Maniac Magee

The legend of Cobble’s Knot goes like this: Mr. Cobble was running a struggling corner grocery store. One day he noticed a giant knot dangling from the flagpole in front of his store. He decided that he’d offer a prize to anyone who could untangle the knot. He’d call the newspaper and get lots of free publicity. The contest scheme kept Cobble in business, except that nowadays, he’s running a pizza joint. And to this day, nobody has successfully untied the knot. It’s about the size of a volleyball and has thwarted a future magician and a future pickpocket.

Amanda convinces Maniac that if he successfully unties the knot, he’ll become a hero, and nobody will mess with him. Maniac teases Amanda that she just wants the pizza prize, since she knows Maniac is allergic. But then he agrees to try.