Treasure Hunt | Story by Naman,8, Kolkata

I. HAVE YOU?

Max and John were twin brothers who went to school together and studied in the same class. One day, it was Maths lesson in school and the bell had just rung for break. As soon as the bell rang, all the children cheered while Max pulled John into a quiet corner. ‘‘Have you submitted the consent form yet?’’ he whispered. ‘‘Yes,’’ replied John. The annual school “Fun Trek” was coming up, and the children had just submitted the consent form for it. This time the theme for the trek was a pirate treasure hunt.

After they were dispersed from school, the brothers ran home, dumped their bags in the hallway and rushed to their room. They still a lot of preparation to do for the trek. After all, their plastic swords, shield and shovel had to be made!

II. WHEN WILL IT COME?

‘‘When will the day of the trek finally come?’’ asked Max, for the hundredth time that day. ‘‘Yes, when will it come?’’ said John. ‘‘Relax!’’ their mother told them, ‘‘It will definitely come but you have got to be patient.’’ And at last, Sunday, which was the day of the trek finally came. The boys had breakfast quickly and rushed to school with their things. They joined their team (Team 4) at the beginning line and got ready. The first team to get back with the treasure would safely win. As soon as the whistle blew, they were off. After some time they came to a diverging point, splitting the road into two. One led to a smooth road while the other led to the jungle. Team 6-10 went by the smooth road and team 1-5 went into the jungle.

III. DOUBLE TROUBLE

Not long afterwards, a horde of pirates surrounded them. Everyone unsheathed their plastic swords and started fighting. The rules were that if someone stabbed you with their plastic sword, you were ‘out’. Within two minutes, the pirates were defeated. Seven members were lost but the team was undefeated. They were stripped of their swords but they continued fighting. Suddenly, a volley of arrows fell upon them. They raised their shields, expecting more pirates, but a tiger and a cheetah stalked out of a cluster of trees.
Two members threw their swords to attack the animals. One hit its mark, but the cheetah ducked. Suddenly Max started distracting the cheetah by making funny faces at it, while John attacked it with his sword. It hit the cheetah! Another team member threw his sword up and the arrows stopped raining. The team members looked up and realised that a pirate had been shooting arrows at them while hiding in a tree. They had lost one member, but they were not defeated. They continued on their way and came to a rope overlooking a pit full of soft beds in case someone fell down. On the other side, a grinning pirate with a bucket full of cannonballs was standing. He started throwing the cannonballs at them while they tried to rope-walk and avoid getting hit. Max and John stood in a corner, ducking every now and then to avoid the balls. Soon the pirate had no more ammunition left. Max almost leaped on the rope and then started rope- walking, while John chucked balls at the pirate to distract him. As Max reached the other side, he unsheathed his plastic sword and stabbed the pirate in his back. The pirate fell into the pit.

IV. TREASURE

By this time, fifteen members were lost but they were not discouraged. They continued on their way and came to a small beach. Everyone started digging. John and Max started prodding around a big rock. Suddenly Max exclaimed- his shovel had hit something hard. A moment later he hauled out a big box that looked like a treasure chest. Without saying a word, he opened the chest and saw four piles of library books. Noticing this, John cried out “Max has found the treasure!” Everyone crowded around him. He said “I knew it was here because I have been reading pirate books. And pirates like to bury treasure around big rocks.” Everyone congratulated him and asked what the treasure was, but they were disappointed when they learned it was only library books.

THE END