text: Timmy Jenkins was a bright little boy with a fascination for sailboats. On his walls were posters and pictures of various kinds of sailboats that inspired him to someday sail the open sea. His dad would buy him model sets and they would stay up late at night gluing together small pieces and painting them vivid colors. So, Timmy thought he knew a thing or two about building a sailboat. Timmy had some tools his grandpa gave him. Old hand tools that didn’t require electricity like a hammer, some screwdrivers, a saw, even a drill. He collected wood from the construction site in town. He took a bed sheet from his mom’s linen closet. He borrowed screws and nails from his dad’s workshop. He carried all those things to the beach where he would build his boat. He spent every day after school, and Saturday, working on building his sailboat. When Timmy was done building his sailboat, it didn’t look anything like the sailboats in his pictures. It was square, like a raft, had four walls, and a sail. He was proud of his sailboat though because it floated and didn't leak. He just had one more thing to do - name it. All the boats he had ever seen or read about had girl names, usually two. He went with his favorite girl, his mom, Bonnie May. He grabbed a can of black paint and wrote it as clearly as he could on the side. Excited to take it sailing, he rushed home and grabbed some things for his trip: a bottle of water to drink, an apple to eat, and a comic book to read. He slid those items in his backpack and ran back down to the beach. There, he untied his sailboat from the tree, got in, and paddled out into the ocean. Once he was far enough out, he raised his sail and let the wind take over. Timmy was so happy to finally be sailing, and in a sailboat be built. He watched the sail fill with air and could feel the saltwater mist spray him in the face as his sailboat skipped along the gentle waves. He giggled to himself and sat down to eat his apple and read his comic book. Once Timmy was done with his apple, he looked back to the shore, but it was gone. He had sailed too far. He wanted to paddle back but didn’t know which way was back. To make things worse, he felt raindrops on his arms and heard thunder. He looked up and the sky was as black as night. A wall of rain was coming straight for him, and it was bringing thunder and lightning with it. The wind blew so hard it ripped Timmy’s sail and it flapped in the wind. The waves were getting bigger, taking him up and down, up, and down, spinning him around. The rain came down harder and the thunder got louder. He was scared. He curled up in a corner of his sailboat and squeezed his eyes shut, as tightly as he could, praying his little sailboat wouldn't sink. Timmy woke up on a beach, his sailboat broken. He was greeted by what looked someone who was half frog and half man. He was as tall as Timmy and had a white beard. He had big flipper-like hands and flipper-like feet. He wore frayed purple shorts and walked hunched over with a staff. He croaked when he talked. His name was Horatio. He told Timmy he could show him how to get home if he followed him back to his house, so Timmy followed him. They came upon a little hut shaped like a mushroom. It was not a crude hut, but rather homely. It had skinny logs for walls and a curved grass roof. Inside was a stone fireplace with some sort of soup cooking, a bed made of moss, and a little wooden table. Along the back wall was a shelf filled with old-looking books. Horatio invited Timmy to sit down and poured him some soup into a wooden bowl. While Timmy ate, Horatio pulled a book from the shelf and a box from the drawer below. Horatio opened the book and said that to get home he would need a map, a compass, and a sailboat. Horatio tore out a map of Lost Island from the back of the book and showed it to Timmy. He told Timmy that he must first go to the library in Savanna City to get the map. Then he must find the packrats hideout in the Stoney Ridge Mountains and get the compass they stole. After that, he must follow the river to the sea and defeat the Dark Knight in battle so he can use the sailboat. “How am I going to do all that? I am just a boy,” Timmy asked. Horatio opened the box and presented a ring with a jewel in the center that changed colors. “This ring will give you the power to change into any animal you want," Horatio said. The next day, Horatio gave Timmy a satchel of food, a jug of water, and the map. He wished Timmy good luck and pointed him in the right direction. Timmy enjoyed his walk through the jungle. There were many frog-people living in the jungle. They all had homes and families and were busy working as Timmy walked by. He met a red parrot by the name of Jeremy who talked to him while he walked. The jungle ended and the savanna began. To get to the city faster, Timmy turned into a cheetah and Jeremy grabbed on tight. Timmy took off running as fast as a car with Jeremy bouncing up and down on his back as he ran, his beak chattering. He ran through the river where the hippos and crocodiles fought. He ran past the elephant-people, standing upright with their long trunks hanging down, wearing armor, standing guard over their land. He passed the lion-people and the hyena-people as they fought a terrible battle. The savanna was a dangerous place where everyone fought for survival. Timmy was glad to be running so fast that no one could catch him. They came to the great walled City of Savanna with its shining marble walls, beautiful statues, and enormous buildings. The biggest building of all, in the center of the city, was the library. They followed the road and Timmy saw people of all sorts. People like him and people like Horatio. There were people who called themselves land pirates, pirates who have been shipwrecked on Lost Island for hundreds of years and not allowed to leave. There were the cat burglars, skilled thieves who looked like cat-people. There were the city guards, gorilla-men with painted faces, large axes, and armor who patrolled the streets. And every now and again you could spot an angel with their mighty wings and sharp swords amongst many other types of people. There were people selling food, clothes, jewelry, art, songs, and stories along the road. Timmy had never seen such a place. When they reached the library, they asked for the librarian. A man-like owl named Oliver stepped forward. When they told Oliver which map they were looking for, Oliver let out a long, low hoot and said the map was in the Chamber of Relics, that he would take them to it, but they would have to stay close. Oliver grabbed a torch, and they took the stairs down to the Chamber of Relics. It was dark except for Oliver’s torch. They walked until they came to a dead end. Suddenly, the bookshelves moved. Timmy, Jeremy, and Oliver moved forward. Then they stopped, waiting for the bookshelves to move again. Then they turned right. The bookshelves moved again and cut them off. They waited until the bookshelves moved and then they hurried forward and stopped. The shelves moved again, and they turned left. They ran fast and then stopped. They waited a minute, and the shelves moved. Oliver grabbed the map and dusted it off. They turned around and went out the same way they came in. They thanked Oliver and left the library. The sun was setting when they got outside so they had a light dinner, just some bread and water. Timmy turned into an eagle and he and Jeremy perched on top of a statue to get some sleep. Morning came and the sun peeked over the mountain tops. The packrats had a hideout in a cave in those mountains. So, Timmy, as an eagle, and his parrot friend Jeremy, took to the skies and flew to the mountains. They found the packrats hideout up on a ledge where two of the rats were standing guard. Timmy and Jeremy swooped down and carried them away so they wouldn’t tell anyone they were there. Then, Timmy had to think of a way to get in there without being seen. He decided to turn into a tiny ant. He snuck in as Jeremy stood watch. The packrats were dirty rats that needed baths. They had big yellow teeth and carried pins and needles as swords. When Timmy got to the main chamber of their hideout, he saw all their treasure piled up. It was a mountain inside a mountain. All around the treasure were thousands of packrats. Timmy turned into a spider. He crawled along the wall to the top of the ceiling and lowered himself down by a web on top of the compass. He then turned into a cat, surprising the packrats, sending them scurrying. Timmy swatted and scratched at the rats as he took off down the main hall with the compass in his mouth. The rats chased after him, stabbing him with their needles and pins. When he burst through the cave opening, he scared poor Jeremy who flew into the air, shrieking. Timmy jumped off the ledge to get away from the rats and came soaring back up as an eagle where he met Jeremy in the sky and the two of them flew down to the river below. They followed the river until they got to the ocean. There, the Black Knight guarded the dock leading to a sleek looking black and red racing sailboat, like the one on Timmy’s poster above his bed. The knight didn't want anyone to leave the island and would fight anyone who tried. Timmy and Jeremy landed. Timmy turned into a tiger and rushed the Black Knight, jumping on him. The Black Knight wrestled with him, picked him up, and threw him. Timmy charged him again and then turned into a bear, swiping the Knight with his huge claws, knocking him down. He then turned into a gorilla and leapt into the air, landing on the Black Knight, and started pounding on him. The Knight hit Timmy hard and knocked him away. Timmy rolled to a stop. He was tired and hurt. He looked up and the knight was charging him, ready to swing his sword. Timmy turned into a mouse and the Black Knight missed with his sword. The knight went to step on Timmy, but Timmy turned into an elephant, knocking the knight off his feet. With his long trunk, Timmy picked up the Black Knight and threw him in the ocean. Timmy turned back into a boy. He ran to the boat with Jeremy flying alongside him. Timmy looked at the directions on the back of Horatio’s map and put the map and compass where they needed to go. Then, like magic, the sailboat set sail. Timmy and Jeremy sat on the floor of the boat and ate the rest of their bread and drank the rest of their water. When they looked out across the ocean, they could see that the sailboat was taking them into a storm. Rain came down and so did the sails. The water grew rough and tossed the sailboat around. Yet, it kept its course. Thunder banged and lightning flashed. Waves were the size of mountains. Timmy and Jeremy desperately held on as the sailboat pushed through the storm. When they came through on the other side of the storm, Timmy could see land. The sailboat raised its sails and it sailed to the beach where Timmy built his sailboat. Timmy took off the ring and put it in Horatio’s satchel with the map from the book, leaving it with the sailboat to give back to Horatio. He then turned and ran home with Jeremy flying behind him. He burst through the front door, so happy to be home. He rushed into his mother’s arms and begged her forgiveness for being gone for so long, telling her all that had happened. She laughed and kissed his head. “Timmy, you’ve only been gone an hour.”