A Giant Bookmark for the Ages

I slipped back inside under the front door after an entire afternoon out on the lawn, ready for a little quiet indoor mischief. Tucked down near the bottom row of the bookcase was a thick, leather-bound encyclopedia left slightly ajar, with a stiff red paper bookmark slipping out of the top. Naturally, I couldn't leave high literature unattended! I grabbed a smooth wooden ice-cream craft stick resting on the carpet, wedged it straight into the gap between page four hundred and page four hundred and one, and leaned all my weight against it like a giant lever. With a muffled thud, the heavy pages clamped shut, leaving my wooden lever proudly poking out like an explorer's flag.