Holes by Louis Sacher
Part One – You are entering Camp Green Lake
Chapter 1
Green Lake is a dried up, flat wasteland in Texas, North America. During the day in
summer, the temperature is ninety-five degrees in the shade, but there is hardly any shade
to be seen. There are only two old oak trees. There is a hammock between the trees and a
log cabin behind it. The trees and hammock are the only shade, and these belong to the
Warden of Camp Green Lake. The Warden is the only one allowed to use it.
Out on the lake are holes that have been dug by campers. These holes contain rattlesnakes
and scorpions. They don’t usually bite, and if they do, it’s not fatal. If a yellow-spotted
lizard bites you, then you will die a slow and painful death.
Chapter 2
Camp Green Lake is a camp for bad boys. Some people think that making a bad boy dig holes
every day in the hot sun will turn him into a good boy.
Stanley Yelnats has chosen to go to Camp Green Lake instead of going to jail. He is from a
poor family and thinks it will be fun.
Chapter 3
Stanley is the only passenger on the bus going to Camp Green Lake. He is handcuffed to his
armrest. All he takes is a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a box of stationery so that he
can write to his mother every week. Stanley and his family pretend he going to Camp Fun
and Games.
Stanley is a fat, unhealthy boy who is not very popular at school. Even his teachers don’t
like him. He is not a bad child. He is innocent and was just in the wrong place at the wrong
time. He blames his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather! It is a
family joke. His great-great- grandfather had stolen a pig from an one-legged gypsy and
she had put a curse on the family.
Stanley’s father is an inventor, also called Stanley. He is trying to find a way of recycling
old trainers. He is not successful. The Stanley in this story is the fourth Stanley. They
are all called Stanley because it makes them able to spell their name backwards and
forwards. The first Stanley was successful but was robbed of all his money by an outlaw
called Kissin’ Kate Barlow. She left him in the middle of the desert. Stanley’s family thinks
that they would be rich if this had not happened, and they would be living in a huge mansion
instead of a tiny flat.
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During the bus ride, Stanley thinks about the song his father always sings to him.
“If only, if only,” the woodpecker sighs,
“The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer.”
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
He cries to the moo-oo-oon,
“If only, if only.”
When Stanley gets to Camp Green Lake he cannot see a lake or anything green.
Chapter 4
Stanley is very thirsty when he gets off the bus. The guard leads him to a small building
with a sign on the front that says YOU ARE ENTERING CAMP GREEN LAKE JUVENILE
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. The building has air-conditioning. The guard in the building is
eating sunflower seeds and spitting out the shells. He is drinking a can of fizzy drink, but
does not offer any to Stanley. He tells Stanley that his name is Mr. Sir, and gives him two
sets of orange coloured clothes to wear and a hat. He must use one set for work and one
for relaxation. His work is to dig holes five feet deep, and five feet across in every
direction. Breakfast is at 4.30 am because it gets too hot later in the day to dig. He tells
Stanley he is not in the Girl Scouts. There are no guard towers or electric fences because
there is no water for miles around and it is impossible to escape. He did not give Stanley a
drink and told him to get used to being thirsty!
Chapter 5
The camp has six large grey tents, labelled A B C D E and F. The campers sleep in the first
five tents and the counsellors sleep in tent F. Stanley is in tent D. His counsellor is called
Mr. Pendanski. Mr. Sir then returns to his office. Mr. Pendanski tells Stanley that Mr. Sir
isn’t too bad, but the person to worry about is the Warden. He calls over two boys to meet
Stanley. He introduces them as Rex and Alan but they prefer to be called by their
nicknames. Alex, the white boy, is named Squid and Rex, the black boy, is named X-Ray.
Stanley learns that he is taking the place of a boy named Barf Bag. Stanley then meets the
other boys in his tent. Mr. Pendanski calls them José, Theodore and Ricky. They tell
Stanley they are called Magnet, Armpit and Zigzag. There was one more boy who everyone
called Zero. The other boys all call Mr. Pendanski Mom! The boys wonder what has
happened to Barf Bag. Mr. Pendanski tells them Lewis is in the hospital. Mr. Pendanski does
not like to use nicknames. When Stanley does not call one of the boys by his nickname, the
boy pushes Stanley over, but does tell him where to fill his canteen with water.
Chapter 6
Showers are on a timer for four minutes, and only use cold water. Dinner is small and
tasteless. The other boys ask Stanley what he has done. He tells them he has stolen a pair
of trainers from a famous baseball player, Clyde “Sweet Feet” Livingston. Nobody believes
him. He lay in his smelly bed that night and remembered what had happened. Back at
school, a bully named Derrick Dunne had dropped his notebook down the toilet in the boys’
toilets at school. This made him miss his bus and he had to walk home. He had been walking
under a bridge, when the trainers had dropped onto his head. The police caught him with
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the trainers, and when he said they had fallen on his head, they didn’t believe him either!
The trainers had been donated to a homeless person’s shelter and were to have been
auctioned for lots of money.
The judge didn’t believe they had fallen from the sky either, and, once again, Stanley
blamed his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather! Stanley’s parents
were not given time to find out about Camp Green Lake before he was sent there.
Chapter 7
Stanley cannot dig in the dry lake bed. His shovel, which measures exactly five feet, just
bounces off the ground. Zero, who is digging a hole fifteen feet away, has already made a
pile of dirt almost a foot tall. Mr. Pendanski tells Stanley to report anything interesting he
digs up to himself or Mr. Sir when they come round with the water. If the Warden likes
what they find, he will give them the rest of the day off. He reminds Stanley that he is not
in the Girl Scouts. Stanley sees a crack in the ground. He puts in his shovel and leans
heavily on it. He loosens his first shovelful of dirt. It is only after several shovelfuls that
he realises that his pile of dirt is within the perimeter of his hole and he stops digging to
move it. Whilst digging, he thinks of the story of his great-great-grandfather from Latvia.
He was called Elya and was in love with Myra, but she was promised to a pig farmer who was
offering her father a fat pig. He went to see the local witch, Madame Zeroni. She thought
Myra was shallow and Elya would have been better going to America, as her son had done.
However, she agreed to help him. She gave him a small pig, and told him to take it up to the
top of the mountain every day, and whilst it drank from the water that ran uphill, he was to
sing to it. When the pig was large enough, he was to take Madame Zeroni up the mountain
and sing to her as well. After a while, the pig grew bigger and Elya became stronger. Myra
was asked to choose whom she wanted to marry, as both pigs were the same size. When
Myra could not make up her mind, Elya knew she did not love him and left for America. He
forgot to take Madame Zeroni up the mountain and she placed a curse on him. In America,
Elya married Sarah Miller, and told her about the curse. She changed the words of the pig
song.
“If only, if only,” the woodpecker sighs,
“The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies.”
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
Crying to the moo-oo-oon,
“If only, if only.”
Stanley’s hands are blistered and sore. He wraps his hat around the handle and carries on.
Again, he realizes that the pile of dirt is too close and needs to be moved. Stanley is the
last to finish. Like the other boys, he spits in the hole when it is completed.
Chapter 8
Yellow-spotted lizards have green skin, red eyes, black teeth and white tongues. They live
in holes in the ground that offer shade from the sun and protection from predatory birds.
They have strong, powerful legs, and can leap out of very deep holes to attack their prey.
They eat small animals, insects, certain cactus thorns, and the shells of sunflower seeds.
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Chapter 9
Stanley takes a shower to try and cool his hot and sore body. He put on his clean set of
orange clothes, picked up his box of stationery and headed to the rec room. A sign on the
door said WRECK ROOM. Inside, everything was broken. The TV screen had been kicked
in, all the chairs were missing a leg and the pool table had holes in it. X-Ray and Armpit
were playing pool. As Stanley made his way across the room, he tripped over an
outstretched leg. It belonged to a lump of a boy almost as fat as Stanley but a lot tougher.
The Lump poked his fat finger in Stanley’s neck. X-Ray and Armpit came over. They warned
Stanley not to mess with the Caveman.
Stanley writes a letter to his mother as if he were at a fun camp. He does not want to
worry her. Zero is reading the letter and looks angry. He asks Stanley if the trainers he
stole had red X’s on the back. They did and he wondered how Zero knew. Armpit, X-ray and
Squid come over. “Come on Caveman” they call to Stanley, and he then realizes that this is
his nickname, not the Lump’s.
Chapter 10
Stanley’s second hole is even harder to dig than the first hole because his body hurts from
the day before. This time he remembers to place the pile of dirt further away. Whilst
digging, he finds a fossil of a fish. He saves it to show Mr. Sir, hoping that he will get the
rest of the day off from the Warden. He is very disappointed when Mr. Sir says the
Warden is not interested in fossils and the other boys laugh at it.
Chapter 11
X-Ray tells Stanley that he has been here the longest and deserves a day off. If Stanley
finds anything, he is to give it to him. Stanley agrees. He thinks about the bully, Derrick
Dunne, at his old school being beaten up by his new friends.
Chapter 12
Stanley is the last to finish his hole again. Mr. Pendanski is in their tent, talking about the
future. He tells Stanley that the only person to blame for his problems is himself and he
must fix his problems. Zero does not like Mr. Pendanski and tells him that he likes digging
holes!
Chapter 13
Stanley’s third hole is even harder than the first two! The holes get harder and harder as
the week progresses. After a week he found a metal tube, open at one end. The other end
was engraved with a heart, inside which were the initials KB. He thought the tube looked
familiar. He shows the tube to X-Ray and suggests he waits until morning to show it to the
Warden. That way, he gets the whole day off, not just an hour. When the water truck
comes, X-Ray tells him to stand one place up in the line.
Chapter 14
Mr. Sir marches the boys out to the lake, spitting out sunflower seeds along the way. When
Mr. Pendanski arrives with the water truck, X-Ray shows him the metal tube. He thinks the
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Warden will like it and returns with a tall woman with red hair, wearing a black cowboy hat
and black cowboy boots, studded with turquoise stones. She is the Warden. She gives XRay double showers and the day off. She orders Mr. Pendanski to fill up their water bottles
again, and threatens him when he refuses, saying he has only just filled them. She gives him
the choice of filling the water bottles or digging holes!
Chapter 15
The Warden gets the boys to pair up and dig where she thinks X-Ray found the tube. She
stays to watch and makes sure the boys get plenty of water. Stanley realizes that they are
not digging to ‘build character’ but are looking for something. The other boys warn Stanley
that there are hidden cameras and microphones all around the camp, even in the showers,
and that the Warden watches them all the time. This is how she knows their nicknames.
Chapter 16
X-Ray is in a very good mood after his day off and annoys the other boys in the Wreck
Room. The next morning, the Warden again puts them into pairs, one to dig and one to move
the dirt away. Stanley moves the dirt as he is such a slow digger. The Warden is beginning
to lose patience, and tells everyone to dig faster. Mr. Sir reminds them they are not in the
Girl Scouts. Later, Mr. Pendanski gives Stanley a letter from his mother. She says his
father is close to a breakthrough on the trainer project. Zero wants to know what is in the
letter.
Chapter 17
For the next week and a half, they dig in the same area until all the holes join up into one
big hole. The Warden is upset that they have not found anything else and cuts back on
their water. Zigzag loses his temper and hits Stanley with his spade. Mr. Sir bandages the
cut with a piece of the sunflower seed sack then sends him back to work.
Chapter 18
The next day they all go back to digging their own holes again. Stanley is now stronger and
the digging is not so slow and painful. He stays in his tent to write to his mother. Zero is
looking over his shoulder. Stanley says he does not like Zero reading over his shoulder, and
Zero says he cannot read or write and asks Stanley to teach him. Stanley refuses.
Chapter 19
Stanley wakes to hear Squid crying. When he asks if he okay, Squid threatens to break his
jaw. Stanley realizes the other boys are friendly but can be dangerous. He remembers Mr.
Sir saying it is not a Girl Scout Camp. Stanley is happy there are no racial problems. X-Ray,
Armpit and Zero are black, he, Squid and Armpit are white and Magnet is Hispanic. Mr. Sir
comes with the water truck. Magnet steals his sunflower seeds and offers some so
everyone. Stanley does not want any but when Magnet throws the sack to him, it opens,
scattering seeds in his hole. At this moment Mr. Sir returns, catches Stanley with the sack
and seeds, and takes him to the Warden.
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Chapter 20
The Warden is not happy to be disturbed. She tells Stanley to fetch her make-up case.
Inside are different types of makeup, and a deep red nail polish. The Warden makes the
nail polish from rattlesnake venom. She tells him it is safe when dry and puts some on her
nails. She gently touches Stanley’s face then scrapes her nails down the face of Mr. Sir,
telling him that she couldn’t care less about his sunflower seeds. Mr. Sir falls to the
ground in agony. The Warden tells Stanley that he is not going to die, and hints that he will
blame Stanley for his pain from the rattlesnake venom.
Chapter 21
Stanley worries that he will still be digging his hole long after the others have finished,
leaving him at the mercy of Mr. Sir. Stanley thinks Mr. Sir is going to hurt him or kill him.
He thinks about his great-grandfather who was robbed by Kissin’ Kate Barlow. She had left
him stranded in the desert, much the same way in which Stanley felt he had been left in the
desert. Somehow, his great grandfather had survived for seventeen days before being
rescued. He was completely mad and said he “found refuge on God’s thumb.”
Stanley hears a noise. There is a coiled rattlesnake under his foot, rattling to warn him to
go away. He runs and reaches the other boys. They ask him what happened with the
Warden and Mr. Sir, but Stanley does not tell them everything. When Stanley looks in his
hole, it is nearly finished. He thinks the other boys have helped him because he took the
blame for stealing the sunflower seeds, but the only person who has not dug much of his own
hole is Zero.
Chapter 22
Stanley waits for Zero to come out of the shower and offers to teach him to read. Zero
recognizes some of the letters, but is a lot faster at Maths. He works out that there are
52 letters to learn, twenty-six upper case and twenty-six lower case. He cannot explain to
Stanley how he worked it out so quickly. Stanley makes a deal with Zero. He will teach
Zero to read for one hour a day if Zero does one hour of digging for him. Zero agrees.
That night, Stanley realizes where he has seen the metal tube before. It is in his mother’s
bathroom at home and is half a lipstick container. He then wonders if the initials KB
belonged to Kate Barlow.
Chapter 23
Katherine Barlow had been a schoolteacher one hundred and ten years ago, when Green Lake
was the largest, prettiest lake in Texas. She was famous for her jars of spiced peaches,
and received a special prize for them each year. She was the town’s only teacher, and she
taught children during the day and adults at night. One of the young men that came to her
evening classes was not interested in learning. His name was Charles Walker, but everyone
called him Trout because he had a fungal foot infection that made his feet smell like dead
fish.
It was the same infection that Clyde Livingston had. Clyde washed his feet every
day to try and keep the smell down. Trout hardly ever washed. One day, Charles asked
Katherine to come out on his new motorized boat. She refused and Trout became angry.
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Chapter 24
Stanley is terrified of seeing Mr. Sir. When he does, Mr. Sir’s face is scratched and
swollen. Mr. Sir hurts another boy who asks him what has happened to his face. During the
day, Mr. Sir comes with the water truck. He fills up everyone’s water bottles. Stanley is
the last in line. He holds Stanley’s bottle next to the water, and lets the water splatter on
to the dirt. He gives Stanley back an empty bottle. Stanley is too frightened to complain
and just thanks Mr. Sir.
Chapter 25
One hundred and ten years ago, there was a doctor in Green Lake called Dr. Hawthorn.
When people were sick they saw him and then went to see Sam, the onion man. Sam was a
Negro. Sam claimed onions had magical healing properties, and they could make you live
longer. His onions grew in a secret place where the water ran uphill. He had lots of
different cures, all made from onions. Sam carried all his potions and onions on his beloved
donkey, Mary Lou. One day, Katherine told Sam the roof on the schoolhouse leaked. He
agreed to fix it in exchange for six jars of her spiced peaches. Katherine enjoyed talking
to him, and was surprised that he enjoyed poetry. She kept finding jobs for him to do
around the schoolhouse. When there were no more jobs to be done, Katherine cried and
told Sam that she had a broken heart. He kissed her and she kissed him back. At that
moment, Hattie Parker stepped out of the General Store, saw them kissing, then pointed
her finger at them and whispered, “God will punish you.”
Chapter 26
Everyone in Green Lake was horrified that Katherine Barlow had kissed Sam the onion man.
A mob came and burned down the schoolhouse. Katherine ran to the sheriff. He was drunk
and asked Katherine for a kiss. When she refused he became violent and tried to force her
to kiss him. He said that it was against the law for a Negro to kiss a white woman, and he
would be hanged. She ran, found Sam and told him to try and escape. They took Sam’s boat
but were caught up by Trout Walker’s motorized boat, which smashed into Sam’s boat. Sam
was shot dead. Katherine was taken ashore where she saw Mary Lou had also been shot
with a bullet through her head. From that day on, no rain ever fell on the lake again. God’s
punishment? Three days later Katherine shot the sheriff, carefully applied red lipstick and
gave the sheriff the kiss he had wanted. For the next twenty years, Kissin’ Kate Barlow was
one of the most feared outlaws in the entire West, only kissing the men she killed.
Chapter 27
It is three days since the Warden had scratched Mr. Sir’s face. Whenever Mr. Sir delivers
the water, he always pours Stanley’s straight onto the ground. Mr. Pendanski knows this and
always makes sure he gives Stanley extra to make up for it. The other boys resent Zero
digging for Stanley. They made comments about white boys taking it easy whilst the black
boys work. Mr. Sir comes with the water truck again, but this time he takes away Stanley’s
bottle, fills it away from sight, and gives it back to him full. Stanley is afraid that it might
contain poison so he throws the water away.
When Stanley has finished teaching Zero all the letters, he teaches him to write his name.
Zero then tells Stanley his real name. It is Hector Zeroni.
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Chapter 28
After twenty years, Kate returned to Green Lake. There was no lake anymore, just a cabin
between two trees. She lived in the cabin. One day she woke up to find a gun pointed at
her and could smell Trout Walker’s dirty feet. He had a red-haired woman with him. Her
name used to be Linda Miller but she had married Trout for his money. Because of the
drought, the money was gone. They wanted the money she had stolen as an outlaw. Kate
would not tell them where it was. They saw her shovel and guessed she had buried it. They
dragged Kate outside in her blue silk pyjamas, not letting her put on her black, turquoise
studded boots. They made her walk barefoot on the hot ground. They were going to make
her keep walking until she told then where the loot was. Each time she stopped, Linda hit
her on the back of her legs with the shovel. She walked until her feet were black and
blistered. The shovel hit her in the back and she fell to the ground. A lizard jumped on her
and bit her ankle. Kate knew there was no more they could do to her. She died laughing.
Part Two – The Last Hole
Chapter 29
There is a change in the weather. It becomes unbearably humid, and they can hear the
sounds of a thunderstorm towards the west. When the lightening strikes, Stanley can see
the outline of the mountains. One looks like a giant fist with an outstretched thumb.
Stanley remembers what his great grandfather had said when Kate Barlow had robbed him
and left him stranded in the desert. “I found refuge on God’s thumb.”
Chapter 30
The next day Zigzag says it is his birthday. He wants everyone to treat him differently.
Mr. Sir gives him an extra carton of juice.
Whenever the glare from the sun lessens, Stanley looks for the Thumb of God.
When Zero starts to dig Stanley’s hole again, Zigzag comes over and asks if he too can dig
Stanley’s hole. Zigzag and the other boys are jealous of Stanley. Zigzag then tries to force
Stanley to take his biscuit, and when Mr. Pendanski comes with the water truck, Zigzag
makes Stanley go to the front of the queue. Stanley is embarrassed and does not want to.
Mr. Pendanski can see what is happening and tells Stanley to hit the bully. Stanley is afraid
of Zigzag and barely touches him. Zigzag attacks Stanley. Zero pulls Zigzag off Stanley.
Mr. Pendanski fires his gun and all the other counsellors and the Warden come running over.
The other boys tell the Warden that Zero has been digging the holes for Stanley. She gets
angry and tries to test Zero on what Stanley has taught him. When Zero makes a mistake,
the Warden makes fun of him and he become angry and refuses to dig any more holes. Mr.
Pendanski hands him a shovel. Zero swings it around and smashes it into Mr. Pendanski’s
face. Zero backs away then runs off. The Warden orders the counsellors to guard the
showers and Wreck Room to stop Zero sneaking in and getting water.
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Chapter 31
Stanley is very angry, mainly with himself. He knows he should not have let Zero dig his hole
and that he should have taught Zero to read without asking for anything in return. The
Warden still expects seven holes to be dug, so Stanley has to dig two holes because the
other boys will not help him. He is still digging long after the others finish and he looks out
for Zero. He tries to think of a way of helping Zero but he cannot. When he returns to his
tent, the Warden, Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski are all there. They ask Stanley if he has seen
Zero. When he tells them he hasn’t, they decide to erase all records of Zero’s time at Camp
Green Lake. They know Zero has no family and no one will miss him. As far as they are
concerned, Hector Zeroni no longer exists.
Chapter 32
Two days later, a new boy arrives to take Zero’s place. His name is Brian, but X-Ray calls
him Twitch. He was arrested for stealing a car. Stanley is still thinking about Zero. He is
worried that Zero is still desperately searching for water. When Mr. Sir arrives with the
water truck, Stanley has an idea. He checks to see the keys are still in the ignition and
decides to steal the truck to look for Zero and give him some water. The trouble is Stanley
does not know how to drive. Twitch tells him how to put it into gear and the truck lurches
forward. Stanley drives faster and faster and ends up in a hole. Stanley falls out of the
truck, and runs away with his empty water bottle bumping against his chest.
Chapter 33
No one is following him. He decides to walk half as far as he thinks he can manage, the
other half being the time needed to get back to camp. He will then try to bargain with the
Warden by telling her where exactly he found the lipstick cover. He is not in a hurry and
decides to try and look for Zero. The number of holes that have been dug so far away from
the camp surprises Stanley. As he looks into each hole, he comes across one filled with
yellow-spotted lizards. One of the lizards’ jumps out of the hole and Stanley runs away
from it until he collapses in the heat. He sees what he thinks is a rock. It turns out to be
an empty sack of sunflower seeds. He turns the sack inside out and finds one seed stuck to
the inside. This is his lunch. He holds on to the sack in case he finds anything to carry.
Chapter 34
Stanley decides to start walking towards the mountains and God’s Thumb. On the way,
towards the right, he sees another strange shape. He heads towards the shape and sees it
is an upturned boat. The faded letters show the boat is called the Mary Lou. On one side
of the boat there is a pile of dirt leading down to a tunnel below the boat. He hears a noise
and then an orange sleeve and brown hand reaches up out of the tunnel.
Chapter 35
Zero looks terrible and Stanley wonders how he has survived for so long. Stanley has no
water so Zero offers him a glass jar filled with a liquid he calls sploosh. They crawl under
the boat because it gives them some shade from the sun and is cooler under there. Zero
says he has found sixteen jars of sploosh under the boat. He opens the jar he offered
Stanley. It looks like mud and is probably over a hundred years old. Stanley is worried
about the bacteria in it but is so desperate for a drink that he tries some. It is delicious!
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It is warm, bubbly, mushy nectar, sweet and tangy. He thinks it might have been some kind
of fruit once upon a time, perhaps peaches. They pass the jar back and forth until it is
empty. It is the last jar. Stanley wants to take Zero back to camp, but he refuses.
Stanley says they will probably send him to hospital like Barf Bag. Zero explains that Barf
Bag took off his shoes and socks and deliberately stepped onto a rattlesnake. It was not an
accident. Zero then groans and doubles up in pain. Stanley still thinks he should take him
back and tells Zero he will bargain with the Warden. Zero prefers to die out in the desert.
Stanley tells Zero to look at the mountain and asks him if it reminds him of anything. Zero
makes a fist with his thumb sticking up.
Chapter 36
They put four of the unbroken jars into the sack in case they are needed and head towards
Big Thumb. The sploosh has saved Zero’s life but is now destroying him from the inside.
They walk for hours but Big Thumb does not seem to get any nearer. They come to the end
of the lake. It is like reaching the edge of a giant frying pan. Huge white stone cliffs rise
up before them. Stanley sees a rut in the side of the cliff, with ledges on either side. Twothirds of the way up, they come to a halt. The next ledge is too high up for Stanley to
reach on his own. Zero tells Stanley to help him up and then he will pull Stanley up. Zero
pulls Stanley up, using the shovel, but cuts his hands whilst doing it. One of the glass jars
has broken in the sack. They keep it in case they need it to make a knife. The rest of the
climb is easy.
Chapter 37
Stanley tries to encourage Zero to keep going. They zigzag up the side of the mountain.
Some weeds appear and later on they become thicker. The weeds look like balls but when
Stanley looks closer, the balls are made up of lots of small flowers. Bugs start to appear as
well, but neither boy has the strength to brush them off. Suddenly, Zero doubles over
again and vomits. The bugs leave them alone, preferring the contents of Zero’s stomach.
As they climb higher the patches of weeds grow thicker. Stanley knows that if there are
weeds and bugs, there must be water nearby. Zero smiles, and makes a thumbs-up sign with
his fist before he collapses.
Chapter 38
Stanley abandons the shovel and sack of glass jars to carry Zero. As he climbs higher, he
notices a foul smell. He is getting more and more tired. His feet slip from beneath him. He
is in a muddy gulley (small valley). Stanley knows that you need water to make slippery mud
and he starts to dig in the mud with his hands. Some water oozes out of the mud and he
tries to lap it up. He sprinkles some onto Zero’s face. As he carries on digging, he finds a
small round object. It is an onion. Stanley eats half the onion and gives the rest to Zero.
Chapter 39
Stanley and Zero are very weak and finding it hard to speak. Zero crawls to the water hole,
laps up some of the water and doubles up again in pain. Stanley wonders whether to try and
go back for the shovel to widen the water hole. Zero has something he wants to tell
Stanley. Stanley wants him to save his strength, but Zero insists. Zero confesses that he
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stole Clyde Livingston's trainers from the shelter. He had not realized it was a shelter. As
Zero drifts into sleep, Stanley sings to him.
“If only, if only,” the woodpecker sighs,
“The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer.”
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
He cries to the moo-oo-oon,
“If only, if only.”
Chapter 40
Stanley remembers the onion he has eaten, and he tries pulling up the whole plant.
Mary Lou pulled the cart down the street as Sam called out to sell his onions. Mrs. Gladys
Tennyson came running down the street in just her nightgown. She shouted after Sam, and
publicly thanked him for saving her daughter’s life. Hattie Parker came out and sniggered at
the way Gladys was dressed. Gladys explained that her daughter had been very ill from
eating bad meat. Hattie Parker’s husband was the local butcher. Gladys tried to pay Sam
extra, but he gave her the change in onions so that she could feed them to his donkey, Mary
Lou.
Stanley and Zero are getting a little better from eating the onions and getting lots of rest.
Stanley waits for Zero to wake up and then tells him he is going back for the shovel. He
goes quite a long way down the mountain before he comes across the shovel and the sack,
and it is very hard work climbing back up again. Stanley wonders how he had carried Zero
up the mountain. He is finding it very hard to climb up just on his own.
Chapter 41
Zero is beginning to get better. Stanley and Zero are beginning to enjoy eating the onions.
Stanley is amazed that neither has terrible food poisoning from the sploosh, dirty water or
onions. Both boys are careful not to contaminate what water they have, and wash their
clothes away from the hole Stanley has dug with the shovel.
Zero tells Stanley how he stole the trainers. He put them on and walked out in them. When
he realized they belonged to Clyde Livingston, he pulled them off and left them on the roof
of a car. They smelled bad, but they had fitted his small feet. Zero was caught when he
tried to steal a new pair of trainers from a shop. He thinks that if he had kept the old,
smelly trainers, then neither boy would have ended up in Camp Green Lake.
Chapter 42
Zero is now strong enough to dig the water hole deeper. He fills the bottom with rocks to
separate the water from the dirt. He says it’s the last hole he will ever dig. Zero thinks
the Thumb must be filled with water. Water doesn’t run uphill. Stanley is really enjoying
the onions. Stanley cannot sleep and starts thinking about his new life. He now likes
himself. He is thinner, stronger and no longer miserable. He is glad Zero stole the trainers.
He thinks it was destiny as his life is much happier now. He begins to think about not
returning to the camp, but knows they will need money if they are to be fugitives. He
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assumes everyone will think that they are dead by now and, therefore, they will not be
guarding the kitchens and showers. They could steal food and water. He knows where he
found the lipstick cover and asks Zero if he would like to dig one more hole.
Chapter 43
Zero remembers his childhood and tells Stanley about it. They had lived in a house and his
room had been yellow. He did not know why they had left to live on the streets. Stanley
and Zero spend the day filling the sack with onions and filling the three jars and his plastic
bottle with water. They head back to camp early the following day. During their journey,
Stanley falls but the onions protect the jars and they do not break. Neither boy wants to
be the first to admit he is thirsty, but when they find the Mary Lou, they stop, take a drink
and eat some onions. Zero tells Stanley that his mother used to make him wait for her in a
certain place, and hours later, would come back for her. He would stay and cuddle his toy
giraffe.
One day, he was waiting in the park and she never came back. Later that
afternoon, they find the camp and hide in two of the holes, waiting for everyone in the camp
to fall asleep.
Chapter 44
Stanley has fallen asleep in his hole. Zero wakes him and offers him some cereal and water
that he has stolen from the kitchen. The cereal is very sweet after all the onions Stanley
has eaten, and he does not like it. They start digging in the hole Stanley found the lipstick
cover in. When Stanley widens the hole, they find a case. The case is buried under a pile of
earth and the two boys work very hard to release the case. As they free the case, a light
shines in their faces, and the Warden thanks Stanley and Zero for finding what she has
been searching for.
Chapter 45
Mr. Pendanski is holding the flashlight; Mr. Sir has a gun pointed at them. Mr. Sir is barechested and barefoot, wearing only his pyjama bottoms. The Warden is also in her
nightwear, but has put on her boots. Mr. Pendanski is fully dressed. They are all worried
about what to say to the woman and the A.G. Stanley wonders who it is they are talking
about. In the distance, Stanley can see two more flashlights. The Warden begins to speak
then stops. Zero and Stanley are covered in yellow-spotted lizards. The Warden carries on
talking, saying her parents had made her dig holes every summer when she was a child.
Chapter 46
Mr. Sir shoots one of the lizards that have jumped out of hole towards Mr. Pendanski.
Stanley and Zero have lizards crawling all over them. Zero has the case across his lap. The
Warden says she is going to tell the woman that Stanley ran away, fell down a hole and the
lizards got him. The counsellors wonder why Stanley would have run away as he is being
released that day. Mr. Sir tells Stanley that he was going to be released today because he
is innocent, but Stanley is delirious and is thinking back to a snowy day spent with his
mother. Stanley is getting tired from standing still all day and leans against the side of the
hole. The lizards don’t seem to mind.
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Chapter 47
The Warden wants someone to take the case from Zero. She tells the counsellors that the
lizards don’t seem to be hungry. Nobody wants to get the case. Suddenly a tarantula
appears and one of the lizards grabs it. The lizards are very hungry. Zero suddenly says,
“satan.” He then says, “sa-tan-lee.” Finally he asks Stanley if his name is spelled the same
forwards as backwards. They then hear the sound of cars approaching. Mr. Pendanski and
two strangers are coming across the lake. One is a tall man in a business suit and cowboy
hat. The other is a short woman who calls out, “Stanley Yelnats.” She appears to be
Hispanic and speaks with a Mexican accent. She then threatens to bring charges against
Ms. Walker, Camp Green Lake and the entire state of Texas if anything happens to Stanley,
citing child abuse, false imprisonment and torture. The Warden tells the man that Stanley
and Zero had sneaked into her room, stolen the suitcase and had fallen into the hole whilst
trying to escape. Stanley denies it. The woman tells Stanley she is his lawyer. Stanley
wonders why the Warden is lying about the suitcase. The Warden makes excuses as to why
she did not release Stanley the previous day, saying that Stanley has been in the hospital
and she did not think the Court Order was valid. In the heat of the day, the lizards are
looking for shade and have crawled beneath Stanley and Zero. Stanley pulls himself out of
the hole and helps Zero out. Zero still holds the suitcase. The Warden hugs Zero and tries
to take the suitcase. Zero stops her, saying it belongs to Stanley. When the Warden
threatens to send Stanley and Zero to jail for stealing the suitcase, Zero shows everyone
what is written on the case – STANLEY YELNATS.
Chapter 48
The tall man is the Texas Attorney General (A.G.), and Stanley’s lawyer is called Ms.
Morengo. The Warden is confused that Zero can read. She then agrees that the case
belongs to Stanley but the contents were stolen from her office. Stanley looks confused by
this and Ms. Morengo advises him not to open the case. The A.G. hands Ms. Morengo a piece
of paper and says Stanley is free to go. Stanley is worried that they will kill Zero when he
leaves and refuses to move. Ms. Morengo asks to see Zero’s records. They have been
destroyed, and they are unable to produce them. Since they cannot prove that he should be
there, Ms. Morengo tells Zero to come with them as well. The Attorney General agrees. He
is going to stay and start an investigation whilst running the camp. The other boys come out
of the Wreck Room and greet Stanley and Zero. X-Ray is the only one who doesn’t come
over. Squid writes down his telephone number and asks Stanley to give a message to his
mother.
Chapter 49
Yellow-spotted lizards did not come to the town of Green Lake until after the lake had
dried up. Sam, the onion man, and his donkey, Mary Lou were returning to their boat. Three
men came running up. They were going rattlesnake hunting and wanted lizard juice to
protect them. Sam told them to drink one bottle the night before and another the morning
of the hunt. He told them, “You got to get it into your bloodstream. The lizards don’t like
onion blood.”
Stanley and Zero are in the back of Ms. Morengo’s car. She keeps the windows open, as the
boys are very smelly from all the onions they have eaten. Ms. Morengo is a patent attorney
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and is helping Stanley’s father with the new product he has invented. She investigated the
theft of the trainers and found out that they had been stolen at the same time as Stanley
was seen coming out of the toilets with his wet notebook. Zero admits that is was really he
who had stolen them but Ms. Morengo tells him not to say that again to anyone. Ms.
Morengo tells Stanley that his father has invented a product that eliminates foot odour.
She has a sample that she passes to Stanley. It smells of spicy peaches. The boys fall
asleep and for the first time in a hundred years, rain falls into the empty lake.
Part Three – Filling in the Holes
Chapter 50
Stanley’s mother insists that there was never a curse, however, Stanley’s father invented
his cure for foot odour the day after the great-great-grandson of Elya Yelnats carried the
great-great-great-grandson of Madame Zeroni up the mountain.
Camp Green Lake was closed and Ms. Walker, who was in desperate need of money, had to
sell the land that had been in her family for generations. Camp Green Lake will become a
Girl Scout camp.
Stanley’s father opens the suitcase. The jewels are of a poor quality, worth no more than
twenty thousand dollars. The documents underneath are more valuable, and after fees and
taxes, Stanley and Zero each receive just under a million dollars.
Eighteen months after Stanley and Zero left Camp Green Lake, the Super Bowl was on
television. Everyone stopped talking when the commercials came on. “Hi, I’m Clyde
Livingston but everyone calls me Sweet Feet.” Clyde was not just on the television. He was
also sitting on the couch next to Stanley. On television he was talking about the wonderful
invention called Sploosh that now made his feet smell good.
Clyde’s wife keeps on about how smelly his feet used to be and Clyde asks Stanley to hold
his hand over her mouth.
Zero is sitting on the floor in front of a woman who is absent-mindedly running her fingers
through his hair. She is not very old but her skin has a weathered look to it.
Very softly, she sings a song her grandmother sang to her when she was a girl.
If only, if only, the moon speaks no reply;
Reflecting the sun and all that’s gone by.
Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly.
Fly high, my baby bird,
My angel, my only.
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