The (True) Adventures of Mudpoo Read online

“What is that?” asked Harry curiously.

  Captain Pete gently removed the snakeskin from a branch in the tree and held it out for everyone to see. This made George grumble even more.

  “It’s so big,” said Harry watching the snake gracefully glide through the upper branches of Liz’s tree.

  Mudpoo looked at the open window near the top of the tree.

  “Whose room is that?” asked Mudpoo a little concerned.

  “That’s the bathroom,” Liz laughed.

  “He might go in there,” said Mudpoo trying not to sound worried.

  “As long as he cleans up after himself he’s very welcome,” smiled Liz.

  “Let’s go upstairs and have fruit salad for lunch,” said Captain Pete, whose tummy was starting to rumble almost as loud as George.

  “Before you eat, wash your hands,” said Liz.

  In the bathroom Captain Pete, Harry and Mudpoo carefully kept one eye out for the green tree snake, just in case.

  Liz’s garden was almost like most gardens.

  It had plenty of trees and bushes and even a little pond with goldfish. Two goldfish peered up through the lilies hoping that they wouldn’t be spotted.

  Mudpoo said to Harry, “Look over there!”

  Harry raced over to where Mudpoo was pointing,

  “It’s a secret path,” exclaimed Harry.

  Mudpoo and Harry ran up the stairs to ask Liz where the path went.

  “You know, I’ve never been down that path,” said Liz. Then she said, “Excuse me, I have to answer the phone.”

  "A secret path," said Harry.

  “Let’s go and explore it,” said Mudpoo.

  “I’d better come along,” said Captain Pete.

  They were cautious as the path led into

  a rainforest. Mudpoo and Harry were

  wearing hats and long sleeves. Captain

  Pete was so excited he forgot his hat.

  “Where does the path go?” whispered Mudpoo a little concerned that strange and fearsome creatures could be lurking in the shadows. The further they walked the thicker the rainforest became. Small forest bugs, spiders and vines became tangled in Captain Pete’s hair.

  Harry looked a little concerned, “Do you think we’re lost?” he asked.

  Everyone remained calm, as it’s not easy to get lost in a friend’s backyard.

  Mudpoo rubbed his chin and looked very thoughtful.

  “I know, maybe we’re on the wrong path and we need to follow a different path?” he suggested.

  After a minute of thinking Mudpoo boldly walked in a different direction.

  Harry and Captain Pete looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and followed.

  “Look!” cried Mudpoo, “there’s something over there!”

  Everyone rushed to see what it was.

  “What is it?” asked Harry.

  “It’s an old Hill’s Hoist clothes line covered in jungle vines,” said Captain Pete in surprise. “It hasn’t been used for years.”

  “Hmmm, a clothes line is never too far from the house,” said Mudpoo thoughtfully.

  “So we’re not lost anymore?” enquired Harry.

  “Hooray, I can see daylight,” shouted Mudpoo, as the safety of Liz’s backyard appeared.

  “What an adventure!” exclaimed Mudpoo.

  “That’s enough adventures for today,” said Harry. Captain Pete didn’t say a word; he was busily shaking the spiders, bugs and forest litter from his hair, as he was the only one who hadn’t worn a hat.

  They climbed up the stairs again, looking a little exhausted. Liz had just put down the phone when they walked in.

  “You know,” said Liz, "it's a bit of a jungle behind my garden. I woud be careful if you go in there.

  Harry, Mudpoo and Captain Pete glanced knowingly at each other; they knew she was right.

  Look, all the water has gone,” said Harry.

  Mudpoo, Harry, Liz and Captain Pete were looking over Hervey Bay. The tide was out. Where the sea had been was now a very large area of sand.

  "Let's go for a walk to the water" said Captain Pete. Everyone had a beach towel and a hat. Captain Pete had a backpack that held some drinks, food and a bottle of sunscreen.

  “There are so many holes in the sand,” said Mudpoo.

  “They’re all made by crabs,” said Captain Pete.

  “There’s one,” said Harry.

  Everyone watched as the little crab scurried from side to side; it quickly disappeared down a little hole.

  There was no dry sand, just soft, wet, muddy sand that would squeeze between your toes if you stood in one place for too long. When they reached the sea, Liz put down her thongs and so did everyone else. They carefully placed their towels and thongs on the soft muddy sand.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” said Mudpoo.

  “Great idea,” said Harry.

  “Look over there,” said Captain Pete. “It’s a blow fish.”

  The little fish had seen Harry and Mudpoo and made himself the size of a small balloon. The little fish looked like a small ball as he bobbed up and down.

  “We’d better leave him alone; he looks scared,” said Liz.

  Captain Pete felt wonderful walking along the water’s edge, feeling the mud ooze between his toes and feeling the fresh sea breeze on his face. As Captain Pete looked back at the bay he thought something looked a bit odd.

  “Lets head back to our beach towels,” he said.

  “Where are our towels?” said Liz looking at the spot in the distance where she thought they were. “I’m sure they were over there?”

  Captain Pete strained his eyes to see.

  “The only thing I can see is water; the tide is coming in!” said Liz.

  "Quick everyone, we've got to save our things!" said Captain Pete.

  Everyone ran to where they had last seen the beach towels. The only thing they could see was water.

  “Look over there!” shouted Harry excitedly. “It’s my beach towel.”

  They all looked to where Harry was pointing and sure enough there was Harry’s towel half floating and half sinking in the water. Captain Pete rolled up his trouser legs and waded out up to his knees. He rescued Harry’s towel.

  “Over there!” shouted Mudpoo. “It’s my thong!”

  Bobbing up and down in the water was Mudpoo’s favourite thong. Soon Captain Pete had collected a thong belonging to Liz and a big thong that was his. He found another three very soggy beach towels that were very, very heavy. He collected another thong belonging to Liz and then found another big thong.

  “Now there’s only one thong missing,” said Captain Pete.

  “It’s my thong and I can see it!” shouted Mudpoo. Bobbing up and down in the distance like a little boat was Mudpoo’s thong.

  “There, now I’ve rescued everything, let’s have a picnic on the grass near the trees,” said Captain Pete.

  Everyone agreed they had to be much more careful not to be caught by the turning tide again.

  With a huge smile Gus said, “This is the place.”

  "Yippie - Hooray!" cried everyone.

  They all stumbled out of Gus and looked around.

  “This is the perfect place to set up camp,” said Captain Pete. “It’s a nice camping area with a fireplace, a spot for the tent and shady trees to keep away the hot sun.”

  Everyone helped to set up camp.

  “I wonder what this place is called?” asked Harry curiously.

  “Bundjalung National Park,” said Captain Pete.

  “The sea is right over there,” said Harry, pointing towards it down the track.

  Mudpoo’s eyes lit up, “Can we go?” asked Harry and Mudpoo, jumping together with joy.

  Everyone (except Gus) walked to the beach. It was a beautiful beach with lots of sand and strange shells, sticks and seaweed. Mudpoo loved the beach and he loved finding things. He would walk slowly, carefully studying everything.

  “Hurry up Mudpoo,” yelled Harry, as he was
so keen to see what he could find further up the beach. Captain Pete, Liz and Harry scrambled through the rocks.

  Mudpoo was busy, carefully selecting every shell he wanted to keep. He always found the best shells.

  He was so busy studying his seashells that he didn't notice that the rock he was standing on began to move.

  Maybe it wasn’t a rock?

  A million years ago a baby Triceratops had fallen asleep and as Mudpoo walked on its back, he woke it up.

  Mudpoo wasn’t afraid; he knew that a Triceratops was a friendly dinosaur.

  Harry, Liz and Captain Pete were in so much of a hurry to explore, that Mudpoo was a small spot far away waving to them.

  “We’d better go back to him,” said Captain Pete looking a little concerned.

  As Harry and Captain Pete came up close to Mudpoo he yelled; "Look, I'm sitting on a Triceratops!"

  The baby Triceratops didn’t want to be seen, so it remembered what it had been doing to hide for over a million years and went back to sleep, looking like a rock again.

  “That’s not a Triceratops, that’s a rock,” said Harry.

  “Hmmm, but it certainly looks like a Triceratops shaped rock,” said Captain Pete.

  Mudpoo smiled.

  Perhaps if you go there one day the Triceratops will be there, sleeping, waiting . . . for someone like you to wake him up!

  There was something special in the air this morning. It wasn’t Christmas Eve, or somebody’s birthday; but somehow, today felt very special.

  They all felt a happy, bubbly feeling. Today everyone was going out on a boat in Hervey Bay, a very special whale spotting boat.

  Very, very early, at six o’clock in the morning, everyone was up and wide awake, ready for breakfast.

  "Have you ever seen a whale?" Harry asked Mudpoo. Mudpoo shook his head, but he knew they were very, very big, as big as a huge truck.

  Liz, Harry, Mudpoo, and Captain Pete hurried off to catch the little bus that would take them to the boat.

  “Good morning,” smiled the driver. “Great morning for spotting whales.”

  Each time the bus stopped, a few more people would get on. Everyone was talking excitedly about whales, as the little bus rumbled toward the wharf.

  At the dock there were many boats of all shapes and sizes. Some were sleek and shiny, some looked fast and swish. Mudpoo saw a boat that looked just like a happy old fishing boat that needed a coat of paint.

  “All aboard,” called out the skipper of the happy little boat. All the excited passengers from the little bus climbed aboard.

  “Over here,” cried Dave the First Mate in a big booming voice and all the passengers gathered at the front of the boat.

  “This is a life jacket,” said the Skipper, holding up a bright yellow vest. “This is how you put it on.” Everyone listened carefully.

  “Excuse me,” said Mudpoo waving his hand. The Skipper looked at Mudpoo crossly.

  “What do you want?” said the Skipper who hated to be interrupted.

  “Do you have life jackets for small people?” asked Mudpoo.

  “A fair question,” said the Skipper and he quickly found two smaller life jackets, one for Mudpoo and one for Harry.

  "TOOT, TOOT" went the boat and they slowly moved away from the dock. Harry and Mudpoo sat near the front.

  The boat wasn’t even ten metres from the wharf when Harry cried out, “Look a turtle!” A huge sea turtle raised his head just before diving under the water.

  The boat was called the Princess II. It was the first whale spotting boat to leave the harbour.

  Being older, slower and not as shiny as the other boats in the harbour, the Skipper and the First Mate had a clever plan to get close to the whales.

  After ten minutes out at sea the Skipper yelled out "Whale-HO, humpback whale ahead"

  Everyone was so excited and strained to see the whale’s tail flipping and waving in the distance. The Skipper stopped the boat and turned the engine off.

  Dave the First Mate came over to all the passengers. “If you want the whale to come over to us, you all need to sing a song,” he said with a big toothy grin. Everyone looked a bit uncertain.

  Mudpoo said, “I’ll sing,” and started to sing a happy song, so all the words could be heard by all the whales in the distance.

  To everyone’s amazement a humpback whale swam towards the boat. When he reached the boat he slowly raised his head out of the water and looked straight at the surprised passengers. Mudpoo kept singing, and everyone joined in. Soon there were three whales swimming around the boat, happily listening to the singing passengers.

  All of the other fast and shiny boats from the wharf were now watching from a distance with amazement. Mudpoo and the passengers of the little old fishing boat were singing songs to happy humpback whales.

  Mudpoo loved to sing.

  Today he was singing to humpback whales. There were three huge humpbacks swimming around the boat. Sometimes they swam under the boat. Sometimes they lay back flipping their pectoral fins in time to the singing.

  Mudpoo, Harry, Liz and Captain Pete sang. Everyone on the boat sang too, including the Skipper and Dave the First Mate.

  The humpbacks had huge pectoral fins that splashed in the water,

  Every now and again a humpback whale would lift his enormous head out of the water to look at the people inside the boat. Harry leaned over the boat’s rail and almost touched the whale. Captain Pete and Liz leaned over the boat’s rail and almost touched the whale too. Dave the First Mate leaned over the boat’s rail as far as he could and he touched the humpback whale.

  “It feels the same as poking your finger into the cheek of your mouth!” he exclaimed excitedly.

  Mudpoo leaned over the boat’s rail just as a huge whale popped his head up. It gave him a fright and his hat tumbled into the sea.

  “My hat!” cried Mudpoo.

  It was floating in the sea near the humpback whale.

  ”We can’t reach it!” cried Captain Pete.

  “Let me try,” said Harry who couldn’t reach it either.

  It was Mudpoo’s favourite hat. Everyone watched the hat bobbing up and down on the water as a huge humpback whale swam over to it.

  To everyone’s amazement, it gently picked up the hat and swam towards the boat. Mudpoo held his breath; everyone on board held their breath.

  The huge humpback whale gently lifted his giant head near the side of the boat and passed the hat to Mudpoo. “Ooooh, Aaaaah, Ooooh!” cried everyone with surprise. Mudpoo calmly popped the hat back on his head.

  “Thank-you humpback,” said Mudpoo with a huge grin.

  The whales swam around the boat.

  "TOOT, TOOT" blew the Skipper on his whistle. “Chug, chug, chug,” went the happy old fishing boat. The whales loved listening to the singing.

  sang the

  passengers. With a wave of their enormous tails, the three humpback whales swam out to sea. It was almost time for lunch.

  “Billy tea and damper,” yelled Dave the First Mate.

  Everyone crowded into the cabin where they were greeted by the beautiful smell of fresh tea and damper. Their whale adventures had made all of the passengers hungry.

  Mudpoo and Harry were bubbling over with excitement because they had been singing to three enormous humpback whales!

  Now they had wonderful adventure stories to tell their friends, just like Captain Pete.

  A few months later . . . far, far away, a quiet fishing boat was sailing near the icy cold waters of Antarctica.

  A pod of happy humpback whales swam by.

  The fishing boat’s crew and Skipper were surprised at what they saw. Very surprised. It wasn’t the whale’s size that surprised them. It was the whale’s singing,

  “Now how on earth did they learn to sing like that?” wondered the puzzled fishing boat Captain, scratching his head.

  "We can never tell anyone because no one would ever believe us," said the crew.

  Maybe if
they read ‘The (true) Adventures of Mudpoo’ like you did, they will understand why.

  Perhaps the whales are still singing today.

  What do you think...?