Koalaland or The Great Koala Novel - Volume I: The Making of a Kingdom

Koalaland or The Great Koala Novel - Volume I: The Making of a Kingdom Page 15

by David Bolton

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  Volume II

  And now, let's get back to our story...

  A most curious Interlude in Koalaville

  At about this same time, over in Koalaville, Choty and Mo, who had a thriving anteater-rental business, were leading some of their creatures up through the lower part of the forest in search of anthills. Though it was already getting dark, this was no problem for the two koalas, who have excellent night vision, as do all of their species. And a hungry anteater can always smell out a good meal, even in the absence of light.

  Happening upon a somewhat circular configuration of giant boulders, about seventy feet in diameter, they were curious as to what might be in the middle of those rocks, each of which was about fifteen feet high. Tying the four anteaters they had with them to a nearby tree, they deftly climbed one of the boulders, and upon reaching its top, peered down into the area in the center of the circular formation. They were confounded by what they saw there: filling up the area was a large, circular, somewhat flattened object with a smooth, silvery-gray surface.

  “My goodness, what do you suppose that is?” Mo asked, wide-eyed.

  “I have no idea. How do you suppose it got here? Look, the edges of the rocks protrude out above the thing a foot or more on all sides. Why, logically speaking, it would be impossible to squeeze it down into that space,” Choty commented, perplexed.

  “Well, maybe somebody put it there first, and then put the boulders around it,” Mo speculated.

  “Oh, no. Those boulders must weigh tons. Nobody could have moved them. Very strange indeed!” Choty exclaimed. “We must report this to Judge Grandaddy and our Prestigious Koala King as soon as we get back to the grove!”

  Climbing down from the boulder, they rounded up their anteaters and led them back down the forest path towards Koalaville. “We should get these anteaters home right away,” Mo suggested, “then we’ll head down to the south to tell the King and Grandaddy.”

  They walked a short distance through the forest till they got to Koalaville, then went to their trees and adjoining anteater corral, which were located just north of the center of the grove. Once they had put the anteaters into the little corral, however, they climbed Mo’s tree and began to eat some leaves, conversing now about which anteaters were to be rented out the next day. Choty and Mo had completely forgotten about what they had just seen in the forest, and about their decision to report it to the authorities. Thus, they simply ate their supper, and then went to sleep for the night, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

  The Tree of Justice

  Meanwhile, back in Koalatown, Mabo had brought Bumpy all the way down to the south-central section of Koalatown, below the clearing where the party was being held, having taken a path somewhat to the east in order to avoid the crowds. He led him straight towards the “Tree of Justice,” where delinquents, miscreants, and the like were kept chained to the trunk. The chains were about seven feet long, to allow some freedom of movement, though this was of little comfort to those thus confined.

  “Blimpy!” Bumpy shouted when he saw his brother, one of the two koalas already fettered there. “What are you doing here? Why, I’ll bet this no-good friend of yours got you into trouble again, didn’t he?”

  Chigow, seated next to Blimpy, never did get along with Bumpy. “Hah! Looks like you’re one to talk! Hey Mabo, what did ya arrest him for, stupidity or ugliness?”

  “Why, you little…” Bumpy growled. ”If my paws weren’t tied, I’d teach you a lesson you’d never forget!”

  “Shut up, you two,” Mabo commanded, “or I’ll teach you both a lesson myself!” He fitted a shackle at the end of a free chain around Bumpy’s left ankle, and then untied his hands. “There. You should have your hearing with our Judge Rolly in a few days, if you’re lucky.”

  “A few days!” Bumpy was exasperated. “I’ve gotta get back to my friends! You can’t keep me here chained up for days!”

  “Oh no? Just wait and see,” Mabo grinned. “There will no doubt be a number of arrests made today, what with all those drunken koalas at the celebration raising a ruckus. The Judge is going to have his hands full of cases this week. Till then, you’ll stay right here. I’ll bring you all some fresh leaves in a couple of hours, so just settle down, and enjoy your stay in Koalatown! Ha ha ha!” Mabo walked away, laughing with malicious glee.

  “That koala oughta get a good punch in the snoot,” Chigow muttered.

  “For once, we agree on somethin’,” Bumpy said. “As a matter of fact, I gave him just that before he arrested me.” He then went on to tell them the whole story.

  “Wow, Bumpy, that’s really bad luck,” Blimpy sympathized with his older brother, “and what’s really a shame is that those three koalas who attacked you must have scared off the beauty that was waitin’ for you!”

  “You dimwit!” Bumpy snapped at his sibling. “Don’t ya get it? There never was a girl waitin’ for me. It was a trick they used to get me to go up to the edge of the forest, where they could pounce on me!”

  “Oh yeah, I see…” Blimpy finally understood what had happened.

  “Then that Mabo came, and ended up arresting me. I was framed, I tell ya!” Bumpy yelled indignantly.

  “No use whinin’ about it now,” Chigow spoke up. “Question is, how are we gonna get outta here?”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Bumpy stopped him. “You never told me why you two are chained up here.”

  “Yeah, well, uh, that’s a long story,” Chigow didn’t seem too anxious to tell him.

  “Lemme guess. You two were the fools who tried to break into Tama’s shack and steal that eucalyptus liquor, right?”

  “Hey Bumpy, that’s pretty good. Howd’ya figure it out?” Blimpy replied before Chigow could stop him.

  “What a couple of birdbrains you are!” Bumpy scolded them. “Did you really think you’d get away with that? Tama guards that liquor as if it were gold. He knows how many crooks there are who crave that stuff.”

  “Yeah, well, we can sit here for days insultin’ each other, or we can think up a plan to escape and get back to Koalaville. Which’ll it be?” Chigow tried to change the subject.

  “Okay, we’ll think of a way to escape first. Then when we get home, I’ll insult you for a few days there. Might even give you the punch you deserve!” Bumpy threatened.

  “Oh, come on, guys, let’s not fight now. This shackle is startin’ to rub the fur right off my ankle. We’re gonna end up lookin’ like we have scurvy or somethin’. Can anybody think of a way to get these chains off?” Blimpy asked, feeling the shackle on his ankle to see if there was any possibility of opening it.

  “Hmmm,” Bumpy mumbled, doing the same, “looks pretty strong, it does. But maybe, just maybe,” he reached into the bib pocket of his medium-blue overalls and pulled out a thin, though strong, metal rod, about four inches long. “Here it is. I use it to pick the seeds out of apples. I wonder if I could…” He stuck one end of the rod into the lock on his shackle. “Hmmmm… This won’t be easy…”

  “Well, there’s no rush,” said Chigow. “If you get it open, open mine, too, then wake me up. I think I need a little nap.”

  “Yeah, you go to sleep,” Bumpy replied, “and stop botherin’ me.” He continued to fiddle around with the metal rod in the lock, intent on getting it open. Blimpy watched his brother in silence, not wanting to break his concentration, or to anger him, for he knew that Bumpy could be unpleasantly short-tempered at times. Nevertheless, he felt sure that his big brother would get them out of the trouble they were in. After all, he usually did!

  The Carpenters plan

  That same evening, Maki Koala and her father were still working ove
r in Koalaville.

  “Here, father, have a look at the map. I believe it’s almost finished,” Maki called her father over to the candlelit table on which she had spread out the large map she had been working on for days.

  “Why, that does look excellent!” Nory was delighted with what he saw. “You drew the lines so fine that one can make out each individual tree in the grove.”

  “Oh, yes, I wanted everything to be clear, for this is a very important map, after all. But father, do you think the shade of green I used for the treetops is the right one? It seems a little too light to me,” Maki doubted.

  “Don’t mind that, Maki. The trees aren’t always the same color. In the spring and fall, the green of their leaves isn’t as dark as in summer. This shade will do just fine,” Nory reassured her. “Once you’re finished, do you know what we’ll do?”

  “What, father?” Maki asked, curious.

  “We’ll carefully roll up the map, then walk over to Eucalyptus Grove again and try to find specific trees, based on your map. If we can find them without any problem, it will be a sure sign that the map is truly precise,” Nory explained.

  “Yes, that’s a wonderful idea!” Maki replied. “We can go tomorrow.”

  “No, I believe we should wait a few days, to have time to review the details of the map here. We should only test it when we are absolutely sure that it is finished in every respect,” her father said.

  “Yes, you are right, father. I guess I’m just a little impatient at times.”

  “What young koala isn’t?” Nory smiled. “But always remember, ‘haste makes waste’!

  “Oh, changing the subject…” Nory went on, “we have to start thinking about how we are going to make the move to the new grove. Grandaddy told me that the migration will begin in two weeks. Of course, the koalas will be able to move their things over there gradually; the move won’t have to be made in a single day.”

  “I certainly hope not,” Maki responded. “We have so many things: all our carpentry tools, furniture, parts of tree houses that aren’t finished yet…”

  “Not to mention our supply of wood. That alone will take days to transport over there. Oh, and about the tree houses,” Nory went on, “the boards we haven’t assembled yet are one thing, but we shouldn’t forget the parts which are already mounted in the trees. Those unfinished tree houses won’t do anybody much good when nobody is living here anymore.”

  “Yes, that’s true. What do you suggest, father?”

  “Well, I’ve been thinking. It would be far too much work to pull up the floors of the tree houses that are already in construction. But we should try to dismantle other parts that haven’t progressed very far, for example, the walls, or the supporting beams for the roofs. We can salvage those parts and take them to Eucalyptus Grove, so that we can use them there when we build new tree houses.”

  “That’s a very sensible idea, father, though it will be more work,” Maki said.

  “Yes, but we can save that stage for last. Once we have set up our household in Eucalyptus Grove, we can come over here every few days and dismantle the parts little by little, then transport them over here.”

  “Speaking of transporting, father: have you spoken with Handy about renting a wagon? It would be impossible for us to carry all the wood we have all the way over there.”

  “No, of course, we could never do that. As a matter of fact, I spoke with Handy this morning, and he said he could rent us his biggest wagon.”

  “Oh, father, I know the one you mean! It really is quite large. But I thought that wagon was only used by the Grove Council?” Maki asked.

  “Normally, that is the case,” Nory explained, “but Handy asked Judge Grandaddy if we could rent it to transport our things, and do you know what he said?”

  “What, father?”

  “Judge Grandaddy said that we can use it without paying any rent at all. He said that since carpentry, specifically the making of tree houses and furniture, will be very important for our community over in Eucalyptus Grove, the Council would like to make it as easy as possible for us to set up shop there. These days, only about ten percent of our koalas live in tree houses, but the Judge said that within a couple of years, that number could double, as long as we’re able to keep up with the demand.”

  “Why, that is wonderful news, father! We’ll have work for years to come. Though we will need some extra workers if we’re going to be making that many houses.”

  “That’ll be no problem. There are a lot of fine koalas who don’t shy away from a good day’s work,” Nory opined. “But first things first. Tomorrow, we’ll plan our schedule for making the move. It sure is a stroke of luck we can use the wagon for free.”

  “Indeed it is,” Maki said. “This way, we won’t have to use up our supply of nuts, berries and honey to rent the wagon. It would’ve been expensive, considering the fact that it will take us days to move everything.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Nory remarked. “Now, I believe we’ve earned our supper today. How about if we climb up and make ourselves something to eat?”

  “Oh yes, I am getting hungry,” Maki replied. She and Nory enjoyed a fine dinner, consisting of salted leaves with a bit of olive oil, and some berries for dessert. They were both quite content, for it seemed that everything was going more smoothly than expected, although they knew that the next few weeks would no doubt be extremely busy for them.

  The Great Escape

  “Hey, I think I got it,” Bumpy whispered to his brother Blimpy. “Yeah, look! I’ve got the lock open!”

  “You mean that little rod unlocked it?” Blimpy could hardly believe they were so lucky.

  “Well, the little rod, plus my genius,” Bumpy replied. “Here, now that I know how to do it, let me try to open that shackle on your ankle, too.” Bumpy set to work; in only a few minutes, the shackle opened with a click, and Blimpy removed it from his ankle.

  “Now, set Chigow free, too,” Blimpy said.

  “Hey, I don’t see why I should. He deserves to be here. I’m sure it wasn’t you who came up with the dumb idea of stealing that liquor, was it?” Bumpy asked his brother.

  “Well, no, but Chigow’s my friend. We can’t leave him here!” Blimpy pleaded.

  “Ooh, okay. Hey Chigow, wake up,” Bumpy shook the sleeping koala’s shoulder.

  “Huh, uh…” Chigow sluggishly opened his eyes. “What is it? Hey, you two are free!”

  “That’s right, and if you shut up for a few minutes, you will be, too,” Bumpy worked deftly with the rod, and this time, it only took him a minute to open the lock.

  “There! Now let’s get outta here,” Bumpy suggested, “before that moron Mabo shows his homely face again.”

  The three looked around, and seeing that the coast was clear, began jogging off eastwards, stopping to hide every few trees to make sure nobody was following them. Before long, they had reached a tree on the very edge of Koalatown.

  “Now we’ve just gotta cross this field, walk through Eucalyptus Grove, then cross the next field, and we’ll be home!” Chigow rejoiced.

  “Yeah, but maybe we should walk up to the forest first. I don’t feel comfortable crossing open fields,” Blimpy seemed hesitant.

  “Nonsense! There isn’t a hawk in sight,” Chigow replied, looking up at the sky, “and it’s already almost dark, so none would see us, anyway.”

  “No, Blimpy is right,” Bumpy said. “It’s not the hawks. Somebody might see us if we’re out in the open like that, and then Mabo and his cronies will chase after us. We’ll sneak up north, tree by tree, then enter the forest, and from there, get over to Koalaville as fast as we can.”

  “Do whatever you want,” Chigow scoffed. “I’m going straight across this field. It’s the fastest way.” He then began to trot out into the field.

  “Come on, Blimpy, we’re goin’ this way,” Bumpy grabbed his brother’s arm before he could follow his chum.

  Bumpy and Blimpy, cautiously moving from tree to tree in the
ir flight northwards, had hardly gone fifty yards or so when they heard two emus squawking. Hiding behind a tree and looking back, they saw Mabo and a deputy, mounted on the emus, riding to the edge of the grove. Immediately spotting Chigow, who had not even gotten half way across the field, they speeded up.

  Chigow, hearing them coming, looked back, then began to dash ahead as fast as he could, but to no avail. The speedy emus had soon reached him, well before he got to the western edge of Eucalyptus Grove. Mabo’s emu got in front of Chigow, blocking his way. Chigow stopped, and before he could think of what to do, the deputy had jumped off his emu, tackling Chigow and wrestling him to the ground. Tying Chigow’s paws behind his back, the two also fastened a long rope to his body. They then mounted the emus again, and slowly started back westwards towards Koalatown, leading Chigow, who had to walk, by the rope.

  “That fool!” Bumpy exclaimed. “He always wants to do it his way. Now he sees where that gets him!”

  “Aren’t we gonna help him?” Blimpy was sick with worry about the fate of his friend.

  “Nothin’ we can do for him now,” Bumpy replied. “Come on, we’d better get up to the forest before they get wise and chase after us, too.”

  They then continued their flight, and after reaching the edge of the forest, they entered it by squeezing through some bushes, being afraid that the main path connecting Koalatown to the woods might be guarded. Once in the forest, they had no trouble traveling eastwards. Though walking slowly and even stopping occasionally to make sure they were safe from koala pursuers as well as from wild animals, they arrived in Koalaville in about an hour and fifteen minutes without a hitch.

  Chigow, on the other hand, soon found himself chained to the same tree, but this time, a guard was posted nearby to assure that he could not escape again.

  A little white Lie

  A while later, back at the party, the koalas had danced away the greater part of the evening, and night had fallen on Koalaland. Contrary to the pessimistic expectations of the policekoalas, no big fights had erupted. The minor disputes that had broken out here and there were quickly and efficiently quelled by Duffy, Mabo, Doefoo, or their strategically-placed deputies. Nonetheless, the several medical specialists on the scene had to treat a number of victims of alcohol intoxication, as well as two cases of fainting due to unknown causes. But these insignificant events were hardly noticed by the multitude that was enjoying itself royally. Milly, however, was a notable exception.

  Humpy was engaged in intimate conversation with Meppy, his multi-colored date, when Milly came up and tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Oh, Humpy,” she said, and he turned around to face her. “I am so worried about Bumpy. It’s been almost four hours now. Something must be wrong. His meeting couldn’t be lasting this long.”

  “Mmm, I see what you mean,” Humpy replied. Of course, he didn’t share her nervous concern. He simply thought that his friend had decided to spend the evening, and maybe longer, with the mysterious beauty who had written him the note. “But you never know, maybe something else important came up.”

  “No, I just feel that something is wrong. What shall we do?” Milly asked.

  “Well, the truth is, I don’t know.” Humpy didn’t want to have to leave Meppy, nor did he want to bother Bumpy and his new-found friend, yet Milly insisted:

  “Oh, please, Humpy! Why don’t you and Dumpy go look for him? I’d really appreciate it,” she pleaded with him.

  “Uuh, well,” he hesitated, turning to look at Meppy, who also seemed to think it was a good idea.

  “Yes, Humpy, maybe you should be worried, too. Look, you and Dumpy can go find him and see what’s going on. We’ll wait for you here. We still have most of the night ahead of us!”

  Humpy saw little sense in leaving the party now, but knew he had little choice if he wanted to keep the girls happy.

  “Okay, no problem. I’ll go get Dumpy now, and we’ll find Bumpy, but don’t let any other koalas conquer your hearts while we’re gone!” he added with a charming smile.

  “Oh, of course not!” Meppy giggled. “We won’t even dance with anybody until you get back.”

  Humpy pushed through the crowd, walking over to where he had last seen Dumpy. He found him, and was quite astonished to see him with his back up against a tree, holding Silly tightly and giving her an unusually long kiss. This wasn’t at all like Dumpy, who was very shy by nature.

  “Heh hmm,” Humpy cleared his throat to get their attention.

  “Hee hee hee, it’s Humpy! Hee hee hee!” Silly tittered as she turned her head towards Humpy. “Are you and Meppy having a good time, too? Hee hee hee!”

  “Well, uh, we were, but now Dumpy and I have something to attend to.”

  “Uh, gee Humpy, huh uh huh,” Dumpy stammered, in a voice even slower than was his usual, “I don’t wanna leave Silly now, huh uh huh…”

  Humpy could see that his friend had had much more than his share of eucalyptus liquor. This explained his unusually extraverted behavior with his date.

  “I know, I know,” Humpy replied, “but we gotta go find Bumpy. He’s been gone for four hours.”

  “Four hours? Huh uh huh. It only seems like about thirty minutes to me,” Dumpy responded.

  “Well, I guess time flies when you’re havin’ fun. Now come on,” Humpy said, gently pulling Dumpy by the arm, and away from Silly. “We gotta go. Silly, I’ll bring him back to you as soon as we find Bumpy. Hey, why don’t you go over and chat with Milly and Meppy till we get back?”

  “Oh, that’s a great idea, hee hee hee,” Silly opined. “We girls have got a lot of gossiping to do, hee hee hee!”

  Humpy led Dumpy away from the crowd, almost having to hold him up so that he wouldn’t fall over while they walked.

  “Gee Humpy, huh uh huh, I didn’t wanna leave Silly like that. Bumpy knows what he’s doin’, he always does.”

  “Yeah, well, this time he might have gone too far. He told Milly he’d only be gone for a short while, and now it’s been four hours. He must be havin’ a really good time with that girl who wrote him the message.”

  “Well, gee, we don’t wanna bother him, do we? Huh uh huh.”

  “No, of course not, but we gotta make up some excuse for him. Here, let’s sit down behind this tree,” Humpy suggested, after they had gotten far enough away from the crowd. “Let’s see, what can we tell Milly?”

  “Uh, I dunno, huh uh huh,” Dumpy mumbled as he leaned his head back against the tree, closed his eyes, and looked as if he were about to doze off.

  “Hey, wake up!” Humpy shook him. “This is no time to fall asleep. We need a good story!” Humpy urged.

  “Uuh, okay. Once upon a time, there was a lil’ scrill, who was takin’ a walk through the forest...” Dumpy muttered, only half conscious.

  “No, no, I don’t mean that kind of story. I mean one about Bumpy,” Humpy said.

  “Uuuh, gee, okay. Once upon a time, there was a lil’ scrill named Bumpy takin’ a walk through the forest… huh uh huh,” Dumpy continued.

  “Oh, you’re no good! Let’s see, lemme think,” Humpy pondered, now not caring if his friend fell asleep or not. “Hmmm,” he muttered to himself, “how about… hmmm… Bumpy went to his business meeting up in the north, and… Eureka! I got it! Come on, Dumpy, wake up. I’m takin’ you back to Silly.”

  Hearing her name jolted Dumpy awake: “Silly! Where? Oh Silly, here I am, huh uh huh…”

  “Come on, get up,” Humpy said as he lifted his drunken pal to his feet and pushed him forward. “We’re goin’ back to the party.”

  They arrived back at the celebration about fifteen minutes afterwards, made their way through the rollicking crowd, and approached the stands where Milly, Silly and Meppy were waiting.

  “Oh, that didn’t take so long,” Milly was glad to see them, until she noticed that her date was nowhere in sight. “But where is Bumpy?”

  “Yes, Bumpy, well, we found out what happened,” Humpy began to explain.
“You see, we met the koala that Bumpy had his business meeting with, and he told us what happened.”

  “Please, tell me! He didn’t get hurt, did he?” Milly was most concerned.

  “No, I mean, yes, well, a little,” Humpy stuttered.

  “Oh, no! I just knew it! I felt it in my bones! The poor dear! Where is he? What happened to him?” Milly was getting frantic.

  “Now, don’t worry, it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Here’s what happened,” Humpy began to tell the tall tale he had made up. “Bumpy went to the business meeting on schedule…”

  “What was the name of the koala that he met? Hee hee hee!” Silly was curious.

  “Uh, I didn’t catch his name,” Humpy replied, since he had forgotten to think up a name.

  “Anyway, he went to the meeting, that was up north, near the path to the forest, and right next to the anteater corral.”

  “Oh yes, I know just where that is,” Milly said.

  “Well, Bumpy was leaning up against the fence of the corral as the two talked business, and wouldn’t you know it? One of those anteaters stuck his snoot through two of the boards of the fence, and bit Bumpy right on the leg!”

  “Oh, that must have hurt! I hope it isn’t serious,” Milly worried.

  “No, I’m sure it isn’t. The koala said that it was a small wound, but he advised Bumpy to get back to Koalaville at once to see Doctor Koala. Bumpy didn’t want to leave. He kept saying that he had to get back here to the party. He was so anxious to see you again, Milly,” Humpy lied.

  “Oh, that poor, sweet dear!” Milly responded, her eyes showing her compassion, as well as her delight that Bumpy thought so highly of her.

  “But the other koala insisted he go right to Doctor Koala, saying that that anteater could’ve had rabies, or some other strange anteater disease of the type that anteaters are prone to getting, and that – who knows? – they might be able to pass on to unsuspecting koalas that they bite in the leg,” Humpy was now lying so convincingly that he himself almost believed his story.

  “That’s true, I guess. And of course, it was best for him to go back to your grove to see the doctor. After all, the doctors here have their hands full tonight,” Milly thought everything made sense now.

  “Well, before leaving, Bumpy told that koala to let you know that he is very sorry for not being able to come back, but that he’d return here to Koalatown within the next few days to apologize to you personally, and … and to give you a kiss to make up for it.”

  “Oh, isn’t that sweet! But why didn’t the koala come to tell me?” Milly wanted to know.

  “Oh, well, uuuh...” Humpy wasn’t expecting that question. “Uuuh, well, you see, once Bumpy left, the koala realized that he didn’t even know you, so he didn’t know how to find you. I guess he was so worried about Bumpy’s leg that he didn’t think of asking Bumpy where you lived, or anything.”

  “Yes, I suppose in a situation like that, you can’t think of everything,” Milly responded.

  “Right. So anyway, I’m sure he’ll be fine, and you’ll be hearing from him as soon as Doctor Koala says he can come over here again,” Humpy was quite pleased that she had swallowed his story, lock, stock and barrel.

  “Why me?”

  Bumpy and Blimpy, having arrived safely in Koalaville, went to Bumpy’s tree, climbed up, and sat moping on a wide branch.

  “I don’t believe it,” Bumpy muttered. “It was going to be such a great party over there. Milly was wild about me – everything was so perfect. Then those three maniacs attack me and ruin everything!”

  “Well, if you had stayed at the party, and hadn’t gone off to meet that mysterious koala girl that didn’t even exist, none of that would have happened,” Blimpy reminded him with a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice, more than his brother cared to hear.

  “Hey, are you lookin’ for a punch in the snoot?” Bumpy perked up.

  “Now don’t get upset, Bumpy. I know you got a raw deal. I’m just sayin’…”

  “Well, shut up and don’t say it. I know I was a fool. Curiosity got the better of me, that’s all.”

  “Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” Blimpy philosophized.

  “And it’s gonna get you knocked off my branch in a second, if you don’t watch it!” Bumpy apparently wasn’t open to criticism at the moment. Then, calming down a bit: “Oh, Blimpy, I know you’re right,” he groaned. “I should’ve known better. The worst thing is, now that I’m an outlaw over there, I can’t even go back and visit Milly again. Oh, why me, why me?”

  “I wish I could tell ya, but I don’t know,” Blimpy replied.

  “Well, I guess there’s only one thing to do now,” Bumpy said, suddenly remembering his standard strategy for dealing with sad and/or frustrating situations. “I’m gonna go to sleep and stay that way for at least ten or twelve hours.”

  “Good idea! Maybe you’ll think up some clever idea while you’re sleepin’, about how to see Milly again,” Blimpy tried to cheer him up, “and besides, there’s nothin’ else we can do now anyway.”

  “You said it. Dreamland, here I come!” Bumpy responded, as he lay face down on the branch, his arms and legs dangling on either side of it. “Ooooh…now I realize how much I hurt all over! Can’t quite get comfortable. Why, those mangy beasts! But don’t worry, I’ll think of a way to make ’em pay for this!” Bumpy, despite the pain he felt from the multiple bruises, scrapes, scratches, bites and cuts he had suffered in the fight, was now so tired that he nonetheless began to doze off. “They won’t get away with this… uuuaaagh, aaauuugghhhh,” he had begun to snore.

  “Right, Bumpy,” Blimpy replied softly, as he, too stretched out a little further out on the branch, and was soon overtaken by sleep.

  Maki’s Prayer

  It was the middle of the night, yet Maki Koala had woken up, and couldn’t get back to sleep. She went to the window of her tree house, and looked over to the west towards Eucalyptus Grove, soon to be her new home, illuminated by the light of the full moon.

  “I guess they’re still celebrating over in Koalatown,” she thought to herself.

  Maki never would have considered going to that party, for she knew of the undesirable elements that lived in that grove, and her father certainly didn’t want his beloved daughter to get into any kind of compromising, or even perilous, situation.

  Nevertheless, she was now thinking about the happy couples over there, dancing the night away, and even sneaking in a little kiss here and there. She had never been in love before, yet sometimes dreamed about meeting her soul mate, someone who would capture her heart, and love her forever.

  She couldn’t imagine who that would be, but about a year before her mother died in the wet tail epidemic, she had once told Maki that she would meet him one day; that somewhere out there, he was no doubt waiting to meet her, too, and that fate would surely bring him to her, probably when she least expected it.

  Maybe that was the problem: somewhere in the back of her mind, she was always expecting it! Looking up to the Moon, she thought she saw a face on it, and a couple of furry ears on top.

  “The Koala Moon understands me,” she said under her breath, “and I know she hears me, too. Koala Moon, please make sure that the love of my life is alive and well, and help us find each other some day, preferably while I’m still young,” she added. “Oh, and thank you kindly for listening to me!”

  Her little prayer had comforted her, and made her feel warm inside. Walking back to her bed in a corner of her tree house – for her father, of course, had built one for the family long ago – she crawled under the blanket, resting her head on her little pillow, and was soon fast asleep.

  The Day After

  Koalatown was considerably more peaceful the next morning, no doubt because practically every one of its citizens was sound asleep after having spent the entire night in joyous – and in a majority of cases, drunken – revelry. Mayor Koala and Judge Rolly were in the very small minority who were awake. They had lef
t the celebration shortly after midnight, since they preferred sleep to wild parties.

  “Where’s that Duffy? He was supposed to report to us this morning to tell us last night’s crime statistics,” said the Mayor impatiently.

  “Oh, calm down. He needs his sleep, too. After all, I’m sure he and the other policekoalas were up until the party was over.”

  “Well, for all we know, half of Koalatown might be chained to trees somewhere due to their disorderly conduct, or some other charges. I want to have an idea of how much time we’ll need to spend to give the shabby beasts their trials,” the Mayor remarked.

  “Hey, I should be complaining, not you,” Rolly retorted. “After all, as Judge, I have the obligation to give them their day in court.”

  “True, but once you sentence them, their relatives will be coming to me to complain, and to convince me to fire you, though legally, I couldn’t do so even if I wanted to” Mayor Koala replied. “Oh, look, I believe that’s Duffy on the way over here now.”

  Soon, Duffy was knocking on the Mayoral Tree, and was invited to climb up. “Have a seat, Duffy,” Rolly offered him a chair, “and tell us about all the delinquents you arrested last night at the celebration.”

  “Judge, Mayor, there’s good news and bad news. Can I tell you the good news first?”

  “Go ahead,” the Mayor replied, “but I’ll bet the bad news will outweigh the good. At least, that’s the way it always seems.”

  “Well, the truth is, we hardly had to make any arrests at all. It seems that our idea of placin’ the plain-overalls deputies in strategic positions worked like a charm. Whenever trouble was about to erupt, a deputy would just go over and break it up right away. True, a few koalas ended up with lumps on their heads, since we occasionally had to use our sticks to calm them down,” Duffy explained.

  “You didn’t seriously hurt any of them, I hope?” the Judge asked.

  “Naw, just knocked some sense into ’em. They were, for the most part, so drunk that they didn’t feel much anyway.”

  “And you say you didn’t have to make many arrests?” the Mayor inquired, amazed.

  “Only one, a certain Bumpy Koala. Caught him in a real big fight up in the north.”

  “Bumpy? I don’t believe I know that rascal,” Rolly pondered.

  “He’s not from here. Said he’s from Koalaville. Mabo found him fightin’ with three of our koalas up on the edge of the forest.”

  “What? He attacked three of our own? Must be some kind of nut!” Mayor Koala supposed.

  “Well, according to him, they attacked him, which does seem more likely. He said it was Chuppy, Guppy and Moldy.”

  “Aha!” the Judge exclaimed. “The usual suspects! Why didn’t you arrest them?”

  “Mabo says that Bumpy punched him, and that gave the other three the chance to escape,” Duffy went on.

  “Strange. Why would he hit Mabo to let his three attackers escape? Doesn’t make any sense.”

  “No, Mayor, it doesn’t. So maybe Bumpy’s story is true. He said he didn’t realize Mabo was there; he just kept thrashin’ about, tryin’ to protect himself from those three, and Mabo just happened to get hit,” Duffy responded.

  “Yeah, well, those blasted criminal types will say anything to get off. He’s probably as guilty as they are,” the Judge surmised. “So I suppose he’s chained to the Tree of Justice, awaiting trial along with those two other scoundrels?”

  “Uh, well, now we’re gettin’ to the bad news,” Duffy hesitated.

  “Give it to us straight, Duffy,” the Mayor ordered. “What happened?”

  “Well, Mabo chained Bumpy to the tree, but when he went back an hour later to take them all some food, they had all escaped, and…”

  “Escaped? But those chains are strong! There’s no way they could break them!” the Judge was astonished.

  “They didn’t break the chains, Judge. It seems they managed to open the ankle shackles somehow.”

  “Without a key? Impossible!” Rolly fumed.

  “Hmmm,” Mayor Koala mumbled, “let’s look at this logically. The other two – the ones who tried to break into Tama’s shack and steal the liquor – had been chained up a couple of days, and hadn’t escaped. Then that Bumpy joins them, and in an hour they’re all gone. Sounds to me like he’s some sort of technologically savvy rapscallion, the type that you just can’t keep chained up for long. Surely most dangerous.”

  “Oh, I forgot to mention that we captured Chigow again, just as he was crossing the field over to Eucalyptus Grove,” Duffy added this piece of good news, “but the other two – Bumpy and Blimpy – weren’t around anywhere.”

  “Huuuhh,” the Mayor sighed. “It’s always depressing to hear that a couple of villains managed to escape justice. On the other hand, having only one trial, for that Chigow, will be a cinch, and since he’s not from Koalatown, I won’t be bothered by a bunch of yapping relatives trying to convince me to pardon him. All in all, this news was pretty good, I’d say.”

  “True,” Judge Rolly agreed, “but maybe we should put a price on the heads of the other two. Or at the very least, all our policekoalas should be on the lookout, in case they come back here and try to stir up trouble. Suppose they try to free Chigow, for example?”

  “I’ve thought of that already, Judge. That’s why I put a guard on duty near the Tree of Justice, to make sure Chigow doesn’t escape again,” said Duffy.

  “Well done,” the Judge commended him, “and I think I’m speaking for Mayor Koala as well as myself when I say that we are quite pleased with the way you handled the celebration. Only one arrest all night! Why, that is certainly some kind of record!”

  “Sure is!” the Mayor added. “Last year, you had to chain up fourteen drunkards for violent conduct, as I recall.”

  “Sixteen. But ever since last summer, when the Judge here gave us permission to let our sticks do the talkin’, we haven’t had to arrest as many. We just teach them their lesson right then and there,” Duffy grinned.

  “And it’s perhaps the legal measure that works best in this grove,” Mayor Koala smiled smugly. “In any case, I’m pleased with your work, Duffy. And tell each of your deputies they can pick up their one hundred walnuts whenever they want.”

  “Uh, Mayor sir, I believe you promised to pay them one hundred and fifty walnuts each,” Duffy reminded him.

  “Oh, yeah, right, my memory isn’t what it used to be!” Mayor Koala laughed, thinking that it had at least been worth a try. “Now, run along and make our grove a safer place to live in, Duffy.”

  “Right, Mayor. Bye now, and bye, Judge!” Duffy climbed down the tree and went about his daily business.

  “I think we can be pleased with the celebration,” Rolly mused. “Everybody had a great time, crime was down… It was practically perfect! Oh, who is that knocking on our tree now?”

  They both looked down over the edge of the floor, and saw Isshy, one of Koalatown’s two doctors.

  “Huh? We’re not sick. What does he want?” the Mayor mumbled to Rolly, then: “Come right up, my fine koala!”

  After climbing up the tree to the platform, Isshy respectfully greeted the two. “Hello sirs, I am terribly sorry to bother you, but it is rather important,” he began.

  “What is it? Who’s sick now?” the Mayor inquired.

  “Well, sir, quite a few are. I have been treating at least seventeen cases of alcohol poisoning, not to mention bruises, scrapes, a broken arm, a broken nose…”

  “What?” Judge Rolly exclaimed. “But Duffy just reported to us that there were practically no fights at all!”

  “No, not that I saw,” Isshy continued, “but a whole bunch of injuries due to falls, not to mention stomach upsets, vomiting…”

  “Oh, spare me the details,” Mayor Koala whined. “So what do you want from us?”

  “Well, sir, I have a couple of difficult cases that I’m not sure how to treat, and which are rather severe. Two are related to alcohol poisoning, but of a serio
us nature, and one suspicion of a concussion. It almost looks as though one koala was beaten over the head with a stick…”

  “Hmmm, I see,” Mayor Koala mumbled, figuring that Duffy might have done his job a trifle too well in that case.

  “The truth is,” Isshy continued, “we need Koalaville’s Doctor Koala. He is the best physician around, and more qualified than my colleague Semmy and I are. After all, Doctor Koala was our teacher.”

  “Oh, I see what you’re getting at,” Mayor Koala moaned. “You want us to pay for Doctor Koala to come over here and help.”

  “Yes sir, that is what I was thinking. Two hundred walnuts, maybe.”

  “Two hundred? That’s highway robbery!” Mayor Koala was indignant.

  “Experience has its price, Mayor, and Doctor Koala has more experience than anybody.”

  “Hey, if he really cares about helping, why can’t he come over here for free?” Rolly wanted to know.

  “Well, Judge, after last year, when he did just that and saw how many medical problems were due to eucalyptus liquor, he said that if we don’t ban the stuff, he would charge us this year if we asked him to come over, and…”

  “Oh, extortion, huh?” the Mayor grunted. “What the good doctor might not know is that if we banned that liquor, we’d have more serious medical problems here in Koalatown.”

  “How’s that, Mayor?” Isshy asked. “Why more serious?”

  “Because the Mayor and I would be the victims of the wrath of every alcoholic here in the grove, and that’s quite a few of ’em,” Rolly explained.

  “Oh, okay, tell Doctor Koala he can have two hundred walnuts, but see to it that he cures those miserable koalas. It would give our Great Spring Celebration a rather bad reputation if some of the party-goers ended up dropping dead. And I’m up for re-election next year, you know!” the Mayor reminded Isshy.

  “Right, Mayor. I’ll send a messenger and a wagon over to Koalaville to pick up Doctor Koala. Thank you both for your understanding in this matter. I know you do care about the health of our citizens. Good bye now,” Isshy said as he departed.

  “Was he being sarcastic, or what?” Mayor Koala asked Rolly.

  “I don’t rightly know. I guess that’s his idea of being diplomatic or something.”

  “Well, it worked. Managed to get two hundred of my – I mean, of the Grove’s – walnuts. Doctors! I’m tellin’ ya, Rolly, no sooner do you have a conversation with a doctor, than your wealth starts to melt away like snow in the sun.”

  “Truer words were never spoken,” Rolly agreed, and the two of them sat down at Rolly’s table to enjoy a game of cards before having lunch.

  Help Wanted

  That same day, the southeastern point of Koalaville was filled with activity. Seated at the council table were Judge Grandaddy and Handy. They were engaged in interviewing one koala after another, who approached them one by one from a line that had formed, extending twenty yards or so into the grove. They had heard that the government was looking for about twenty koalas to supervise the assigning of trees in Eucalyptus Grove to the koalas who were moving there. This was, of course, a necessary precaution, to assure that the transition from one grove to the other went as smoothly as possible.

  “Next!” Handy called out. “Step right this way!”

  “Hello, Handy, Judge. My name is Foowary. I hear you need some help.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Grandaddy responded. “Are you good at counting? That is, do you know your numbers?”

  “Yes, of course, sir. I can count to a thousand, and even beyond that, if I concentrate.”

  “And I suppose you can read and write, too?” Handy inquired.

  “Yes, pretty well, actually, though to be honest, my spelling isn’t always perfect.”

  “And does this map make any sense to you?” Handy pointed to the map of Eucalyptus Grove that Maki Koala had delivered to him to use that day (though she had insisted he return it to her at the end of the day, as she wanted to continue to improve it over the next week or so).

  “Hmmm,” Foowary responded, studying it carefully, “I could be wrong, but from the size and shape of that grove, I’d say it’s Eucalyptus Grove – just like it says here at the top of it. Hey, that was easy enough!” Foowary chuckled.

  “Just wanted to be sure you could read,” Grandaddy explained. “Okay, you’re hired. You’ll be paid with a two months’ supply of honey, nuts and berries, but only after the migration has been made and all the koalas have been assigned their new trees. You’ll be working eight hours a day, for between five and eight days. Do you accept these conditions?”

  “Sounds good to me!” Foowary smiled.

  “Then press your hand down on this ink pad,” Handy told him, “then on this contract, and on the copy.”

  Foowary did as he was told, and had thus signed his work contract and a copy with his hand print, considered legally to be more binding than a mere signature, since a print was next to impossible to forge. Next to the print, Grandaddy carefully wrote in “Foowary Koala” in clear block-type letters on both copies, then handed one to Foowary.

  “You are to report for work a week from today, at 7:30 am.”

  “7:30 am!” Foowary was surprised. “That’s ungodly early, Judge!”

  “Hey, do you want the job or not?” Handy asked impatiently.

  “Well, yeah, of course, but do I have to start so early every day?”

  “The first day, it’ll be 7:30, since we have to give you instructions. Every day after that, you will begin at 8:30,” Grandaddy explained.

  “Well, that’s a little better, I guess,” Foowary replied.

  “Okay, you’re finished for now. See you next week!” Handy dismissed Foowary. “Next!”

  “Good day, dear sirs,” Kudamono greeted them as he approached the table.

  “Uh, hello,” Grandaddy responded. “Your name?”

  “My name is Kudamono, and I respectfully request the honor of being permitted to perform my civic duty by assisting you in the admirable work of facilitating our migration to our new domicile.”

  “Huh?” Handy was surprised to hear such talk.

  “You sure have a rather peculiar way of saying it, but you seem to get the idea,” Grandaddy said. “I guess it would be superfluous to ask whether you can read and write?”

  “In all humility, I must truthfully state that I am perfectly literate, and will doubtlessly be able to serve you well as far as it pertains to my skill in the arts thou hast mentioned.”

  “Uh, yeah, right, I thought so,” Handy responded, not knowing whether this koala was serious, or whether he was playing some kind of strange prank. “Your pay will be a two months’ supply of honey, nuts…”

  “Oh, no, thou needest say no more,” Kudamono interrupted him. “I would not think of receiving compensation for the labor I am gladly willing to provide, since I feel that being of aid in the noble cause of improving our condition by migrating to a superior grove is more than ample recompense for me.”

  “Uh, does that mean you don’t want us to pay you anything for your work?” Handy asked, a bit confused.

  “Precisely. May I suggest that any payment reserved for me be distributed among the elderly, to those who are not able to seek out delicious nourishment on their own?” Kudamono suggested.

  “Okay, we’ll give your food to the old koalas, fine. Very kind of you to make such an offer. Now sign here and here with your hand print,” Grandaddy instructed.

  Kudamono did so, then bade them farewell. “Adieu, my friends. I thank thee, Judge Grandaddy, and also thee, Handy, for the efforts you both are making to assure the good of our citizens, and I wish you a good day.”

  After he had gone, Handy remarked to Grandaddy, “Wow, that is one strange koala. Where did he learn to talk like that?”

  “Well, he and several other koalas here in Koalaville had parents who weren’t originally from here. They immigrated to Koalaville after a natural disaster in their grove, that was situated
somewhere up on the eastern edge of the Great Koala Plain, had wiped out most of them. From what I’ve heard, all the koalas there talked like that, and the parents of the koalas from Kudamono’s generation taught them to speak in their peculiar manner, so that they would not forget their origins,” Grandaddy explained to him.

  “Oh, okay. Sure sounds weird, though. I thought he was making fun of us at first. Seemed like a decent koala, though,” Handy replied.

  “Oh, yes. Those of his clan are known for their great integrity. If all of our koalas were as honorable as Kudamono and his kind, my job as Judge would be a lot easier, that’s for sure.”

  “Excuse me, sirs,” the next koala, who had stepped up to the table, interrupted them.

  “Oh, yes, right. Now, what is your name?” Handy asked.

  And thus went the morning, until Grandaddy and Handy had personally selected twenty koalas who seemed willing and able to do the job required of them. It was now one pm.

  “I think I’ll have a little nap before lunch. What about you, Handy?”

  “Sounds like a good idea. That meeting we’re going to have at five o’clock with the King and the other councilmembers might go on till dark, so we’d better get some sleep now if we don’t want to doze off in the middle of it. See you later, Grandaddy!”

  “Bye, Handy. See you after lunch,” he responded, and each walked off to his tree to get some shut-eye.

  Legal Matters

  Later that day...

  The Eucalyptus Grove Council was about to begin a meeting to make final plans for the Great Migration that was soon to take place. All had come to the meeting: Handy, Judge Grandaddy, Doctor Koala, Chashibu, Chosay, Tecky, Gruffy, Kashy, Claire, and of course, the Prestigious Koala King; the latter, quite befittingly, was the first to speak.

  “I thank all the members of our Council for being here this evening. Let us begin by asking Grandaddy how the preparations for the move have been coming along.”

  “Quite well, Sire. Handy and I have signed up twenty koalas as planned, to help assign the trees in Eucalyptus Grove. I do believe, however, that a Royal Decree might be in order, as far as this subject is concerned.”

  “A Royal Decree? Of what nature?” the King inquired.

  “Sire, despite the fact that we are doing everything we can to assure fairness in the assignment of trees, we nonetheless fear that some koalas might not be completely satisfied with their lot. Therefore, I would like to propose that you sign a decree, stating that it is your royal will that the koalas accept the decisions we make; that is, that they accept the trees assigned to them, and that they know that it is your desire that they do so; furthermore, that all koalas do whatever they can to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone.”

  “Hmmm, I suppose that such a decree would not be in conflict with any existing laws?” the monarch asked, now looking at Gruffy and Kashy, the two lawyers.

  “Not at all Sire, as far as I can see,” Kashy opined.

  “I beg to differ, Sire,” Gruffy spoke up, “for such a decree could be construed as an attempt by our King to bend the will of the koalas, and thus as an assault on freedom of opinion, not to mention of choice.”

  “Two lawyers, two opinions,” old Chosay scoffed. “Why can’t you fellows ever make things easy?”

  “We’re just trying to represent both points of view, that’s all,” Gruffy defended himself and his other-minded colleague.

  “Okay, there’s only one way to settle this,” Grandaddy suggested. “We’ll take a vote on it. All koalas who feel that a royal decree of the nature previously explained is both appropriate and legal, please raise your hands. Oh, and Sire, I’m afraid you can’t vote, since you will be the one signing the decree.”

  “Yeah, and if you could vote, there would be a danger of having a stalemate, in case five are for it, and five against,” Chashibu added.

  “I have no problem with that. You nine may decide the issue,” the King responded calmly.

  Six hands went up, those of Handy, Kashy, Chashibu, Chosay, Doctor Koala, and Grandaddy.

  “Now, all those against,” Grandaddy said; only Gruffy raised his hand.

  “I see two of you chose not to vote,” Grandaddy noticed.

  “That is our right, isn’t it?” Claire asked for herself and Tecky.

  “Yes, it is,” Grandaddy responded, “but I would be interested in your reasons.”

  “Well, after hearing both Kashy and Gruffy speak, I feel they both are right, in a way, so I’d rather not vote one way or the other,” Claire explained.

  “I feel somewhat the same way, though my main reason is that I don’t see the necessity of a Royal Decree,” Tecky added. “I have faith that the koalas would, in general, act decently in this matter, and accept the trees given to them. It would only be a minority who wouldn’t be content, and they should have the right to say so, in my opinion.”

  “I understand,” Grandaddy responded. “Nevertheless, the motion is accepted, by a vote of six in favor, one against, and two abstentions. Write that down, Wheezy.”

  Wheezy, who had recently been hired by the council as its official secretary, though only on a temporary basis – that is, until the migration began – obediently noted the results in the Council’s official Book of Records.

  “This being the case,” the Judge continued, “I would like to present the decree to our King for signing. I prepared it myself this afternoon. Your Majesty…”

  The Prestigious Koala King took the document and began to read:

  “I, the Prestigious Koala King, of Koalaville, and soon to be King of Eucalyptus Grove as well, and therefore Sovereign of the two groves that comprise the eastern region of Southern Koalaland, including the adjoining fields, and of all the forest area north of the two aforementioned areas, and being the legitimate Monarch of said territories due to the faith placed in me by the citizens over whom I reign, and from them having received my royal authority, do hereby decree, that all the koalas who will soon make the move from Koalaville to Eucalyptus Grove (this being the totality of the koalas who are now residents of Koalaville, since our lawmakers have decided that the migration is to be made by all of us, without exception), should accept without complaint, whining, anger, dissatisfaction, frustration, or any other negative emotion, the trees which are assigned to them by the agents whom we have designated, whose decisions have been approved by myself, as well as by our Council; furthermore, that if any koala should nonetheless feel any of the aforesaid unpleasant emotions, that he or she not express them publicly, but that he/she confine the expression of such feelings to the circle of his/her intimate acquaintances, in order not to sow the seeds of discontent among others, so that the transition from Koalaville to Eucalyptus Grove, which we designate as the ‘Great Migration’, may be accomplished with the utmost of ease.

  May our Great Migration be the beginning of a new, better, more productive, and happier life for all of our citizens.

  Signed this second day of the first week of spring, in the first year of the reign of your…

  Prestigious Koala King ”

  “My, I must say, Grandaddy, you sure can write long sentences!” the King laughed. “But I think it sounds pretty good, if I do say so myself. If everyone agrees that the wording is appropriate, I will proceed to sign.”

  “Hmmm, not that I wish to protest,” Gruffy gave his opinion, “but that would seem to be a muzzling of free speech, a right guaranteed in our Book of Laws.”

  “I cannot disagree with that, Gruffy,” Grandaddy responded, “yet it is for the good of the grand undertaking that is soon to take place. I would say that this is a case where the rights of the individual must be subordinated to the good of the entire population. And since a majority has already accepted the decree…”

  “Oh, I know, I just wanted to get in my two berries’ worth. It’s my duty to say what I think about such important matters, though of course, I promise that I will support the measure wholeheartedly once the
King has signed.”

  “Fine. Your Majesty, here is the ink bottle and pen,” Grandaddy pushed a little jar across the table towards the monarch, then handed him a feather pen. The King took the pen, dipped it into the ink, and signed.

  “It is now official,” Grandaddy announced. “Any questions?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do have a question,” Handy began. “Suppose some koala doesn’t respect the decree, and goes around complaining because he isn’t satisfied with his new tree. Should I arrest him, or what?”

  The other councilmembers looked at each other, speechless at first.

  “Hmm, that is a good question,” Claire said. “Are we really going to arrest and punish koalas just because they complained? Somehow that doesn’t seem right.”

  “Hey, the law is the law,” Kashy, the Grove’s prosecutor, stated. “It is the will of the King that nobody complain, so if somebody does, he – or she – will have to be punished in some way. A fine, perhaps, or a week of community service.”

  “Hah! That Mayor Koala over in Koalatown would have a field day if we did that!” Gruffy exclaimed. “He’d say that even though there are a lot of problems in his grove, at least they have free speech. We’d look really oppressive by comparison.”

  “May I make a suggestion?” the King asked modestly.

  “Oh, of course, your Majesty,” Grandaddy replied, slightly bowing his head in reverence.

  “Should any koala not be satisfied, he or she may come directly to me. I declare my willingness to talk to anyone who is not happy with his tree.”

  “Hmm, Sire, that could be problematic. They might see it as a sign of weakness,” Kashy observed.

  “Wait a minute. I think it’s a great idea,” Chashibu disagreed. “The very fact that a koala would be received by the King himself would greatly impress him.

  “...and so would probably shut him up,” old Chosay added.

  “Yes, psychologically, that could have just the right effect,” Doctor Koala added. “I like the idea. Besides, you never know, mistakes could be made, and maybe a koala really does get a raw deal with his new tree. In such a case, the King could always see to it that another tree was assigned to him. After all, there are more than enough trees over there in Eucalyptus Grove, and many won’t be inhabited anyway.”

  “Good point, Doctor,” the King agreed. “And of course, if I see that a koala is justified in complaining, I will see to it that he or she is given another tree.”

  “Well, then, I guess everything is settled. Gruffy, do you have any other concerns you would like to share with us?” the Judge asked.

  “Oh, uh, I suppose that if the King is willing to deal with things on an individual basis, things should turn out to be fair in the end. I still have my problems with accepting the limitations on free speech, but all in all, I guess I can accept the situation.”

  “Yeah, and after all,” Tecky, the successful businesskoala, spoke up, “we shouldn’t assume there will be a lot of problems. All of the koalas I’ve spoken with are delighted to be moving to a better grove. I really don’t think we’ll have a lot of complaints, except maybe for a few older ones who are set in their ways.”

  “Speaking of whom, I know one of those myself,” said Handy. “I believe most of you know Scuzzy.”

  “Oh yeah, Scuzzy, I haven’t seen that old geezer in a while,” Chosay laughed. “I can imagine he might complain!”

  “Yes, he says that he’s lived in Koalaville all his life, and has no desire whatsoever to move anywhere,” Handy explained. “What should we do with such cases? We can’t simply leave a few koalas over here in Koalaville when we move. It would be too dangerous for them.”

  “No doubt about it,” Doctor Koala concurred. “How about if I talk to Scuzzy? Maybe I can talk some sense into him.”

  “The way I know you, Doctor, you’ll use some of that ‘psychology’ of yours to trick him into changing his mind,” Claire smiled. “In the end, you’ll have him believing that the Great Migration was his idea from the very beginning!”

  The other councilmembers all laughed at her remark, and Doctor Koala could not disagree with her.

  “Well, you just let me do things my way. I’ll talk to old Scuzzy tomorrow, and to anybody else who may have their doubts, and I’ll bet you all a hundred walnuts that in the end, they’ll all be rarin’ to go!”

  “I won’t take that bet, Doc,” Grandaddy laughed. “As contrary as you can be at times, I’ve often seen that when you want something, you can be a real slick talker!”

  “It’s called persuasiveness, Judge,” Doctor Koala retorted with a smug smile, as the others chuckled.

  “I believe the next issue is already clear, but just to be sure,” the King said, “the Great Migration will officially begin one week from today, on the second day of the second week of spring, correct?” As this matter had been decided among them during an earlier meeting (though not officially), all agreed.

  “Yes, all the koalas have heard about it, though it might be good to declare that nobody should make the move before that date,” Chashibu recommended, “and perhaps a date should be set by which everyone should have already moved. After all, some koalas are so slow that they might take months to get around to moving.”

  “Excellent point,” Doctor Koala agreed. “Any suggestions as to how long we should give them to move?”

  “Well, it would seem to me,” Tecky joined in, “that the move should not be made by all koalas at once. Too hard to control – there might be chaos. Since we now have such a fine map of our new grove, which neatly divides all parts into sectors geographically, may I suggest that we instruct the koalas to move sector by sector?”

  “How do you mean?” Handy asked.

  “Well, for example, the first day of the migration would be the beginning of the move for those koalas living in the northwest. Naturally, we wouldn’t want those in the east to move first, since they’d have to traverse the western part of Koalaville, and if the koalas in the west are still there, there could be conflicts. So it would be logical to first have those in the west move, then those in the east,” Tecky explained.

  “My, that is a clever idea,” Claire praised him. “So you mean that we could, for instance, have those in the northwest start moving on one day, then those in the southwest the next, followed by those in the northeast and southeast?”

  “Exactly, Claire,” Tecky replied. “It would be the best way to avoid problems.”

  “Or even better: why don’t we give each group three days to make the move, instead of only one?” Claire added. “It might not be realistic to expect all the koalas in a sector to be able to move on a single day.”

  “Yes, Claire, that is a good idea,” the King agreed. “Besides, we wouldn’t have to limit them to a three-day timetable, either. We can tell them that they should move within a three-day period, if they are able to do so. But I would recommend that the final date should be later than three days, just in case some need more time.”

  “Right, Sire,” Doctor Koala concurred. “Nory, the carpenter koala, for example. He has all that furniture, parts of tree houses, and his wood supply to move. He’ll probably need as much as a week.”

  “True, and there are others who for one reason or another need more time,” Gruffy agreed. “I would say that the starting date should be viewed as fixed; in other words, that no-one should be allowed to move before the date assigned to their sector, but that the final date should be flexible, and be seen merely as a general guideline. Since most koalas are anxious to make the move, they will no doubt do so as soon as they can, yet if others need more time, there’s no need for us to pressure them.”

  “Yes, I think we can all agree on that. True, there may be exceptions: those koalas that are reticent about the whole idea, and that even our good Doctor can’t convince,” Grandaddy said, smiling at his physician friend. “But we can always deal with these on an individual basis.”

  “Oh yes, I do like these plans,”
the King stated enthusiastically. “I think we are well prepared for the migration.”

  “If I may speak not only for myself, but also for the other females in the grove,” Claire began, “I would like to say that we are really excited about the move. We females tend to value luxury more than you males, and the thought of moving over to Eucalyptus Grove simply thrills all of us!”

  “Excellent! Here’s one case where the females won’t cause any problems for us!” old Chashibu joked, at which all the males broke out in laughter, though the Prestigious Koala King, wanting to seem impartial, tried to keep a straight face.

  “Well,” Claire responded cleverly, “I could go into all the cases where you males cause us problems, but if I did, we’d be here till tomorrow morning.”

  “Touché!” Gruffy remarked with a smile, and a twinkle in his eye.

  An amicable Business Deal

  Filthy’s wagon yard, up on the northern edge of Koalatown adjoining the forest, was busier than usual. They had four wagons there, two of average size, one a bit larger, and one that was so big that at least two king-sized anteaters were needed to pull it. Of course, Filthy and his helpers had made more wagons over the years, but they had all been sold. These days, however, he wasn’t even trying to find buyers, since he knew that in the space of only a couple of weeks, he was going to be able to make a pretty profit by renting out his four wagons to koalas in Koalaville who would need them for their migration. To be sure, his Koalaville competitor, Handy, also had wagons to rent, yet only three. Filthy wished he had ten more, for there was no doubt that even that many could be rented out during the weeks of the migration.

  “Hey, Mofoo, have you fixed the wheel on that wagon yet?” Filthy wanted to know.

  “It’s just about finished, boss. I had to completely replace one of the spokes. That crack in it couldn’t have been repaired anyway,” Mofoo replied.

  “Well, as long as we have the wagons ready in six days, ’cause that’s when we’ll have to get them over to Koalaville. Speaking of Koalaville, is Grubby back from there yet? He was supposed to go over again today and round up some more customers. We already have twenty-two on our list, but if we’re lucky, we should be able to get maybe ten or fifteen more in the next few days.”

  “Yeah, we’re gonna be rollin’ in nuts and berries once that migration is over. And I hear they have a good honey supply over there, too. Make sure some of them pay us in honey. Hmmm, I just love to dip my eucalyptus leaves in honey when I eat ’em!” Mofoo raved.

  “First things first. And first, we must get all the wagons ready and collect a bunch of customers, then we do the work, then we get paid, and only then do we enjoy,” Filthy, conscientious by nature, reminded his helper.

  “Oh, I know, but I can dream, can’t I?” Mofoo replied as he finished replacing the spoke. “There. The wheel’s as good as new now. Any more repairs to be made on the other three wagons, boss?”

  “Not that I could see. Believe it or not, we might already be all set, which would mean that we can have some rest these next few days, something we’re gonna need before those two weeks of work that are ahead of us.”

  “I sure could use it. I’ve only been gettin’ ten hours sleep a day this past week.”

  “I haven’t even gotten that. What you say we call it a day, and have a nice long nap?” Filthy suggested.

  “Hey, boss, that doesn’t sound like you at all, but I think I’ll take you up on the offer before you change your mind,” Mofoo responded, cleaning off his hands with a wet cloth. “I’ll be back in the morning to take one final check of all the wagons. Then maybe I can go over to Koalaville to help Grubby find new clients.”

  “Great idea. Time for a nap… oh, no!” Filthy suddenly remembered something. “You go take your nap. I just realized I have an appointment with Scruffy, to pick out the anteaters we’re gonna need for the wagons. Well, see you tomorrow, then.”

  “Bye boss! See ya!” Mofoo called as he walked off towards his tree.

  Filthy left the wagon yard, closing the gate in the fence that surrounded it behind him, and turned left to walk eastwards down the path along the grove’s northern sector towards Scruffy’s anteater corral, that was just next to the path entering the forest in the northeast. Arriving a few minutes later, he found Scruffy cleaning the fur of one of the larger anteaters with a brush made out of the bristles of a wild boar. Not that a boar had been killed for that purpose; the koalas killed no creature, except in self-defense. The boars, all of whom lived in boar forest, collected bristles that had fallen out of their hides, and then traded them to the koalas in return for tasty mushrooms that the koalas picked in the forest above Koalatown.

  “How you doin’, Scruffy? My, that looks like a sturdy creature!” Filthy began the conversation.

  “Hi Filthy. Sure is. This fellow is perhaps the strongest one I’ve got,” he replied, and then pointed to another anteater on the opposite side of the corral, which measured about thirty by forty feet. “That one over there is almost as strong. You can use these two to pull that big wagon of yours. Even if it’s fully loaded, these two critters won’t have any trouble pulling it.”

  “Great. Then I’ll definitely take those two. I’ll also need two others for the other big wagon, and four more – two each – for the two small wagons,” Filthy calculated.

  “Right. I’ve got ’em all ready. But maybe you’ll want another one to use to ride around on. After all, you and your workers will be taking quite a few trips over to Koalaville in these next few weeks,” Scruffy suggested.

  “Yeah, you may have a point, but I was thinking maybe we could stay over in Koalaville for a few weeks, since we’ll be working there every day, driving the wagons to Eucalyptus Grove and back. In that case, we wouldn’t need to return here till the migration is over,” Filthy explained.

  “Whatever you want, but if you would like one to ride, I suggest that fellow there,” Scruffy pointed to a medium-sized anteater with brown and white fur. “He’s really tame, yet frisky, so he can walk for hours without getting tired.”

  “Hmm, you know, even though I might not need him during the migration, it might not be bad to have an anteater of my own. With all I’ll be earning these next few weeks, I might consider purchasing one. Is he for sale?” Filthy inquired.

  “Well, he’s one of my favorites, to tell you the truth,” Scruffy hesitated.

  “Tryin’ to up the price, huh?” Filthy chuckled.

  “No, seriously. I’ve raised him since he was born.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know, and he’s only been ridden by a little old koala female who always took excellent care of him,” Filthy joked.

  “Huh, what are you talking about?” Scruffy was confused.

  “Just kidding. But if you would consider selling him, do let me know. After all, you could come over to the wagon yard and visit him any time you want. It’s only a couple of hundred yards away,” Filthy offered.

  “Well, I’ll think about it. Oh, should we sign the rental contract now? I have it all ready,” Scruffy walked over to a little table just outside the corral, and lifted up a stone which had been placed on the contract to keep it from blowing away. “Here it is. Contract for the rental of eight healthy anteaters, two large, two a bit smaller, and four medium-sized ones. Payment to be made in berries, nuts, and honey, amounts of each listed here below. Of course, I also accept mushrooms.”

  Filthy took the contract and studied it. “Looks just like what we agreed on. I have some baskets of nuts over at my place now. I could have them brought to you tomorrow, if you wish.”

  “No need to pay in advance, Filthy. I trust you, of course,” Scruffy replied.

  “Well, I’d rather give them to you tomorrow, so they’re out of the way. Who knows, if I keep ’em stored at my place, somebody might steal ’em when I go over to Koalaville.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard crime is on the rise even here in the north,” Scruffy commented. “When I moved up here a few years ago from the
southwest, it was to get away from all those criminals. But the other day, Mabo told me he arrested some lowlife who was having a wild brawl with three others right over there,” Scruffy pointed to the tree at the beginning of the forest path where Bumpy had been attacked.

  “Aren’t you afraid somebody might rustle your anteaters some day?” Filthy asked.

  “Naw, not really. All my creatures know me well. They wouldn’t go off with some stranger without putting up a fight. But I have to watch where I keep my nuts, berries and other delicacies. Wouldn’t want anybody to get any ideas about stealin’ ’em.”

  “Well, we’d better see to it that those rowdy koalas from the southwest don’t wander up here too often, I say. And if they do, we should chase them back south right away.”

  “I’m with you there,” Scruffy agreed.

  “Okay, I’ll get back to you in six days to pick up the anteaters, though I will need them pretty early, at sunrise, as a matter of fact,” Filthy knew that no koala liked to get up that early, but he wanted to start out as soon as he could to make the trip to Koalaville.

  “No problem at all,” Scruffy responded. “I’ll get them ready the night before, and then come down when you knock on my tree, and we can take them over to your place to hitch them to the wagons. When we’re finished, I can always come back to my tree and get some more sleep.”

  “I wish I could do that!” Filthy laughed. “But once they start that migration over there, my workers and I are going to be putting in some long hours for a few weeks.”

  “I don’t envy you at all,” Scruffy said, “but you will be earning quite a bit, so I guess it’s worth it.”

  “No doubt about that. I believe I’ll invest most of what I earn. I was thinking I could hire the carpenters over in Koalaville to make some fine details for one of my wagons. Sort of turn it into a luxury model, with ornately carved decorations around the sides of the seats, for example. Oh, and they could also make some water barrels that I could attach to the sides of the wagons, so that they can be used for long-distance travel. I’ve heard rumors that Mayor Koala would like to establish stronger relations with Koala City, up in the north of Koalaland,” Filthy told him.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard the same thing. That’s quite a distance from here, though. It’d take almost two days to get there, even by wagon with a couple of strong anteaters, the way I see it,” Scruffy added.

  “That should be about right. On the one hand, it seems like a long way to travel, but on the other hand, if we can establish trade relations with Northern Koalaland, things will really start booming here in the south. Why, I’ve heard they have products there we’ve never even heard of. They dress differently from us, too. I hear they wear long robes instead of overalls. Imagine!” Filthy said.

  “Sounds crazy to me,” Scruffy scoffed. “Suppose part of the robe gets caught in a branch, and you fall off. You could be dangling there for hours before someone figures out a way to get you down!”

  “Yeah, right. I’ll take overalls any day. Much more practical. But I’ll bet some of our females would love to buy some colorful gowns to wear,” Filthy figured.

  “As long as it’s pretty, females will buy it, no doubt,” Scruffy laughed. “But if I put on something like that, I think even my anteaters would laugh at me!”

  “Well, Scruffy, nice doin’ business with you. I’m gonna go get some sleep. I’ll get back to you six days from today, the second day of the second week of spring, around sunrise, as I said.”

  “Just be sure you knock on my tree loud enough, so I wake up,” Scruffy told him.

  “Will do. Bye now!” And with that, Filthy walked back to his tree next to the wagon yard, climbed up to his favorite branch, and was soon sound asleep.

  The softer Side of Justice

  Meanwhile, in south-central Koalatown...“Rolly, are you ready? I want to get over to the Tree of Justice and give that delinquent his trial before noon.” Mayor Koala was getting impatient.

  “Yeah, Mayor, let’s climb down and go on over.” Rolly and the Mayor made their way down the Mayoral Tree and headed eastwards towards the tree to which Chigow was chained.

  “Of course, he’s going to deny everything. They always do. Not that that will keep us from giving him his just punishment,” Judge Rolly said.

  “Rolly, we have to give this case a bit of thought. True, we could throw the book at him, and aim at his head. That would really hurt!” The Mayor laughed at his own joke, and then continued, “Or, we could sentence him to a few years of hard labor, for example. Yet I think that there is something greater at stake here, something that might require a bit more flexibility on our part.”

  “Huh?” Rolly was surprised. “Since when are we flexible with criminals?”

  “Look, Rolly. This Chigow, though he’s from Koalaville, is a common thief, of the type that we have loads of here in Koalatown. The way I see it, the real danger is that accomplice of his, Bumpy, the one that knows how to open the shackles on the leg irons. Imagine if he teaches that trick to all the scoundrels creeping around Koalaland. Why, we wouldn’t be able to keep any of them chained up for even an hour. We’d be powerless to control crime!”

  “Hmm, good point. So do you have any suggestions?” Rolly was curious now.

  “As a matter of fact, I do indeed. We have to use Chigow to get to Bumpy, then arrest him, put him under guard, and find out what he used to open the shackles. In a word, we have to stop Bumpy before he shares his technology with other criminals.”

  “Interesting idea, no doubt,” Rolly muttered. “How about if I’m the hard-liner, and you’re Mr. Compassion?”

  “Great! He’ll be talking in no time – just you wait!” Mayor Koala laughed.

  Chigow saw the Judge and the Mayor approaching the Tree of Justice. “Hey, lamebrain,” he said to his guard, “I see a couple of thugs comin’ this way. If you let ’em lynch me, I swear I’ll come back as a ghost and scare the devil outta ya!”

  “Shut your trap, before I shut it for you,” the guard menaced. “One more word, and I’ll tell ’em to add a couple of months to your sentence.”

  “Oh, I see. You’ve already all decided I’m guilty, even before my trial. Fine system of justice this is!”

  “Chigow, I am Mayor Koala, and this is our Judge, Rolly.”

  “Greetings, Your Majesties. I declare that I’m innocent on all charges, whatever they may be, so you can let me go home now,” Chigow remarked sarcastically.

  “First of all, don’t call us ‘Your Majesties’. We don’t have a monarchy here in Koalatown. We have democracy,” Judge Rolly sternly informed him.

  “Democr… what? Hey! Get away from me, it might be contagious!” Chigow mocked.

  “Democracy is not a sickness; it’s a superior form of government,” Mayor Koala explained. “But enough of this nonsense, it’s time for your trial. Rolly, what are the specific charges?”

  “Burglary in the first degree; breaking and entering into the shack of Tama, and trying to make off with a large number of bottles of eucalyptus liquor. In addition, an almost successful attempt to escape in order to evade justice.”

  “And what punishment do you recommend?” the Mayor asked.

  “Hmm... I’d say that twenty years of hard labor ought to do it. We can have him break rocks.”

  “Twenty years!” Chigow was startled. “All I did was try to steal a little booze, and I didn’t even get away with it! Twenty days would be more like it!”

  “Hmm, that’ll be one more year for contempt of court,” Rolly jotted down in a little notebook.

  Chigow was mortified, and started to beg. “Oh, please, I don’t deserve such a sentence. Couldn’t you forgive me just this one time? I promise I won’t ever try to steal anything again. Give me one more chance!”

  “Hah!” Rolly scoffed. “They’re always sorry once sentence is passed! But you’re not fooling anybody. You will never change. So it is the ruling of this court that you be put to work building roads he
re in Koalatown, that is, after you’ve spent the first ten years breaking up the rocks needed to pave them. See that big iron ball over there?” the Judge asked him, pointing to a black metal ball, about eight inches in diameter, that was lying off to the left of the tree. It was connected to a two-foot chain that ended in an ankle shackle.

  “Yeah,” Chigow replied. “What’s that for?”

  “We’ll chain you to that so you can’t get away, and then take you up to the place where you’re going to be working. There are a bunch of rocks up there that you’ll be breaking up with a big hammer. Since you’re still young, you should be able to finish the road in about twenty years, more or less,” the Judge explained.

  “Oh, look Judge, Your Excellency, sir… Gimme a break! I’m no good at breakin’ rocks!”

  “You will be once you’ve got a few years experience,” the Judge snickered.

  “But I’ve got my life ahead of me! I want to go back to my grove, be with my friends! And anyway, what’s the sense of breakin’ rocks? Can’t you make roads without rocks?”

  “Yeah, we could, but then you wouldn’t suffer as much. And as far as your future is concerned, you should have thought of that before you turned to crime.” The Judge was firm.

  Chigow now had tears in his eyes, for he realized that there would be no more joy in life for him.

  “Hmmm… Chigow, maybe there is some other way,” Mayor Koala feigned compassion.

  “Oh, please, sir, yes, I’ll do whatever you ask. Just let me go!” Chigow pleaded.

  “Well, there is something you could do for us, but … No, I could never ask that of you,” the Mayor hesitated.

  “Tell me what it is! Anything!”

  “Well, the koala we’d really like to punish is that Bumpy, the one that freed himself, Blimpy and you, enabling all of you to escape. We don’t know how he did it, but we’d sure like to find out. But, oh, no, we’d never ask you to rat on a friend. We could never expect you to do that.”

  “Hey, he’s no friend of mine. I’ll tell you anything you wanna know!” Chigow now saw a ray of hope.

  “Hmmm. First of all, how did he open those shackles?” the Mayor asked.

  “He used a little metal rod, about four inches long. He keeps it in his pocket.”

  “And where does this Bumpy live?” the Judge asked.

  “He lives in Koalaville, in a tree in the north-central part, with his mangy friend Humpy, and that dimwit Dumpy.”

  “Hmm. Very interesting. Judge, let’s have a little private chat about this situation,” Mayor Koala suggested.

  They walked over to a nearby tree. “Rolly, with that information, we might be able to locate Bumpy.”

  “Exactly. I’ll write a letter to Judge Grandaddy, explaining the situation, and requesting that they arrest Bumpy and send him to us, so that we can try him here. Grandaddy would be glad to rid his grove of a delinquent, so I think he’ll go along with it. But what should we do with Chigow?”

  “I’d say one week of community service should do it,” the Mayor replied.

  “One week of community service!” Rolly was shocked. “That’s a far cry from twenty-one years of hard labor!”

  “Look, Rolly. If we give him a really lenient sentence, he’ll be all the more grateful, and we won’t have him as an enemy in the future. And besides, if we have him break rocks, he’ll no doubt escape before long anyway, iron ball or not, and that’ll just make us look dumb.”

  “Good point. You really do think like a politician. But Tama will be furious when he hears you let Chigow off so easy. The lock on his shack was completely broken during the burglary, you know,” Rolly reminded him.

  “Yeah, I know, but that Tama deserves it. You know those bottles of eucalyptus liquor he sent us last month to pay his taxes with?”

  “Yeah, what about ’em?” Judge Rolly asked.

  “Well, I opened one the other night and took a gulp, and could tell right away that he had watered it down. Thought he could cheat us! I didn’t want to confront him directly, considering his wealth and influence here in the grove, but letting off Chigow real easy might be a way of subtly giving Tama the message that he can’t fool with us like that.”

  “Yeah, I like it,” the Judge responded. “Tama needs to be put in his place. Watered-down liquor! Why, the nerve…”

  “It’s agreed, then. Let’s go tell Chigow our decision.”

  “Chigow Koala, please stand up to hear your sentence,” the Judge began.

  “Oh, please, Your Greatness, please show some mercy!” Chigow begged nervously.

  “Aw, calm down. We’re going to let you off easy,” Mayor Koala consoled him.

  “You are?” Chigow asked, not quite believing it.

  “Your sentence will be one week of community service. Collecting berries and nuts in the forest, and then distributing them among the elderly here in Koalatown.”

  “Really? Is that all I’ve gotta do?” Chigow rejoiced, not believing his luck.

  “That, and promise not to ever try to steal anything again here in Koalatown,” the Judge replied.

  “Oh, I promise, I do, I really do! Oh, but may I make a request?” Chigow asked a bit timidly.

  “Hey, don’t push your luck! What is it?” the Mayor wanted to know.

  “Well, as you know, the migration is comin’ up, and I’d like to be there to take part. I’ve gotta get my new tree in Eucalyptus Grove and move my stuff over there from Koalaville. Could I start my sentence in two weeks, maybe?”

  “Hmmm. You’re asking a lot,” Mayor Koala seemed displeased at first, but then he smiled, “but just to show you that we, Koalatown’s leaders, are understanding as well as compassionate, we will grant you your wish, under one condition.”

  “Yeah? What’s the condition?” Chigow asked.

  “We’d like you to speak with Judge Grandaddy, and confirm what I’m going to write to him in a letter. Tell him that Bumpy Koala masterminded your escape, and that he is a dangerous influence on the koala community in general,” the Mayor replied.

  “Hey, no problem! Especially since it’s true,” Chigow answered. “I never did like that Bumpy. He thinks he’s so smart!”

  “Well, then, with a little bit of help from you, maybe we can see to it that Bumpy is the one who gets to break up those rocks,” Judge Rolly said.

  “Fine, Judge, Your Honor, sir. I’ll talk to Judge Grandaddy as soon as I get back to Koalaville. Uuuuh… when can I leave?”

  “Guard, unlock that shackle, and set the prisoner free,” the Mayor ordered. “And remember, Chigow, we’ve got a deal. You talk to Grandaddy, and in two weeks, we expect to see you back here to do your community service. If you don’t show up, you’ll never be able to come back to Koalatown without being arrested, and you know what that means: you’ll be breaking rocks right next to Bumpy, and I don’t think he would make life very easy for you in that situation.”

  “Are you kiddin’? He’d kill me! Oh, sure, I’ll do that community service, gladly I will! And thank you so much for lettin’ me off so easy!”

  “Just don’t forget it, young koala. Oh, and if we ever need some other favor from you in the future, I suppose we will be able to count on you?” the Judge asked.

  “Oh, yes, of course, sir. I’ll always be glad to help you!”

  “Okay, then,” the Judge said after the guard had unlocked the shackle, “get on back to your grove. And stay out of trouble!”

  “Sure, Judge, I will. Bye! Bye Mayor Koala!” Chigow said as he trotted off north-eastwards, in order to take the forest path back to Koalaville.

  “A ‘favor from you in the future’, Rolly?” Mayor Koala laughed. “Now you are starting to sound like a politician!”

  “I must have learned it from you,” Rolly responded. “You never know when we could use a little favor, after all.”

  “Indeed,” Mayor Koala agreed. “Well, I’d say we dealt with that Chigow rather cleverly. Now how about some lunch and a game of cards?”

&
nbsp; “Just what I was thinking,” Rolly responded, and the two strolled back to the Mayoral Tree.

  Feathered Friends

  The emus were an ornery bunch. True, they had been more or less domesticated by the koalas almost three hundred years earlier, even before the koalas had begun to speak a developed language. No-one knows who the first koala was who came up with the idea of climbing up on an emu’s back and trying to ride him, but there’s no doubt that he didn’t find it easy, and may well have received a powerful peck, a smarting snap, or a swift kick from the enraged bird once he was thrown off. Yet as the years passed, the emus in Southern Koalaland, who had migrated from a grove off to the south into koala territory, had become used to living with the koalas, and had lost any aversion they had had to being mounted. As a matter of fact, they also occasionally served to pull small carts that were used to travel between Koalaville and Koalatown, and that could hold three koalas, including the driver, although the anteaters were almost always preferred for pulling carts and wagons of all varieties, since their four legs gave them more drawing power.

  Not that the emus were mere beasts of burden in the ordinary sense. Every koala knew that their feathered friends were in fact quite intelligent, and if they collaborated with the koalas, they no doubt had good reasons for doing so.

  There were many stories of how an emu had shown extraordinary cleverness, and they had excellent memories. On one occasion, an emu simply walked up to a koala and gave him a painful peck on his head, causing loud laments on the part of the victim. Nobody knew why the bird had attacked, until the koala himself admitted that some two years earlier, he had used his slingshot to shoot at that very emu, and had hit him on the left side of the head – the exact spot where the koala had received the peck!

  Since the language of the emu was so very different from that of the koala, the two species were unable to communicate very well. Only after the Great Migration would Bashful Koala learn the emu tongue, and begin to serve as translator for his grove.

  Yet even before that, there was remarkable proof of the intellectual prowess of certain emus, most especially William. That was not what the other emus called him, of course, but since his name in the emu language was impossible for any koala to pronounce, they simply decided to call him William, that being a bit similar to the squawking sound of his name in emu.

  William had always shown a love of music, which was rather peculiar, considering the fact that the emus had, as far as anyone knew, no musical culture of their own. But from the time he was a baby bird, he had liked to walk over to where the musician koalas were practicing, and spend long hours listening to the tunes they played on their drums, their stringed instruments of different sizes – that were usually played with bows, and greatly resembled our violins and cellos (though they were naturally of a smaller size) – their flutes, and various other wind instruments.

  Having noticed that the musicians were staring at pieces if paper when playing – the musical scores – William got into the habit of getting close to them, where he, too, could look at the page. He deduced that they were somehow reading the music from the page, and this completely fascinated him. He especially liked to stand next to Amaty, musician and instrument maker, who played an instrument very similar to the viola da gamba.

  William loved the smooth, mellow, melancholy sound it produced. Amaty noticed the interest the bird showed in the score, and soon began to teach him the connections between the printed notes and the musical sounds. This was no mean task, of course, since the two had no common language, but within just a few weeks, William had recognized the connections between the symbols and the sounds. This he demonstrated in a most amazing manner.

  One afternoon, William was with Amaty, and suddenly, he began to scratch something into the dirt. It was a set of six parallel lines that ran left to right. (Our system of musical notation uses the pentagram, a system of five lines; the koalas, however, use six.) Then, as Amaty watched with ever-growing curiosity, William bent down and began to use his beak to peck dots onto, and between, those lines. When he was finished, Amaty sat on his chair, placed his instrument between his legs, picked up his bow and began to play what William had written. It was a miracle: the emu had just composed one of the most beautiful melodies that Amaty – or any of his musician friends, for that matter – had ever heard in their lives.

  This was only the beginning. William composed much more music, always writing it in the dirt (since he had no hand with which to use a pen), after which a koala would copy it onto paper. Apparently becoming bored with monophony (a single musical line) after a month or so, he soon started to compose polyphonic (multi-voiced) music, far more complex than the simple melody-accompaniment scheme that the koalas had been accustomed to.

  William had soon established an incredible reputation for being the most musically talented creature in Southern, and probably all, of Koalaland. He could compose a melody without giving it any forethought. A more extended work, with three or even four independent voices, required only a day or two of his time, and all the musicians opined that if William had been able to use a pen to notate his music, he would be tossing off fine compositions at an even faster pace, an opinion that later proved true, when someone finally thought of sticking a pen in the bird’s beak, placing an ink bottle in front of him, showing him how to dip the pen into the ink, and then to jot down the notes on a piece of lined paper.

  Unfortunately for William, however, not all the koalas had the refinement to fully enjoy his compositions. They were not at all popular, for example, in Koalatown, for the koalas there thought that music without drums wasn’t really music at all, and William, in general, preferred to employ the more subtle instruments in his works, obviously feeling that the excessive use of drums was somewhat primitive.

  The koalas whose musical tastes had reached a higher level of refinement, however, were always astonished when one of William’s compositions was played, and were often moved to tears by the two qualities that permeated his works most often: nostalgic melancholy, combined with sublime dignity. And though only connoisseurs could fully appreciate his creations, William couldn’t have cared less: for him, expressing himself through his art was all that was important. Whoever could understand him would do so, and whoever couldn’t, wasn’t worth trying to please, as far as he was concerned.

  This attitude was perhaps part and parcel of his emu character, for as we insinuated earlier, the emus were not the friendliest creatures around. Often seeming to be in a perpetually bad mood, they could get rough if crossed or treated badly, as some koalas had discovered when they were rudely squawked at, or even pecked, after offending an emu in some way or another.

  It is said that in the early days of emu-koala collaboration, such attacks were quite common, perhaps because the two species were suspicious of each other’s motives, but such violence was later rather rare, once each had learned how to deal with the idiosyncrasies of the other, in order to live in relative harmony.

  The first great battle with the hyenas is now considered to be a milestone in the relations between koalas and emus. Some 256 years ago, when a large horde of hyenas, over a period of several months, launched a series of devastating attacks on Southern Koalaland, killing many of its inhabitants, it was the legendary leader Gimpy Koala who first organized the “emu cavalry”.

  Koalas who had learned to ride emus practiced using slingshots, spears, and bows and arrows while mounted on the big birds, and were, in the end, able to fight off the hyenas, killing almost half of the invaders in the process. After that, it was years before the hyenas dared to show their ugly faces in Koalaland again. The emus had a natural hatred of these beasts anyway, and when they saw the koalas’ determination to fight them, the birds were impressed by the great courage of their little friends, and were, for their part, most willing to help by carrying them into battle, during which they also fought, using their beaks to peck out the eyes of hyenas who got too close, or else by delivering
powerful kicks to the sensitive areas of the aggressors’ bodies.

  After that, the emu cavalry, as it had come to be called, was a most potent weapon in the koalas’ defense arsenal, though it had virtually disappeared by modern times, no doubt because hyena attacks had become rare events.

  Though there was, at times, still tension between emus and koalas, they had learned to accept, and even to respect, one another, and this good will ultimately helped to smooth out any differences they occasionally had. Once verbal communication between the two species became possible through translators, their relationship would improve with leaps and bounds, and within a year after the Great Migration, a new level of understanding and tolerance would be achieved between the furry koalas, and their large, feathered friends. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

  The Eve of the Migration

  “Oh, father, we have so much work to do! How are we ever going to get all this furniture over to Eucalyptus Grove?” Maki despaired. “Most of it is only half finished; we’ll have to be especially careful with it. And then there’s our entire supply of wood!”

  “Calm down, child,” Nory comforted her. “We’ll get it done, little by little. We will have a big wagon at our disposal, after all, and we can take a few weeks to move everything, if necessary.”

  “I know, but that’s a problem, too. If we move some of it and begin to live there, who will protect what we left behind for the next day? Somebody could just walk over here and take whatever they want!” Maki was worried.

  “Well, you know there aren’t many thieves in our grove. Most koalas here are decent and honest. But I know that there are some who have a doubtful reputation, to say the least. That’s why I’ve talked to Handy about this, and he told me he or one of his helpers would keep a special watch on our things until we get it all moved. The furniture is the main thing. After all, nobody wants to steal simple pieces of wood,” Nory said.

  “Oh, that is nice of Handy. It will be a help. When all of this is over, maybe I’ll bake him a delicious eucalyptus pie to thank him.”

  “That would be a nice gesture. And maybe we could give him one of these nice little boxes, too,” Nory added.

  “Yes, that is a fine idea,” Maki replied. “Father, do you think I might go take a nap now? I’ve been working for hours, trying to prepare all this stuff for the move, and I’m so tired,” she said, yawning.

  “But of course. Go make us some lunch while I finish sorting these pieces of wood here, then we can both eat and have a nap,” Nory, who was also getting weary after five hours of work, suggested. Sitting in the little living room of their tree house, they ate a nourishing lunch consisting of leaves, mushrooms, a few berries, and then a few more leaves, this time dipped in honey, for dessert, after which both went to their bedrooms, where they settled down for a well-deserved two-hour nap.

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