by Monica Lim
Praise for Danger Dan Confronts the Merlion Mastermind
“Easy to read, funny and uniquely Singaporean. I can’t wait to read the next adventure!”
—Megan, 10, St Anthony’s Canossian Primary School
“Super funny! Danger Dan has the best jokes ever! I couldn’t stop laughing!”
—Benjamin, 7, Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
“It was so fun I read it all in one day. I want to read the whole series!”
—James, 9, St Stephen’s School
“I like Danger Dan so much. His adventures are funny yet so cool.”
—Alejandro, 10, International Community School
“A relaxing read. The history and culture of Singapore are cleverly weaved into an adventurous story.”
—Louise Law, Festival Manager, Hong Kong International Literary Festival
“Danger Dan cleverly weaves moments of history into an entertaining read. A page-turner!”
—Yao Lingyun, Educator, Nanyang Girls’ High School
“An entertaining story! It was hard to put down. Kudos to this mother-and-daughter duo for a well-written tale of adventure.”
—Sher-li Torrey, Founder, Mums@Work
“A fun and funny adventure! An exciting debut by one of Singapore’s youngest authors!”
—Adeline Foo, author of The Diary of Amos Lee series
“Laugh-out-loud funny!”
—A.J. Low, author of Sherlock Sam series
“Warning: Danger Dan is dangerously fun. A solid hit. Kids, parents and even teachers will love this book!”
—David Seow, author of Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di series
written by
Lesley-Anne & Monica Lim
illustrated by
James Tan
Copyright © 2014 by Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan
lllustrations copyright © 2014 Epigram Books
All rights reserved.
Published in Singapore by Epigram Books.
www.epigrambooks.sg
Illustrations by James Tan
Edited by Ruth Wan
Cover design and book layout by Lydia Wong
Published with the support of
National Library Board, Singapore
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Lim, Monica
DANGER DAN TACKLES THE MAJULAH MAYHEM/
written by Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan:
illustrated by James Tan. –
Singapore : Epigram Books, 2014.
pages cm
ISBN: 978-981-07-8502-4 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-981-07-8503-1 (epub)
1. Composers – Juvenile fiction.
2. Riots – Juvenile fiction.
3. Superheroes – Juvenile fiction.
4. Singapore – Juvenile fiction.
I. Tan, Lesley-Anne. II. Tan, James. III. Title.
PZ7
S823 -- dc23 OCN868857875
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First Edition:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Edmund and Ruth
for believing in the super powers of Danger Dan
“Mwahahaha!” cackles the Sinister Spy. “You want to pick a fight, Fantasy Squad? Try this for size!” The giant cockroach that he is riding towers over the metropolitan city of Tokyo.
The asphalt road cracks under the hideous cockroach’s weight. The Fantasy Squad gazes up in horror at the insect’s disgustingly long feelers and six scrabbling legs.
The monstrous bug goes on a destructive rampage, stomping on cars, uprooting trees and snapping electrical wires with ease. A swing of one of its grotesque legs shatters windows and sends shards of glass raining down onto the streets. Just for fun, it crunches on a few buildings.
Chaos ensues as Japanese civilians scream in terror, trying to escape the monster. Silver Wing swoops in on the cockroach at 100 kilometres an hour. At the last minute, he folds his wings in and transforms his whole body into pure silver. Instead of penetrating the cockroach’s hard brown shell, Silver Wing merely bounces off it without even leaving a dent.
Energia desperately flings different energy orbs at the giant cockroach. Fire orbs. Water orbs. Electrical orbs. Even explosive orbs. But nothing seems to have any effect on the monster.
Flex Rex stretches out his elastic body between two lamp posts to trip the cockroach. He braces for impact as the cockroach heads towards him. But it is too strong for Flex Rex. Bulldozing past the super canine, the cockroach catapults Flex Rex to the other end of the street.
“Cryptic!” yells Energia. “Do something!”
“Alright then!” hollers Cryptic. “Time for a change!” Cryptic transforms into…a GIANT BROOM!
He tries whacking the cockroach, to no avail. The cockroach brushes the broom aside with a single swipe. “Cryptic, quit fooling around!” shouts Silver Wing.
Cryptic changes back as he hits the ground hard. “How are we going to beat this thing?” he asks, rubbing his leg. “It’s too big and powerful.”
“You’re right,” announces Energia. “Hang on, guys, I’ve got an idea.” Shutting her eyes in deep concentration, Energia emits a bright, radiant glow. She brings her hands together and fashions another energy orb. This one is bigger than usual and glows a sickly green. Energia throws it with all her might at the giant cockroach. The large orb hits its mark and explodes.
A huge cloud of foul-smelling gas is unleashed.
“Noooo!” cries the Sinister Spy, as the giant cockroach inhales the insecticide fumes and convulses. “That’s impossible! Not bug spray. No!” The cockroach collapses onto the ground, throwing the Sinister Spy off its back. It overturns, legs pawing the air. With a final twitch of its long feelers, it takes its last breath.
Eleven-year-old Danny slammed his comic book shut, his heart pounding in his chest. That was the scariest Fantasy Squad adventure yet! Danny was terrified of cockroaches, even little ones. He couldn’t imagine facing a monster cockroach.
Suddenly, Danny felt something small and cold on his neck.
“AARRRGHHH!” he yelped and jumped up, imagining it to be a cockroach. It was on his neck! No, it was down his shirt! Danny leapt up and down like a hysterical monkey, flapping his hands uncontrollably. Out of his shirt tumbled a small, brown eraser.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Danny’s three older sisters doubled up with laughter.
“Frightened by an eraser!” guffawed Amy. Eighteen-year-old Amy was Danny’s eldest sister and she could talk circles around anyone. Danny called her Big Mouth Amy.
“You looked like you were having a seizure!” sniggered Betty. Sixteen-year-old Betty knew a gazillion facts and figures. She was the Big Brain behind the eraser prank.
“Scaredy cat!” chortled Candy. Twelve-year-old Candy did not have a Big Mouth or a Big Brain. She was just…BIG. So big that the chair she was sitting on trembled when she laughed.
Danny’s Big Ears turned red with rage. “YOU! You…meanies! You!” He was so angry he couldn’t think straight. At that moment, he disliked his sisters even more than cockroaches. If only a giant cockroach would carry them all away!
His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of his father. “Kids, get ready to leave soon. We’re going to Grandma’s for lunch.”
Danny turned around, alarmed. His sisters too, stopped laughing, the joke momentarily forgotten. Danny butted heads with his sisters on almost everything but if there was one thing they agreed on, it was this: having a meal at Grandma’s was som
ething to be avoided at all costs.
“G-G-Grandma’s?” stuttered Danny.
“Spinach soup!” groaned Amy.
“Bittergourd with pickled cabbage!” gulped Betty.
“Sweet potato porridge!” grumbled Candy.
It wasn’t that the children didn’t love Grandma. Grandma was gentle, kind and sweet. The problem was that Grandma was a strict vegetarian. All her meals were meatless and tasted decidedly green. Her absolute favourite dish was grilled long beans and lady’s fingers, and she had a very peculiar way of eating it. She would line the long beans and lady’s fingers up in a perfectly straight row on her plate and eat them alternately.
Sometimes, if Grandma was feeling extra energetic, she would serve a whole jug of wheatgrass juice. Just thinking about it made Danny lose his appetite.
Grandma was 80 years old but Dad said eating this way might help her live to 100. Danny didn’t want to live that long if it meant having to eat all those vegetables. He was most definitely a meat-o-saurus. So were his sisters.
Big Mouth Amy tried to talk her way out of going to Grandma’s house. “My ‘A’ level exams are coming up and I need to focus all my energy on studying. Eating at Grandma’s might cause the neurons in my brain to snap from too much chlorophyll, causing my mouth muscles to stop working. Going to Grandma’s will make me fail my oral exams. You wouldn’t want that, would you?” Amy could talk a lot but she didn’t always make sense.
“Dad, did you know that fibre cannot undergo hydrolysis to become monosaccharides, which would be a great waste of all my digestive secretions, like amylase, lipase and enterokinase?” attempted Big Brain Betty.
Candy looked down at her Big Bulk and said, “I’m, er…on a diet.”
Dad folded his arms and looked at Danny. “So what about you? What’s your excuse?”
“I…I…” Danny stammered. “I don’t want to go! You can’t make me go!” Why did his brain always freeze at such crucial moments? Silly brain!
Mum came over, put her hands on her hips and said sternly, “I’ve never seen such a bunch of complainers. Get ready to leave in 10 minutes.” When Mum and Dad formed a team, they became the Dynamic Duo. They were invincible.
Grumbling under their breaths, the four children reluctantly put aside what they were doing and prepared to leave home. Danny stuffed his Fantasy Squad comic into his red sling bag. From their HDB flat, the family walked to Toa Payoh MRT station. Grandma lived close to Aljunied MRT station so it was a convenient 20-minute train ride to her place.
The Dynamic Duo, the best superhero team, has fallen under the Veggie Villain’s spell! They have captured Danger Dan and are bringing him to the Veggie Villain’s lair. Danger Dan needs to escape from the prison vehicle. Otherwise, he will be forced to eat poisonous herbs!
Danger Dan scans the interior of the prison vehicle. His sharp eyes catch sight of three other prisoners—Arguing Amy, Brainy Betty and the Colossal Candy-saurus. Arguing Amy can rattle off 360 words per minute and is arguably the world’s best speaker. She whips out her handphone and rapidly speaks in code. She’s probably calling for help. Brainy Betty, the mad scientist, is a genius who knows a million formulas by heart. She furiously flips through a book. Maybe it contains secrets on how to escape from the prison vehicle. The Colossal Candy-saurus is resigned to her fate. She sinks uselessly in her seat.
Danger Dan is trapped! The prison vehicle is solid steel and has no weak spots. Danger Dan wishes his partner, Gadget Girl, is with him. She might have been able to get them out of this mess.
Looks like Danger Dan will have to face the Veggie Villain alone. Will he meet his doom?
“Aljunied,” announced the MRT’s automated voice, jolting Danny from his daydream. He remembered that the last time he was on his way to Grandma’s, he had time-travelled and met Gadget Girl. If only all train rides were as exciting as that one.
Danny’s parents alighted first, followed by his sisters. Danny squeezed past the passengers standing by the door. As he stepped out of the train, he saw a familiar flash of wavy blue streaks.
A silvery voice chimed, “Hello, Danny.”
Danny squinted as his eyes adjusted to the outdoor light. When his vision cleared, he saw his friend from the future—Melody. Just like the first time he met her, when she had brought him back to 1964, she wore a strawberry pink sports jacket and a purple skirt with matching boots. On one side of her hair was a metallic silver hair clip in the shape of an ‘M’, which Danny knew was actually a very powerful computer.
“Gadget Girl!” he replied delightedly. “You brought me back! I was so hoping you would! What year are we in? Past? Present? Future? Where are we? What’s our mission? Who do we have to save?”
Before Melody could say anything, Danny held up his hand. “No, wait! Don’t tell me! Danger Dan knows everything! All the animals have escaped from the zoo! Oh, I know! Aliens have landed at Changi Airport! Or…or the Esplanade has lost its durian shape! It’s now a rambutan! Right? Right? Tell-me-tell-me-quick!”
“Can you please let me get a word in?” said Melody impatiently. “I’ll explain everything but first, let’s get out of the rain.” It was then that Danny realised he was standing in some sort of alleyway and raindrops were pelting down on him with increasing urgency.
The backs of shophouses lined both sides of the narrow alleyway. Tall, spiral staircases led up to the doors on the second floor. Danny stopped briefly to watch a stream of rain pour down the stairs like a waterfall.
“Wait a minute, why did you bring me back?” asked Danny, running to keep up with Melody. “I thought we fixed the time warp the last time.” The old walls and doors gleamed in the rain while large, ripply puddles glistened on the path.
“Yeah, I thought so too,” replied Melody with a worried look on her face. “But something happened.” It was quiet except for their footsteps and the falling rain. Melody led Danny down the alleyway, heading towards the front of the shophouses to find shelter. “When I tried to return to the future, I found myself stuck between time periods. Do you know how scary that is? It’s like being wedged between two moving lifts going up and down at top speed. Yuck.” Melody shuddered.
She continued, “So I did some research on my computer and it showed that another event in Singapore’s history had been changed! I’m quite sure it wasn’t altered when we went back to 1964 to fix the Merlion.”
Danny looked puzzled. “You mean it was okay before and now it’s not? Maybe it’s magic! Or maybe your computer is spoilt!”
Melody glared at him and patted her hair clip. “My computer is not spoilt! It’s top of the line, okay? I—”
“I’ll check it! I’m a computer genius!” interrupted Danny. Before Melody could react, Danny had yanked the hair clip from her hair. “OOWWWW!” she squealed.
“How does this work?” Danny flipped the hair clip back and forth a few times and rapped it against his hand. “You see? It’s broken!”
“GIVE IT BACK!” Melody snatched the hair clip from Danny and pinned it back securely onto her hair. “You know, I’ve forgotten how annoying you can be. As I was saying, I don’t understand why another event has been changed but I’m worried because as long as it keeps happening, I won’t be able to return to the year 2135. I’m only 14 years old—I don’t want to spend my life fixing mistakes in history!”
They reached the end of the alleyway and turned the corner that brought them to the main road. “Let’s go in there!” said Melody, pointing to a covered walkway in front of a shophouse.
Danny put his hands on his hips and said grandly, “Don’t worry! Danger Dan is here to save the day. You can cheer for me later. So what’s our mission this time?”
Melody rolled her eyes as Danny flexed his scrawny arms, admiring his nonexistent muscles. “This time, we need to save Singapore’s national anthem,” said Melody.
“Huh?” Danny stopped posing for a moment. “Save the national anthem? But I know nothing about music! My father said I don’t
have a musical bone in my body. I’m not sure where that bone is supposed to be but I don’t have it!”
Melody smacked her forehead. “Can you please just listen, qwirklehead? ‘Majulah Singapura’ was composed by Zubir Said. But in this version of history, Zubir Said gave up music, so he never wrote the national anthem. That’s why we’re here, in 1947, to persuade him to continue being a musician.”
A gust of wind blew a smattering of raindrops over Danny. He shook his head vigorously, splattering the rain onto Melody, much to her annoyance. “So if Zebra Side never wrote ‘Majulah Singapura’,” he asked, “then what became Singapore’s national anthem?”
“His name is ZUBIR SAID!” exclaimed Melody. “And as for the national anthem, you’ll never believe it but in the end, they used this.” She removed her hair clip and tapping it, projected a red hologram. Danny watched the 3D video being played. He figured that it must be a future version of the National Day Parade because there were six dancers in red and white costumes. One was in a crescent moon suit and the other five were dressed as stars. The tune “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” came on and the performers started to sing:
Danny stared at the video in horror as the singers repeated the verse with accompanying gestures. “This is a joke, right? That’s the worst national anthem I’ve ever heard!”
“I wish it was a joke,” replied Melody gloomily. “The national anthem is so bad that Singapore’s athletes hold themselves back from winning international sports competitions because people from other countries laugh whenever they hear our national anthem being played.”
Danny imagined singing that national anthem at school assembly every day and cringed. “No! No! I’m not singing that! We have to correct that mistake!”
“Yes, we do,” agreed Melody. “According to my research, Zubir Said lived around here. We have to find him.”
The raindrops were now big, glossy pearls and they spilled from the roof, forming a shimmery curtain of water in front of Danny and Melody. Rain sloshed onto the slippery walkway and the main road disappeared under a gushing torrent of water. Danny and Melody backed themselves up against the wall of the shophouse but were still getting drenched. The waters were rising at a worrying rate.
