James And The Giant Peach

Centipede is having so much fun singing and dancing that he doesn’t realize how close to the edge of the peach he is. He teeters on the edge of the peach, then to the horror of his friends, he disappears over the side. As they watch him fall, quick-thinking James yells to Silkworm to start making more silk. She starts spinning. James grabs the end of the silk and tells the others to hold on tight to Silkworm and to pull him back up when they feel three tugs. Without further explanation, James launches himself after Centipede. His friends start to cry, believing they have just lost two friends, although Earthworm is clear to state that “I don't care a bit about the centipede […] But I really did love that little boy’” (96). Old-Green-Grasshopper is quietly playing the funeral march, sobbing as he finishes it, when suddenly, they feel three tugs on the silk. Everyone pulls on the silk and soon, a soaking wet James with Centipede clinging to his back appears on the side of the peach. James is the hero for saving Centipede, who while very grateful to be alive, is upset about his ruined set of wonderful boots.