Mr. Lambchop and Stanley and Arthur were watching the evening news on TV.
“… more dreadful scandal and violence tomorrow,” said the newscaster, ending a report on national affairs. “Here in our fair city another bank was robbed today, the third this month. The unusual robbers—”
“Enough of crime!” Bustling in, Mrs. Lambchop switched off the TV. “Come to dinner!”
Stanley supposed he would never know how the robbers were unusual. But the next afternoon, while strolling with his father, he found out. On the way home they passed a bank.
“I must cash a check, but it is very crowded in there,” said Mr. Lambchop. “Wait here, Stanley.”
Stanley waited.
Suddenly, cries rose from within the bank. “Lady bank robbers! Just like they said on TV!” … “I laughed when I heard it!” … “Me, too!”
Two women in dresses and fancy hats, one stout and the other very tall, ran out of the bank, each with a money bag in one hand and a pistol in the other.
“Stay in there!” the stout woman called back into the bank, her voice high and scratchy. “Don’t anyone run out! Or else … Bang! Bang!”
“Right!” shouted the tall woman, also in an odd, high voice. “Just because we are females doesn’t mean we can’t shoot!”
Being invisible won’t protect me if bullets go flying about! Stanley thought. He looked for a place to hide.
An empty Yum-Yum ice cream van was parked close by and he jumped into it. His balloon still floated outside the van, its string caught in the door, but he did not dare to rescue it. Scrunching down behind cardboard barrels marked CHOCOLATE YUM, STRAWBERRY YUM, and YUM CRUNCH, he peeked out.
An alarm was ringing inside the bank, and shouts rose again. “Ha! Now you’re in trouble!” … “The police will come!” … “Put that money back where you found it, ladies!”
Then Stanley saw that the two robber women were running toward him, carrying the money bags. They were stopping! They were getting into the Yum-Yum van!
Scrunching down again, he held his breath.
The robbers were in the van now, close to where he hid. “Hurry up!” said the stout woman in a surprisingly deep voice. “These shoes are killing me!”
The tall woman opened the YUM CRUNCH barrel, and Stanley saw that it was empty. Then both robbers poured packets of money from their bags into the barrel and put the lid back on.
Stanley could hardly believe what he saw next!
The robbers threw aside their fancy hats and tugged off wigs. And now they were undressing, pulling their dresses over their heads!
They were men, Stanley realized, not women! Yes! Underneath the dresses they wore white ice-cream-man pants, with the legs rolled up, and white Yum-Yum shirts!
“Whew! What a relief, Howard!” The stout robber kicked off his women’s shoes and put on white sneakers.
“They’ll never catch us now, Ralph!” said the tall one.
The robbers unrolled their trouser legs and threw their female clothing into another empty barrel, the one marked CHOCOLATE YUM. Then they jumped into the front seats, the tall man driving, and the van sped off.
Behind the barrels, Stanley held his breath again. This pair was too clever to be caught! They were sure to get away! No one would suspect two Yum-Yum men of being the lady—But the van was slowing! It was stopping!
Stanley peeked out again.
A police car blocked the road and two policemen stood beside it, inspecting cars as they passed by. In a moment they were at the Yum-Yum van.
“A bank got robbed,” the first policeman told the driver. “By two women. You ice-cream fellows seen any suspicious-looking females?”
“My!” The tall man shook his head. “More and more these days, women filling roles once played by men. Bless ’em, I say!”
Beside him, the stout man said hastily, “But bank robbing, Howard, that’s wrong”
The second policeman looked into the back of the van. “Just ice cream here,” he told his partner.
The trickery is working! Stanley thought. How can I …? An idea came to him. Reaching out, he flipped the lid off the CHOCOLATE YUM barrel.
“Loose lid,” said the second policeman. “Better tighten—Hey! This barrel is full of female clothes!”
“Oh!” The tall robber made a sad face. “For the needy,” he said. “They were my late mother’s.”
Stanley flipped the lid off the YUM CRUNCH barrel and the packets of money were plain to see!
“Your mother was a mighty rich woman!” shouted the first policeman, drawing his pistol. “Hands up, you two!”
As the robbers were being handcuffed, another police car drove up. Mr. Lambchop jumped out of it.
“That balloon, on that van!” he shouted. “We’ve been following it! Stanley …? Are you in there?”
“Yes!” Stanley called back. “I’m fine. The bank robbers are caught! They weren’t ladies at all, just dressed that way!”
The handcuffed robbers were dreadfully confused. “Who’s yelling in our van? … Who stuck a balloon in the door? … Have we gone crazy?” they asked.
“It’s my son Stanley,” said Mr. Lambchop. “He is invisible, unfortunately. Thank goodness he was not hurt!”
“That must be the same invisible boy they had on TV!” said the first policeman.
“An invisible boy?” The tall robber groaned. “After all my careful planning!”
The stout robber shrugged. “You can’t think of everything, Howard. Don’t blame yourself.”
The robbers were driven off to jail, and Stanley went home with Mr. Lambchop in a cab.
Stanley had been far too brave, Mrs. Lambchop said when she heard what he had done. Really! Flipping those ice cream lids! Arthur said he’d have flipped them too, if he’d thought of it.