Gungadore

There is an island far from home.
A place where giant creatures roam.
And built upon this rocky shore,
A kingdom known as Gungadore.
A paradise of thick green trees,
Of flowering plants and crystal seas,
Where birds fly high through clear blue skies,
And nights are lit by fireflies.

But no man walks upon these lands,
Nor dares step foot upon these sands,
For all are scared away by news,
This land is run by Gungaloos.
A creature of enormous size,
Who sees the world through four big eyes,
With matted fur and knotted braids,
Of many different lengths and shades.
A creature wrapped in mystery,
Misunderstood by history,
As beasts and monsters, big and mean,
The fiercest man has ever seen.
But Gungaloos were nothing near,
The types of monsters folks should fear,
But rather gentle, thoughtful beasts,
Who lived to eat and loved their feasts.

One day a stranger reached this land,
Her tiny footprints marked the sand,
Across the shore they watched her roam,
On visit from her island home.
She looked their way with wondering eyes,
So unafraid, despite their size,
Her hair was drenched, a crimson red,
And wrapped in circles round her head.
She neared the beasts with arms outspread,
Then grabbed onto a creature’s leg,
And on her knees began to beg.

“My name,” she said, “is Lily Sue,
I came here with that Gungaloo,
And need your help to find my way,
Back to my home; Bulingobay.
My journey here was not by choice,”
She whimpered in a little voice,
“You see, I slipped, and slid around,
A muddy trench dug through the ground,
Which sent me sailing through the air,
Onto the ship that brought me here.
They didn’t see me there on board,
The cargo hold where crates were stored,
They closed the doors, which left me trapped,
And so I found a spot and napped.
But suddenly I woke up wet,
Afloat and tangled in a net.
I twisted loose, and then I tried
To yell for help, but none replied.
The ships moved on, I yelled some more,
Then soon gave up, and swam to shore.

The Gungaloos just looked on dazed,
Their mouths agape, their brows were raised,
Til one approached, she turned her head,
He growled at her, and then he said,
“You ask for help, how could you dare?
Bulingons are not welcomed here.
You wronged us once, with such disgrace.
Get lost! Go find some other place!”
“But where?” she cried. “I’m cast astray.
I have no home. No place to stay.
I don’t know how I did you wrong,
Why can’t we all just get along?”

Then coming to her aid was Stu,
A blue and purple Gungaloo.
“Relax,” he said. “ She does not know
Of things that happened long ago.
Not all Bulingons are the same.
She’s just a kid. She’s not to blame.
Let’s help her out. Let’s take her in.
Let’s dream of things that could have been;
And still could be, some day, again.”

“You’re right,” said Drew, and Hugh, and Boo,
And each and every Gungaloo.
There is no reason for alarm.
She’s not a threat. She means no harm.
And so they kept to Stu’s advice,
To take her in and treat her nice .
So much alone, but soon no more.
She’d find new friends on Gungadore.

Now Gungaloos work hard all day
To gather food and cook gourmet.
They tend the fields to yield their crops,
They make their juice with lemon drops,
They pull up carrots from their holes,
And fish the seas with spears and poles.
They pluck potatoes from their roots,
They chop up veggies, dice up fruits,
They knead the dough to make the bread,
And cook enough so all are fed,
And then, at last, when work’s complete,
They all sit down at once to eat.

Tonight they had a special guest,
For Lily Sue they cooked the best,
The rolls were fresh, the fish just right,
She couldn’t wait to take a bite,
To satisfy her appetite.
But as she reached to grab some food
A voice called out, so harsh and crude
“We rule this land,” the creature cursed
“You’ll wait your turn, as we eat first.”
The voice she heard was that of Lee,
The leader of the reign of Three,
A fearsome creature round and large,
Who always loved to be in charge.
His fur was red his hair was green,
His teeth the worst she’d ever seen,
His scraggly beard was greased and twirled,
And both his nose and horns were curled.

Now sitting to his right was Cree,
A king himself and son of Lee,
And though his Dad weighed near a ton,
He stayed quite slim and loved to run.
Now like his Dad his fur was red,
With spiked green hair atop his head,
His teeth were straight and filed down,
Just like the horns beside his crown.

Now rounding out the Three was Bree,
The island queen and wife of Cree,
Intelligent to say the least,
And rather lovely for a beast.
Her fur was clean, a glimmering white,
Her hair was green, and glistening bright,
Her lips were lined with purple gloss,
Her eyebrows thick, like coats of moss.
Now unlike every Gungaloo,
Her eyes were set in pairs of two.
The first pair rested on her face,
The other in a different place,
As every time her hair was spread,
She saw the world behind her head.

Now as they sat and watched in wait,
Their kings and queen ate plate by plate,
Of all the most delicious treats,
The candied yams, the fruits and sweets,
And just when they had reached their fill,
They made the others wait their still,
About a twenty minute span,
To first feed members of their clan.

At last they finally got their shot,
The food near gone, no longer hot,
But since the rest were ones who cared
Remaining scraps were fairly shared.
With dinner done, the Reign of Three,
And members of their family,
Got up to leave, now fully fed,
And wandered off to get to bed.
While all who farmed and cooked all day,
Would get no rest. They had to stay,
To clear the tables where they dined,
And scrub the mess they left behind.

Now Lily Sue looked on confused,
“You worked all day, they simply snoozed,
The way they treat you isn’t fair,
You all deserve and equal share.”
“That’s simply how things are,” said Drew.
“We do just what they tell us to.
We may be worn. We may be sore.
But that’s the law in Gungadore.”
“But why?” she asked. “That seems so strange.
They rule unfair. Why can’t it change?
Choose someone new to rule this land,
So all will lend an equal hand.”

“We can,” said Drew. “That chance is near.
We choose our leaders once a year.
But there’s no vote to win or lose,
There’s different ways we come to choose.
We pick our kings and queens through games,
Each tribe submits three separate names,
Three challenges to see who’ll lead,
Which test for power, mind, and speed.
The yearly games is when we meet,
To cheer on tribes as they compete,
And at the end we gather round
To praise our leaders as their crowned.”

“But what are tribes?” asked Lily Sue.
“The others look the same as you?”
“They do,” said Stu. “But on these lands,
We join to form two separate bands.
Now Lily Sue, are you aware,
That most of us have purple hair,
But others like the kings and queen,
And all their kin have hair that’s green?
Our tribe’s the biggest of the two,
We came to be when red joined blue,
The purple tribe’s what we became.
But every year it’s much the same,
The Reign of Three wins every game.”

Well Lily Sue sat deep in thought,
Of how to win the prize they sought,
Then moments later quickly rose,
Which brought the others to their toes.
“I have a plan,” she smiled and said,
“You see my hair’s a crimson red,
If you could add a little blue,
Then my hair would be purple too.
I’ll join your tribe, then we’ll begin,
To find a way to help you win,
And when you do, you can restore,
Some equal laws in Gungadore.
“You’re right!” yelled Stu. “They must be beat.
We’ll choose the best and they’ll compete
In tests of power, mind, and speed,
Just three brave souls are all we need
To finally end their reign of greed.”

That night they joined with all the rest,
To sort through names and pick the best.
But most of whom had earned a glance,
They knew would never stand a chance,
For everyone with skills, you see,
Was summoned by the Reign of Three
And there before the kings and queen,
Would get the chance to change to green.
Now many chosen made this switch,
To live amongst the very rich,
To eat much more and work much less,
And never need to clean a mess.
Except for one, his name was Nick,
He loved to run, and sure was quick.
He stood his stance and wouldn’t swing,
For Nick held dreams of being king.
Now every year he ran the race
As he and Cree went face to face.
But every time he saw defeat
When someone found a way to cheat.
No question that he was their man
They now just had to find a plan,
To search their camp and see just who
They’d choose to face the other two.

Now once again they sat in thought,
Of who could fill the second slot.
“Now what,” she asked, “could be the test,
That proves one stronger than the rest?”
“You see,” said Drew, “We form a ring,
With one of us against the king.
The key to winning in this bout,
Is just to push the other out.”
Well Lily Sue looked all around,
But not amongst their tribe was found,
A Gungaloo that one could claim,
Was strong enough to win the game.

But suddenly it came so clear,
She shouted out a brave idea.
“I have a plan to beat King Lee!
The one I think can win is me.”
At that the Gungaloos were floored,
Across the tribe the laughter roared.
“A little girl like you,” mocked Hugh,
“Could never beat a Gungaloo.”
“I know,” she said, “I’m not as strong,
My legs are short, his legs are long,
I’m just a kid, and he’s a man,
But trust me please. I have a plan.”

Then Drew spoke out, “I do declare,
Unless we have a volunteer,
Who’s brave enough to take a stance,
Then Lily Sue will get the chance.”
Now Lily Sue looked on amazed,
As not a single hand was raised.
“I’ll win!” she yelled. “I know I will.
Just one more slot we need to fill.
Now all we have to do is find,
The one who has the brightest mind
And if we do, then that’s the key
To bringing down the Reign of Three.
“Impossible, to find,” said Boo.
“I’ve never known a Gungaloo
That has a brain as big as Bree,
There is no brighter mind than she.”
But Stu replied, “That isn’t so.
A smarter mind I think we know.
A brilliant man we cast away,
Who joined us from Bulingobay.”
“Not him!” yelled Hugh with such disgust.
“He’s not a man that we can trust.
That trick he played still gives me chills
Besides, we chased him to the hills
Most folks who go do not survive,
I highly doubt he’s still alive.”

Well Lily Sue jumped up and pled
“If there is one like me,” she said.
“Perhaps he’ll help us from our lurch,
We need to go and start the search.
We cannot do this on our own.
We need his help to win the throne.
Then maybe if he knows a way,
He’ll get me to Bulingobay.”
“She’s right,” said Stu. “This means a lot.
And he’s the only chance we’ve got.
He may still live. It’s worth a check.
We’ll meet at dawn to make the trek.”

The darkness made it hard to see,
As branches formed a canopy,
Of thick green leaves that towered high,
Which blocked the sun and hid the sky.
The ground was soft with mud and moss,
Throughout the swamps they trekked across,
As gnats and flies of every size,
Examined them with hungry eyes.
As calls of creatures filled the air,
Their bodies twitched and cringed in fear,
Uncertain of the things they’d meet,
What creatures crawled beneath their feet.
Then from the sky a shriek was heard,
Across the trees there swopped a bird,
But not just any bird, you see,
The legendary Magatee.
Its wings were long, eight feet in length,
Its talons of enormous strength,
Which grabbed a hold of Lily Sue,
And swept her up. Then off it flew,
As giving chase ran Stu and Drew.

Now Stu preferred the lower ground,
Through shrubs and swamps he leapt and bound,
While Drew climbed high into the trees,
From branch to branch he swung with ease.
They followed close and watched its flight,
It climbed and dipped from left to right.
When suddenly they reached a drop.
The hill too steep—they had to stop.
The Magatee continued on,
In moments it would soon be gone,
With nothing left that they could do
To rescue little Lily Sue.

But suddenly from way up high,
An object shot across the sky.
Around the bird they watched it jet,
Then flew above and dropped a net,
That draped around the giant beast,
Now tangled up, its flying ceased,
Its claws let go, its prize released.

With Lily Sue now falling fast,
The object dipped and flew on past,
Then round and round it swiftly raced,
To wrap a rope around her waist.
At last with Lily Sue in hand,
It turned and brought her back to land.
Upon the ground it slowly rolled,
A wooden plane, remote controlled.
With Lily Sue now safe and sound,
The Gungaloos looked all around,
When then across the trees they heard,
Another noise, but not a bird.
For now approaching Stu and Drew,
Came one who looked like Lily Sue,
An older man with hair of gray,
Who long ago they chased away
On visit from Bulingobay.

He said, “My name’s Professor Kent,
This jungle’s where my days are spent,
For twenty years I’ve held my fears,
Of slugger snakes and gargabears,
The gungabees, and magatee.
Don’t cast this girl away like me.
She’s much too young for goodness sake,
She shouldn’t pay for my mistake.”

“Fear not,” responded Lily Sue.
“We’ve trecked this far in search of you.
Since you’re the smartest man they’ve known,
We need your help to win the throne.”

Professor Kent shot back a stare.
“But how?” he asked. “They hate me there.
You bring me back, you’ll surely lose,
For Lee will be the one they choose.”

“The laws are not the same,” said Stu.
“I lost the vote by trusting you.
For most of Gungadore picked Lee,
Who brought about the Reign of Three.
He changed the way we choose who leads,
To satisfy his greedy needs,
And now there is no vote to gain,
Just games to play to see who’ll reign,
And that is why we need your brain.”

“OK,” replied Professor Kent.
“I’ll help you out,” Then off they went.
At last the island’s greatest mind,
Could leave the jungle life behind.
As nighttime came, at Kent’s request,
They set up camp to take a rest,
And spoke beside the fire’s glow,
Of things that happened long ago.
This was the time, This was the place,
Professor Kent would plead his case.
He’d get the chance to share the facts,
Of how Bulingons turned their backs,
On not just them, but him as well,
And left him there, alone to dwell.

“You see,” explained Professor Kent,
“Bulingons asked me to invent,
A means to take some work away,
So they could have more time to play.
I took the task and soon designed,
A way to end their daily grind,
A factory that stood so tall,
That took their chores and did them all.
We started work, but things went wrong,
Bulingon folks were just not strong,
For none could even lift a stone,
No way we’d build it on our own.

And so I took a ship from shore,
And sailed off to Gungadore,
I met with Stu and there agreed,
That Gungaloos could serve our need.
For all their help we’d give in trade,
All kinds of things the factory made,
The cakes it baked, the food it grew,
We’d share with every Gungaloo.

Since Gungaloos were often feared,
I didn’t want Bulingons scared,
And so I knew just what to do,
I kept them hidden from their view.
Around the site I built a wall,
Which stretched so long and stood quite tall,
And there we worked through scorching sun,
Until at last the job was done.
But then that night a spy snuck in,
A nosy man. His name was Vin.
He saw the Gungaloos and ran,
To tell the others of my plan.

As morning came a massive group
Had gathered by to hear the scoop,
“Hip hip, hooray!” they cheered and yelled.
“A celebration must be held.”
At last the project was complete,
A party planned, to join and eat.
“Tell all the Gungaloos,” said Vin
“To meet us here, and bring their kin.”
“At last,” I thought. “There’s finally peace.
Their fears of Gungaloos will cease.”
So once I gave my girl a tour,
I set a course for Gungadore.
We reached the shore and all got out,
To tell their families all about,
The party to be held that day,
And visit to Bulingobay.
But once returning for the trip,
We couldn’t seem to find our ship,
We looked for clues but there were none,
Except a raft, which held just one.
Bulingon folks just couldn’t stand,
To have such beasts upon their land,
I had no clue of what they’d do,
They tricked you all, but tricked me too.
You cast me off, and there I’d roam,
I missed my girl, I longed for home,
But though I lived alone in shame,
I only have myself to blame.

“I’m sorry friend,” said Stu in tears,
“We cast you off for twenty years,
For all the pain you had to face,
Alone in such a dreadful place.”

“The past is gone,” was Kent’s reply.
“So dry your tears, no need to cry.
Just get some rest and lift your chin,
We’ve games to play and thrones to win.”

When morning came they walked to shore,
And joined their kin in Gungadore,
Where Kent would get the chance, at last,
To tell the truth about his past.
That night both Kent and Lily Sue,
Were taken to the home of Boo,
Where later they would reappear,
With locks of flowing purple hair.
The two were welcomed in the clan,
And sat to chat about a plan,
The time was near, the team now known,
The chance was theirs to win the throne.

The games began at 8 o’clock,
As Gungaloos began to flock,
Along the shore to cheer and screech,
As runners raced across the beach.
Two lanes were drawn in which to run,
Lane two for Cree, for Nick lane one,
But just before each took his place,
They met each other face to face.
“No fair,” sighed Nick. “They favor you.
Lane one is not as flat as two.
If this is where you would have been,
There is no way you’d ever win.”
Well Cree responded back with pride.
“You couldn’t beat me if you tried,
For after all, I am the best,
You want to swap? Then be my guest.”

And so with that their lanes were swapped,
They took their marks, the taunting stopped,
A shot rang out, the race began,
As both leapt forth, and off they ran.
With lightning speed they crossed the land,
Both kicking up a cloud of sand,
But though King Cree ran hard and quick,
He couldn’t pull ahead of Nick.
Now as they neared the race’s end,
Nick found along the final bend,
That Lee and Bree had tried to cheat,
By placing rocks to hurt his feet.
But this time there’s no way he’d trip,
No way he’d slip, or flip, or tip,
No way he’d yell and shriek in pain
The rocks were in the other lane.
Twas Cree who stumbled on a stone,
Then hit the ground and gave a groan.
As sand kicked up and struck his face,
Nick crossed the line and won the race.
The cheers rang out, the whistles blew,
At last his dreams were coming true,
As all around the crowds would sing,
All hail Nick, our new found King.

The games now turned to Kent and Bree,
A war of wits beside the sea,
Three puzzles placed for each to do,
Bulingon versus Gungaloo.
They took their seats upon the beach,
The puzzles lay within their reach,
At last, as back to back they kneeled,
The sheets were pulled and games revealed.
Professor Kent took puzzle one,
Five minutes past and he was done,
While on the other side Queen Bree.
Instead began with puzzle three,
But as she finished up she knew,
Professor Kent just finished two.
There was no way she’d ever find,
A way to match his brilliant mind,
She knew right then her only chance,
Would be to cheat and sneak a glance.
And so she spread apart her hair,
But just enough so she could stare,
Upon the boards beside his foot,
To see what answers he had put.

As Kent was nearly done his third,
Around Queen Bree a cheer was heard,
As all around they sang her name,
“Hooray Queen Bree, you won the game!”
But Kent worked on remaining calm,
The chalk still clutched inside his palm,
And once his puzzle three was done,
He moved on back to puzzle one,
Where after scribbling on the slate,
His answer changed from three to eight.
By now the judge had come along,
To see if Bree was right or wrong,
And there he heard to his delight,
That Bree was wrong and he was right.
At that Queen Bree began to whine,
“His answers were the same as mine,
I saw them with my other eyes,
This isn’t fair, I’ve earned by prize.”
But then she looked and turned in shame,
His answers now were not the same,
Her eyes turned moist, her head drooped down,
She knew right then she’d lost her crown.

With two games down and one to go,
King Lee by now still didn’t know,
The Gungaloo that he would face,
And have to beat to keep his place.
When Lee saw Lily Sue appear,
A roar of laughter filled the air,
For everyone could clearly see,
She couldn’t even reach his knee.
Well Lee yelled back to Stu and Drew,
“Is this the best that you can do?
I’ve eaten bigger things for lunch,
I’ll knock her out with just one punch.”
But Lily Sue would have no part,
“True strength,” she said, “comes from the heart,
So if you want to win this thing,
You’ll have to prove it in the ring.”

And so they joined to have their bout,
They took their spots, the bell rang out,
They both charged forth, the fight began,
As right between his legs she ran.
She buzzed around him like a gnat,
He bounced and pounced just like a cat,
He tried to claw and punch and kick
But Lily Sue was just too quick.
Then jumping up she grabbed his fur,
He waved his arms to reach for her,
But when he couldn’t catch a grip,
He spun around and hoped she’d slip.
But though his speed just kept increasing,
Lily Sue was not releasing,
Round, and round, and round she flew,
Still clinging to a Gungaloo.

Now once he stopped, she hit the ground,
The world still spinning round and round.
Though vision blurred Lee caught a glance,
She couldn’t walk. He had his chance.
He grinned and readied to attack,
Took one step forward, two steps back.
He stumbled left, then wobbled right,
Then tumbled out and lost the fight.
As Lee and kin looked on in shock,
A purple crowd began to flock,
To join in such a joyous scene,
And welcome in their newest queen.
To all it was a great surprise,
A little girl despite her size,
Could find a way to beat King Lee,
And finally end the Reign of Three.

That evening when the sun went down,
They met to pass along the crown,
But just before the big event,
They paused to hear a speech from Kent.
“I may not be a Gungaloo,
But feel now like one of you,
No matter what some folks may claim,
We really are so much the same.
And that should go for you as well,
Regardless of the place you dwell,
No matter how you dye your hair,
You all deserve an equal share,
We’ll change the laws to make them fair.

To make your rulers serve your needs,
We’ll let you vote to choose who leads,
The yearly games will still be run,
But this time only played for fun.
Now as for Lily Sue and I,
It’s time for us to say goodbye,
For though you know we’d love to stay,
We miss our home; Bulingobay.
We’ll serve you well until we leave,
There’s much that we can help achieve,
And hold a vote to help you pick,
The two to rule along with Nick.

I leave you now with this advise.
Please try to treat each other nice.
Don’t pick on folks for how they look.
Don’t nap while others clean and cook.
No matter if you’re strong or weak,
You all were meant to be unique,
So wear your hair the way you choose,
For after all, you’re Gungaloos.”

A month had past when Stu and Drew,
Left shore with Kent and Lily Sue,
Across the sea to make the trip,
On board a sturdy wooden ship.
As Kent sat high atop the mast,
He hoped he’d see his girl at last,
And finally get to make the trade,
To keep his long since promise made.

Epilogue

Meanwhile in Bulingobay,
The shipping crew had news that day,
That two Bulingons they had known,
In Gungadore now held the throne.
When Brooke found out it brought her hope,
For twenty years she’d tried to cope,
For all her life she always feared,
Her Dad forever disappeared,
But now at last the time was right,
The chance was theirs to reunite.
Could it be him? She didn’t know.
She only knew she had to go.
The trip she couldn’t wait to take,
And so she called for Phil and Jake,
And with her friends set off from shore,
On board a ship to Gungadore.