Mudpoo and the Magic Tree Stump

by Peter Klein

  “Let’s anchor the boat so they can’t get out; we’ll have to find another rope and harpoon quickly!” snarled Bones who was very angry, he could see at least six whales trapped in the little icy bay.

  As the pirates bumbled and fumbled and searched and grumbled looking for another rope and harpoon, the whales had their own meeting.

  “They’re trying to kill us” said a very frightened minke whale,

  “and they’ve blocked our way out!”

  The humpback whales discussed the matter. “We could all try and escape together, but one of us might get hurt,” declared the largest humpback, gravely.

  “It’s too shallow at the entrance to swim under their boat,” moaned another sad minke.

  Then Humpy, the youngest of them all, spoke; “If we contact my friend Mudpoo, who I met in Hervey Bay last year, I’m sure he could help.”

  All the whales looked at Humpy, the young humpback who had spoken. It was possible that Mudpoo could actually help. After all, he had, taught the whales to sing a new song called ‘The Blue Danube’ and it was very popular with all the humpback whales. (Humpy was actually quite famous in the whale world for being the first to learn that tune from Mudpoo!)

  “Even if your friend can stop the pirates shooting at us, which I doubt, how could we possibly contact him?” queried the largest and oldest humpback with a frown.

  “Maybe we could use our whale song and sing words that say, ‘we are trapped by pirates and we need Mudpoo’s help to stop them’,” suggested Humpy, rather hopefully.

  The largest and oldest humpback replied, “Young Humpy has a good idea, we can try to sing a message for help, but we still need to think of another plan in case it doesn’t work.”

  And so . . . the wise old male humpback swam to the bottom of the icy bay, spread out his pectoral fins and boomed out his whale song using a series of squeaks, squeals, moans and groans. In human words, his song said; “Help! We are trapped by pirates in a bay near the Antarctic peninsula, tell mudpoo, the singing boy from Australia, to help us . . . Urgently!”

  Many whales outside the icy bay, deep in the Southern Ocean heard their urgent song for help. They repeated the song to other whales that were already on their way to Australia.

  By a miracle of nature, the song very quickly travelled along the ten thousand kilometres from Antarctica to Australia, passing from whale to whale all the way along. In years to come, this would become known as the ‘Incredible Whale Rescue Song’.

  In less than a day after it was first passed on, the song was being sung by a pod of whales that were swimming along the shores of Bluff Beach near Iluka. All they had to do now was get Mudpoo’s attention.

  Humpback whales are very clever and what they did next is proof of it. The oldest and wisest of this group of whales decided that they could use their blowholes to alert Mudpoo. If they blew three short blows, three longblows and three more short blows, there was a good chance that Mudpoo might see it.

  (Whales have a ‘blowhole’ that releases a blast of warm air from the whales lungs. As the blast hits the cooler air, it creates a vapour cloud that can be seen from far away.)

  But even if he could see the blowhole signals from the whales, how would Mudpoo know that the signal was for him? Or what it meant?

  And what on earth could he do about it anyhow?

  Perhaps Mudpoo’s whale friends were doomed to be harpooned by the horrible, mean, smelly pirates.

  Clancy Koala was munching on her favourite gum leaves in her favourite tree in the Iluka rainforest. Her view was wonderful. She could see way past Iluka beach, all the way out to the ocean. Even though koala’s haven’t got very good eyesight, she saw something that caught her attention.

  “GREAT GATHERING-GUMNUTS! There’s something happening out at sea near Bluff Beach!” she cried in a shrill, high-pitched voice.

  Kev the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Sally the snake and Percy the possum, who’d all been sleeping near the Magic Tree Stump, looked up together at once.

  “What do you see?” they asked.

  “Whales, blowing lots of air out of their blow holes,” exclaimed Clancy, “I think something is up.”

  “QUICK-STICKS, we’d better have a look, I’ll tell the others,” replied Kev and he quickly flew around and alerted everyone he could find.

  Kev told Andrenna the ant, Sally the snake, Foggerty the frog, Percy the possum, and Sammy the silver gull, to meet down at the cliff overlooking the beach.

  It was just as Clancy had described it. The whales were signalling a message with bursts from their spouts.

  “What does it mean?” asked Kev, looking to Foggerty for an answer.

  Foggerty frowned, he was thinking hard, “GOT IT,” he yelled, “three short blows, three long blows, three short blows . . . it’s an SOS message in Morse Code! I learnt about it at the Iluka school,” he shouted loudly, “someone needs our help!”

  “Morse what..?” squawked Kev.

  “Never mind,” said Foggerty, “I have a plan. Kev, fly off and find Grumblegoo, we all need to meet at the Magic Tree Stump at once. There’s not a moment to lose, QUICK-STICKS!”

  With that said, they all scrambled hurriedly back to the Magic Tree Stump.

  Grumblegoo had been fishing and hurried to meet the others as fast as she could run (which really is very, very fast).

  “What is your plan Foggerty?” Grumblegoo asked, puffing and blowing, a little out of breath.

  “The whales are signalling an SOS. We need someone who hasn’t made a wish yet to find out what is wrong . . . SOMEONE NEEDS TO TALK WHALE!” said Foggerty.

  “Sammy the silver gull hasn’t made a wish yet!” said Grumblegoo, spying Sammy looking on nearby.

  “Kev, tell Sammy I need him to do something very important,” said Grumblegoo.

  “BURSTING-BUNYIPS,” squawked Kev, “what?”

  “Tell Sammy to stand on the Magic Tree Stump and wish that he can speak whale and . . . also wish that he can speak to us . . .” she added as an important afterthought.

  Sammy did exactly as he was told and as soon as he did, there was a kind of ‘SWOOSHING’ sound, followed by a shiny, swirling dust that covered him up.

  “Well? Say something Sammy. Did it work? Can you speak?” asked Grumblegoo.

  “SIZZLING-SAUSAGES, Sammy the silver gull at your service!” replied Sammy. Everyone clapped and cheered!

  “QUICK-STICKS Sammy,” shouted Grumblegoo, “fly out to the whales and ask them what is wrong.”

  Before you could blink an eyelid, Sammy the silver gull was zooming out to sea. The humpback whales were relieved that someone had finally responded to their message of distress. They were flabbergasted that it was Sammy who had come for their message, a silver gull that could speak whale!

  “Well I never . . .” whispered the wise old humpback whale, in a kind, echoic voice, “you are indeed a clever gull. Whatever you do, you must act with great haste. You must find the small boy called Mudpoo, who taught the whales our favourite song and ask him to find a way to stop the pirates from killing our friends in Antarctica.”

  Sammy quickly flew back to the anxiously waiting animals and told them the whole story.

  “We need to find Mudpoo fast,” said Grumblegoo thoughtfully, “all of us must spread out and search the Iluka camping sites for the boy called Mudpoo. There’s not a moment to lose!”

  It was Foggerty frog who found Jess.

  She was out for her early morning stroll on Woodyhead beach. Jess loved frogs and was pleased to meet a green tree frog that could talk. Foggerty, who always said ‘never judge a book by its cover,’ trusted Jess at once. He knew that dogs could be dangerous, but Jess was trustworthy and Foggerty knew it from the first moment he looked at her gentle face.

  “I’m searching for a boy called Mudpoo and he needs to come with me at once to meet Grumblegoo,” stammered Foggerty, “it’s a matter of life and death, Mudpoo’s whale friends are in grave danger.”

  “I c
an help you cried Jess, hop onto my back and I’ll take you to him.”

  Jess raced back to camp in the stillness of the early morning, where silently and urgently she awoke Harry, repeating Foggerty’s request. Harry, who had heard Captain Pete’s scary Grumblegoo story only the night before, felt a little worried. Still, he trusted Jess and this strange little talking tree frog. Most of all, he could sense their urgency!

  “Wake up Mudpoo,” Harry loudly whispered, “you need to follow me at once, we need to help our humpback whale friends, they’re in great danger.”

  It might have been because of Mudpoo’s dream that night, but somehow he had already sensed that his whale friends were in great danger and he needed to do something. He quickly jumped out of his sleeping bag and followed the others, running toward the beach.

  Early that morning, a fisherman on Back Beach thought he was dreaming when a small, barefoot boy, two dogs and a frog, all raced by, one after the other, together in a mad hurry . . .

  “Why on earth are they in such a hurry, so early in the morning?” wondered the fisherman as he scratched his head.

  Back at Mudpoo’s camp, Liz, Rod and Captain Pete were still sleeping, tired from their long drive. Someone was snoring loudly with ‘ZZZZZ’ sounds vibrating through the morning air. It would be a few hours before they would awake to discover that Mudpoo, Jess and Harry were gone.

  “This way, QUICK-STICKS!,” puffed Foggerty as they ran up, past the beach, to the Iluka Bluff. Kev and Sammy had seen them coming and were encouraging them along.

  “BUST-MY-BILLY, it’s not far now,” squawked Kev.

  “SIZZLING-SAUSAGES, there are humpback whales under attack in Antarctica,” said Sammy silver gull, as he soared just above Mudpoo’s head.

  “They sang a message that was passed from Antarctica to the humpback whales at Iluka Bluff to ask you to stop the pirates!” stammered Foggerty, trying hard to think and talk and hop all at the same time as they all clambered up to the very top of the bluff.

  “Not far now,” cried Kev.

  Clancy koala, high in her tree above the Magic Tree Stump, was keeping a lookout, “GREAT-GATHERING-GUMNUTS! They’ve found him, they’ve found Mudpoo and they’re nearly here!” she cried excitably.

  Grumblegoo hid behind some bushes. Perhaps Mudpoo would be scared of her? She understood that they could only save the whales if they worked together. She’d been able to keep the forest safe for all the trees and animals by being very scary to humans. She also knew that Mudpoo was asked to save the whales, so if she was going to help, she had to be friendly and allow him to use the Magic Tree Stump

  Mudpoo arrived at the Magic Tree Stump, looking puffed and concerned. He stopped for a moment to look around at Sally, Kev, Percy, Andrenna, Harry, Jess, Sammy and Foggerty.

  “What am I meant to do?” he asked quietly.

  And just at that moment, Grumblegoo appeared . . . trying very hard not to look too scary (and finding that a very difficult thing to do).

  “Hello,” she gargled, her eyes were bulging and her nostrils were flared a little because of all the excitement.

  “Yike . . .Crikey,” yelped Mudpoo, who felt like running, but couldn’t. He was frozen on the spot! After all, didn’t Captain Pete say that Grumblegoo had been known to gobble people up in a single gulp?

  Mudpoo swallowed nervously. He didn’t run though. He trusted his friends Harry and Jess and they would know if there was any danger. He felt nothing but warmth and friendship from all the creatures.

  Then Grumblegoo spoke. Mudpoo listened very carefully to Grumblegoo’s words.

  “You may use my Magic Tree Stump to make a wish which will save our humpback whale friends. Use it wisely, as you only have one second to make your wish and you only get one wishing chance!”

  With that said, Grumblegoo disappeared. It really was against her better judgment to be seen by a human, unless she was very, very busy scaring them.

  Kev, realising they were running out of time, screamed out to Mudpoo, “QUICK-STICKS, get up onto the Magic Tree Stump and make your wish, before it’s too late!”

  Mudpoo climbed onto the Magic Tree Stump.

  As he stood there, he thought about his humpback whale friends and how magnificent and magical they were. He thought about how they had enough power in two beats of their tail to lift their enormous 40 tonne bodies into the air.

  And right then . . . he knew exactly what to wish . . .

  I’ve found a new rope,” cried Snot triumphantly, as he passed it to Grot.

  “This time tie it proper, good and tight,” grumbled Bones.

  “It’s those pesky rats,” complained Grot, they must’ve chewed through the rope.

  “Stop the chatter and get on with it,” snapped Pong, who handed Grot a new harpoon.

  Meanwhile the whales had decided on a new plan. The wise old humpback decided that if they all stayed close to the ice until the pirate boat got close; they could swim quickly to either side of the boat and hopefully get to the opening before the pirates did.

  It was a risky plan, but well worth a try, so all the whales agreed to give it a go.“Harpoon is ready,” muttered Grot.

  “FINALLY,” sneered Bones who always allowed Grot to shoot (so he could complain if he missed), “ABOUT TIME.”

  “FULL STEAM AHEAD,” they all yelled to Pong who was steering the horrible boat.

  The miserable, old, creaking pirate boat was now heading towards the pod of whales that were waiting near the ice.

  “WE’RE GOING TO BE KILLED!” moaned the poor minke whales.

  “Go, GO, NOW!” yelled the large old humpback, “I’ll stay here as a decoy.”

  Some of the whales dived out of the way of the boat, as it steamed towards the remaining whales.

  “Three whales and there’s no escape!” shouted Snot gleefully.

  “They’re as good as dead!” growled Bones.

  “Now aim carefully at the minke whale, you can’t miss!” yelled Pong from the deck, steering the boat right up to the three whales.

  The pirates were filled with expectation and glee, their horrible, pointy pirate harpoon was aimed straight at the minke whales. They were very excited and certain that this time, they were going to hit their target!

  At this exact moment, surrounded by the forest animals and his friends, Mudpoo stood on the Magic Tree Stump. They watched him in hushed expectation.

  “One wish. One wish. The right wish. It must be the right wish!” Mudpoo remembered Grumblegoo’s wise words as he concentrated hard.

  “My friends the whales, I’ve got to save them!”

  With a look of grim determination, Mudpoo carefully announced his wish . . .

  “I wish that any whale in danger from a whaling boat’s harpoon will magically vanish and safely reappear in the ocean near Iluka!”

  Suddenly, there was a loud SWOOSHING sound and lots of SWIRLING, sparkling things flying all around Mudpoo . . . and then . . . booming KEEEERRR-SPLASHING sounds were heard not far from Bluff Beach!

  I wish you could have seen the pirates’ faces when Grot fired the harpoon.

  Their tremendous excitement as it exploded and jettisoned toward the whales, changed into shocked disbelief when all of the whales, every single one of them, vanished into thin air.

  The pirates were stunned and stood frozen, dumbfounded, rubbing their eyes with their mouths wide open.

  There are so many amazing things that I’d love to show you in Antarctica, but nothing would be as amazing as seeing those magical disappearing whales.

  “WHAAABABABABABABAAAA . . . ?” blubbered Bones.

  “GHHERRR-HA-GHHERRR” groaned Grot.

  “SHHEEEEESSSSSSH?” snivelled Snot.

  “PHRRRKKZZZZ?” blew Pong.

  Never had the pirates been so stunned, confused, or scared, as they slowly inspected the empty bay. Not a single whale was anywhere to be seen.

  “THAT’S IT,” muttered Grot, “no more beer for me forever.”

&nbs
p; “I agree,” a very pale Snot replied, “I think I need to lie down.”

  “I want to go home,” said a frightened Bones.

  “I don’t like being a pirate anymore,” snivelled Pong.

  “We need a break,” grizzled Grot.

  “I’m sick of the sea,” complained Pong.

  “Let’s do something different,” suggested Snot.

  All of the pirates agreed that they needed a holiday.

  “I’ve heard Australia is a nice place for a holiday...” murmured Grot quietly.

  (The horrible pirates were never seen hunting whales again. In fact, someone I know heard that they had given up hunting altogether, sold their pirate boat and used the money to open up a flower shop, somewhere in tropical North Queensland... in Australia).

  Captain Pete was dosing as the early morning sun gently patted his face. He’d been dreaming that he was dressed like Ned Kelly, (the famous Australian Bush Ranger, who made his last stand at Glenrowan in North-East Victoria, dressed in armour, around 1878) and was fighting a fierce, bouncing goanna. A wonderful aroma filled his nostrils and he awoke with a grin.

  Rod and Liz were already up and wide awake, cooking some yummy pancakes for breakfast.

  “The others must’ve gone for an early morning walk,” said Rod cheerfully, “I’ve got the billy on the boil.”

  “Let’s follow their tracks in the sand . . . ” suggested Captain Pete, “ . . . AFTER breakfast!” As Liz, Rod and Captain Pete tucked into their very yummy breakfast, they were blissfully unaware of the extraordinary events unfolding just around the corner at Bluff Beach.

  And those events were very extraordinary indeed . . .

  “GATHERING-GUMNUTS!” cried Clancy Koala from her vantage point way up in her gum tree, “WHALE HO!”

  “SiZZLinG-SauSaGeS!” squawked Sammy silver gull, “Whales! Flying whales!”