Book 3: Chapter 4 - Ronnie and Bruiser's Special Mission

 No one noticed when Bruiser and Ronnie left the Hibiscus Clan to go off on a special adventure. They were tucked away into a special bag with specific instructions for their mission. On the way to their destination, they conferred with each other about what all this secrecy was about. They wondered if they were going horse riding or perhaps they were going to go bike riding. The suspense and mysteriousness of it all, just made them all the more excited.

When the car stopped, Bruiser tumbled out of the bag, onto the ground and he was quickly picked up by a boy he knew from the class. The boy’s name was Julian and he looked very happy to see Bruiser. He gave him a hug and said hello, then greeted Ronnie. Julian told them his plans for the day and after he showed them some Maths work he had been doing, they went out to the trampoline.

“Oh wow!” said Ronnie, “I’ve never been on a trampoline before!” and he bounced up and down as high as he could. The more times he bounced, the more confident he became and he did somersaults in the air and spun around. “I’m flying!” he exclaimed, “I’m an acrobat!”

Bruiser watched his friend having fun and shyly sat on the side. He wasn’t sure that he really wanted this adventure and the more he watched Ronnie, the more uncertain he became. He started slinking back and was about to drop off the edge of the trampoline, when Julian caught him and picked him up. He held him as he bounced from side to side and spun around. Bruiser couldn’t help himself. A bubble began in the pit of his stomach. It gurgled around and then came out and he chuckled. Ronnie landed nearby and started giggling and then the three of them fell down and laughed really loudly.

“Oh wow!” they chorused and after they calmed down, Julian helped them climb up to the top of the trampoline net. They climbed all over it and at times, Ronnie turned upside down. It was so much fun! Julian went inside for a moment and Ronnie and Bruiser decided to explore the backyard.

“This is much better than riding a horse!” said Ronnie, “The others will be so jealous when they find out about our adventure!” Bruiser looked at Ronnie and smiled. Suddenly, he saw his favourite fruit, “Strawberries!” he cried with glee and rushed over to the strawberry patch, closely followed by Ronnie.

Ronnie climbed on to the top shelf and when he thought he heard Julian coming, he hid behind the strawberry leaves. He was not ready to go home yet. He could hear gurgling, guggling sounds and he peeped down to see Bruiser smooshing some strawberries into his mouth. Ronnie looked all around the backyard and as he couldn’t see Julian coming back, he picked up a juicy red strawberry and threw it down at Bruiser.

“Oww!” exclaimed Bruiser, “That hurt!” He rubbed his cheek and licked the juice that had landed on his face.

Ronnie laughed and said, “Hope you’re not going to get a bruise…r from that!”

Bruiser looked up at him and considered throwing a strawberry back at him but took another nibble instead.

Julian came over to them and gave them both a hug. “It’s time to go, but I am really glad you came. I miss all my friends at school and I miss Mrs Hibiscus too. Now for one last treat before you go.” Julian took Ronnie and Bruiser over to the dog and said, “I know you didn’t get to ride Shorty and I know you like riding, so you can have a ride on my dog instead.” When Bruiser said he didn’t want a ride, Julian put Ronnie on his dog’s back.

Ronnie held on tightly and tried to use his heels to get the dog to get up and move but the dog just laid there enjoying the sunshine. “Giddy-up!” commanded Ronnie but his dog still didn’t move. Ronnie sighed and rolled off the dog and gave it a pat. “You’re a good dog! I don’t believe you really did eat Julian’s homework!” he said and Julian and his mum laughed.

Ronnie and Bruiser sneaked back into the classroom while the students were outside eating their lunch and playing. They told Ellie, Flippy, Richo, Harley and Simeon all about their adventure at Julian’s and the others all shared what they had been doing that day…. which you can read all about it in the next chapter.

Book 3: Chapter 3 - Horse Riding with Hibiscus

Ellie and Flippy let out a squeal of excitement and Ronnie asked them what was going on. "We're going horse riding!" they exclaimed and Ronnie jumped up and down. "Oh, I can hardly wait!" he said and then Tumbarumba came over and broke the news to him. "It's only Flippy, Dovic, Ellie and me," he said quietly, "I'm sorry Ronnie. You're not coming this time." Ronnie held back the tears and looked on enviously, wondering why Tumba and Dovic got to go horse riding again when he had never had a turn. He stomped around the house and groaned loudly but no one paid any attention to him. He did a somersault off the couch and landed on Milly, the black Labrador but she just sighed and continued sleeping.

Finally, The Old Wise One came over to Ronnie and asked him why he was acting in that way. When Ronnie started complaining, TOWO listened without interrupting. When Ronnie finally stopped speaking, he took a deep breath and looked around the room. He saw Flippy, Lulu and Ellie working on a new dance routine, he saw Tumbarumba looking through photos of the brumbies in the Snowy Mountains and he saw Bruiser, Richo and Harley playing outside with the footy.

The Old Wise One asked him, “Are you happy for your friends that they are going on an adventure, even though it is without you?” Ronnie gulped. He was happy for them but it was so hard to be missing out on an adventure. TOWO put his paw on Ronnie’s shoulder and said some more words, that were just between them both and then they went and looked at the photos with Tumbarumba.

As they drove up the mountain, the four could barely contain their excitement. “I can’t wait to meet Shorty!” exclaimed Dovic. “I hear he’s not so short,” said Tumbarumba. Flippy was imagining all the flips she could do while she was on Shorty. She had watched a video clip of stunt riders and thought it would be epic to try hand-standing on Shorty. She had downloaded a picture from the internet and she kept it hidden away in her pocket.

When they got to the farm, they toppled out of the car and waited while Hibiscus got the halter and lead rope. She pulled out some grass and called out to Shorty and while he ate the grass out of her hand, she put the rope around his neck and gave him a good pat. Hibiscus explained that Shorty doesn’t like apples or carrots as a treat. One time she had tried to give him liquorice but he had snorted and flicked it out of her hand.

While he stood still, the four climbed up on to his back. They had a special tie to hold on to and Flippy was the last to get up. Tumbarumba sat at the front and looked all around him. ‘Wow!” he breathed out, “It’s so beautiful up here!” They walked around a few steps and they all held on very tightly. They saw the other horses grazing in the green grass and heard the donkey braying in the next paddock.

Flippy slid down the tie and held on while Shorty moved. He stopped and looked at her as if to say, “What are you doing, Flippy?” She wanted to do a flip and hang upside down but when she looked down, she got scared so she climbed back up again. A kookaburra sitting in the old gum tree laughed when he saw Flippy hanging on the side and Flippy blushed.

After they all got down, Hibiscus gave Shorty a handful of chaff and thanked him for being such a gentle giant. She led him back to the paddock with the other horses and took the halter off his head. As he trotted off to join the others, he gave a little dance of joy that he had given so much fun to Hibiscus and her clan.

Book 3: Chapter 2 - Home To Begin New Adventures

 

Dovic and his companions found out that today would be their last day at school. They had enjoyed their brief visit but now that the students had heard the Adventures of Dovic; Book 1 and 2, and had requested Book 3 be written, it was time they had some new adventures. Dovic, Lulu, Ronnie and Tumbarumba sat eating their fruit and talked about how much fun they had had being in this new classroom. They were looking forward to getting home and seeing the rest of their clan and began making plans for what they would do together.  As they talked, Lulu managed to get banana in her hair and on her dress. She was a little bit embarrassed and quickly brushed the food off herself and on to the floor, hoping no one would notice. Tumbarumba wondered why Dovic got to eat jelly and Dovic showed him the pieces of fruit in it. It was delicious.

The students gathered up their notebooks and pencils and after they found a couple of trundle wheels, they went out to the oval. They were designing their own farms and to help them understand about length, area and perimeter, they went outside to measure other areas of the school. They estimated and measured, walked around the perimeter of the oval, and counted how many steps it was from one end of the goat pen to the other.

The Hibiscus 4 went out to help them and although Ronnie went out to help, he got distracted. He climbed a tree and persuaded Dovic to come with him. Ronnie did a handstand on one of the branches and Dovic jumped up on to a lower branch. He looked up at Ronnie and around at the students measuring and decided they should really get back down again. He called out to Ronnie to come down and waited for him.

Ronnie heard Dovic but climbed up to an even higher branch. He looked down and could see Dovic looking up at him, he looked up and could see branches reaching to the sky and he looked out across the oval and saw Lulu and Tumba helping the students. He did a handstand to show off and tried getting a grip on the bark pieces so he could climb up even higher. His hand slipped and he could not go higher. He tried reaching around with his other hand and his foot slipped. He grinned because he loved having an adventure and he felt like this was taking an exciting risk. He looked down and could see Dovic looking worried, so he gave up and started climbing down. As he reached out to the next branch, he froze in fear. He could not look down and instead, he moved closer to the trunk of the tree and put his face against the bark. He inadvertently gave out a little whimper. Dovic saw he was stuck and called out to get some help. Patrick came quickly. He climbed up the tree and helped Ronnie get down.
After that adventure, the rest of the students took them in their arms and taught them how to measure.

Meanwhile, back at Hibiscus’ house, the other members of the clan were bored. They tried playing with Lego, tried reading a book and sat around wondering what to do next. Richo suggested they go outside and play in the backyard and Ellie reminded him that with all the rain, it was much too wet to go outside. Harley said they could use the gumboot as a boat and float from the back porch to the back fence but Flippy reminded him they didn’t have any life jackets. Bruiser tried to help Richo find his football and gave up after only five minutes. The Old Wise One and Ellie climbed up and sat on the top of the couch, looking outside at the cars that went past. They saw a magpie hit the window and when it flew off again unharmed, they sighed with relief.

Suddenly, Ellie let out a squeal of delight. “They’re here!” she exclaimed, “They’re home!” and they all ran to the door. Once inside, after all the hugging was done, they sat down and Dovic, Tumba, Ronnie and Lulu told them of all the things they had seen and done at school. Ellie sat close to Lulu and when Ronnie heard that Flippy had done somersaults off the bike, he bragged about how high he had climbed the tree. The Old Wise One listened to all their chatter and it made him glad to see all the friends being happy together. He closed his eyes contentedly and fell asleep.

Book 3: Chapter 1 - A New Chapter Begins for the Hibiscus Clan

 It had been a very wet and cold November and everyone was ready for summer. Last weekend it had rained the whole time and some rivers had been flooded. When school started on Monday morning, there were only 4 students in Hibiscus’ class as the others were still on their way. Their transport had been delayed by fallen trees, flooded roads and detours. Although everyone had wished for 2020 to be over, 2021 also brought on more lock downs, restrictions, remote learning, masks and vaccinations. It had been a tough year and it seemed like nothing was turning out in a fair and fun way.

 When the students returned to school after yet another remote learning time, Hibiscus decided to take out The Dovic Adventures story and read it to her new class. She and her clan had moved to another place where there was bush and beaches nearby and they were enjoying this new chapter in their life, despite the global pandemic. When her students heard the last chapter of Book 2, they asked if Dovic could have new adventures. Hibiscus looked at their eager, young faces, thought about how hard this year had been and agreed that it was time for Book 3. Dovic, Lulu and Tumbarumba had already been to the school and had been spending time with the new class while Book 1 and Book 2 was being read.

 That afternoon, The Old Wise One (TOWO), Harley and Richo went to their favourite seat that looked over the plains, the Mitchell River and the walking track. They ate a Freddo Frog and breathed in the fresh air. Richo spoke first, “I miss Dovic. I know he and Lulu have only been gone for a week at the school but it feels like forever.” He fiddled with the lid on the lolly jar and The Old Wise One remained silent and waited. Harley spoke up, “Hey Richo. What happened to your footy? I haven’t seen it in months!” Richo mumbled, “Footy season is over. Richmond didn’t even make the Grand Final this year and I can’t find my footy anyway.” Harley finished eating his chocolate frog and was silent.  

They sat and listened to the magpies singing and watched someone walking their dog along the road. They saw how wet the paddocks were down below and looked at the flashing sign that said “Water across the road”. The Old Wise One wondered what it would be like to walk along the track he could see off in the distance, while Richo tried to count how many weeks it would be until footy season started again. He was really hoping that Richmond would come back ready to win in 2022. After they finished off the last Freddo Frog, they walked back to the house and found Flippy, Ellie and Bruiser sitting on the bike. They joined Bruiser in the basket while Flippy hung off the handlebars and Elly squeezed into the water bottle holder.

“Where have you been?” asked Bruiser and while Harley answered, Flippy did a cartwheel over the handlebars and landed upside down. Ellie squealed with delight and told her that she was more nimble and graceful than Ronnie. Harley laughed and remarked that he didn’t think Ronnie would ever be graceful despite the dance routines he’d learned with Lulu. Flippy grinned and did a 360^o turn on the other side of the handlebars. “Now you’re just showing off!” said Bruiser and he winked at Flippy to let her know he was only kidding.

Ellie spoke up, “Did you all see Hibiscus’ new bike? She even took it to school to show it to her class. They wanted her to ride it on the BMX track at school but she said she didn’t want to because she didn’t want to get hurt!” Flippy asked, “Do you think we will get to ride on her new bike? It doesn’t have a basket.” Ellie replied, “I saw her trying to fit the pink basket on the front, but it doesn’t fit. I don’t think we will get to ride it unless we are in her backpack.” Flippy sighed and Richo mumbled, “It’s not the same as riding in the basket and feeling the wind pull your fur and ears back, anyway.” They all climbed down the bike and went inside so that they could play with Lego and do some quiet reading before lunch.

 A bit later on, Ellie and Flippy were sitting on the bench when The Old Wise One came along and asked them what they were talking about. They were embarrassed and didn’t say anything at first but then Ellie blurted out, “It’s not fair! It’s been a horrible year! We go in and out of lock down, we have to wear masks, and we are in a new place where we have to make new friends. It’s always raining and always cold and it’s meant to be nearly summer. I am so cold! Hibiscus has been on lots of walks and rides and she has been leaving us behind. Today, she got another medal for completing a Conqueror challenge virtual distance and this is her 7^th one! Why doesn’t she care anymore? Why is she being so mean? It’s been the worst year and I’ve had enough! And now, Lulu isn’t even here and neither is Dovic.” Ellie burst into tears and Flippy put her arms around her and was silent.

 The Old Wise One was quiet. He had found it to be a challenging year too and he had even lost a bit more of his fur. His joints were a bit stiffer and he was finding it harder to move around. He had been to school earlier in the year when the class had been learning about the History of Toys in their Integrated Studies unit and even then, he hadn’t stayed for very long because he was so fragile. Finally, he spoke up and was very gentle in his words. He told Ellie it was OK to not feel OK and to feel hurt and lonely with all that this year had brought on. He reminded her of all the good things she had in her life and told her that she was always loved. He said some more words to Ellie and Flippy listened in too. When he finished talking, Ellie looked up at him and smiled, “Thank you for listening… and thank you for being with me Flippy. I do feel a bit better now.” Flippy did a flip off the bench while Ellie helped The Old Wise One climb down. As they went inside, Flippy and Ellie sang, “You can count on me like one, two, three and I'll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two And you'll be there, 'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah”. When they sang, "Oooh, oooh, ooh, ooh" their voices went high and they giggled, then collapsed on the floor, laughing. The Old Wise One smiled and then sighed. He wondered when the others would come home from the new school. He really missed his old friend Tumba.