Oil on canvas ... This was the five hundred and first seagull, and the moment that James caught it and tethered it to the stem with all the others, the whole enormous peach suddenly started rising up slowly out of the water. “Look out! Here we go! Hold on, boys!” But then it stopped. And there it hung. It hovered and swayed, but it went no higher. The bottom of it was just touching the water. It was like a delicately balanced scale that needed only the tiniest push to tip it one one way or the other. And now came the big moment. Quickly, the five hundred and second seagull was caught and harnessed to the peach stem … And suddenly … But slowly … Majestically … Like some fabulous golden balloon … With all the seagulls straining at the strings above … The giant peach rose up dripping out of the water and began climbing towards the heavens. By Roland Dahl