For how many years are Milo and Tock sentenced by Officer Shrift?

• A. One million years
• B. Five hundred years
• C. A hundred years
• D. Six million years

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how time is exaggerated for humor and to show a quick, pompous justice in the story. In the courtroom moment with Officer Shrift, Milo and Tock are jokingly, and absurdly, punished with a wildly large time sentence. The exact figure the judge declares is six million years, which is the punchline: a tiny, fast-talking official handing out an impossibly long punishment to underscore the playful satire of the scene. Because this is the specific detail Juster writes for that moment, six million years is the best answer. The other numbers don’t appear in this scene, so they don’t fit the memory of what Shrift pronounces.