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RETOLD BY INDA NIRMALASARI
One sunny morning, Tommy and his friends were walking to the park.
“Look!” said Tommy. “Mrs. Thatch is having a yard sale. Let’s see what she has to sell.”
“Hello, kids,” said Mrs. Thatch. “I’m moving to the other side of town next week. I’m going to live with my grandson and his family. I can’t take everything with me, so I have lots of interesting things to sell.”
The five friends spent a lot of time looking through the boxes that were stacked in the yard. There were old toys that once belonged to Mrs. Thatch’s children. There were boxes of jewelry. There were hundreds of old books. There were boxes of old photographs and postcards.
Sam found a medallion on a chain. There was a head of a pretty woman on one side and an old sailing ship on the other. Mrs. Thatch said she wanted $2.00 for the medallion. Sam only had $1.75, so Mrs. Thatch reduced the price so that Sam could buy it.
Andy found a little flashlight. It looked like a pen, but had a very bright light. He bought it for $1.25.
Lucy was looking through the books. She came across a very old, dusty book. The front cover was held on by tape.
“I must buy this book!” shouted Lucy.
“The title is The Islands of the Caribbean. My granddad was born in Jamaica, one of the Caribbean Islands. I can give it to him for his birthday.” She bought the book for $2.00.
Within half an hour, all the children had bought something from Mrs. Thatch. Tommy had a pair of binoculars, which were very old but worked perfectly. Kim bought a butterfly net and a colorful beach pail and shovel.
Even though they had spent all their money, the friends were very happy with their purchases. They said, “Thank you” and “Goodbye” to Mrs. Thatch and ran to the park.
When they reached the park, they sat on their favorite big, blue bench. Bongo climbed down from his treetop home to greet them.
“I can see Bongo’s house with my binoculars,” said Tommy.
Lucy opened her book to read about Jamaica.
“Hey! Something just fell out of your book,” said Kim. Andy picked it up. It was an old, folded-up piece of paper. When they unfolded it they found a map drawn on the
faded paper
“Do you know what this is?” asked Tommy. “It’s a map showing where treasure is buried!”
“But it’s only half a map. It’s been torn down the middle. I don’t think it’s real,” said Andy.
“What do you think, RK-5? Is this a real treasure map?” asked Tommy.
RK-5 studied the map. His eyes scanned it from top to bottom.
“This paper was made more than three hundred years ago. The ink on the paper is the same age. My opinion is that this is a genuine treasure map.”
The children cheered loudly.
“Now all we have to do is get RK-5 to take us to this island. We can then find the treasure,” said Tommy.
“Oh no,” said Kim. “That would be much too dangerous.”
“Don’t worry,” said Sam. “We must find that treasure. Can you take us there, RK-5?”
RK-5 looked at the map again and said, “The island is called Mumbles. Yes, I can take you there.”
RK-5 told Tommy which buttons to press on his number pad. Tommy quickly pressed the numbers. There was a flash of light and a cloud of blue smoke. When the smoke cleared, the park was empty. Everyone had been transported to the Caribbean island of Mumbles. The children found themselves under a palm tree, sitting on soft white sand. They were on a beautiful beach. They could see the crystal clear water of the Caribbean Sea in front of them. The waves were gently breaking on the shore.
“Let’s look at the map and see if we can discover where we are on this island,” said Tommy.
While the others were studying the map, Kim looked up and down the seashore for landmarks.
“I can see a long rock out there. It stretches way out to sea. It looks like a snake. Can you see anything like that on the map?”
“Yes!” shouted Andy. “There’s a place marked here called Worm’s Head. That must be it.”
“If that’s Worm’s Head, then we are right here at Oxwich Bay,” said Tommy, pointing to a place on the map.
“The treasure is on the other side of the island,” said Lucy. “But it’s not a very big island.”
They did not notice that they were being watched from the bushes behind them. And they did not hear a voice gently repeat, “I must tell the captain, I must tell the captain, I must tell the captain.”
“Look!” said Tommy. “Mrs. Thatch is having a yard sale. Let’s see what she has to sell.”
“Hello, kids,” said Mrs. Thatch. “I’m moving to the other side of town next week. I’m going to live with my grandson and his family. I can’t take everything with me, so I have lots of interesting things to sell.”
The five friends spent a lot of time looking through the boxes that were stacked in the yard. There were old toys that once belonged to Mrs. Thatch’s children. There were boxes of jewelry. There were hundreds of old books. There were boxes of old photographs and postcards.
Sam found a medallion on a chain. There was a head of a pretty woman on one side and an old sailing ship on the other. Mrs. Thatch said she wanted $2.00 for the medallion. Sam only had $1.75, so Mrs. Thatch reduced the price so that Sam could buy it.
Andy found a little flashlight. It looked like a pen, but had a very bright light. He bought it for $1.25.
Lucy was looking through the books. She came across a very old, dusty book. The front cover was held on by tape.
“I must buy this book!” shouted Lucy.
“The title is The Islands of the Caribbean. My granddad was born in Jamaica, one of the Caribbean Islands. I can give it to him for his birthday.” She bought the book for $2.00.
Within half an hour, all the children had bought something from Mrs. Thatch. Tommy had a pair of binoculars, which were very old but worked perfectly. Kim bought a butterfly net and a colorful beach pail and shovel.
Even though they had spent all their money, the friends were very happy with their purchases. They said, “Thank you” and “Goodbye” to Mrs. Thatch and ran to the park.
When they reached the park, they sat on their favorite big, blue bench. Bongo climbed down from his treetop home to greet them.
“I can see Bongo’s house with my binoculars,” said Tommy.
Lucy opened her book to read about Jamaica.
“Hey! Something just fell out of your book,” said Kim. Andy picked it up. It was an old, folded-up piece of paper. When they unfolded it they found a map drawn on the
faded paper
“Do you know what this is?” asked Tommy. “It’s a map showing where treasure is buried!”
“But it’s only half a map. It’s been torn down the middle. I don’t think it’s real,” said Andy.
“What do you think, RK-5? Is this a real treasure map?” asked Tommy.
RK-5 studied the map. His eyes scanned it from top to bottom.
“This paper was made more than three hundred years ago. The ink on the paper is the same age. My opinion is that this is a genuine treasure map.”
The children cheered loudly.
“Now all we have to do is get RK-5 to take us to this island. We can then find the treasure,” said Tommy.
“Oh no,” said Kim. “That would be much too dangerous.”
“Don’t worry,” said Sam. “We must find that treasure. Can you take us there, RK-5?”
RK-5 looked at the map again and said, “The island is called Mumbles. Yes, I can take you there.”
RK-5 told Tommy which buttons to press on his number pad. Tommy quickly pressed the numbers. There was a flash of light and a cloud of blue smoke. When the smoke cleared, the park was empty. Everyone had been transported to the Caribbean island of Mumbles. The children found themselves under a palm tree, sitting on soft white sand. They were on a beautiful beach. They could see the crystal clear water of the Caribbean Sea in front of them. The waves were gently breaking on the shore.
“Let’s look at the map and see if we can discover where we are on this island,” said Tommy.
While the others were studying the map, Kim looked up and down the seashore for landmarks.
“I can see a long rock out there. It stretches way out to sea. It looks like a snake. Can you see anything like that on the map?”
“Yes!” shouted Andy. “There’s a place marked here called Worm’s Head. That must be it.”
“If that’s Worm’s Head, then we are right here at Oxwich Bay,” said Tommy, pointing to a place on the map.
“The treasure is on the other side of the island,” said Lucy. “But it’s not a very big island.”
They did not notice that they were being watched from the bushes behind them. And they did not hear a voice gently repeat, “I must tell the captain, I must tell the captain, I must tell the captain.”
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