Minutes 12:50
—Chapter 6—
“Treasure in the Crow’s-nest”
“YO HO and a bottle of brew!” sang Jelly Belly at the top of his lungs. “Avast, ye scallywags. Man the mizzenmast! Swab the deck!” Jelly Belly practiced his hearty pirate talk. He, Jelly Belly, the Pirate King, bobbed along in a floating flat-bottom wooden bucket. The good ship, Mermaid, she was and what a sailor’s delight. A one-masted vessel, crooked stick with a large white handkerchief for a mainsail.
“Tonight, mates, we drop anchor in Flintlock Bay,” said Jelly Belly to his imaginary crew. He pointed at a bumpy stone tied to the bucket’s bail.
“First Mate!” boomed the baritone Captain Jelly Belly.
“Aye, Cap’n?” responded Jelly Belly in the First Mate’s squeaky falsetto voice.
“Prepare the cannon! We shall defend our treasure from buccaneers and bushwhackers!” Jelly Belly propped up a large willow slingshot.
“No one can fight this Cannon!” exclaimed Captain Jelly Belly. The imaginary crew gasped at the powerful projectiles. Captain Jelly Belly smiled dramatically over his shoulder.
“Aye, my loyal crew. These cannonballs are of pond-bottom mud.” A quiet fell over the invisible crew as they saw the gooeyness of the mud cannonballs.
“First Mate!” rumbled the Captain.
“Aye, Sir!” said the squeaky First Mate.
“A demonstration for the Crew of the Mermaid, mightiest ship on the pond … er … the sea!” said the blushing Captain. His loyal crew grumbled under their breath. Pondwaders, humph! Men of the sea, aye, even if in a dippy bucket splashing on a muddy pond.
“Good sailors! My humble apologies.” begged the Mighty Captain. “On with the demonstration!” The First Mate let fly a tremendous gob of goo. Whizzing airborne; clear across the water. Crash! Splattering and swaying the tall cattails growing by the bank.
“Hurrah!” shouted the crew. “Three cheers for Captain Jelly
Belly!” The hooting and hollering, silently dancing crew went crazy.
“Did you see those messy cattails, Captain?” asked the First Mate.
“Yes. A ghastly sight, but let it be a warning to any who dare to steal our …” Captain Jelly Belly paused and whispered. “… treasure.” The crew was silent. All listened to the Captain’s hushed words. Jelly Belly secretly wondered how much the treasure was worth.
“Yes. Our … priceless … Treasure.” he whispered again for emphasis. His crew stared. A solitary tin can rolling back and forth was the focus of attention. Jelly Belly scooped it up above his plump head.
“To Crawdad Island!” he bellowed. “With our Priceless Treasure!” And he rattled the Treasure Can above his pirate head. The cheering crew hoisted the Jolly Roger. A warning flag to all pond pirates, big and small. Skull and Cross Bones, on blackest Black, flapped on the crooked main mast. Captain Jelly Belly was very happy.
Jelly Belly sat down, pried open the can’s hinged lid. He glanced over his shoulder, No spies about. Inside was the Priceless Treasure. A marble, two coins (one large, one small), some red string, a big safety pin, and a secret map. The secret map showed a black dotted line leading to a big red “X”, The red “X” marked a secret place. So very secret, even Jelly Belly had never been there,
In no time at all, the Mermaid landed at Crawdad Island. “My most trusted crew … “ Jelly Belly began. “you must wait here as I follow the steps of the Secret Map.” Jelly Belly sensed the crew growing suspicious.
“T alone must brave the painful, perilous dangers which lay ahead.” The crew smiled satisfied. Jelly Belly unfolded the wrinkled old map. Alone, Jelly Belly wandered around, back and forth, for quite a while,
“This looks like the place.” hummed Jelly Belly, not realizing he crossed this very spot no less than six times already.
“Hmm, must have washed away the red X in the rain.” mused Jelly Belly, as he began digging. Jelly Belly dug and dug for a very long time. The sand was flying and piling higher and higher. Deeper and deeper.
“What was that?” asked Jelly Belly, suspecting foul play from bushwhackers. Looking up, Jelly Belly saw a crow cawing on a tree branch.
“My fuzzy whiskers!” exclaimed Jelly Belly. “The sky has gone a long way up!” This was the moment. The moment of discovery. If Jelly Belly dug further into the sand, the sky would get smaller and smaller, further and further away.
Jelly Belly’s was in a pickle.
“I am the Captain,” said Jelly Belly reassuring himself, as he stood in the pit. “My men will rescue me.” But, he remembered, he had the Secret Map.
“So much for my gallant men,” shrugged Jelly Belly. Jelly Belly emptied his pockets. Bit of paper, a piece of candy. While eating the piece of candy, Jelly Belly remembered the Treasure Can. He still had it! Jelly Belly thought carefully. The red string could serve as a rope. And the safety pin as a hook. And the marble … er, forget the marble. The coins … well at least, the string and safety pin was good. Jelly Belly unwound the string. It only reached a little over his head. Couldn’t use it to climb out. Jelly Belly tied the string to the safety pin. Then, pinned it to his clothing. Jelly Belly looked at the limp string hanging.
“Well, it’s a start anyway,” he said optimistically to the crow still cawing in the tree. Then, the black crow swooped down. It picked a shiny coin in its beak. Off it flew.
“Hey! Scoundrel! That’s my treasure!” warned Jelly Belly. Jelly Belly looked at the one coin and marble left. Jelly Belly was thinking hard now. His eyebrows were wiggling up and down. He shook his head. Jelly Belly put the marble in his pocket. Then, he tied a sliding knot, in the string’s dangling end. He lay flat on his stomach in the sand. Spreading the string in a noose-shape, Jelly Belly placed the remaining coin in the center.
“Now, Mister Crow, come back! I’ll catch you. You’ll not steal my treasure.” Jelly Belly smiled and pretended to be asleep.
“Here he comes!” Jelly Belly said, pretending to snore.
Sure enough! The crow landed right near the coin. Jelly Belly pulled the noose tight around the crow’s foot.
“Ha, Ha! You are my prisoner, Mister Crow!” laughed Jelly Belly. The Crow took off with a fluttering leap. Jelly Belly recalled how very light his stuffing was. He scrambled to unhook the safety pin. But already, Jelly Belly was soaring over the treetops. The sky got bigger and bigger. Crawdad Island grew smaller and smaller. There went the beached Mermaid. And now, Jelly Belly flew over the pond. Very fast.
“There’s my treehouse!” Jelly Belly pointed out to the flapping crow. Jelly Belly took the shiny marble out of his pocket.
“Mr. Crow! One last treasure for you!” and Jelly Belly tossed the marble to the ground. Landing, Jelly Belly detached himself. He watched the bandit crow fly off. Jelly Belly wondered about his imaginary crew, shipwrecked on Crawdad Island. Would they believe the miraculous story of the robber crow? How about being carried to safety for a King’s ransom?
Such a narrow escape, time for reflection. Jelly Belly stopped wondering and sat down. Chin on his paw, elbow on knee, he began figuring out what to do next.
“Well … The bucket was old,” he admitted to himself. “And, the treasure was stuff I found. The slingshot, I’ll build another.”
“My crew. Invisible and very scrappy. They’ll be okay.”
“Hmm. But, the handkerchief mainsail. It’s time to buy a new handkerchief. Yes … a red one … like cowboys wear.”
Jelly Belly stood up and stretched. He felt much better. Thinking about red cowboy bandanas always made him feel good. Jelly Belly saddled up his imaginary horse, Paint.
“Easy, big fella!” said Hop-along Jelly Belly, to his faithful steed. “Back to the ranch for cactus cookies and milk. Hi-Ho, Paint! Away!”
And in shuffling dust, the happy Jelly Belly galloped back home to his cozy treehouse.
