Lesson Three Simplified: “Set Sail”
Last time…
Our friends met an “alien”
(who turned out to be puppies in disguise!)
and ran into some new helpers called the Bull Brothers.
This week, they meet someone new.
Can you guess who it might be? Let’s see!
Far away, on a foggy morning in a city called Venice,
a young man named Korben stood at his window.
The wind whooshed.
The rain splashed.
On the table was a letter.
It was from his brother.
Korben picked it up and read it.
“My brother needs me,” Korben said softly.
“I have to go home.”
At the same time, the news said something important:
A mysterious Long Break was starting all over the world.
Korben felt worried.
“Everything is shutting down,” he said. “But I won’t let that stop me!”
Korben packed his bags and headed to his sailboat.
Just as he was about to leave the dock…
Harumph!!!
His best friend, Ralph the dog, grumbled.
“Oh, Ralph,” Korben laughed nervously.
“I didn’t forget you!
You’re my number one sailing buddy. Come aboard!”
Ralph wagged his tail,
put on his sailor hat,
and hopped aboard.
Off they sailed across a wild blue sea.
At first, the trip was fun.
Then—
BOOM! WHOOSH! CRASH!
A big storm came!
The wind whistled and screamed.
The waves slammed against their boat.
Korben was starting to lose hope.
But Ralph saw an opening ahead.
He bravely guided the battered boat towards a sliver of sun that pushed through the heavy clouds.
They made it, the storm passed. But soon they realised… they were lost.
After getting directions from the birds, the dolphins, the whales, and other sea creatures… much time had passed.
And they began to recognise tall shapes in the distance. Manhattan.
“Finally, we’re home,” Korben whispered.
But when they stepped on the streets,
everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
No cars.
No people.
No noise.
Papers floated through the air.
Korben read one.
“The Long Break is over,” he said.
“Ralph… did we really travel for two whole years?”
“Oh no! What if my brother thinks I ignored his letter?”
“What if he’s upset with me?”
(Have you ever worried someone would be upset with you?)
“I need to fix this,” Korben said.
“I haev a plan.”
While Korben and Ralph are putting their plan into action, we’ll check back in with King Mateo.
King Mateo raised his head from the ground.
“Oof,” he said.
Standing nearby were the Bull Brothers and their cousins.
Sho helped him up.
“My apologies King, I didn’t mean to knock into you. Btw, your danger alert is beeping,” Sho said.
“There must be danger nearby.”
King Mateo froze.
“Let’s move—carefully.” he whispered.
“Why don’t we use a potion and make ourselves invisible?” said Harry.
“That’s it! Good idea!” said the King.
POOF!
They disappeared. Off to the castle they went.
But someone was watching them!
High on a cliff,
Korben and Ralph watched as they vanished into thin air.
“Did you see that?” Korben gasped. “We better get to the castle, quick as we can!”
But at the castle gate, Korben stopped.
His heart was pounding.
“What if they’re not here? What if my brother is angry?”
“What if I messed everything up?”
Ralph gave him a look that seemed to say:
“Just knock. It will be okay.”
(Have you ever felt nervous to say sorry?)
Korben took a deep breath.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Inside the castle,
King Mateo and his friends jumped.
“Stay close,” said the King. “We’re not expecting guests. Could be danger.”
The door opened.
King Mateo gasped.
“Brother!”
“I’m here,” said Korben quietly.
“I’m sorry I’m so late.”
King Mateo stared.
Then his face softened.
“Korben?” he said.
“I thought I lost you.”
Korben looked down.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But that’s not all…”
“I tried to do something nice. But instead, I made a big mistake.”
He explained everything -
the trip,
the storm,
the disguises, and then his plan…
“I didn’t mean for your friends to all go missing… but when they saw me write those notes… they thought I meant to harm them. And you. But I invented the Shadow King just to get you out of the castle. After-all, we’d need time to prepare the surprise party.. It was such a silly plan!” Korben said. “I’m sorry Matti. I just wanted to make you happy.”
The room went quiet.
Then Harry spoke up.
“Um… maybe you two can talk this out over dinner?”
“Ralph looks famished!”
Everyone laughed.
King Mateo smiled.
“I’m just glad you’re back,” he said to his brother. “And I’m happy there’s no such thing as a Shadow King! Though it looks like we’ll still need to rescue our friends who managed to escape your evil clutches,” laughed the King.
Korben blushed. The candles glowed.
Everything was right again. Well, almost everything.
“Hey, I know,” said Harry licking the last oh his dinner from his lips.
“We should teach our new guests our new game! After-all, they’ll need to get up to speed if they’re to join our team!
And so, we’ll leave our furry friends to play their game?
Would you like to play their game too?
Let’s try it!