52 pages 1 hour read

Oliver Butterworth

The Enormous Egg

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1956

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Chapters 14-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 14 Summary

Later that morning, Dr. Ziemer receives a call from the police department. Nate, listening in, overhears his conversation with Captain Neeley. Neeley explains that the department received a report from a disgruntled driver, claiming that a large animal overturned his vehicle. When the department investigated the scene, they discovered an abnormally large print. At first, they called the zoo, which guessed a tortoise. However, the zoo was skeptical that a tortoise could overturn a truck and suggested that the police phone the museum instead.

Laughing, Dr. Ziemer explains that a Triceratops is responsible for the prints. Neeley is incredulous and promises to visit the museum. When he arrives, Dr. Ziemer introduces him to Uncle Beazley. Shocked, Neeley criticizes Dr. Ziemer for allowing Uncle Beazley to roam the streets, citing public safety. He also references an obscure city ordinance that prohibits stabling large animals. Applying this ordinance to Uncle Beazley, Neeley offers Dr. Ziemer 24 hours to relocate him. 

After Neeley leaves, Dr. Ziemer suggests to Nate that they call Holmquist at the zoo. Holmquist, it turns out, has recently lost an elephant and therefore has ample space to house Uncle Beazley. However, though Holmquist is eager to accept the dinosaur, federal budget cuts jeopardize his access to necessary funds.

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