As a student at Random Public School, Frank loved to daydream. Every day in his Year One classroom, he would drift off into one of his crazy adventures.
Our story begins at OOSH on a Wednesday. The supervisors took a group of younger kids to the playground. Including Frank, all the kids rushed off to go on the equipment. The little boy went straight to the sandpit—also known as the pirate ship, named the Kingfisher. He poured all the sand into the ocean and began his voyage across the sea. He couldn’t wait to find the treasure on the map he found washed up on the shore.
“This island, Wreckers’ Point, must be about a week away,” he told his crew. “We should leave for the southeast straightaway. We must find it before the other crew taking the challenge finds it.”
“Wait, what? I thought we weren’t in a hurry!”
“The map also says, 'If I am found by another, then second place walks away empty-handed.' Which means that someone else knows about the treasure. We have to find it as soon as possible!” Captain Frank commanded his crew.
Bang! Splash!
“Huh?” wondered the crew.
Something heavy landed next to the ship, and all of the crew went over to the bow to investigate. It was a… cannonball?
Then the captain saw it. Another ship, called the Krimson Kraken, was thundering across the sea. The crew was on the deck, aiming and firing more cannonballs at them.
“We have to sink their ship!” yelled Captain Frank. “Load the cannons, and… fire!”
Boom! A deafening roar. Disappointment followed as the Krimson Kraken dodged the fired cannonballs. After hours of shooting and firing, both ships had no luck. They had both dodged each other’s attacks. The problem for them now was that they were running out of ammunition.
Then the captain had an idea. “What if we send someone down on a boat and get him to drill holes in their ship just below the waterline? Then their ship will sink!”
“Woo! Yeah! What a good idea!” agreed the crew.
“Any volunteers?”
Silence. No one wanted to risk their lives down there.
“Anyone who successfully does the job will get a bigger share of the treasure than the rest of the crew.”
The rest of the crew shouted for the job.
“I will! I will!”
“Choose me!”
“I choose Cassian, the only one who isn’t shouting,” decided the captain.
“You got this!” cheered the rest of the crew.
They went with their plan. Cassian got into a little boat and did what he was told. Soon, the crew of the Krimson Kraken started to realize what he was doing, and they began to shoot at the brave first mate. But they reacted too slowly as their ship began to sink. The pirates started jumping ship into the icy ocean with their lifejackets. Then they swam towards the nearest island, Cattail Island.
“Hooray!” shouted the crew of the Kingfisher.
Cassian swam back to the ship and climbed on.
“Let’s find the treasure together!” shouted the captain to his crew.
So, they sailed towards Wreckers’ Point, and once they got there, they deployed the small boats right away. They couldn’t wait to dig for treasure.
Captain Frank looked at the instructions on the map. It said, Walk east towards the big tree. Then turn left at the berries. X marks the spot!
So, the treasure must be here somewhere! Let’s dig!”
So, the crew got to work. They dug everywhere around the area.
“Are you sure there is still treasure around here, boss?” asked a tired deckhand.
“Yes! Of course there is treasure. We just have to find it. The only area we haven’t dug is under the berry bush. Let’s dig it up!”
So, once again, the crew got to work. They dug hard into the evening until…
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Captain, the treasure is here!” exclaimed Cassian as he dug up a chest.
“The key should be somewhere here,” Silas said, looking puzzled. “Oh, wait, there is no lock.”
“Open it!” instructed the captain.
They opened it and discovered gold bars, gems, necklaces, and everything expensive you could possibly think of.
Frank didn’t realise that his parents were there to pick him up.
“Honey, it’s time to go!”
Huh? Why did the pirate crew suddenly sound like Mum? wondered the captain.
“Frank, snap out of it! It’s time to go!”
“Oh, sorry. I must have dozed off!” he said to his parents. He turned to his friends, “Bye, guys!”
What an adventure!