One sunny afternoon in the Magic Jungle, Tommy the Tiger woke up from his nap. Stretching his stripes, he thought, “What fun thing shall I do today?” His little tiger toy, who always went on adventures with him, had a great idea. “Let’s go on a treasure hunt!” he squeaked.
Tommy’s eyes sparkled. “That’s a fantastic idea!” He hurriedly gathered his friends. Tilly the Tortoise, who was slow but always wise, exclaimed, “A treasure hunt? Count me in!” Cheeky the Monkey swung down from a high branch, excitedly chattering, “Ooo, ooo! Treasure means bananas too, right?” And then there was Missy the Malayan Sun Bear, always ready for delicious snacks and fun.
Together, they all gathered as Tommy unrolled a big piece of paper. “Look at this map!” he said eagerly. “X marks the spot where treasures are hidden. But we’ll have to solve riddles together to find it!”
Ooo, what an adventure they would have! The first riddle read:
“Make a loud sound like a drum,
To tell all the jungle animals…
Come! Come!”
“I know! I know!” chattered Cheeky the Monkey. “It’s the Cornet Bird! She always gathers us all to listen to the concerts.”
So off they went to find the Cornet Bird, who was more than happy to help them. She flapped her wings with a loud whoosh and sang:
“It is I, it is I, the Cornet Bird,
Do not bother me now with a single word.”
The clever birds sang together, and everyone in the jungle came to listen. “Now, what is it you want, Tommy?” asked the Cornet Bird.
“This riddle, please,” said Tommy, who was puffing and blowing because they had had to hurry so fast. The Cornet Bird listened carefully to the riddle, plucked off one of her tail feathers, which were as big as umbrellas and painted in all the colours of the rainbow, and scribbled the answer on it. Then she waved goodbye with her big feathered tail.
Tommy read the answer aloud. “Hurry to the mountain top, to a beautiful curtain of water. Amanza the Crocodile waits close by, and will give you further information. “
So they all told Amanza the Crocodile about the treasure and they croaked and crawled and flapped, and scrambled to the foot of the mountain.
But where was Amanza? “Look up! The moon came down to see you, and is waiting to hear your next riddle on the big stone,” shouted Cheeky from a branch just above Tommy’s head. They (meaning everybody) all jumped up, for this was a grand idea.
After all, the moon is a most marvellous place; about twelve thousand times bigger than a football, and hangs out so high that birds fly a long way before they touch it. How curious it was to sit on the edges of the moonlight while Amanza the Crocodile croaked and scratched with his claws the following riddle on the big stone:
“Boo-boo for the tiger’s letter,
Uncle in heaven now is better.”
“Ah!” cried Tommy and Tilly, “it’s Uncle Boo-boo, the old turtle.”
So away they all went to tell Uncle Boo-boo and he said that he, too, would help Tommy; so up he crawled and carved the answer to the riddle on the mountain rock with his claws. And it read:
“At the river’s mouth find uncle the White Elephant, who also waits there to Captain the party.”
“This, too, we’d like to know,” sighed everyone.
“Stay where you are and I’ll come to take you all,” trumpeted Uncle the White Elephant, when they arrived and told him their wishes.
It took a long time, but at last arrived the big canoe to cross the river and they all lost no time in jumping into the boat.
But, hail! what a flood! The uprooted trees floated down like matches, and the practically empty canoe threatened to fill pronto. Everyone looked worried but Uncle the White Elephant said cheerfully, “The rain stopped, and the river will cease to be a sea before long,” which was so.
When the fine weather came they left the canoe flat by the river bank, for the rains had taken it ashore.
Everyone was now in a good temper again; they replenished with fresh fruit balloons; found big pumpkins, which they filled with water instead of shells, and Uncle Boo-boo did not forget to arrange some for the row back if necessary. It was a very simple thing to do.
And now they had to listen to Uncle the White Elephant’s instructions. “The treasure,” he said, “lies somewhere through the bamboo thickets across the mountain, if my memory serves me right.”
But between the “preparations” and “instructions” three days had gone by, so instead of travelling slowly and surely they went about it quicker than the idea.