The Climb and the Fall

Harold enlarges a hill into a mountain to see farther, but a missing far side turns the search for a view into a dangerous fall.

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A Hill Becomes a Mountain

The Search for a Vantage Seeing farther Harold wants a hill from which he can discover where he is. He reasons that greater height will expand his view, turning a modest rise into a mountain. Home is the hoped-for sight If he goes high enough, Harold thinks he may see his bedroom window. The climb joins geographical curiosity to a growing wish to locate the room where he belongs.

The Absent Far Side

A View Becomes a Drop A dangerous assumption Harold looks down over the other side and slips. The expected slope is not there; the mountain has no other side in the space he has made. Falling in thin air The absence turns a search for perspective into an immediate crisis. Harold is falling rather than surveying the landscape, and the bedroom window remains unfound as the ground disappears from the scene.

A Balloon Rescue

Escape from the Drop Keeping resourcefulness Harold luckily keeps his wits and the purple crayon. He uses it to make a balloon and grabs on, converting a fall into an opportunity to catch himself. A basket completes the rescue He adds a basket large enough to stand in. The invention stabilizes him in the air, but its fine view still does not reveal a house or his bedroom window.

After Harold leaves the picnic

At the mountain top, as Harold looks down

During the fall, before Harold can reach the ground