 Blackstone Publishing presents Little Crew of Butchers, a novel by Francine Pascal. This book is read by Dionne Graham, to my daughters, Jamie Stewart, Lauren Wink Pascal, and Susan Pascal Johansson. A free license given to all acts of inhumanity and lust, this execrable crew of butchers. Gulliver's Travels. Jonathan Swift. Chapter 1 Friday, July 1. From Charlie Adler's bedroom window, he can see Big Larry with his pilot fish, the voluminous Duncan twins, charging down the street, heading right for his house. Instantly, Charlie drops down so that he can't be seen from the street. He carefully squiggles up, his nose inching just high enough past the windowsill so he can peek out and see the loathsome threesome past the house next door. At the rate they're moving, Charlie figures they'll be at his house in less than a minute. Even from this far away, just from his body language, Charlie can see that Big Larry is in a mood. And it's not a good one. It's never a good one unless someone's crying, and he's made them do it. Big Larry is only big to his gang, mostly because at twelve, he's two years older than they are. And he's tall for his agent, weighs probably twice as much as they do. A future fat man. He already has a fat man's pink flush to his cheeks and the slit eyes that would one day be crowded even thinner by more fat. That's what makes him Big Larry. It's not like it's all muscle, because it isn't. It's mostly blubber, but it still hurts when he whacks you because there is so much of it. There's no way Big Larry can know Charlie's home if he stays down out of sight. He's not even going to risk peeking again. Last thing Charlie wants is to be the one to put the big guy in a good mood, because that means he'll be the one doing the crying. All he has to do is stay where he is and not answer the door. His parents always keep the door locked when they're not home, so Larry can't get in. He'll probably ring a few times then figure nobody's home and go away. And right on cue, the doorbell rings and then Larry bangs like four times in a row, bang bang bang bang. Hard. Even though it's only a bell, it makes Charlie jump because he knows Big Larry is on the other end and he's angry. What if Big Larry doesn't go away? Suppose he waits for him outside, then Charlie'll have to lie on the floor in his bedroom all day until his parents come home and that's not till five. Still, anything is better than messing with Big Larry and that's even before he knows what he wants. Charlie figures he's safe upstairs and is practically smiling at... Sample complete. Ready to continue?