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Emily RoddaIllustrated by Lucinda Gifford
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First published by Allen & Unwin in 2020
Copyright © Text, Emily Rodda 2020Copyright © Illustrations,
Lucinda Gifford 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a
maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is
the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for
its educational purposes provided that the educational institution
(or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to
the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin83 Alexander StreetCrows Nest NSW
2065AustraliaPhone: (61 2) 8425 0100Email:
[email protected]: www.allenandunwin.com
ISBN 978 1 76052 985 7
For teaching resources, explore
www.allenandunwin.com/resources/for-teachers
Cover & text design by Joanna HuntCover illustrations by
Lucinda GiffordSet in 14pt Berkeley Oldstyle Book by Joanna
Hunt
Printed in Australia in February 2020 by McPherson’s Printing
Group
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
www.emilyrodda.comwww.lucindagifford.com
The paper in this book is FSC® certified.FSC® promotes
environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically
viable management of the world’s forests.
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1ST
Somewhere far away, there’s a sea that ripples with magic. And
if you were a bird flying high over that sea one fine day,
you’d
be able to look down at the tiny green-and-
gold dot that’s Monty’s Island.Not just now, though. The sun
isn’t up yet.
The night’s nearly over, but it’s still quite dark
on the Island. It’s quiet, too, because most of
the Islanders are sleeping.
The Island
1
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2ST
Monty and Tawny the Fearless Lion are asleep in their grass hut.
Marigold, the clever cook, is asleep in her room at the back of the
Island Cafe. In a little
house nearby, Bunchy the Magician is snuffling in her hammock,
dreaming that
one of her spells has worked at last. Silent Sir Wise is dozing
in his hollow tree. Clink the Shipwrecked Pirate is snoring in his
cave, his plans to escape from
the Island forgotten for a while. Even the
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3ST
Jinglebee nests in the trees beside the beach
are quiet, though no one knows if Jinglebees
actually sleep or not.
It’s different in the jungle, of course. In
the jungle, the Island’s monster, the Hairy Horrible, is still
on the prowl. Night is its time for hunting. But soon the
Horrible
will crawl back to its den. Already the sky is
starting to lighten. Another day is about to
begin.
Not an ordinary day, though. At this very
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4ST
minute, a silver shadow is streaking through
the dark sea towards the Island, bringing
startling news.The sun pops up, bright as ever. As usual,
Monty and Tawny are woken straight away
when the two Argue Birds that live on the
roof of the grass hut start their morning
quarrel.
WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! the bossy one squawks.
Not yet, not yet, not yet, the quiet one trills
back sleepily.
WAKE UP!
WAKE UP,
WAKE UP,
WAKE UP,
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5ST
The quarrel can go on like that for ages.
It’s impossible to sleep through it. Monty’s
politely tried to persuade the Argue Birds to
live somewhere else. Tawny’s tried too, not so politely. But the
Argue Birds like Monty’s
roof, and won’t move.
So on this particular morning, like every
other morning, Monty yawns and Tawny
says, ‘Puh!’, and they crawl out of bed to get ready for the
day. Then Monty gets his
Pick-up Sled and they go down to the beach
to see what the waves have left behind on the
sand overnight.
There are always shells and seaweed. There
are always sticks of driftwood, which Monty
not yet . . .
not yet, not yet, not yet,
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6ST
collects for the Cafe stove. But often there are
Special Finds, too – lost things that have floated from faraway
boats and beaches to
make a new home on the Island. Monty can
always think of ways to use them. On the
Island, he’s as famous for having good ideas
as Sir Wise is famous for being wise.
Today, Monty pulls his Sled along the
beach just as usual, looking for Special Finds
and collecting driftwood along the way.
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7ST
As usual, Tawny pads behind him, keeping
an eye out for the Hairy Horrible.
It’s true that the Horrible likes to hunt at
night. It’s also true that the Horrible hates the
beach, because the sand gets between its hairy
toes. But there’s a first time for everything, and
Tawny’s careful as well as fearless. Besides,
this morning he’s got a prickly sort of feeling
that tells him something dangerous is going to happen.
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8ST
Yet everything
seems just the same as always. Waves are
thumping as the tide begins to rise again.
Seagulls crowd the smooth, wet sand,
quarrelling and chasing Scatterworms.
The trees at the edge of the beach are
ringing with what sounds like thousands of
tiny bells, but there’s nothing strange about
that. It just means that the Jinglebees are
getting ready to fly off and find something
to chew. Yesterday, they found a batch of
cupcakes Marigold had left to cool beside an
open window. Marigold won’t make that mistake twice, but
Jinglebees aren’t fussy
eaters. If Bunchy the Magician has
left her washing on the line
again, they’ll be happy to
fill up on that.
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9ST
Seven noisy seagulls are gossiping right in
the Sled’s path. Monty squeaks the horn to
make them move out of his way. And as they
scatter, he sees something glinting under a
clump of seaweed.
He pulls the seaweed away and there, lying
on the sand, is a long, shiny black box.
