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HOPPETY KANGAROO (WORLD TRAVELLER) GOES...TO CANADA

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Hoppety, the Kangaroo, studied his Atlas carefully, turning it slowly round and round. He was trying to find Canada, where his pen pal, Connie the Moose, lived.

In her last letter, Connie had invited him to visit her in Canada. Hoppety had never been anywhere outside of Australia, and was very excited about the trip.

He soon found Canada in the continent of North America. “Holy Dooley!” he said to himself, “Canada’s pretty far from Australia. I’d better go by plane or it will take forever to get there. I definitely can’t hop all the way there from Oz.” So he decided to go by plane and wrote to his friend accepting her kind invitation.

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Eventually the day of Hoppety’s trip arrived and he made some last minute preparations for the journey ahead.

“This is going to be a long journey,” thought Hoppety, “so I’d better take along a few packets of my favourite Kanga Chokkie Biscuit Bars and some Roo Beer to keep me going.”

He tucked the bars and beer into his pouch along with a boomerang that he had bought Connie as a prezzy from Australia. However, there was so little space left in his pouch that Hoppety had to take a huge breath and hold in his stomach in order to squeeze it all in. He let out his breath with a big “Whooosh”, as it was a very tight fit.

He checked for his passport, had one last look at his map. “Whey Hey”, he yelled, excitedly, “I’m now ready to start my adventure.”

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Hoppety hopped all the way to the airport singing a merry little tune along the way ...

“I’M OFF TO VISIT CONNIE ...
SHE’LL SOON MEET HER PENPAL FROM OZ ...
BECAUSE BECAUSE BECAUSE BECAUSE ...
LA LA LA … LA LA LA … LA LOZ”

But, when he arrived at the airport, he heard an airport tannoy announce that there were no planes to Canada for a whole week. Holy Dooley! In his excitement about the trip, he’d forgotten to check the plane timetables and that he needed to buy a ticket. How annoying.

“Crimson Pirates!” exclaimed Hoppety. “How could I forget something so important? Now I won’t get to Canada today and Connie will be so disappointed. What on earth am I to do?”

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Suddenly a voice boomed down from over his head “Halloooo there, young fellow. Where are you flying off to today?”

Hoppety looked up in surprise and then blinked his eyes. There, hovering high above was a ginormous multicoloured hot-air balloon, piloted by a jolly looking Owl wearing flying huge goggles.

“G’day mate. I’m off to Canada but there aren’t any planes for a whole week. Can you believe that?” replied Hoppety.”

“Oh dear, Oh dear” said the Owl. “Never mind. I’m Ollie the Owl. My friend Ginger, the cat, and I are on our way to India. It will only take a few hours in my super-duper jet-powered balloon. Why don’t you come with us and then take a plane from India to Canada?”

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Hoppety consulted his map. India was definitely not on the way to Canada but he didn’t have a better plan. He had never travelled in a hot-air balloon nor visited India before. In fact, he’d never been travelling before so it would be quite an adventure. What’s more, he’d have loads to tell Connie when he eventually saw her.

“Hey, that’s a great idea mate,” replied Hoppety, “I think I’ll join you. Look out, here I come”. He took a great big leap, bounced off of a plane and landed inside the balloon with a loud thump, nearly squashing Ginger in the process.

“Pleased to meet you, Hoppety”, said Ollie. “Oh, Ginger, you lazy fellow, do move over and make room for our new travelling companion”.  

“Meow. OK, OK. Welcome aboard”, said Ginger.

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Soon Hoppety and his new friends were up and away, floating high in the sky. They spent the next few hours talking and getting to know each other while Ollie steered the balloon. Eventually, Ollie gave a squawk and began to point excitedly.

“Folks”, he exclaimed, “we’re now flying over India. Look, there’s The Ganges, the Indian Holy River. Look how many people are in it.”

Hoppety was fascinated to see so many people bathing and washing their clothes in the river. He wondered why it was a holy river and made a note to check the Internet for information on the Ganges when he returned home.

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Next they flew over the famous Taj Mahal. “What a magnificent place!”, thought Hoppety. “I’ll take a picture and send it to Connie because I’m sure she’s never seen it before.” He took a picture and addressed it to Connie.

“I’ll be delighted to post it for you,” said Ginger. That’s a mighty kind offer, Ginger. Thanks mate,” replied Hoppety, gratefully. “Gosh, it’s so hot and my tummy’s rumbling. I could eat and elephant. Could we make a pit stop soon please, Ollie?”

Ollie agreed and landed the balloon in a clearing so they could have a picnic. Hoppety shared his biscuits and Roo Beer with them. They had just finished eating and had settled down for a quick snooze when they heard a loud rumbling sound and saw dust billowing in the distance. Ollie flew up into a nearby tree to investigate.

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“Goodness gracious me!”, exclaimed Ollie. It’s a herd of stampeding Indian elephants and they were heading in this direction. SQUAWK!

Quick as a flash, Ginger darted up the tree in fright. However, poor Hoppety could not climb and tried to hop away as quickly as his little legs could take him. But the fierce looking elephants just got closer and closer.

“Jumping Jellybeans”, panted Hoppety, hopping for all he was worth. “I’ve got to move pretty snappy or I’ll soon be Kangaroo Mash”.

Suddenly, a hand scooped Hoppety off of his feet and into the air. Oh No! Had the elephants got him? He covered his eyes in fear.

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Then Hoppety realised that he couldn’t no longer hear stampeding elephants nor feel the ground shaking. It was also extremely windy.

He bravely peeked though his fingers. Lo and behold, he found himself sitting on a magic carpet. At the front, a haughty looking Indian man was sitting cross-legged with his arms folded and eyes closed. He was wearing a white turban with a huge jewel at the front of it, coloured saffron, white and green, the colours of the Indian Flag. The jewel was flashing and spinning furiously and the carpet was flying like the wind.

“IT’S A MAGIC CARPET!” exclaimed Hoppety. “Unbelievable. They really do exist. And that impressive Indian fellow at the front steering the carpet must be the person who saved my bacon. I’d better introduce myself and thank him, but it’s so noisy, I’ll have to shout over the wind.

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It was time to introduce himself. “G’DAY SIR,” he shouted, above the noisy wind, “I’m Hoppety from Australia. Thanks for saving me from those elephants in the nick of time. Tell me, where are you heading to?”

“Namaste,” replied the Indian man, turning his head and giving a little bow, “My name is Rajiv and I’m going nowhere and everywhere. You are most welcome on my carpet but you’ll have to wear a turban like mine. It’s Magic Carpet rules, you see!”

Then he whipped a turban out of thin air and gave it to Hoppety, who thanked him and put it on his head. He felt rather grand, especially when his jewel, coloured red, white and blue, (the colours of the Australian flag), began to flash and spin. It seemed a bit strange at first because he could only see the top half of their bodies. Their bellies, feet and the magic carpet were hidden by clouds.

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“Err … where exactly is nowhere and everywhere Mr Rajiv?” asked Hoppety, wondering whether Canada was somewhere on that particular trip.

“That’s no where in particular but everywhere except Canada, my friend” Rajiv replied. “However, as I’m heading for the Caribbean, I’ll drop you off in Jamaica, which is closer to Canada than India. My friend will give you some sweet mangoes to eat and help you get to Canada. You’ll enjoy the visit!

“Brilliant,” exclaimed Hoppety. “Will it take long to get there?” “Not at all”, replied Rajiv. “This new 4000X Windjammer Ultra Magic Super Sonic Carpet can fly faster than the wind so we will arrive there in less than an hour.”

They passed over several islands nestled in crystal clear water, with tall coconut trees swaying in the breeze. Hoppety took many pictures to show Connie.

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Before they knew it, they were coasting over the majestic Blue Mountains.

They came down in a little country village full of people shopping and chatting. Rajiv parked the carpet next to a Rastafarian selling mangoes and bananas on his market stall. He was wearing a Tam (hat), in the traditional Rastafarian colours of red, gold and green. On his shoulder was a huge Boom Box, pumping out loud reggae music.

Rajiv greeted him. “Ras Benji, long time no see. This is my friend Hoppety from Australia. He is on his way to Canada but I brought him here first to taste some of your sweet mangoes and bananas.

“Welcome to Jamaica,” replied Ras Benji, shaking hands and smiling. “You can both have some mangoes and bananas. Dem really sweet, man.

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“Thanks Ras Benji”, said Hoppety, “They look juicy.” “Yes, they do, Ras Benji”, agreed Rajiv. “Now, my friend, we need your help. Hoppety needs to go to Canada but the winds tell me to head for Africa instead. Would you take him to the airport please?”

“No problem, Sah!” replied Ras Benji. “But let’s all take a photo before you go”. Ras Benji, and Hoppety swapped hats and posed with Rajiv for a photo on the magic carpet. The Tam was much too big for Hoppety’s small head and covered his eyes. Everyone laughed. Snap ! It was a very funny picture and Ras Benji promised to post it to Connie.

The carpet rose into the air slowly as Rajiv prepared to fly off. However, before doing so, Rajiv tapped his nose twice and said to Hoppety, mysteriously: “Keep the turban safe, Hoppety, because you may need it again soon.”

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Hoppety was very surprised but nevertheless, he thanked his newfound friend for all his help. Then, with a tilt of his head and a little wave, Rajiv flew off.

“If I had one of those carpets, man, I’d fly all round the world,” remarked Ras Benji.

“Me too”, agreed Hoppety. “I wonder how they work? Anyway, you’d better give me my turban back as Rajiv said I should keep it safe, although I am not sure why.”

“What are those?” asked Hoppety, pointing to some red and yellow fruit on the stall.

“That’s Ackee, Jamaica’s national fruit”, replied the Rastafarian, proudly. “They taste real good with salt fish. You can take some with you to Canada but you can’t eat them raw. You have to cook them properly.”

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Suddenly, the skies grew very dark and a terrible wind blew up. It was very scary.

“Rice and Peas!” yelled Ras Benji, “It’s a hurricane! Everybody run for cover! Follow me Hoppety.” The villagers scattered in all directions but the poor Kangaroo couldn’t see through the rain and lost Ras Benji. He climbed up a nearby post and looked around for him, but the Rastafarian had disappeared. Hoppety did not know where to go or what to do next.

“Oh Man!” groaned Hoppety, “I’m in BIG trouble now.” Suddenly, there was a huge clatter on the ground near his feet. “Hello? What’s that racket?” It was a sheet of zinc that had blown off of a nearby roof.

“Hi, I’m Zinky”, it shouted to the astonished Hoppety. “Quick, hop on. I can fly you to safety but you will have to help me.”

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Hoppety couldn't believe his eyes nor his ears but since he didn’t know what else to do, he stepped on to the zinc. Suddenly the jewel in his turban began to vibrate and Zinky rose rapidly into the air, swaying from side to side. Aha! Now Hoppety understood why the turban was so important. It made things fly.

Zinky, who was a very brave fellow indeed, rose into the air just as the fierce winds picked them up. What a journey! They spun round and round and up and down way over the Blue Mountains and high above the Caribbean Sea.

Zinky, dodged all the furniture, pots and pans, and cats and dogs, cars and everything else that the winds had got hold of. They travelled for ages and ages, with the Kangaroo clinging on tightly, with his eyes closed. This was one trip that he could do without seeing, thank you very much. Eventually, there was a break in the wind and Zinky managed to pilot them safely out of the hurricane.

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Strewth ! Hoppety was a bit dizzy but thanked his ancestors, Rajiv, the magic Turban and especially Zinky for getting them to safety! But where on earth were they now ?

And would you believe it, when Hoppety consulted his map, he found that they were pretty close to Canada. “And about time too”, thought Hoppety. Adventures were all well and good but the time had come to meet his friend.

“Good onya, Zinky for getting us out of trouble”, said Hoppety, “But, please, no more visits, no more photos, no more anything. Just fly us ‘one hop, non-stop’ straight to Canada.”

“No problem,” promised Zinky, who was quite used to hurricanes, although this was the first one that had managed to lift him off his house.

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Zinky put on an extra burst of speed and they were soon flying across the American and Canadian border. “Canada, at last,” said Hoppety. I can’t wait to see Connie. Hope she’s received my postcards.”

Connie and Hoppety had agreed to meet outside a little café named ‘Tea for Two,’ and after asking a passing crow for directions, they soon arrived. Connie was already there, waiting patiently.

Hoppety hopped off Zinky, greeted Connie with a big Kangaroo hug and gave her, her present. “Hi Connie, you won’t believe the adventures I’ve had. Meet Zinky. He rescued me from a hurricane.”

“Hello Zinky”, said Connie. “Welcome to Canada”. Hoppety, it’s good to finally meet you. Thanks for the present. Your postcards helped me to keep track of you. Now, you must both be tired and hungry so let’s have some tea and you can tell me all about it. Please, do join us Zinky, our hero.”

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“You know, I’ve never left Australia before,“ admitted Hoppety, “And in one day I’ve visited India, Jamaica and Canada. Amazing! You know, the world is a pretty exciting place with so many people to meet and millions of things to learn, see and do. I’d really like to see lots more of it before I return home to Australia.”

Zinky nodded his head in agreement. ”Yeah, I’d love to join you on one of those trips, but now that I am in Canada, I’d like to look up a few relatives who got blown over here during the last hurricane and decided to settle. Look me up the next time, OK?”

“No worries, Zinky, ” replied Hoppety. “I sure will.”

“Well, I’m glad you want to explore,” chimed in Connie, “Because I can’t wait to show you Canada. It’s simply humongous!”

“Excellent Connie”, said Hoppety “Where do we start?”

But that’s another story !

© Ruth-Anne Lynch, September 2005

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