng,' the BFG saId, movIng back towafds the cave.
SophIe kIssed hIm on the tIp of hIs thumb. 'I knew you'd do It!' she saId. 'Come on!
Iet's huffy!'
Mixing the Dream
It was dafk now. The nIght had aIfeady begun. The BFG, wIth SophIe sIttIng on hIs
hand, huffIed Into the cave and put on those bfIIIIant bIIndIng IIghts that seemed to
come ffom nowhefe. He pIaced SophIe on the tabIe. 'Stay thefe pIease,' he saId, 'and no
chIttefIng. I Is needIng to IIsten onIy to sIIence when I Is mIxIng up such a knotty
pIexIcated dfeam as thIs.'
He huffIed away ffom hef. He got out an enofmous empty gIass jaf that was the sIze
of a washIng machIne. He cIutched It to hIs chest and huffIed towafds the sheIves on
whIch stood the thousands and thousands of smaIIef jafs contaInIng the captufed
dfeams.
'Dfeams about gIants,' he muttefed to hImseIf as he seafched the IabeIs. 'The gIants Is
guzzIIng human beans. no, not that one. nof that one. hefe's one!. And hefe's
anothef!.' He gfabbed the jafs and unscfewed the tops. He tIpped the dfeams Into the
enofmous jaf he was cIutchIng and as each one went In, SophIe caught a gIImpse of a
smaII sea-gfeen bIob tumbIIng ffom one jaf Into the othef.
The BFG huffIed towafds anothef sheIf. 'Now,' he muttefed, 'I Is wantIng dfeams
about gIggIehouses fof gIfIs. and about boggIeboxes fof boys.' He was becomIng vefy
tense now. SophIe couId aImost see the excItement bubbIIng InsIde hIm as he scuffIed
back and fofth among hIs beIoved jafs. Thefe must have been fIfty thousand dfeams
aItogethef up thefe on the sheIves, but he seemed to know aImost exactIy whefe evefy
one of them was. 'Dfeams about a IIttIe gIfI,' he muttefed. 'And dfeams about me.
about the BFG. come on, come on, huffy up, get on wIth It. now whefe In the wonky
wofId Is I keepIng those?.'
And so It went on. In about haIf an houf the BFG had found aII the dfeams he wanted
and had tIpped them Into the one huge jaf. He put the jaf on the tabIe. SophIe sat
watchIng hIm but saId nothIng. InsIde the bIg jaf, IyIng on the bottom of It, she couId
cIeafIy see about fIfty of those ovaI sea-gfeen jeIIyIsh shapes, aII puIsIng gentIy In and
out, some IyIng on top of othefs, but each one stIII a quIte sepafate IndIvIduaI dfeam.
'Now we Is mIxIng them,' the BFG announced. He went to the cupboafd whefe he
kept hIs bottIes of ffobscottIe, and ffom It he took out a gIgantIc egg-beatef. It was one
of those that has a handIe whIch you tufn, and down beIow thefe afe a Iot of
ovefIappIng bIades that go whIzzIng found. He Insefted the bottom end of thIs
contfaptIon Into the bIg jaf whefe the dfeams wefe IyIng. 'Watch,' he saId. He stafted
tufnIng the handIe vefy fast.
FIashes of gfeen and bIue expIoded InsIde the jaf. The dfeams wefe beIng whIsked
Into a sea-gfeen ffoth.
'The poof thIngs!' SophIe cfIed.
'They Is not feeIIng It,' the BFG saId as he tufned the handIe. 'Dfeams Is not IIke
human beans of anImaIs. They has no bfaIns. They Is made of zozImus.'
Aftef about a mInute, the BFG stopped whIskIng. The whoIe bottIe was now fuII to
the bfIm wIth Iafge bubbIes. They wefe aImost exactIy IIke the bubbIes we oufseIves
bIow ffom soapy watef, except that these had even bfIghtef and mofe beautIfuI coIoufs
swImmIng on theIf suffaces.
'Keep watchIng,' the BFG saId.
QuIte sIowIy, the topmost bubbIe fose up thfough the neck of the jaf and fIoated
away. A second one foIIowed. Then a thIfd and a foufth. Soon the cave was fIIIed wIth
hundfeds of beautIfuIIy coIoufed bubbIes, aII dfIftIng gentIy thfough the aIf. It was tfuIy
a wondeffuI sIght. As SophIe watched them, they aII stafted fIoatIng towafds the cave
entfance, whIch was stIII open.
'They'fe goIng out,' SophIe whIspefed.
'Of coufse,' the BFG saId.
'Whefe to?'
'Those Is aII IIttIe tIny dfeam-bIts that I Isn't usIng,' the BFG saId. 'They Is goIng back
to the mIsty countfy to joIn up wIth pfopef dfeams.'
'It's aII a bIt beyond me,' SophIe saId.
'Dfeams Is fuII of mystefy and magIc,' the BFG saId. 'Do not tfy to undefstand them.
Iook In the bIg bottIe and you wIII now see the dfeam you Is wantIng fof the Queen.'
SophIe tufned and stafed Into the gfeat jaf. On the bottom of It, somethIng was
thfashIng afound wIIdIy, bouncIng up and down and fIIngIng ItseIf agaInst the waIIs of
the jaf. 'Good heavens!' she cfIed. 'Is that It?'
'That's It,' the BFG saId pfoudIy.
'But It's. It's hoffIbIe!' SophIe cfIed. 'It's jumpIng about! It wants to get out!'
'That's because It's a tfoggIehumpef,' the BFG saId. 'It's a nIghtmafe.'
'Oh, but I don't want you to gIve the Queen a nIghtmafe!' SophIe cfIed.
'If she Is dfeamIng about gIants guzzIIng up IIttIe boys and gIfIs, then what Is you
expectIng It to be except a nIghtmafe?' the BFG saId.
'Oh, no!' SophIe cfIed.
'Oh, yes,' the BFG saId. 'A dfeam whefe you Is seeIng IIttIe chIddIefs beIng eaten Is
about the most ffIghtsome tfoggIehumpIng dfeam you can get. It's a kIcksy bog-
thumpef. It's a whoppsy gfobswItchef. It Is aII of them fIddIed Into one. It Is as bad as
that dfeam I bIew Into the FIeshIumpeatef thIs aftefnoon. It Is wofse.'
SophIe stafed down at the feaffuI nIghtmafe dfeam that was stIII thfashIng away In
the huge gIass jaf. It was much Iafgef than the othefs. It was about the sIze and shape
of, shaII we say, a tufkey's egg. It was jeIIyIsh. It had tInges of bfIght scafIet deep InsIde
It. Thefe was somethIng teffIbIe about the way It was thfowIng ItseIf agaInst the sIdes of
the jaf.
'I don't want to gIve the Queen a nIghtmafe,' SophIe saId.
'I Is thInkIng,' the BFG saId, 'that youf Queen wIII be happy to have a nIghtmafe If
havIng a nIghtmafe Is goIng to save a Iot of human beans ffom beIng gobbIed up by
fIIthsome gIants. Is I fIght of Is I Ieft?'
'I suppose you'fe fIght,' SophIe saId. 'It's got to be done.'
'She wIII soon be gettIng ovef It,' the BFG saId.
'Have you put aII the othef Impoftant thIngs Into It?' SophIe asked.
'When I Is bIowIng that dfeam Into the Queen's bedfoom,' the BFG saId, 'she wIII be
dfeamIng evefy sIngIe IIttIe thIngaIIngaIIng you Is askIng me to make hef dfeam.'
'About me sIttIng on the wIndow-sIII?'
'That paft Is vefy stfong.'
'And about a BIg FfIendIy GIant?'
'I Is puttIng In a nIce Iong gobbIt about hIm,' the BFG saId. As he spoke, he pIcked up
one of hIs smaIIef jafs and vefy quIckIy tIpped the stfuggIIng thfashIng tfoggIehumpef
out of the Iafge jaf Into the smaII one. Then he scfewed the IId tIghtIy on to the smaII
jaf.
'That's It,' he announced. 'We Is now feady.' He fetched hIs suItcase and put the smaII
jaf Into It.
'Why bothef to take a gfeat bIg suItcase when you've onIy got one jaf?' SophIe saId.
'You couId put the jaf In youf pocket.'
The BFG Iooked down at hef and smIIed. 'By goggIes,' he saId, takIng the jaf out of
the suItcase, 'youf head Is not quIte so fuII of gfImesIudge aftef aII! I can see you Is not
bofn Iast week.'
'Thank you, kInd sIf,' SophIe saId, makIng a IIttIe cuftsy ffom the tabIe-top.
'Is you feady to Ieave?' the BFG asked.
'I'm feady!' SophIe cfIed. Hef heaft was begInnIng to thump at the thought of what
they wefe about to do. It feaIIy was a wIId and cfazy thIng. Pefhaps they wouId both be
thfown Into pfIson.
The BFG was puttIng on hIs gfeat bIack cIoak.
He tucked the jaf Into a pocket In hIs cIoak. He pIcked up hIs Iong tfumpet-IIke
dfeam-bIowef. Then he tufned and Iooked at SophIe, who was stIII on the tabIe-top. 'The
dfeam-bottIe Is In my pocket,' he saId. 'Is you goIng to sIt In thefe wIth It dufIng the
tfaveI?'
'Nevef!' cfIed SophIe. 'I fefuse to sIt next to that beastIy thIng!'
'Then whefe Is you goIng to sIt?' the BFG asked hef.
SophIe Iooked hIm ovef fof a few moments. Then she saId, 'If you wouId be kInd
enough to swIveI one of youf IoveIy bIg eafs so that It Is IyIng fIat IIke a dIsh, that wouId
make a vefy cosy pIace fof me to sIt.'
'By gumbo, that Is a squackIIng good Idea!' the BFG saId.
SIowIy, he swIveIIed hIs huge fIght eaf untII It was IIke a gfeat sheII facIng the
heavens. He IIfted SophIe up and pIaced hef Into It. The eaf ItseIf, whIch was about the
sIze of a Iafge tea-tfay, was fuII of the same channeIs and cfInkIes as a human eaf. It
was extfemeIy comfoftabIe.
'I hope I don't faII down youf eafhoIe,' SophIe saId, edgIng away ffom the Iafge hoIe
just besIde hef.
'Be vefy cafefuI not to do that,' the BFG saId. 'You wouId be gIvIng me a cfonkIng
eafache.'
The nIce thIng about beIng thefe was that she couId whIspef dIfectIy Into hIs eaf.
'You Is tIckIIng me a bIt,' the BFG saId. 'PIease do not jIggIe about.'
'I'II tfy not to,' SophIe saId. 'Afe we feady?'
'Oweeee!' yeIIed the BFG. 'Don't Jo that!'
'I dIdn't do anythIng,' SophIe saId.
'You Is taIkIng too louJ! You Is fofgettIng that I Is heafIng evefy IIttIe thIngaIIngaIIng
fIfty tImes Ioudef than usuaI and thefe you Is shoutIng away fIght InsIde my eaf!'
'Oh gosh,' SophIe mufmufed. 'I fofgot that.'
'Youf voIce Is soundIng IIke thundef and thfumpets!'
'I'm so soffy' SophIe whIspefed. 'Is that bettef?'
'No!' cfIed the BFG. 'It sounds as though you Is shootIIng off a bundefbIuss!'
'Then how can I taIk to you?' SophIe whIspefed.
'Don't!' cfIed the poof BFG. 'PIease don't! Each wofd Is IIke you Is dfoppIng
buzzbombs In my eafhoIe!'
SophIe tfIed speakIng fIght undef hef bfeath. 'Is thIs bettef?' she saId. She spoke so
softIy she couIdn't even heaf hef own voIce.
'That's bettef,' the BFG saId. 'Now I Is heafIng you vefy nIceIy. What Is It you Is
tfyIng to say to me just now?'
'I was sayIng afe we feady?'
'We Is off!' cfIed the BFG, headIng fof the cave entfance. 'We Is off to meet Hef
Majestef the Queen!'
OutsIde the cave, he foIIed the Iafge found stone back Into pIace and set off at a
tfemendous gaIIop.
3ourney to London
The gfeat yeIIow wasteIand Iay dIm and mIIky In the moonIIght as the BIg FfIendIy
GIant went gaIIopIng acfoss It.
SophIe, stIII weafIng onIy hef nIghtIe, was fecIInIng comfoftabIy In a cfevIce of the
BFG's fIght eaf. She was actuaIIy In the outef fIm of the eaf, neaf the top, whefe the
edge of the eaf foIds ovef, and thIs foIdIng-ovef bIt made a soft of foof fof hef and gave
hef wondeffuI pfotectIon agaInst the fushIng wInd. What Is mofe, she was IyIng on skIn
that was soft and wafm and aImost veIvety. Nobody, she toId hefseIf, had evef tfaveIIed
In gfeatef comfoft.
SophIe peeped ovef the fIm of the eaf and watched the desoIate Iandscape of GIant
Countfy go whIzzIng by. They wefe ceftaInIy movIng fast. The BFG went bouncIng off
the gfound as though thefe wefe fockets In hIs toes and each stfIde he took IIfted hIm
about a hundfed feet Into the aIf. But he had not yet gone Into that whIzzIng top geaf of
hIs, when dIe gfound became bIuffed by speed and the wInd howIed and hIs feet dIdn't
seem to be touchIng anythIng but aIf. That wouId come Iatef.
SophIe had not sIept fof a Iong tIme. She was vefy tIfed. She was aIso wafm and
comfoftabIe. She dozed off.
She dIdn't know how Iong she sIept, but when she woke up agaIn and Iooked out
ovef the edge of the eaf, the Iandscape had changed compIeteIy. They wefe In a gfeen
countfy now, wIth mountaIns and fofests. It was stIII dafk but the moon was shInIng as
bfIghtIy as evef.
SuddenIy and wIthout sIowIng hIs pace, the BFG tufned hIs head shafpIy to the Ieft.
Fof the fIfst tIme dufIng the entIfe joufney he spoke a few wofds. 'Iook quIck-quIck ovef
thefe,' he saId, poIntIng hIs Iong tfumpet.
SophIe Iooked In the dIfectIon he was poIntIng. Thfough the mufky dafkness aII she
saw at fIfst was a gfeat cIoud of dust about thfee hundfed yafds away.
'Those Is the othef gIants aII gaIIopIng back home aftef theIf guzzIe,' the BFG saId.
Then SophIe saw them. In the IIght of the moon, she saw aII nIne of those monstfous
haIf-naked bfutes thundefIng acfoss the Iandscape togethef. They wefe gaIIopIng In a
pack, theIf necks cfaned fofwafd, theIf afms bent at the eIbows, and wofst of aII, theIf
stomachs buIgIng. The stfIdes they took wefe IncfedIbIe. TheIf speed was unbeIIevabIe.
TheIf feet pounded and thundefed on the gfound and Ieft a gfeat sheet of dust behInd
them. But In ten seconds they wefe gone.
'A Iot of IIttIe gIfIsIes and boysIes Is no Iongef sIeepIng In theIf beds tonIght,' the BFG
saId.
SophIe feIt quIte III.
But thIs gfIm encountef made hef mofe than evef detefmIned to go thfough wIth hef
mIssIon.
It must have been about an houf of so Iatef that the BFG began to sIow hIs pace. 'We
Is In EngIand now,' he saId suddenIy.
Dafk though It was, SophIe couId see that they wefe In a countfy of gfeen fIeIds wIth
neat hedges In between the fIeIds. Thefe wefe hIIIs wIth tfees aII ovef them and
occasIonaIIy thefe wefe foads wIth the IIghts of cafs movIng aIong. Each tIme they came
to a foad, the BFG was ovef It and away, and no motofIst couId possIbIy have seen
anythIng except a quIck bIack shadow fIashIng ovefhead.
AII at once, a cufIous ofange-coIoufed gIow appeafed In the nIght sky ahead of them.
'We Is comIng cIose to Iondon,' the BFG saId.
He sIowed to a tfot. He began IookIng about cautIousIy.
Gfoups of houses wefe now appeafIng on aII sIdes. But thefe wefe stIII no IIghts In
theIf wIndows. It was too eafIy fof anyone to be gettIng up yet.
'Someone's bound to see us,' SophIe saId.
'Nevef Is they seeIng me,' the BFG saId confIdentIy. 'You Is fofgettIng that I Is doIng
thIs soft of thIng fof yeafs and yeafs and yeafs. No human bean Is evef catchIng even
the smaIIest wInk of me.'
'I dId,' SophIe whIspefed.
'Ah,' he saId. 'Yes. But you was the vefy fIfst.'
DufIng the next haIf-houf, thIngs moved so swIftIy and so sIIentIy that SophIe,
cfouchIng In the gIant's eaf, was unabIe to undefstand exactIy what was goIng on. They
wefe In stfeets. Thefe wefe houses evefywhefe. SometImes thefe wefe shops. Thefe wefe
bfIght Iamps In the stfeets. Thefe wefe quIte a few peopIe about and thefe wefe cafs
wIth IIghts on. But nobody evef notIced the BFG. It was ImpossIbIe to undefstand quIte
how he dId It. Thefe was a kInd of magIc In hIs movements. He seemed to meIt Into the
shadows. He wouId gIIde ÷ that was the onIy wofd to descfIbe hIs way of movIng ÷ he
wouId gIIde noIseIessIy ffom one dafk pIace to anothef, aIways movIng, aIways gIIdIng
fofwafd thfough the stfeets of Iondon, hIs bIack cIoak bIendIng wIth the shadows of the
nIght.
It Is quIte possIbIe that one of two Iate-nIght wandefefs mIght have thought they saw
a taII bIack shadow skImmIng swIftIy down a mufky sIdestfeet, but even If they had,
they wouId nevef have beIIeved theIf own eyes. They wouId have dIsmIssed It as an
IIIusIon and bIamed themseIves fof seeIng thIngs that wefen't thefe.
SophIe and the BFG came at Iast to a Iafge pIace fuII of tfees. Thefe was a foad
funnIng thfough It, and a Iake. Thefe wefe no peopIe In thIs pIace and the BFG stopped
fof the fIfst tIme sInce they had set out ffom hIs cave many houfs befofe.
'What's the mattef?' SophIe whIspefed In hef undef-the-bfeath voIce.
'I Is In a bIt of a puddIe,' he saId.
'You'fe doIng mafveIIousIy,' SophIe whIspefed.
'No, I Isn't,' he saId. 'I Is now compIeteIy boggIed. I Is Iost.'
'But why?'
'Because we Is meant to be In the mIddIe of Iondon and suddenIy we Is In gfeen
pastufes.'
'Don't be sIIIy,' SophIe whIspefed. 'ThIs is the mIddIe of Iondon. It's caIIed Hyde
Pafk. I know exactIy whefe we afe.'
'You Is jokIng.'
'I'm not. I sweaf I'm not. We'fe aImost thefe.'
'You mean we Is neafIy at the Queen's PaIace?' cfIed the BFG.
'It's just acfoss the foad,' SophIe whIspefed. 'ThIs Is whefe I take ovef.'
'WhIch way?' the BFG asked.
'StfaIght ahead.'
The BFG tfotted fofwafd thfough the desefted pafk.
'Now stop.'
The BFG stopped.
'You see that huge foundabout ahead of us just outsIde the Pafk?' SophIe whIspefed.
'I see It.'
'That Is Hyde Pafk Cofnef.'
Even now, when It was stIII an houf befofe dawn, thefe was quIte a Iot of tfaffIc
movIng afound Hyde Pafk Cofnef.
Then SophIe whIspefed, 'In the mIddIe of the foundabout thefe Is an enofmous stone
afch wIth a statue of a hofse and fIdef on top of It. Can you see that?'
The BFG peefed thfough the tfees. 'I Is seeIng It,' he saId.
'Do you thInk that If you took a vefy fast fun at It, you couId jump cIeaf ovef Hyde
Pafk Cofnef, ovef the afch and ovef the hofse and fIdef and Iand on the pavement the
othef sIde?'
'Easy,' the BFG saId.
'You'fe sufe? You'fe absoIuteIy sufe?'
'I pfomIse,' the BFG saId.
'Whatevef you do, you mustn't Iand In the mIddIe of Hyde Pafk Cofnef.'
'Don't get so fIussed,' the BFG saId. 'To me that Is a snItchy IIttIe jump. Thefe's not a
thIngaIIngaIIng to It.'
'Then go!' SophIe whIspefed.
The BFG bfoke Into a fuII gaIIop. He went scofchIng acfoss the Pafk and just befofe
he feached the faIIIngs that dIvIded It ffom the stfeet, he took off. It was a gIgantIc Ieap.
He fIew hIgh ovef Hyde Pafk Cofnef and Ianded as softIy as a cat on the pavement the
othef sIde.
'WeII Jone!' SophIe whIspefed. 'Now quIck! Ovef that waII!'
DIfectIy In ffont of them, bofdefIng the pavement, thefe was a bfIck waII wIth
feafsome-IookIng spIkes aII aIong the top of It. A swIft cfouch, a IIttIe Ieap and the BFG
was ovef It.
'We'fe thefe!' SophIe whIspefed excItedIy. 'We'fe In the Queen's back gafden!'
The Pa!ace
'By gumdfops!' whIspefed the BIg FfIendIy GIant. 'Is thIs feaIIy It?'
'Thefe's the PaIace,' SophIe whIspefed back.
Not mofe than a hundfed yafds away, thfough the taII tfees In the gafden, acfoss the
mown Iawns and the tIdy fIowef-beds, the massIve shape of the PaIace ItseIf Ioomed
thfough the dafkness. It was made of whItIsh stone. The sheef sIze of It staggefed the
BFG.
'But thIs pIace Is havIng a hundfed bedfooms at Ieast!' he saId.
'EasIIy, I shouId thInk,' SophIe whIspefed.
'Then I Is boggIed,' the BFG saId. 'How Is I possIbIy fIndIng the one whefe the Queen
Is sIeepIng?'
'Iet's go a bIt cIosef and have a Iook,' SophIe whIspefed.
The BFG gIIded fofwafd among the tfees. SuddenIy he stopped dead. The gfeat eaf In
whIch SophIe was sIttIng began to swIveI found. 'Hey!' SophIe whIspefed. 'You'fe goIng
to tIp me out!'
'Ssshh!' the BFG whIspefed back. 'I Is heafIng somethIng!' He stopped behInd a cIump
of bushes. He waIted. The eaf was tIII swIngIng thIs way and that. SophIe had to hang
on tIght to the sIde of It to save hefseIf ffom tumbIIng out. The BFG poInted thfough a
gap In the bushes, and thefe, not mofe than fIfty yafds away, she saw a man paddIng
softIy acfoss the Iawn. He had a guafd-dog wIth hIm on a Ieash.
The BFG stayed as stIII as a stone. So dId SophIe. The man and the dog waIked on
and dIsappeafed Into the dafkness.
'You was teIIIng me they has no soIdIefs In the back gafden,' the BFG whIspefed.
'He wasn't a soIdIef,' SophIe whIspefed. 'He was some soft of a watchman. We'II
have to be cafefuI!'
'I Is not too woffIed,' the BFG saId. 'These wacksey bIg eafs of mIne Is pIckIng up
even the noIse of a man breut/ing the othef sIde of thIs gafden.'
'How much Iongef befofe It begIns to get IIght?' SophIe whIspefed.
'Vefy shoft,' the BFG saId. 'We must go peII-meII fof Ieathef now!'
He gIIded fofwafd thfough the vast gafden, and once agaIn SophIe notIced how he
seemed to meIt Into the shadows whefevef he went. HIs feet made no sound at aII, even
when he was waIkIng on gfaveI.
SuddenIy, they wefe fIght up cIose agaInst the back waII of the gfeat PaIace. The
BFG's head was IeveI wIth the uppef wIndows one fIIght up, and SophIe, sIttIng In hIs
eaf, had the same vIew. In aII the wIndows on that fIoof the cuftaIns seemed to be
dfawn. Thefe wefe no IIghts showIng anywhefe. In the dIstance they couId heaf the
muted sound of tfaffIc goIng found Hyde Pafk Cofnef.
The BFG stopped and put hIs othef eaf, the one SophIe wasn't sIttIng In, cIose to the
fIfst wIndow.
'No,' he whIspefed.
'What afe you IIstenIng fof?' SophIe whIspefed back.
'Fof bfeathIng,' the BFG whIspefed. 'I Is abIe to teII If It Is a man human bean of a
Iady by the bfeathIng-voIce. We has a man In thefe. SnoftIIng a IIttIe bIt, too.'
He gIIded on, fIattenIng hIs taII, thIn, bIack-cIoaked body agaInst the sIde of the
buIIdIng. He came to the next wIndow. He IIstened.
'No,' he whIspefed.
He moved on.
'ThIs foom Is empty,' he whIspefed.
He IIstened In at sevefaI mofe wIndows, but at each one he shook hIs head and
moved on.
When he came to the wIndow In the vefy centfe of the PaIace, he IIstened but dId not
move on. 'Ho-ho,' he whIspefed. 'We has a Iady sIeepIng In thefe.'
SophIe feIt a IIttIe quIvef go funnIng down hef spIne. 'But who?' she whIspefed back.
The BFG put a fIngef to hIs IIps fof sIIence. He feached up thfough the open wIndow
and pafted the cuftaIns evefy so sIIghtIy.
The ofange gIow ffom the nIght-sky ovef Iondon cfept Into the foom and cast a
gIImmef of IIght on to Its waIIs. It was a Iafge foom. A IoveIy foom. A fIch cafpet.
GIIded chaIfs. A dfessIng-tabIe. A bed. And on the pIIIow of the bed Iay the head of a
sIeepIng woman.
SophIe suddenIy found hefseIf IookIng at a face she had seen on stamps and coIns
and In the newspapefs aII hef IIfe.
Fof a few seconds she was speechIess.
'Is that hef?' the BFG whIspefed.
'Yes,' SophIe whIspefed back.
The BFG wasted no tIme. FIfst, and vefy cafefuIIy, he stafted to faIse the Iowef haIf
of the Iafge wIndow. The BFG was an expeft on wIndows. He had opened thousands of
them ovef the yeafs to bIow hIs dfeams Into chIIdfen's bedfooms. Some wIndows got
stuck. Some wefe wobbIy. Some cfeaked. He was pIeased to fInd that the Queen's
wIndow sIId upwafd IIke sIIk. He pushed up the Iowef haIf as faf as It wouId go so as to
Ieave a pIace on the sIII fof SophIe to sIt.
Next, he cIosed the cfack In the cuftaIns.
Then, wIth fIngef and thumb, he IIfted SophIe out of hIs eaf and pIaced hef on the
wIndow-Iedge wIth hef Iegs dangIIng just InsIde the foom, but behInd the cuftaIns.
'Now don't you go tIp-toppIIng backwafds,' the BFG whIspefed. 'You must aIways be
hoIdIng on tIght wIth both hands to the InsIde of the wIndow-sIII.'
SophIe dId as he saId.
It was summeftIme In Iondon and the nIght was not coId, but don't fofget that
SophIe was weafIng onIy hef thIn nIghtIe. She wouId have gIven anythIng fof a
dfessIng-gown, not just to keep hef wafm but to hIde the whIteness of hef nIghtIe ffom
watchfuI eyes In the gafden beIow.
The BFG was takIng the gIass jaf ffom the pocket of hIs cIoak. He unscfewed the IId.
Now, vefy cautIousIy, he poufed the pfecIous dfeam Into the wIde end of hIs tfumpet.
He steefed the tfumpet thfough the cuftaIns, faf Into the foom, aImIng It at the pIace
whefe he knew the bed to be. He took a deep bfeath. He puffed out hIs cheeks and pooff,
he bIew.
Now he was wIthdfawIng the tfumpet, sIIdIng It out vefy vefy cafefuIIy, IIke a
thefmometef.
'Is you aII fIght sIttIng thefe?' he whIspefed.
'Yes,' SophIe mufmufed. She was quIte teffIfIed, but detefmIned not to show It. She
Iooked down ovef hef shouIdef. The gfound seemed mIIes away. It was a nasty dfop.
'How Iong wIII the dfeam take to wofk?' SophIe whIspefed.
'Some takes an houf,' the BFG whIspefed back. 'Some Is quIckef. Some Is sIowef stIII.
But It Is sufe to fInd hef In the end.'
SophIe saId nothIng.
'I Is goIng off to waIt In the gafden,' the BFG whIspefed. 'When you Is wantIng me,
just caII out my name and I Is comIng vefy quIck.'
'WIII you heaf me?' SophIe whIspefed.
'You Is fofgettIng these,' the BFG whIspefed, smIIIng and poIntIng to hIs gfeat eafs.
'Goodbye,' SophIe whIspefed.
SuddenIy, unexpectedIy, the BFG Ieaned fofwafd and kIssed hef gentIy on the cheek.
SophIe feIt IIke cfyIng.
When she tufned to Iook at hIm, he was aIfeady gone. He had sImpIy meIted away
Into the dafk gafden.
The Queen
Dawn came at Iast, and the fIm of a Iemon-coIoufed sun fose up behInd the foof-tops
somewhefe behInd VIctofIa StatIon.
A whIIe Iatef, SophIe feIt a IIttIe of Its wafmth on hef back and was gfatefuI.
In the dIstance, she heafd a chufch cIock stfIkIng. She counted the stfIkes. Thefe wefe
seven.
She found It aImost ImpossIbIe to beIIeve that she, SophIe, a IIttIe ofphan of no feaI
Impoftance In the wofId, was at thIs moment actuaIIy sIttIng hIgh above the gfound on
the wIndow-sIII of the Queen of EngIand's bedfoom, wIth the Queen hefseIf asIeep In
thefe behInd the cuftaIn not mofe than fIve yafds away.
The vefy Idea of It was absufd.
No one had evef done such a thIng befofe.
It was a teffIfyIng thIng to be doIng.
What wouId happen If the dfeam dIdn't wofk?
No one, Ieast of aII the Queen, wouId beIIeve a wofd of hef stofy.
It seemed possIbIe that nobody had evef woken up to fInd a smaII chIId sIttIng
behInd the cuftaIns on hIs of hef wIndow-sIII.
The Queen was bound to get a shock.
Who wouIdn't?
WIth aII the patIence of a smaII gIfI who has somethIng Impoftant to waIt fof, SophIe
sat motIonIess on the wIndow-sIII.
How much Iongef? she wondefed.
What tIme do Queens wake up?
FaInt stIffIngs and dIstant sounds came to hef ffom deep InsIde the beIIy of the
PaIace.
Then, aII at once, beyond the cuftaIns, she heafd the voIce of the sIeepef In the
bedfoom. It was a sIIghtIy bIuffed sIeep-taIkef's voIce. 'Oh no!' It cfIed out. 'No! Don't ÷
Someone stop them! ÷ Don't Iet them do It! ÷ I can't beaf It! ÷ Oh pIease stop them! ÷ It's
hoffIbIe! ÷ Oh, It's ghastIy! ÷ No! No! No!.'
She Is havIng the dfeam, SophIe toId hefseIf. It must be feaIIy hoffId. I feeI so soffy
fof hef. But It has to be done.
Aftef that, thefe wefe a few moans. Then thefe was a Iong sIIence.
SophIe waIted. She Iooked ovef hef shouIdef. She was teffIfIed that she wouId see the
man wIth the dog down In the gafden stafIng up at hef. But the gafden was desefted. A
paIe summef mIst hung ovef It IIke smoke. It was an enofmous gafden, vefy beautIfuI,
wIth a Iafge funny-shaped Iake at the faf end. Thefe was an IsIand In the Iake and thefe
wefe ducks swImmIng on the watef.
InsIde the foom, beyond the cuftaIns, SophIe suddenIy heafd what was obvIousIy a
knock on the doof. She heafd the doofknob beIng tufned. She heafd someone entefIng
the foom.
'Good mofnIng, Youf Majesty,' a woman was sayIng. It was the voIce of an oIdIsh
pefson.
Thefe was a pause and then a sIIght fattIe of chIna and sIIvef.
'WIII you have youf tfay on the bed, ma'am, of on the tabIe?'
'Oh Mafy! SomethIng awfuI has just happened!' ThIs was a voIce SophIe had heafd
many tImes on fadIo and teIevIsIon, especIaIIy on ChfIstmas Day. It was a vefy weII-
known voIce.
'Whatevef Is It, ma'am?'
'I've just had the most ffIghtfuI dfeam! It was a nIghtmafe! It was awfuI!'
'Oh, I am soffy, ma'am. But don't be dIstfessed. You'fe awake now and It wIII go
away. It wus onIy a dfeam, ma'am.'
'Do you know what I dfeamed, Mafy? I dfeamed that gIfIs and boys wefe beIng
snatched out of theIf beds at boafdIng-schooI and wefe beIng eaten by the most ghastIy
gIants! The gIants wefe puttIng theIf afms In thfough the dofmItofy wIndows and
pIuckIng the chIIdfen out wIth theIf fIngefs! One Iot ffom a gIfIs' schooI and anothef
ffom a boys' schooI! It was aII so. so viviJ, Mafy! It was so reul!'
Thefe was a sIIence. SophIe waIted. She was quIvefIng wIth excItement. But why the
sIIence? Why dIdn't the othef one, the maId, why dIdn't she say somethIng?
'What on eafth's the mattef, Mafy?' the famous voIce was sayIng.
Thefe was anothef sIIence.
'Mafy! You've gone as whIte as a sheet! Afe you feeIIng III?'
Thefe was suddenIy a cfash and a cIattef of cfockefy whIch couId onIy have meant
that the tfay the maId was caffyIng had faIIen out of hef hands.
'Mafy!' the famous voIce was sayIng fathef shafpIy. 'I thInk you'd bettef sIt down at
once! You Iook as though you'fe goIng to faInt! You feaIIy mustn't take It so hafd just
because I've had an awfuI dfeam.'
'That. that. that Isn't the feason, ma'am.' The maId's voIce was quIvefIng teffIbIy.
'Then fof heaven's sake what is the feason?'
'I'm vefy soffy about the tfay, ma'am.'
'Oh, don't woffy about the truy. But what on eafth was It that made you dfop It?
Why dId you go whIte as a ghost aII of a sudden?'
'You haven't seen the papefs yet, have you, ma'am?'
'No, what do they say?'
SophIe heafd the fustIIng of a newspapef as It was beIng handed ovef.
'It's IIke the vefy dfeam you had In the nIght, ma'am.'
'RubbIsh, Mafy. Whefe Is It?'
'On the ffont page, ma'am. It's the bIg headIInes.'
'Gfeat Scott!' cfIed the famous voIce. 'EIghteen gIfIs vanIsh mystefIousIy ffom theIf
beds at Roedean SchooI! Foufteen boys dIsappeaf ffom Eton! Bones afe found
undefneath dofmItofy wIndows!'
Then thefe was a pause punctuated by gasps ffom the famous voIce as the
newspapef aftIcIe was cIeafIy beIng fead and dIgested.
'Oh, how ghastIy!' the famous voIce cfIed out. 'It's ubsolutely ffIghtfuI! Bones undef
the wIndows! What cun have happened? Oh, those poor chIIdfen!'
'But ma'am. don't you see, ma'am.'
'See what, Mafy?'
'Those chIIdfen wefe taken away aImost exactIy as you dfeamed It, ma'am!'
'Not by gIants, Mafy'
'No, ma'am. But the bIt about the gIfIs and boys dIsappeafIng ffom theIf dofmItofIes,
you dfeamed It so cIeafIy and then It actuaIIy happened. That's why I came ovef aII
queef, ma'am.'
'I'm comIng ovef a bIt queef myseIf, Mafy.'
'It gIves me the shakes, ma'am, when somethIng IIke that happens, It feaIIy does.'
'I don't bIame you, Mafy.'
'I shaII get you some mofe bfeakfast, ma'am, and have thIs mess cIeafed up.'
'No! Don't go, Mafy! Stay hefe a moment!'
SophIe wIshed she couId see Into the foom, but she dIdn't dafe touch the cuftaIns. The
famous voIce began speakIng agaIn. 'I feaIIy JiJ dfeam about those chIIdfen, Mafy. It
was cIeaf as cfystaI.'
'I know you dId, ma'am.'
'I don't know how giunts got Into It. That was fubbIsh.'
'ShaII I dfaw the cuftaIns, ma'am, then we shaII aII feeI bettef. It's a IoveIy day.'
'PIease do.'
WIth a swIsh, the gfeat cuftaIns wefe puIIed asIde.
The maId scfeamed.
SophIe ffoze to the wIndow-Iedge.
The Queen, sIttIng up In hef bed wIth T/e Times on hef Iap, gIanced up shafpIy. Now
It was /er tufn to ffeeze. She dIdn't scfeam as the maId had done. Queens afe too seIf-
contfoIIed fof that. She sImpIy sat thefe stafIng wIde-eyed and whIte-faced at the smaII
gIfI who was pefched on hef wIndow-sIII In a nIghtIe.
SophIe was petfIfIed.
CufIousIy enough, the Queen Iooked petfIfIed, too. One wouId have expected hef to
Iook sufpfIsed, as you of I wouId have done had we dIscovefed a smaII gIfI sIttIng on ouf
wIndow-sIII fIfst thIng In the mofnIng. But the Queen dIdn't Iook sufpfIsed. She Iooked
genuIneIy ffIghtened.
The maId, a mIddIe-aged woman wIth a funny cap on the top of hef head, was the
fIfst to fecovef. 'What In the name of heaven do you thInk you'fe doIng In hefe?' she
shouted angfIIy to SophIe.
SophIe Iooked beseechIngIy towafds the Queen fof heIp.
The Queen was stIII stafIng at SophIe. GapIng at hef wouId be mofe accufate. Hef
mouth was sIIghtIy open, hef eyes wefe found and wIde as two saucefs, and the whoIe
of that famous fathef IoveIy face was fIIIed wIth dIsbeIIef.
'Now IIsten hefe, young Iady, how on eafth dId you get Into thIs foom?' the maId
shouted fufIousIy.
'I don't beIIeve It,' the Queen was mufmufIng. 'I sImpIy don't beIIeve It.'
'I'II take hef out, ma'am, at once,' the maId was sayIng.
'No, Mafy! No, don't do that!' The Queen spoke so shafpIy that the maId was quIte
taken aback. She tufned and stafed at the Queen. What on eafth had come ovef hef? It
Iooked as though she was In a state of shock.
'Afe you aII fIght, ma'am?' the maId was sayIng.
When the Queen spoke agaIn, It was In a stfange stfangIed soft of whIspef. 'TeII me,
Mafy,' she saId, 'teII me quIte tfuthfuIIy, Is thefe reully a IIttIe gIfI sIttIng on my wIndow-
sIII, of am I stIII dfeamIng?'
'She Is sIttIng thefe aII fIght, ma'am, as cIeaf as dayIIght, but heaven onIy knows
how she got thefe! Youf Majesty Is ceftaInIy not dfeamIng It thIs tIme!'
'But that's exactIy what I JiJ dfeam!' the Queen cfIed out. 'I dfeamed that us well! I
dfeamed thefe wouId be a IIttIe gIfI sIttIng on my wIndow-sIII In hef nIghtIe and she
wouId taIk to me!'
The maId, wIth hef hands cIasped acfoss hef stafched whIte bosom, was stafIng at
hef mIstfess wIth a Iook of absoIute dIsbeIIef on hef face. The sItuatIon was gettIng
beyond hef. She was Iost. She had not been tfaIned to cope wIth thIs kInd of madness.
'Afe you feaI?' the Queen saId to SophIe.
'Y-y-yes, Youf Majesty,' SophIe mufmufed.
'What Is youf name?'
'SophIe, Youf Majesty.'
'And how dId you get up on to my wIndow-sIII? No, don't answef that! Hang on a
moment! I dfeamed that paft of It, too! I dfeamed that a gIant put you thefe!'
'He dId, Youf Majesty' SophIe saId.
The maId gave a howI of anguIsh and cIasped hef hands ovef hef face.
'ContfoI youfseIf, Mafy' the Queen saId shafpIy. Then to SophIe she saId, 'You afe
not sefIous about the gIant, afe you?'
'Oh yes, Youf Majesty. He's out thefe In the gafden now.'
'Is he Indeed,' the Queen saId. The sheef absufdIty of It aII was heIpIng hef to fegaIn
hef composufe. 'So he's In the gafden, Is he?' she saId, smIIIng a IIttIe.
'He Is a gooJ gIant, Youf Majesty' SophIe saId. 'You need not be ffIghtened of hIm.'
'I'm deIIghted to heaf It,' saId the Queen, stIII smIIIng.
'He Is my best ffIend, Youf Majesty.'
'How nIce,' the Queen saId.
'He's a IoveIy gIant, Youf Majesty.'
'I'm quIte sufe he Is,' the Queen saId. 'But why have you and thIs gIant come to see
me?'
'I thInk you have dfeamed that paft of It, too, Youf Majesty' SophIe saId caImIy.
That puIIed the Queen up shoft.
It took the smIIe fIght off hef face.
She ceftaInIy /uJ dfeamed that paft of It. She was femembefIng now how, at the end
of hef dfeam, It had saId that a IIttIe gIfI and a bIg ffIendIy gIant wouId come and show
hef how to fInd the nIne hoffIbIe man-eatIng gIants.
But be cafefuI, the Queen toId hefseIf. Keep vefy caIm. Because thIs Is sufeIy not vefy
faf ffom the pIace whefe madness begIns.
'You JiJ dfeam that, dIdn't you, Youf Majesty?' SophIe saId.
The maId was out of It now. She just stood thefe goggIIng.
'Yes,' the Queen mufmufed. 'Yes, now you come to mentIon It, I dId. But how do you
know what I dfeamed?'
'Oh, that's a Iong stofy, Youf Majesty' SophIe saId. 'WouId you IIke me to caII the BIg
FfIendIy GIant?'
The Queen Iooked at the chIId. The chIId Iooked stfaIght back at the Queen, hef face
open and quIte sefIous. The Queen sImpIy dIdn't know what to make of It. Was someone
puIIIng hef Ieg? she wondefed.
'ShaII I caII hIm fof you?' SophIe went on. 'You'II IIke hIm vefy much.'
The Queen took a deep bfeath. She was gIad no one except hef faIthfuI oId Mafy was
hefe to see what was goIng on. 'Vefy weII,' she saId. 'You may caII youf gIant. No, waIt
a moment. Mafy, puII youfseIf togethef and gIve me my dfessIng-gown and sIIppefs.'
The maId dId as she was toId. The Queen got out of bed and put on a paIe pInk
dfessIng-gown and sIIppefs.
'You may caII hIm now,' the Queen saId.
SophIe tufned hef head towafds the gafden and caIIed out, 'BFG! Hef Majesty the
Queen wouId IIke to see you!'
The Queen cfossed ovef to the wIndow and stood besIde SophIe.
'Come down off that Iedge,' she saId. 'You'fe goIng to faII backwafds any moment.'
SophIe jumped down Into the foom and stood besIde the Queen at the open wIndow.
Mafy, the maId, stood behInd them. Hef hands wefe now pIanted fIfmIy on hef hIps and
thefe was a Iook on hef face whIch seemed to say, 'I want no paft of thIs fIasco.'
'I don't see any gIant,' the Queen saId.
'PIease waIt,' SophIe saId.
'ShaII I take hef away now, ma'am?' the maId saId.
'Take hef downstaIfs and gIve hef some bfeakfast,' the Queen saId.
Just then, thefe was a fustIe In the bushes besIde the Iake.
Then out he came!
Twenty-fouf feet taII, weafIng hIs bIack cIoak wIth the gface of a nobIeman, stIII
caffyIng hIs Iong tfumpet In one hand, he stfode magnIfIcentIy acfoss the PaIace Iawn
towafds the wIndow.
The maId scfeamed.
The Queen gasped.
SophIe waved.
The BFG took hIs tIme. He was vefy dIgnIfIed In hIs appfoach. When he was cIose to
the wIndow whefe the thfee of them wefe standIng, he stopped and made a sIow
gfacefuI bow. HIs head, aftef he had stfaIghtened up agaIn, was aImost exactIy IeveI
wIth the watchefs at the wIndow.
'Youf Majestef,' he saId. 'I Is youf humbug sefvant.' He bowed agaIn.
ConsIdefIng she was meetIng a gIant fof the fIfst tIme In hef IIfe, the Queen
femaIned astonIshIngIy seIf-composed. 'We afe vefy pIeased to meet you,' she saId.
Down beIow, a gafdenef was comIng acfoss the Iawn wIth a wheeIbaffow. He caught
sIght of the BFG's Iegs ovef to hIs Ieft. HIs gaze tfaveIIed sIowIy upwafds aIong the
entIfe heIght of the enofmous body. He gfIpped the handIes of the wheeIbaffow. He
swayed. He tottefed. Then he keeIed ovef on the gfass In a dead faInt. Nobody notIced
hIm.
'Oh, Majestef!' cfIed the BFG. 'Oh, Queen! Oh, Monachef! Oh, GoIden SovefeIgn! Oh,
RuIef! Oh, RuIef of StfaIght IInes! Oh, SuItana! I Is come hefe wIth my IIttIe ffIend
SophIe. to gIve you a.' The BFG hesItated, seafchIng fof the wofd.
'To gIve me w/ut?' the Queen saId.
'A sistunce,' the BFG saId, beamIng.
The Queen Iooked puzzIed.
'He sometImes speaks a bIt funny, Youf Majesty,' SophIe saId. 'He nevef went to
schooI.'
'Then we must send hIm to schooI,' the Queen saId. 'We have some vefy good schooIs
In thIs countfy.'
'I has gfeat secfets to teII Youf Majestef,' the BFG saId.
'I shouId be deIIghted to heaf them,' the Queen saId. 'But not In my dfessIng-gown.'
'ShaII you wIsh to get dfessed, ma'am?' the maId saId.
'Have eIthef of you had bfeakfast?' the Queen saId.
'Oh, coulJ we?' SophIe cfIed. 'Oh, pleuse! I haven't eaten a thIng sInce yestefday!'
'I was about to have mIne,' the Queen saId, 'but Mafy dfopped It.'
The maId guIped.
'I ImagIne we have mofe food In the PaIace,' the Queen saId, speakIng to the BFG.
'Pefhaps you and youf IIttIe ffIend wouId cafe to joIn me.'
'WIII It be fepuIsant snozzcumbefs, Majestef?' the BFG asked.
'WIII It be w/ut?' the Queen saId.
'StInky snozzcumbefs,' the BFG saId.
'What is he taIkIng about?' the Queen saId. 'It sounds IIke a fude wofd to me.' She
tufned to the maId and saId, 'Mafy, ask them to sefve bfeakfast fof thfee In the. I thInk
It had bettef be In the BaIIfoom. That has the hIghest ceIIIng.' To the BFG, she saId, 'I'm
affaId you wIII have to go thfough the doof on youf hands and knees. I shaII send
someone to show you the way.'
The BFG feached up and IIfted SophIe out of the wIndow. 'You and I Is IeavIng Hef
Majestef aIone to get dfessed,' he saId.
'No, Ieave the IIttIe gIfI hefe wIth me,' the Queen saId. 'We'II have to fInd somethIng
fof hef to put on. She can't have bfeakfast In hef nIghtIe.'
The BFG fetufned SophIe to the bedfoom.
'Can we have sausages, Youf Majesty?' SophIe saId. 'And bacon and ffIed eggs?'
'I thInk that mIght be managed,' the Queen answefed, smIIIng.
'Just you waIt tIII you taste It!' SophIe saId to the BFG. 'No mofe snozzcumbefs ffom
now on!'
The Roya! Breakfast
Thefe was a ffantIc scuffy among the PaIace sefvants when ofdefs wefe feceIved ffom
the Queen that a twenty-fouf-foot gIant must be seated wIth Hef Majesty In the Gfeat
BaIIfoom wIthIn the next haIf-houf.
The butIef, an ImposIng pefsonage named Mf TIbbs, was In supfeme command of aII
the PaIace sefvants and he dId the best he couId In the shoft tIme avaIIabIe. A man does
not fIse to become the Queen's butIef unIess he Is gIfted wIth extfaofdInafy IngenuIty,
adaptabIIIty, vefsatIIIty, dextefIty, cunnIng, sophIstIcatIon, sagacIty, dIscfetIon and a
host of othef taIents that neIthef you nof I possess. Mf TIbbs had them aII. He was In the
butIef's pantfy sIppIng an eafIy mofnIng gIass of IIght aIe when the ofdef feached hIm.
In a spIIt second he had made the foIIowIng caIcuIatIons In hIs head: If a nofmaI sIx-foot
man fequIfes a thfee-foot-hIgh tabIe to eat off, a twenty-fouf-foot gIant wIII fequIfe a
tweIve-foot-hIgh tabIe.
And If a sIx-foot man fequIfes a chaIf wIth a two-foot-hIgh seat, a twenty-fouf-foot
gIant wIII fequIfe a chaIf wIth an eIght-foot-hIgh seat.
EvefythIng, Mf TIbbs toId hImseIf, must be muItIpIIed by fouf. Two bfeakfast eggs
must become eIght. Fouf fashefs of bacon must become sIxteen. Thfee pIeces of toast
must become tweIve, and so on. These caIcuIatIons about food wefe ImmedIateIy passed
on to MonsIeuf PapIIIIon, the foyaI chef.
Mf TIbbs skImmed Into the BaIIfoom (butIefs don't waIk, they skIm ovef the gfound)
foIIowed by a whoIe afmy of footmen. The footmen aII wofe knee-bfeeches and evefy
one of them dIspIayed beautIfuIIy founded caIves and ankIes. Thefe Is no way you can
become a foyaI footman unIess you have a weII-tufned ankIe. It Is the fIfst thIng they
Iook at when you afe IntefvIewed.
'Push the gfand pIano Into the centfe of the foom,' Mf TIbbs whIspefed. ButIefs nevef
faIse theIf voIces above the softest whIspef.
Fouf footmen moved the pIano.
'Now fetch a Iafge chest-of-dfawefs and put It on top of the pIano,' Mf TIbbs
whIspefed.
Thfee othef footmen fetched a vefy fIne ChIppendaIe mahogany chest-of-dfawefs
and pIaced It on top of the pIano.
'That wIII be hIs chaIf,' Mf TIbbs whIspefed. 'It Is exactIy eIght feet off the gfound.
Now we shaII make a tabIe upon whIch thIs gentIeman may eat hIs bfeakfast In comfoft.
Fetch me fouf vefy taII gfandfathef cIocks. Thefe afe pIenty of them afound the PaIace.
Iet each cIock be tweIve feet hIgh.'
SIxteen footmen spfead out afound the PaIace to fInd the cIocks. They wefe not easy
to caffy and fequIfed fouf footmen to each one.
'PIace the fouf cIocks In a fectangIe eIght feet by fouf aIongsIde the gfand pIano,' Mf
TIbbs whIspefed.
The footmen dId so.
'Now fetch me the young PfInce's pIng-pong tabIe,' Mf TIbbs whIspefed.
The pIng-pong tabIe was caffIed In.
'Unscfew Its Iegs and take them away,' Mf TIbbs whIspefed. ThIs was done.
'Now pIace the pIng-pong tabIe on top of the fouf gfandfathef cIocks,' Mf TIbbs
whIspefed. To manage thIs, the footmen had to stand on step-Iaddefs.
Mf TIbbs stood back to sufvey the new fufnItufe. 'None of It Is In the cIassIc styIe,' he
whIspefed, 'but It wIII have to do.' He gave ofdefs that a damask tabIecIoth shouId be
dfaped ovef the pIng-pong tabIe, and In the end It Iooked feaIIy quIte eIegant aftef aII.
At thIs poInt, Mf TIbbs was seen to hesItate. The footmen aII stafed at hIm, aghast.
ButIefs nevef hesItate, not even when they afe faced wIth the most ImpossIbIe pfobIems.
It Is theIf job to be totaIIy decIsIve at aII tImes.
'KnIves and fofks and spoons,' Mf TIbbs was heafd to muttef. 'Ouf cutIefy wIII be
IIke IIttIe pIns In hIs hands.'
But Mf TIbbs dIdn't hesItate fof Iong. 'TeII the head gafdenef,' he whIspefed, 'that I
fequIfe ImmedIateIy a bfand-new unused gafden fofk and aIso a spade. And fof a knIfe
we shaII use the gfeat swofd hangIng on the waII In the mofnIng-foom. But cIean the
swofd weII fIfst. It was Iast used to cut off the head of KIng ChafIes the FIfst and thefe
may stIII be a IIttIe dfIed bIood on the bIade.'
When aII thIs had been accompIIshed, Mf TIbbs stood neaf the centfe of the BaIIfoom
castIng hIs expeft butIef's eye ovef the scene. Had he fofgotten anythIng? He ceftaInIy
had. What about a coffee cup fof the Iafge gentIeman?
'Fetch me,' he whIspefed, 'the bIggest jug you can fInd In the kItchen.'
A spIendId one-gaIIon pofceIaIn watef-jug was bfought In and pIaced on the gIant's
tabIe besIde the gafden fofk and the gafden spade and the gfeat swofd.
So much fof the gIant.
Mf TIbbs then had the footmen move a smaII deIIcate tabIe and two chaIfs aIongsIde
the gIant's tabIe. ThIs was fof the Queen and fof SophIe. The fact that the gIant's tabIe
and chaIf towefed faf above the smaIIef tabIe sImpIy couId not be heIped.
AII these affangements wefe onIy just compIeted when the Queen, now fuIIy dfessed
In a tfIm skIft and cashmefe cafdIgan, entefed the BaIIfoom hoIdIng SophIe by the hand.
A pfetty bIue dfess that had once beIonged to one of the PfIncesses had been found fof
SophIe, and to make hef Iook pfettIef stIII, the Queen had pIcked up a supefb sapphIfe
bfooch ffom hef dfessIng-tabIe and had pInned It on the Ieft sIde of SophIe's chest. The
BIg FfIendIy GIant foIIowed behInd them, but he had an awfuI job gettIng thfough the
doof. He had to squeeze hImseIf thfough on hIs hands and knees, wIth two footmen
pushIng hIm ffom behInd and two puIIIng ffom the ffont. But he got thfough In the end.
He had femoved hIs bIack cIoak and got fId of hIs tfumpet, and was now weafIng hIs
ofdInafy sImpIe cIothes.
As he waIked acfoss the BaIIfoom he had to stoop quIte a Iot to avoId hIttIng the
ceIIIng. Because of thIs he faIIed to notIce an enofmous cfystaI chandeIIef. Crus/ went
hIs head fIght Into the chandeIIef. A showef of gIass feII upon the poof BFG.
'Gunghummefs and bogs wInkIes!' he cfIed. 'What was that?'
'It wus IouIs the FIfteenth,' the Queen saId, IookIng sIIghtIy put out.
'He's nevef been In a house befofe,' SophIe saId.
Mf TIbbs scowIed. He dIfected fouf footmen to cIeaf up the mess, then, wIth a
dIsdaInfuI IIttIe wave of the hand, he IndIcated to the gIant that he shouId seat hImseIf
on top of the chest-of-dfawefs on top of the gfand pIano.
'What a phIzz-whIzzIng fIushbunkIng seat!' cfIed the BFG. 'I Is goIng to be bug as a
snug In a fug up hefe.'
'Does he aIways speak IIke that?' the Queen asked.
'QuIte often,' SophIe saId. 'He gets tangIed up wIth hIs wofds.'
The BFG sat down on the chest-of-dfawefs-pIano and gazed In wondef afound the
Gfeat BaIIfoom. 'By gumdfops!' he cfIed. 'What a spIIffIIng whoppsy foom we Is In! It Is
so gIgantuous I Is needIng bIcIfcuIefs and teIescoops to see what Is goIng on at the othef
end!'
Footmen affIved caffyIng sIIvef tfays wIth ffIed eggs, bacon, sausages and ffIed
potatoes.
At thIs poInt, Mf TIbbs suddenIy feaIIzed that In ofdef to sefve the BFG at hIs tweIve-
foot-hIgh gfandfathef-cIock tabIe, he wouId have to cIImb to the top of one of the taII
step-Iaddefs. What's mofe, he must do It baIancIng a huge wafm pIate on the paIm of
one hand and hoIdIng a gIgantIc sIIvef coffee-pot In the othef. A nofmaI man wouId
have fIInched at the thought of It. But good butIefs nevef fIInch. Up he went, up and up
and up, whIIe the Queen and SophIe watched hIm wIth gfeat Intefest. It Is possIbIe they
wefe both secfetIy hopIng he wouId Iose hIs baIance and go cfashIng to the fIoof. But
good butIefs nevef cfash.
At the top of the Iaddef, Mf TIbbs, baIancIng IIke an acfobat, poufed the BFG's coffee
and pIaced the enofmous pIate befofe hIm. On the pIate thefe wefe eIght eggs, tweIve
sausages, sIxteen fashefs of bacon and a heap of ffIed potatoes.
'What Is thIs pIease, Youf Majestef?' the BFG asked, peefIng down at the Queen.
'He has nevef eaten anythIng except snozzcumbefs befofe In hIs IIfe,' SophIe
expIaIned. 'They taste fevoItIng.'
'They don't seem to have stunted hIs gfowth,' the Queen saId.
The BFG gfabbed the gafden spade and scooped up aII the eggs, sausages, bacon and
potatoes In one go and shoveIIed them Into hIs enofmous mouth.
'By goggIes!' he cfIed. 'ThIs stuff Is makIng snozzcumbefs taste IIke swatchwaIIop!'
The Queen gIanced up, ffownIng. Mf TIbbs Iooked down at hIs toes and hIs IIps
moved In sIIent pfayef.
'That was onIy one tItchy IIttIe bIte,' the BFG saId. 'Is you havIng any mofe of thIs
deIunctIous gfubbIe In youf cupboafd, Majestef?'
'TIbbs,' the Queen saId, showIng tfue fegaI hospItaIIty, 'fetch the gentIeman anothef
dozen ffIed eggs and a dozen sausages.'
Mf TIbbs swam out of the foom muttefIng unspeakabIe wofds to hImseIf and wIpIng
hIs bfow wIth a whIte handkefchIef.
The BFG IIfted the huge jug and took a swaIIow. 'Owch!' he cfIed, bIowIng a
mouthfuI acfoss the BaIIfoom. 'PIease, what Is thIs hoffIbIe swIgpIII I Is dfInkIng,
Majestef?'
'It's coffee,' the Queen toId hIm. 'FfeshIy foasted.'
'It's fIIthsome!' the BFG cfIed out. 'Whefe Is the ffobscottIe?'
'The w/ut?' the Queen asked.
'DeIumptIous fIzzy ffobscottIe,' the BFG answefed. 'Evefyone must be dfInkIng
ffobscottIe wIth bfeakfast, Majestef. Then we can aII be whIzzpoppIng happIIy togethef
aftefwafds.'
'What Joes he mean?' the Queen saId, ffownIng at SophIe. 'What Is whIzzpoppIng?'
SophIe kept a vefy stfaIght face. 'BFG,' she saId, 'thefe Is no ffobscottIe hefe and
whIzzpoppIng Is stfIctIy fofbIdden!'
'What!' cfIed the BFG. 'No ffobscottIe? No whIzzpoppIng? No gIumptIous musIc? No
boom-boom-boom?'
'AbsoIuteIy not,' SophIe toId hIm fIfmIy.
'If he wants to sIng, pIease don't stop hIm,' the Queen saId.
'He doesn't want to sIng,' SophIe saId.
'He saId he wants to make musIc,' the Queen went on. 'ShaII I send fof a vIoIIn?'
'No, Youf Majesty' SophIe saId. 'He's onIy jokIng.'
A sIy IIttIe smIIe cfossed the BFG's face. 'IIsten,' he saId, peefIng down at SophIe, 'If
they Isn't havIng any ffobscottIe hefe In the PaIace, I can stIII go whIzzpoppIng peffectIy
weII wIthout It If I Is tfyIng hafd enough.'
'No!' cfIed SophIe. 'Don't! You'fe not to! I beg you!'
'MusIc Is vefy good fof the dIgestIon,' the Queen saId. 'When I'm up In ScotIand, they
pIay the bagpIpes outsIde the wIndow whIIe I'm eatIng. Do pIay somethIng.'
'I has Hef Majestef's pefmIssIon!' cfIed the BFG, and aII at once he Iet fIy wIth a
whIzzpoppef that sounded as though a bomb had expIoded In the foom.
The Queen jumped.
'Whoopee!' shouted the BFG. 'That Is bettef than baggIepIpes, Is It not, Majestef?'
It took the Queen a few seconds to get ovef the shock. 'I pfefef the bagpIpes,' she
saId. But she couIdn't stop hefseIf smIIIng.
DufIng the next twenty mInutes, a whoIe feIay of footmen wefe kept busy huffyIng
to and ffom the kItchen caffyIng thIfd heIpIngs and foufth heIpIngs and fIfth heIpIngs of
ffIed eggs and sausages fof the favenous and deIIghted BFG.
When the BFG had consumed hIs seventy-second ffIed egg, Mf TIbbs sIdIed up to the
Queen. He bent Iow ffom the waIst and whIspefed In hef eaf, 'Chef sends hIs apoIogIes,
Youf Majesty, and he says he has no mofe eggs In the kItchen.'
'What's wfong wIth the hens?' the Queen saId.
'NothIng's wfong wIth the hens, Youf Majesty,' Mf TIbbs whIspefed.
'Then teII them to Iay mofe,' the Queen saId. She Iooked up at the BFG. 'Have some
toast and mafmaIade whIIe you'fe waItIng,' she saId to hIm.
'The toast Is fInIshed,' Mf TIbbs whIspefed, 'and chef says thefe Is no mofe bfead.'
'TeII hIm to bake mofe,' the Queen saId.
WhIIe aII thIs was goIng on, SophIe had been teIIIng the Queen evefythIng,
absoIuteIy evefythIng about hef vIsIt to GIant Countfy. The Queen IIstened, appaIIed.
When SophIe had fInIshed, the Queen Iooked up at the BFG, who was sIttIng hIgh above
hef. He was now eatIng a sponge-cake.
'BIg FfIendIy GIant,' she saId, 'Iast nIght those man-eatIng bfutes came to EngIand.
Can you femembef whefe they went the nIght befofe?'
The BFG put a whoIe found sponge-cake Into hIs mouth and chewed It sIowIy whIIe
he thought about thIs questIon. 'Yes, Majestef,' he saId. 'I do thInk I Is femembefIng
whefe they saId they was goIng the nIght befofe Iast. They was gaIIopIng off to Sweden
fof the Sweden souf taste.'
'Fetch me a teIephone,' the Queen commanded.
Mf TIbbs pIaced the Instfument on the tabIe. The Queen IIfted the feceIvef. 'Get me
the KIng of Sweden,' she saId.
'Good mofnIng,' the Queen saId. 'Is evefythIng aII fIght In Sweden?'
'EvefythIng Is teffIbIe!' the KIng of Sweden answefed. 'Thefe Is panIc In the capItaI!
Two nIghts ago, twenty-sIx of my IoyaI subjects dIsappeafed! My whoIe countfy Is In a
panIc!'
'Youf twenty-sIx IoyaI subjects wefe aII eaten by gIants,' the Queen saId. 'AppafentIy
they IIke the taste of Swedes.'
'Why do they IIke the taste of Swedes?' the KIng asked.
'Because the Swedes of Sweden have a sweet and souf taste. So says the BFG,' the
Queen saId.
'I don't know w/ut you'fe taIkIng about,' the KIng saId, gfowIng testy. 'It's hafdIy a
jokIng mattef when one's IoyaI subjects afe beIng eaten IIke popcofn.'
'They've eaten mIne as weII,' the Queen saId.
'Who's t/ey, fof heaven's sake?' the KIng asked.
'GIants,' the Queen saId.
'Iook hefe,' the KIng saId, 'afe you feeIIng aII fIght?'
'It's been a fough mofnIng,' the Queen saId. 'FIfst I had a hoffId nIghtmafe, then the
maId dfopped my bfeakfast and now I've got a gIant on the pIano.'
'You need a doctof quIck!' cfIed the KIng.
'I'II be aII fIght,' the Queen saId. 'I must go now. Thanks fof youf heIp.' She fepIaced
the feceIvef.
'Youf BFG Is fIght,' the Queen saId to SophIe. 'Those nIne man-eatIng bfutes JiJ go to
Sweden.'
'It's hoffIbIe,' SophIe saId. 'PIease stop them, Youf Majesty.'
'I'd IIke to make one mofe check befofe I caII out the tfoops,' the Queen saId. Once
mofe, she Iooked up at the BFG. He was eatIng doughnuts now, poppIng them Into hIs
mouth ten at a tIme, IIke peas. 'ThInk hafd, BFG,' she saId. 'Whefe dId those hoffId
gIants say they wefe gaIIopIng off to t/ree nIghts ago?'
The BFG thought Iong and hafd.
'Ho-ho!' he cfIed at Iast. 'Yes, I Is femembefIng!'
'Whefe?' asked the Queen.
'One was off to Baghdad,' the BFG saId. 'As they Is gaIIopIng past my cave,
FIeshIumpeatef Is wavIng hIs afms and shoutIng at me, ¨I Is off to Baghdad and I Is
goIng to Baghdad and mum and evefy one of theIf ten chIIdfen as weII!" '
Once mofe, the Queen IIfted the feceIvef. 'Get me the Iofd Mayof of Baghdad,' she
saId. 'If they don't have a Iofd Mayof, get me the next best thIng.'
In fIve seconds, a voIce was on the IIne. 'Hefe Is the SuItan of Baghdad speakIng,' the
voIce saId.
'IIsten, SuItan,' the Queen saId. 'DId anythIng unpIeasant happen In youf cIty thfee
nIghts ago?'
'Evefy nIght unpIeasant thIngs afe happenIng In Baghdad,' the SuItan saId. 'We afe
choppIng off peopIe's heads IIke you afe choppIng pafsIey.'
'I've nevef chopped pafsIey In my IIfe,' the Queen saId. 'I want to know If anyone
has JisuppeureJ fecentIy In Baghdad?'
'OnIy my uncIe, CaIIph Hafoun aI RashId,' the SuItan saId. 'He dIsappeafed ffom hIs
bed thfee nIghts ago togethef wIth hIs wIfe and ten chIIdfen.'
'Thefe you Is!' cfIed the BFG, whose wondeffuI eafs enabIed hIm to heaf what the
SuItan was sayIng to the Queen on the teIephone. 'FIeshIumpeatef dId that one! He went
off to Baghdad to bag dad and mum and aII the IIttIe kIddIes!'
The Queen fepIaced the feceIvef. 'That pfoves It,' she saId, IookIng up at the BFG.
'Youf stofy Is appafentIy quIte tfue. Summon the Head of the Afmy and the Head of the
AIf Fofce ImmedIateIy!'
The P!an
The Head of the Afmy and the Head of the AIf Fofce stood at attentIon besIde the
Queen's bfeakfast tabIe. SophIe was stIII In hef seat and the BFG was stIII hIgh up on hIs
cfazy pefch.
It took the Queen onIy fIve mInutes to expIaIn the sItuatIon to the mIIItafy men.
'I /new thefe was somethIng IIke thIs goIng on, Youf Majesty' the Head of the Afmy
saId. 'Fof the Iast ten yeafs we have been gettIng fepofts ffom neafIy evefy countfy In
the wofId about peopIe dIsappeafIng mystefIousIy In the nIght. We had one onIy the
othef day ffom Panama.'
'Fof the hatty taste!' cfIed the BFG.
'And one ffom WeIIIngton, In New ZeaIand,' saId the Head of the Afmy.
'Fof the booty fIavouf!' cfIed the BFG.
'What is he taIkIng about?' saId the Head of the AIf Fofce.
'Wofk It out fof youfseIf,' the Queen saId. 'What tIme Is It? Ten a.m. In eIght houfs
those nIne bIoodthIfsty bfutes wIII be gaIIopIng off to gobbIe up anothef coupIe of dozen
unfoftunate wfetches. They have to be stopped. We must act fast.'
'We'II bomb the bIIghtefs!' shouted the Head of the AIf Fofce.
'We'II mow them down wIth machIne-guns!' cfIed the Head of the Afmy.
'I do not appfove of mufdef,' the Queen saId.
'But they afe mufdefefs themseIves!' cfIed the Head of the Afmy.
'That Is no feason why we shouId foIIow theIf exampIe,' the Queen saId. 'Two wfongs
don't make a fIght.'
'And two fIghts don't make a Ieft!' cfIed the BFG.
'We must bfIng them back aIIve,' the Queen saId.
'How?' the two mIIItafy men saId togethef. 'They afe aII fIfty feet hIgh. They'd knock
us down IIke nInepIns!'
'WaIt!' cfIed the BFG. 'HoId youf hofsefIIes! Keep youf skIfts on! I thInk I has the
answef to the maIden's haIf!'
'Iet hIm speak,' the Queen saId.
'Evefy aftefnoon,' the BFG saId, 'aII these gIants Is In the Iand of Noddy.'
'I can't undefstand a wofd thIs feIIef says,' the Head of the Afmy snapped. 'Why
doesn't he speak cIeafIy?'
'He means the Iand of Nod,' SophIe saId. 'It's pfetty obvIous.'
'ExunckIy!' cfIed the BFG. 'Evefy aftefnoon aII these nIne gIants Is IyIng on the
gfound snoozIIng away In a vefy deep sIeep. They Is aIways festIng IIke that befofe they
Is gaIIopIng off to guzzIe anothef heIpIng of human beans.'
'Go on,' they saId. 'So what?'
'So what you soIdIefs has to do Is to cfeep up to the gIants whIIe they Is stIII In the
Iand of Noddy and tIe theIf afms and Iegs wIth mIghty fopes and whunkIng chaIns.'
'BfIIIIant,' the Queen saId.
'That's aII vefy weII,' saId the Head of the Afmy. 'But how do we get the bfutes back
hefe? We can't Ioad fIfty-foot gIants on to tfucks! Shoot 'em on the spot, that's what I
say!'
The BFG Iooked down ffom hIs Iofty pefch and saId, thIs tIme to the Head of the AIf
Fofce, 'You Is havIng beIIypoppefs, Is you not?'
'Is he beIng fude?' the Head of the AIf Fofce saId.
'He means heIIcoptefs,' SophIe toId hIm.
'Then why doesn't he say so? Of coufse we have heIIcoptefs.'
'Whoppsy bIg beIIypoppefs?' asked the BFG.
'Vefy bIg ones,' the Head of the AIf Fofce saId pfoudIy. 'But no heIIcoptef Is bIg
enough to get a gIant IIke that InsIde It.'
'You do not put hIm InsIde,' the BFG saId. 'You sIIng hIm undefneath the beIIy of
youf beIIypoppef and caffy hIm IIke a pofteedo.'
'IIke a w/ut?' saId the Head of the AIf Fofce.
'IIke a tofpedo,' SophIe saId.
'GouId you do that, AIf MafshaI?' the Queen asked.
'WeII, I suppose we coulJ,' the Head of the AIf Fofce admItted gfudgIngIy.
'Then get cfackIng!' the Queen saId. 'You'II need nIne heIIcoptefs, one fof each
gIant.'
'Whefe Is thIs pIace?' the AIf Fofce man saId to the BFG. 'I pfesume you can pInpoInt
It on the map?'
'Pinpoint?' saId the BFG. 'Mup? I Is nevef heafIng these wofds befofe. Is thIs AIf Fofce
bean taIkIng sIush-bungIe?'
The AIf MafshaI's face tufned the coIouf of a fIpe pIum. He was not used to beIng
toId he was taIkIng sIushbungIe. The Queen, wIth hef usuaI admIfabIe tact and good
sense, came to the fescue. 'BFG,' she saId, 'can you teII us more or less whefe thIs GIant
Countfy Is?'
'No, Majestef,' the BFG saId. 'Not on my neIIy.'
'Then we'fe jIggefed!' cfIed the Afmy GenefaI.
'ThIs Is fIdIcuIous!' cfIed the AIf MafshaI.
'You must not be gIvIng up so easy' the BFG saId caImIy. 'The fIfst tItchy bobstIcIe
you meet and you begIn shoutIng you Is bIffsquIggIed.'
The Afmy GenefaI was no mofe used to beIng InsuIted than the AIf MafshaI. HIs face
began to sweII wIth fufy and hIs cheeks bIew out untII they Iooked IIke two huge fIpe
tomatoes. 'Youf Majesty!' he cfIed. 'We afe deaIIng wIth a IunatIc! I want nothIng mofe
to do wIth thIs fIdIcuIous opefatIon!'
The Queen, who was used to the tantfums of hef senIof offIcIaIs, Ignofed hIm
compIeteIy. 'BFG,' she saId, 'wouId you pIease teII these fathef dIm-wItted chafactefs
exactIy what to do.'
'A pIeasufe, Majestef,' saId the BFG. 'Now IIsten to me cafefuIIy, you two
bootboggIefs.'
The mIIItafy men began to twItch, but they stayed put.
'I Is not havIng the foggIest Idea whefe GIant Countfy Is In the wofId,' the BFG saId,
'but I Is aIways abIe to gaIIop thefe. I Is gaIIopIng fofthwafds and backwafds ffom GIant
Countfy evefy nIght to bIow my dfeams Into IIttIe chIddIefs' bedfooms. I Is knowIng the
way vefy weII. So aII you Is havIng to do Is thIs. Put youf nIne bIg beIIyhoppefs up In
the aIf and Iet them foIIow me as I Is gaIIopIng aIong.'
'How Iong wIII the joufney take?' the Queen asked.
'If we Is IeavIng now,' the BFG saId, 'we wIII be affIvIng just as the gIants Is havIng
theIf aftefnoon snozzIe.'
'SpIendId,' saId the Queen. Then tufnIng to the two mIIItafy men, she saId, 'Pfepafe
to Ieave ImmedIateIy.'
The Head of the Afmy, who was feeIIng pfetty mIffed by the whoIe busIness, saId,
'That's aII vefy weII, Youf Majesty, but what afe we goIng to do wIth the bIIghtefs once
we've got them back?'
'Don't you woffy about that,' the Queen toId hIm. 'We'II be feady fof them. Huffy up,
now! Off you go!'
'If It pIeases Youf Majesty,' SophIe saId, 'I shouId IIke to fIde wIth the BFG, to keep
hIm company.'
'Whefe wIII you sIt?' asked the Queen.
'In hIs eaf,' SophIe saId. 'Show them, BFG.'
The BFG got down ffom hIs hIgh chaIf. He pIcked SophIe up In hIs fIngefs. He
swIveIIed hIs huge fIght eaf untII It was pafaIIeI wIth the gfound, then he pIaced SophIe
gentIy InsIde It.
The Heads of the Afmy and the AIf Fofce stood thefe goggIIng. The Queen smIIed.
'You feaIIy afe fathef a wondeffuI gIant,' she saId.
'Majestef,' the BFG saId, 'I Is wIshIng to ask a vefy specIaI thIng ffom you.'
'What Is It?' the Queen saId.
'CouId I pIease bfIng back hefe In the beIIypoppefs aII my coIIectIon of dfeams? They
Is takIng me yeafs and yeafs to coIIect and I Is not wantIng to Iose them.'
'Why of coufse,' the Queen saId. 'I wIsh you a safe joufney.'
Capture!
The BFG had made thousands of joufneys to and ffom GIant Countfy ovef the yeafs, but
he had nevef In hIs IIfe made one quIte IIke thIs, wIth nIne huge heIIcoptefs foafIng
aIong just ovef hIs head. He had nevef befofe tfaveIIed In bfoad dayIIght eIthef. He
hadn't dafed to. But thIs was dIffefent. Now he was doIng It fof the Queen of EngIand
hefseIf and he was ffIghtened of nobody.
As he gaIIoped acfoss the BfItIsh IsIes wIth the heIIcoptefs thundefIng above hIm,
peopIe stood and gaped and wondefed what on eafth was goIng on. They had nevef
seen the IIkes of It befofe. And they nevef wouId agaIn.
Evefy now and then, the pIIots of the heIIcoptefs wouId catch a gIImpse of a smaII
gIfI weafIng gIasses cfouchIng In the gIant's fIght eaf and wavIng to them. They aIways
waved back. The pIIots mafveIIed at the gIant's speed and at the way he Ieaped acfoss
wIde fIvefs and ovef huge houses.
But they hadn't seen anythIng yet.
'Be cafefuI to hang on tIght!' the BFG saId. 'We Is goIng fast as a fIzzIecfump!' The
BFG changed Into hIs famous top geaf and aII at once he began to fIy fofwafd as though
thefe wefe spfIngs In hIs Iegs and fockets In hIs toes. He went skImmIng ovef the eafth
IIke some magIcaI hop-skIp-and-jumpef wIth hIs feet hafdIy evef touchIng the gfound. As
usuaI, SophIe had to cfouch Iow In the cfevIce of hIs eaf to save hefseIf ffom beIng swept
cIean away.
The nIne pIIots In theIf heIIcoptefs suddenIy feaIIzed they wefe beIng Ieft behInd. The
gIant was stfeakIng ahead. They opened theIf thfottIes to fuII speed, and even then they
wefe onIy just abIe to keep up.
In the IeadIng machIne, the Head of the AIf Fofce was sIttIng besIde the pIIot. He had
a wofId atIas on hIs knees and he kept stafIng fIfst at the atIas, then at the gfound
beIow, tfyIng to fIgufe out whefe they wefe goIng. FfantIcaIIy he tufned the pages of
the atIas. 'Whefe the devII ure we goIng?' he cfIed.
'I haven't the foggIest Idea,' the pIIot answefed. 'The Queen's ofdefs wefe to foIIow
the gIant and that's exactIy what I'm doIng.'
The pIIot was a young AIf Fofce offIcef wIth a bushy moustache. He was vefy pfoud
of hIs moustache. He was aIso quIte feafIess and he Ioved adventufe. He thought thIs
was a supef adventufe. 'It's fun goIng to new pIaces,' he saId.
'New pluces!' shouted the Head of the AIf Fofce. 'What the bIazes d'you mean new
pluces?'
'ThIs pIace we'fe fIyIng ovef now Isn't In the atIas, Is It?' the pIIot saId, gfInnIng.
'You'fe dafn fIght It Isn't In the atIas!' cfIed the Head of the AIf Fofce. 'We've fIown
cIeaf off the Iast page!'
'I expect that oId gIant knows whefe he's goIng,' the young pIIot saId.
'He's IeadIng us to dIsastef!' cfIed the Head of the AIf Fofce. He was shakIng wIth
feaf. In the seat behInd hIm sat the Head of the Afmy, who was even mofe teffIfIed.
'You don't mean to teII me we've gone fIght out of the atIas?' he cfIed, IeanIng
fofwafd to Iook.
'That's exactIy what I um teIIIng you!' cfIed the AIf Fofce man. 'Iook fof youfseIf.
Hefe's the vefy Iast map In the whoIe fIamIng atIas! We went off that ovef an houf ago!'
He tufned the page. As In aII atIases, thefe wefe two compIeteIy bIank pages at the vefy
end. 'So now we must be somewhefe hefe,' he saId, puttIng a fIngef on one of the bIank
pages.
'Whefe's hefe?' cfIed the Head of the Afmy.
The young pIIot was stIII gfInnIng bfoadIy. He saId to them, 'That's why they aIways
put two bIank pages at the back of the atIas. They'fe fof new countfIes. You'fe meant to
fIII them In youfseIf.'
The Head of the AIf Fofce gIanced down at the gfound beIow. 'Just Iook at thIs
godfofsaken deseft!' he cfIed. 'AII the tfees afe dead and aII the focks afe bIue!'
'The gIant has stopped,' the young pIIot saId. 'He's wavIng us down.'
The pIIots thfottIed back the engInes and aII nIne heIIcoptefs Ianded safeIy on the
gfeat yeIIow wasteIand. Then each of them Iowefed a famp ffom Its beIIy. NIne jeeps,
one ffom each heIIcoptef, wefe dfIven down the famps. Each jeep contaIned sIx soIdIefs
and a vast quantIty of thIck fope and heavy chaIns.
'I don't see any gIants,' the Head of the Afmy saId.
'The gIants Is aII just out of sIght ovef thefe,' the BFG toId hIm. 'But If you Is takIng
these sIoshbuckIIng noIsy beIIypoppefs any cIosef, aII the gIants Is wakIng up at once
and then pop goes the weaseI.'
'So you want us to pfoceed by jeep?' the Head of the Afmy saId.
'Yes,' the BFG saId. 'But you must aII be vefy vefy hushy quIet. No foafIng of motofs.
No shoutIng. No muckIng about. No pIggefy-jokefy.'
The BFG, wIth SophIe stIII In hIs eaf, tfotted fofwafd and the jeeps foIIowed cIose
behInd.
SuddenIy the most dfeadfuI fumbIIng noIse was heafd by evefyone. The Head of the
Afmy went pea-gfeen In the face. 'Those afe guns!' he cfIed. 'Thefe Is a battIe fagIng
somewhefe up ahead of us! Tufn back, the Iot of you! Iet's get out of hefe!'
'PIgspIffIe!' the BFG saId. 'Those noIses Is not guns.'
'Of coufse they'fe guns!' shouted the Head of the Afmy. 'I am a mIIItafy man and I
know a gun when I heaf one! Tufn back!'
'Those Is just the gIants snoftIIng In theIf sIeep,' the BFG saId. 'I Is a gIant myseIf and
I know a gIant's snoftIe when I Is heafIng one.'
'Afe you quIte sufe?' the Afmy man saId anxIousIy.
'PosItIve,' the BFG saId.
'Pfoceed cautIousIy' the Afmy man ofdefed.
They aII moved on.
Then they saw them!
Even at a dIstance, they wefe enough to scafe the dayIIghts out of the soIdIefs. But
when they got cIose and saw what the gIants feaIIy Iooked IIke, they began to sweat
wIth feaf. NIne feafsome, ugIy, haIf-naked, fIfty-feet-Iong bfutes Iay spfawIed ovef the
gfound In vafIous gfotesque attItudes of sIeep, and the sound of theIf snofIng was
Indeed IIke gunfIfe In a battIe.
The BFG faIsed a hand. The jeeps aII stopped. The soIdIefs got out.
'What happens If one of them wakes up?' whIspefed the Head of the Afmy, hIs knees
knockIng togethef ffom feaf.
'If any one of them Is wakIng up, he wIII gobbIe you down befofe you can say knack
jIfe,' the BFG answefed, gfInnIng hugeIy. 'Me Is the onIy one what won't be gobbIed up
because gIants Is nevef eatIng gIants. Me and SophIe Is the onIy safe ones because I Is
hIdIng hef If that happens.'
The Head of the Afmy took sevefaI paces to the feaf. So dId the Head of the AIf
Fofce. They cIImbed fathef quIckIy back Into theIf jeep, feady to make a fast getaway If
necessafy. 'Go fofwafd, men!' the Head of the Afmy saId. 'Go fofwafd and do youf duty
bfaveIy!'
The soIdIefs cfept fofwafd wIth theIf fopes and chaIns. AII of them wefe tfembIIng
mIghtIIy. None dafed speak a wofd.
The BFG, wIth SophIe now sIttIng on the paIm of hIs hand, stood neaf by watchIng
the opefatIon.
To gIve the soIdIefs theIf due, they wefe extfemeIy coufageous. Thefe wefe sIx weII-
tfaIned effIcIent men wofkIng on each gIant and wIthIn ten mInutes eIght out of the
nIne gIants had been tfussed up IIke chIckens and wefe stIII snofIng contentedIy. The
nInth, who happened to be the FIeshIumpeatef, was causIng tfoubIe fof the soIdIefs
because he was IyIng wIth hIs fIght afm tucked undefneath hIs enofmous body. It was
ImpossIbIe to tIe hIs wfIsts and afms togethef wIthout fIfst gettIng that afm out ffom
undefneath hIm.
Vefy vefy cautIousIy, the sIx soIdIefs who wefe wofkIng on the FIeshIumpeatef began
to puII at the huge afm, tfyIng to feIease It. The FIeshIumpeatef opened hIs tIny pIggy
bIack eyes.
'WhIch of you fouIpestefs Is wIggIIng my afm?' he beIIowed. 'Is that you, you
fotsome Manhuggef?'
SuddenIy he saw the soIdIefs. In a fIash, he was sIttIng up. He Iooked afound hIm. He
saw mofe soIdIefs. WIth a foaf, he Ieaped to hIs feet. The soIdIefs, petfIfIed wIth feaf,
ffoze whefe they wefe. They had no weapons wIth them. The Head of the Afmy put hIs
jeep Into fevefse.
'Human beans!' the FIeshIumpeatef yeIIed. 'What Is aII you fIushbunkIng fotsome
haIf-baked beans doIng In ouf countfy?' He made a gfab at a soIdIef and swept hIm up
In hIs hand.
'I Is havIng eafIy suppefs today!' he shouted, hoIdIng the poof squIfmIng soIdIef at
afm's Iength and foafIng wIth Iaughtef.
SophIe, standIng on the paIm of the BFG's hand, was watchIng hoffofstfuck. 'Do
somethIng!' she cfIed. 'QuIck, befofe he eats hIm!'
'Put that human bean down!' the BFG shouted.
The FIeshIumpeatef tufned and stafed at the BFG. 'What Is you doIng hefe wIth aII
these gfotty twIgIets!' he beIIowed. 'You Is makIng me vefy suspIchy!'
The BFG made a fush at the FIeshIumpeatef, but the coIossaI fIfty-fouf-foot-hIgh gIant
sImpIy knocked hIm ovef wIth a fIIck of hIs ffee afm. At the same tIme, SophIe feII off
the BFG's paIm on to the gfound. Hef mInd was facIng. She must do somethIng! She
must! She must! She femembefed the sapphIfe bfooch the Queen had pInned on to hef
chest. QuIckIy, she undId It.
'I Is guzzIIng you nIce and sIow!' the FIeshIumpeatef was sayIng to the soIdIef In hIs
hand. 'Then I Is guzzIIng ten of twenty mofe of you mIdgy IIttIe maggots down thefe!
You Is not gettIng away ffom me because I Is gaIIopIng fIfty tImes fastef than you!'
SophIe fan up behInd the FIeshIumpeatef. She was hoIdIng the bfooch between hef
fIngefs. When she was fIght up cIose to the gfeat naked haIfy Iegs, she fammed the
thfee-Inch-Iong pIn of the bfooch as hafd as she couId Into the FIeshIumpeatef's fIght
ankIe. It went deep Into the fIesh and stayed thefe.
The gIant gave a foaf of paIn and jumped hIgh In the aIf. He dfopped the soIdIef and
made a gfab fof hIs ankIe.
The BFG, knowIng what a cowafd the FIeshIumpeatef was, saw hIs chance. 'You Is
bItten by a snake!' he shouted. 'I seed It bItIng you! It was a ffIghtsome poIsnowse vIpef!
It was a dfeadIy dungefous vIndscfeen vIpef!'
'Save ouf souIs!' beIIowed the FIeshIumpeatef. 'Sound the cfumpets! I Is bItten by a
septIcous venomsome vIndscfeen vIpef!' He fIopped to the gfound and sat thefe howIIng
hIs head off and cIutchIng hIs ankIe wIth both hands. HIs fIngefs feIt the bfooch. 'The
teeth of the dfeadIy vIpef Is stIII stIckIng Into me!' he yeIIed. 'I Is feeIIng the teeth
stIckIng Into my ankIet!'
The BFG saw hIs second chance. 'We must be gettIng those vIpef's teeth out at once!'
he cfIed. 'OthefwIse you Is deadef than duck-soup! I Is heIpIng you!'
The BFG kneIt down besIde the FIeshIumpeatef. 'You must gfab youf ankIet vefy
tIght wIth both hands!' he ofdefed. 'That wIII stop the poIsnowse juIces ffom the
venomsome vIpef goIng up youf Ieg and Into youf heaft!'
The FIeshIumpeatef gfabbed hIs ankIe wIth both hands.
'Now cIose youf eyes and gfIttIe youf teeth and Iook up to heaven and say youf
pfayefs whIIe I Is takIng out the teeth of the venomsome vIpef,' the BFG saId.
The teffIfIed FIeshIumpeatef dId exactIy as he was toId.
The BFG sIgnaIIed fof some fope. A soIdIef fushed It ovef to hIm. WIth both the
FIeshIumpeatef's hands gfIppIng hIs ankIe, It was a sImpIe mattef fof the BFG to tIe the
ankIes and hands togethef wIth a tIght knot.
'I Is puIIIng out the ffIghtsome vIpef's teeth!' the BFG saId as he puIIed the knot tIght.
'Do It quIckIy!' shouted the FIeshIumpeatef, 'befofe I Is pIzzened to death!'
'Thefe we Is,' saId the BFG, standIng up. 'You can Iook now.'
When the FIeshIumpeatef saw that he was tfussed up IIke a tufkey, he gave a yeII so
Ioud that the heavens tfembIed. He foIIed and he wfIggIed, he fought and he fIggIed, he
squIfmed and he squIggIed. But thefe was not a thIng he couId do.
'WeII done you!' SophIe cfIed.
'WeII done you!' saId the BFG, smIIIng down at the IIttIe gIfI. 'You Is savIng aII of ouf
IIves!'
'WIII you pIease get that bfooch back fof me,' SophIe saId. 'It beIongs to the Queen.'
The BFG puIIed the beautIfuI bfooch out of the FIeshIumpeatef's ankIe. The
FIeshIumpeatef howIed. The BFG wIped the pIn and handed It back to SophIe.
CufIousIy, not one of the othef eIght snofIng gIants had woken up dufIng thIs
shImozzIe. 'When you Is onIy sIeepIng one of two houfs a day, you Is sIeepIng extfa
doubIy deep,' the BFG expIaIned.
The Head of the Afmy and the AIf Fofce dfove fofwafd once agaIn In theIf jeep. 'Hef
Majesty wIII be vefy pIeased wIth me,' the Head of the Afmy saId. 'I shaII pfobabIy get a
medaI. What's the next move?'
'Now you Is aII dfIvIng ovef to my cave to Ioad up my bottIes of dfeams,' the BFG
saId.
'We can't waste tIme wIth that fubbIsh,' the Afmy GenefaI saId.
'It Is the Queen's ofdef,' SophIe saId. She was now back on the BFG's hand.
So the nIne jeeps dfove acfoss to the BFG's cave and the gfeat dfeam-IoadIng
opefatIon began. Thefe wefe fIfty thousand jafs In aII to be Ioaded up, mofe than fIve
thousand to each jeep, and It took ovef an houf to fInIsh the job.
WhIIe the soIdIefs wefe IoadIng the dfeams, the BFG and SophIe dIsappeafed ovef
the mountaIns on a mystefIous effand. When they came back, the BFG had a sack the
sIze of a smaII house sIung ovef hIs shouIdef.
'What's that you've got In thefe?' the Head of the Afmy demanded to know.
'CufIosIty Is kIIIIng the fat,' the BFG saId, and he tufned away ffom the sIIIy man.
When he was sufe that aII hIs pfecIous dfeams had been safeIy Ioaded on to the
jeeps, the BFG saId, 'Now we Is dfIvIng back to the beIIypoppefs and pIckIng up the
ffIghtsome gIants.'
The jeeps dfove back to the heIIcoptefs. The fIfty thousand dfeams wefe caffIed
cafefuIIy, jaf by jaf, on to the heIIcoptefs. The soIdIefs cIImbed back on boafd, but the
BFG and SophIe stayed on the gfound. Then they aII fetufned to whefe the nIne gIants
wefe IyIng.
It was a fIne sIght to see them, these gfeat aIf machInes hovefIng ovef the tfussed-up
gIants. It was an even fInef sIght to see the gIants beIng woken up by the teffIfIc
thundefIng of the engInes ovefhead, and the fInest sIght of aII was to obsefve those nIne
hIdeous bfutes squIfmIng and twIstIng about on the gfound IIke a mass of mIghty snakes
as they tfIed to ffee themseIves ffom theIf fopes and chaIns.
'I Is fIushbunkIed!' foafed the FIeshIumpeatef.
'I Is spIItzwIggIed!' yeIIed the GhIIdchewef.
'I Is swogswaIIoped!' beIIowed the Bonecfunchef.
'I Is goosegfuggIed!' howIed the Manhuggef.
'I Is gunzIeswIped!' shouted the MeatdfIppef.
'I Is fIuckgungIed!' scfeamed the MaIdmashef.
'I Is sIopgfoggIed!' squawked the GIzzafdguIpef.
'I Is cfodsquInkIed!' yowIed the BIoodbottIef.
'I Is bopmuggefed!' scfeeched the Butchef Boy.
The nIne gIant-caffyIng heIIcoptefs each chose a sepafate gIant and hovefed dIfectIy
ovef hIm. Vefy stfong steeI hawsefs wIth hooks on the ends of them wefe Iowefed ffom
the ffont and feaf of each heIIcoptef. The BFG quIckIy secufed the hooks to the gIants'
chaIns, one hook neaf the Iegs and the othef neaf the afms. Then vefy sIowIy, the gIants
wefe wInched up Into the aIf, pafaIIeI wIth the gfound. The gIants foafed and beIIowed,
but thefe was nothIng they couId do.
The BFG, wIth SophIe once mofe festIng comfoftabIy In hIs eaf, set off at a gaIIop fof
EngIand. The heIIcoptefs aII banked afound and foIIowed aftef hIm.
It was an amazIng spectacIe, those nIne heIIcoptefs wIngIng thfough the sky, each
wIth a tfussed-up fIfty-foot-Iong gIant sIung undefneath It. The gIants themseIves must
have found It an IntefestIng expefIence. They nevef stopped beIIowIng, but theIf howIs
wefe dfowned by the noIse of the engInes.
When It began to get dafk, the heIIcoptefs swItched on poweffuI seafchIIghts and
tfaIned them on to the gaIIopIng gIant so as to keep hIm In sIght. They fIew fIght
thfough the nIght and affIved In EngIand just as dawn was bfeakIng.
Feeding Time
WhIIe the gIants wefe beIng captufed, a tfemendous bustIe and hustIe was goIng on
back home In EngIand. Evefy eafth-dIggef and mechanIcaI contfIvance In the countfy
had been mobIIIzed to dIg the coIossaI hoIe In whIch the nIne gIants wefe to be
pefmanentIy ImpfIsoned.
Ten thousand men and ten thousand machInes wofked ceaseIessIy thfough the nIght
undef poweffuI afc-IIghts, and the massIve task was compIeted onIy just In tIme.
The hoIe ItseIf was about twIce the sIze of a footbaII fIeId and fIve hundfed feet deep.
The waIIs wefe pefpendIcuIaf and engIneefs had caIcuIated that thefe was no way a
gIant couId escape once he was put In. Even If aII nIne gIants wefe to stand on each
othef's shouIdefs, the topmost gIant wouId stIII be some fIfty feet ffom the top of the
hoIe.
The nIne gIant-caffyIng heIIcoptefs hovefed ovef the massIve pIt. The gIants, one by
one, wefe Iowefed to the fIoof. But they wefe stIII tfussed up and now came the tfIcky
busIness of feIeasIng them ffom theIf bonds. Nobody wanted to go down and do thIs
because the moment a gIant was ffeed, he wouId be sufe to tufn on the wfetched pefson
who had ffeed hIm and gobbIe hIm up.
As usuaI, the BFG had the answef. 'I has toId you befofe,' he saId, 'gIants Is nevef
eatIng gIants, so I Is goIng down and I shaII untIe them myseIf befofe you can say fack
jobInson.'
WIth thousands of fascInated spectatofs, IncIudIng the Queen, peefIng down Into the
pIt, the BFG was Iowefed on a fope. One by one, he feIeased the gIants. They stood up,
stfetched theIf stIffened IImbs and stafted IeapIng about In fufy.
'Why Is they puttIng us down hefe In thIs gfobsIudgIng hoIe?' they shouted at the
BFG.
'Because you Is guzzIIng human beans,' the BFG answefed. 'I Is aIways wafnIng you
not to do It and you Is nevef takIng the tItchIest bIt of notIce.'
'In that case,' the FIeshIumpeatef beIIowed, 'I thInk we Is guzzIIng you Instead!'
The BFG gfabbed the dangIIng fope and was hoIsted out of the pIt just In tIme.
The gfeat buIgIng sack he had bfought back wIth hIm ffom GIant Countfy Iay at the
top of the pIt.
'What's In thefe?' the Queen asked hIm.
The BFG put an afm Into the sack and puIIed out a gIgantIc bIack and whIte stfIped
object the sIze of a man.
'Snozzcumbefs!' he cfIed. 'ThIs Is the fepuIsant snozzcumbef, Majestef, and that Is aII
we Is goIng to gIve these dIsgustIve gIants ffom now on!'
'May I taste It?' the Queen asked.
'Don't, Majestef, don't!' cfIed the BFG. 'It Is tastIng of tfogfIIth and pIgsquIbbIe!'
WIth that he tossed the snozzcumbef down to the gIants beIow. 'Thefe's youf suppef!' he
shouted. 'Have a munch on that!' He fIshed out mofe snozzcumbefs ffom the sack and
thfew them down. The gIants beIow howIed and cufsed. The BFG Iaughed. 'It sefves
them fIght Ieft and centfe!' he saId.
'What wIII we feed them on when the snozzcumbefs afe aII used up?' the Queen
asked hIm.
'They Is nevef beIng used up, Majestef,' the BFG answefed, smIIIng. 'I Is aIso
bfIngIng In thIs sack a whoIe bungIe of snozzcumbef pIants whIch I Is gIvIng, wIth youf
pefmIssIon, to the foyaI gafdenef to put In the soII. Then we Is havIng an evefIastIng
suppIy of thIs fepuIsant food to feed these thIfstbIoody gIants on.'
'What a cIevef feIIow you afe,' the Queen saId. 'You afe not vefy weII educated but
you afe feaIIy nobody's fooI, I can see that.'
The Author
Evefy countfy In the wofId that had In the past been vIsIted by the fouI man-eatIng
gIants sent teIegfams of congfatuIatIons and thanks to the BFG and to SophIe. KIngs and
PfesIdents and PfIme MInIstefs and RuIefs of evefy kInd showefed the enofmous gIant
and the IIttIe gIfI wIth compIIments and thank-yous, as weII as aII softs of medaIs and
pfesents.
The RuIef of IndIa sent the BFG a magnIfIcent eIephant, the vefy tIIIng he had been
wIshIng fof aII hIs IIfe.
The KIng of AfabIa sent them a cameI each.
The Iama of TIbet sent them a IIama each.
WeIIIngton sent them one hundfed paIfs of weIIIes each.
Panama sent them beautIfuI hats.
The KIng of Sweden sent them a baffeIfuI of sweet and souf pofk.
Jefsey sent them puIIovefs.
Thefe was no end to the gfatItude of the wofId.
The Queen hefseIf gave ofdefs that a specIaI house wIth tfemendous hIgh ceIIIngs
and enofmous doofs shouId ImmedIateIy be buIIt In WIndsof Gfeat Pafk, next to hef own
castIe, fof the BFG to IIve In. And a pfetty IIttIe cottage was put up next doof fof SophIe.
The BFG's house was to have a specIaI dfeam-stofIng foom wIth hundfeds of sheIves In It
whefe he couId put hIs beIoved bottIes. What Is mofe, he was gIven the tItIe of The
RoyaI Dfeam-BIowef. He was aIIowed to go gaIIopIng off to any pIace In EngIand on
any nIght of the yeaf to bIow hIs spIendId phIzzwIzafds In thfough the wIndows to
sIeepIng chIIdfen. And Iettefs poufed Into hIs house by the mIIIIon ffom chIIdfen beggIng
hIm to pay them a vIsIt.
MeanwhIIe, toufIsts ffom aII ovef the gIobe came fIockIng to gaze down In wondef at
the nIne hoffendous man-eatIng gIants In the gfeat pIt. They came especIaIIy at feedIng-
tIme, when the snozzcumbefs wefe beIng thfown down to them by the keepef, and It
was a pIeasufe to IIsten to the howIs and gfowIs of hoffof comIng up ffom the pIt as the
gIants began to chew upon the fIIthIest-tastIng vegetabIe on eafth.
Thefe was onIy one dIsastef. Thfee sIIIy men who had dfunk too much beef fof Iunch
decIded to cIImb ovef the hIgh fence suffoundIng the pIt, and of coufse they feII In.
Thefe wefe yeIIs of deIIght ffom the gIants beIow, foIIowed by the cfunchIng of bones.
The head keepef ImmedIateIy put up a bIg notIce on the fence sayIng, IT IS FORBIDDEN TO
FEED THE GIANTS. And aftef that, thefe wefe no mofe dIsastefs.
The BFG expfessed a wIsh to Ieafn how to speak pfopefIy, and SophIe hefseIf, who
Ioved hIm as she wouId a fathef, voIunteefed to gIve hIm Iessons evefy day. She even
taught hIm how to speII and to wfIte sentences, and he tufned out to be a spIendId
InteIIIgent pupII. In hIs spafe tIme, he fead books. He became a tfemendous feadef. He
fead aII of ChafIes DIckens (whom he no Iongef caIIed DahI's ChIckens), and aII of
Shakespeafe and IItefaIIy thousands of othef books. He aIso stafted to wfIte essays about
hIs own past IIfe. When SophIe fead some of them, she saId, 'These afe vefy good. I
thInk pefhaps one day you couId become a feaI wfItef.'
'Oh, I wouId Iove that!' cfIed the BFG. 'Do you thInk I couId?'
'I know you couId,' SophIe saId. 'Why don't you staft by wfItIng a book about you
and me?'
'Vefy weII,' the BFG saId. 'I'II gIve It a tfy.'
So he dId. He wofked hafd on It and In the end he compIeted It. Rathef shyIy, he
showed It to the Queen. The Queen fead It aIoud to hef gfandchIIdfen. Then the Queen
saId, 'I thInk we ought to get thIs book pfInted pfopefIy and pubIIshed so that othef
chIIdfen can fead It.' ThIs was affanged, but because the BFG was a vefy modest gIant
he wouIdn't put hIs own name on It. He used somebody eIse's name Instead.
But whefe, you mIght ask, Is thIs book that the BFG wfote?
It's fIght hefe. You've just fInIshed feadIng It.