WARNING: This story isn´t safe. If you read this, chances are that you´ll be found dead in the next month. The author takes no responsibility for any deaths or scars. Read at your own risk.
Once upon a time, there was a penguin named Private. Private was cute and cuddly and British. He lived in a zoo called the Central Park Zoo.
He had lots of friends there and even belonged to a top secret group called the Penguins. The Penguins were in charge of making sure everything was okay in the zoo. They also had a nice neighbor named Marlene.
And a very annoying neighbor named Julian.
One day, when the sun was shining and there was no clouds in the sky, little Private decided to go take a walk in the park. He asked his leader Skipper of course for permission.
"Of course you may go for a walk." The flat headed penguin said. He was very nice. He trusted Private. "But be back at sun set." Since Private was an obedient little penguin, he planned to do exactly that.
Private stepped out into the park. It was such a beautiful day. The air smelled nice. The sky was blue. And he was alone. There was no one there to help him.
First, Private decided to visit his little feathered friends, the ducklings. There was duckling Eggy, duckling Samuel, duckling Brad and little duckling Ramona. They were all very cute. Private waddled over to the pond. But when he arrived there was no one there. Not a single person, not a single duck.
Feeling a little sad from the loss of seeing his friends, Private decided to go eat a snow cone. He found a cart, standing by itself.
Happy he didn´t need to knock out anyone, Private jumped on the cart and got a big snow cone in all colors.
He continued on, licking it while walking. It tasted funny, like rusty nails. Shrugging it off, Private finally reached a set of trees. There were a lot of trees, all big and very green. It was like a mini forest.
Private felt all hot from the bright sun. He wanted some shade. The big trees offered a lot of shade. So he decided to sit underneath them and finish eating his snow cone.
He leaned against a tree, watching butterflies fly from flower to flower.
As he ate his delicious snack, he realized the taste of iron was getting stronger. He looked at his snow cone. It had turned pink. Maybe a new type of snow cone that has layers of different tastes, he thought. The pink slowly turned red. A pretty red. Like roses. And strawberries.
Finishing the treat up, Private went over to a trashcan and threw the wrapper away. You see, his mother had taught him very well. She always said, "Private, when you have trash, throw it away in a bin. And not on the ground. It keeps our planet healthy." And since Private was an obedient little penguin, he did exactly that.
Private had never been in the small forest of Central Park. He was curious and curious animals explore what they find curious.
Private walked through the dim light of the woods, skipping and humming to himself. He sang all the songs his uncle taught him. Pop goes the Weasel, The Crooked Man, Ring around the Rosies, I´m a little Teapot and many, many more. He even sang lullabies, then laughed at himself.
"Silly me, I can´t sing lullabies at a time like this! The sun is still up!" So he chuckled and stopped singing bed time songs.
He walked on. Suddenly he tripped over something furry and hard. Private tried to catch himself but he fell on his face anyway.
Ouch! He sat up and looked behind him. Oh it was just Fred. He stood up. But why is Fred lying face down on the ground? Why wasn´t he in his tree, eating acorns?
"Fred?" Private asked, touching his shoulder. His friend didn´t answer him. Maybe he was sleeping? But why on his face? That gotta hurt!
He put a flipper on the squirrel´s shoulder and shook him lightly.
"Ughhh." Fred groaned. Private was worried. He was very worried Fred might´ve hurt himself. "Fred?" He asked again, just in case he hadn´t heard him the first time.
"No…leave…me…alone…please." Fred said. He sounded weak. Maybe he was trying to sleep and Private rudely shook him awake. The penguin shook his head. How mean he was. Here Fred wanted to take a nap on the ground and he, Private woke him up!
Leave me alone, Fred said. Okay. He walked on. After all, he was a very obedient little penguin.
Private walked further into the woods, humming a happy tune in the cute British way he had.
He started skipping. He was so happy!
The woods grew bigger. Private didn´t mind. He was a brave boy. Instead of being afraid, he thought of all the nice friends he could make.
Suddenly, Private stopped. Wow! What a cute little cabin! It was soooo colorful! Red, blue and yellow! Private loved the color yellow. It was the color of the sun. And lemon candy.
And there were curtains! Blue curtains with stars! And a few flower pots. They contained tulips. Private liked tulips. They always hung their heads like they were giving up.
Private walked up to the door. It had a smiley face painted on its colorful wooden surface. Seeing the happy face made Private feel even happier. He chuckled. The face chuckled back.
There was a note on the door. "Please wipe your feet on the mat before going in. Thank you!"
Private stepped on the Welcome Home! doormat. He wiped his feet. You see, his mom had taught him well. So well in fact, that Private would even have wiped his feet without the note telling him so! Yes, he was very well behaved.
He knocked. No one answered. Private pushed the door open. It wasn't because he had no manners. No, he had lots of them. It was because Skipper had told him that sometimes people got robbed and attacked and then they couldn´t answer the door. So the little British penguin opened the door carefully.
He was ready to give help to whoever needed it. But there was no one there. No one hogtied, no one hurt or bleeding. Good.
Private was about to go when the door slammed shut behind him. A note stuck its back. "Please don´t go, little guy. I like you. You should stay."
What a nice person! What a nice note! Of course Private would stay. He turned to the main room. There was a red table, with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. Plus there were tulips in a vase. They looked like they were giving up.
Private walked over to the chair and sat on it. Next to the plate was a note. "Please eat."
Alright. You shouldn´t refuse kindness. Kindness is the link to friendship. He took a cookie and ate it. It was still warm, full of chocolate and butter.
It tasted so good. Private took a sip of the milk. It was cold and refreshing. So good.
He ate three more cookies. But no more, he already had a snow cone. Besides, there might be other people who would come.
He stood up and wiped his beak. His mother certainly taught him good manners, didn´t she?
He walked into the next room. It was a cute little living room. Two red leather couches, they looked so comfy. A small TV, it wasn´t turned on.
A blue table, it had magazines on it. Magazines about cute animals. So cute. Puppies and kittens and ponies. So cute. Private liked ponies. He likes watching them on TV.
Then there were windows with curtains. So cute. Blue with stars!
Private took a seat on the couch and waited patiently. He saw a note. "You can watch TV if you like."
Private smiled. Of course he liked! He took the tiny black remote from off the table and turned it on. Yay, his favorite show was on! He watched it. And watched it. It was about ponies. Private liked ponies. He likes watching them on TV. He watched it.
Halfway through the show, Private frowned. The screen had started to flicker. Oh no! Did he watch TV too much? Did he break the TV? What a bad guest he was! He grabbed the remote to turn the TV off. But then the TV showed a black background with white letters. "Don´t worry."
Don´t worry? Private sighed with relief. No worrying. He did not break the TV. Okay. The TV screen stopped flickering. Private continued watching.
Yay, his favorite show was on! He watched it. It was about ponies. Private like ponies. He likes watching them on TV.
Then the show ended. Private felt sad. He was having so much fun. He turned the TV off and looked at the table. There was a note. "Don´t be sad. I have a game I want to show you."
A game? Wow, that sounds fun! He liked games. Especially hide and seek. Or tag.
Private found another note underneath the previous one. "Do you want to play? Then go to the kitchen."
Alright. This sounded like a scavenger hunt. He liked those hunts. It made him feel like a predator, seeking his prey. Even if the prey were paper notes.
Private walked to the kitchen. There was another note there. "Look in the drawer. There is a fork. This will be your main game piece."
Private opened the drawer. He found a fork. It was long and sharp.
Next to it was another note. "Go back to the living room please and turn the TV on."
Private did. He grabbed the fork and walked to the living room. He sat on the couch and took the remote in his flippers. Maybe his favorite show was back on. That would be soo cool!
He turned to the TV on. It fuzzed in a funny black and white way. Private rested his head on his flippers. He had to wait. So he waited. And waited. Then he started to smile. His eYes sparkled and he chuckled out a sweet bubbly laugh. Private was very happy. What a funny game! Still chortling, the penguin grabbed the fork and skipped out of the cabin, a wide smile on his face.
The forest had changed. It changed a lot. Private looked around. Instead of the soft green light from the sun shining through the trees, there was a cherry glow coming from the sky. The woods were even darker than before and so red. So pretty and red. Like rOses, or strawberries.
And hanging from the trees were his friends. How silly. How nice. They have all decided to play with him. His friends were very kind.
Private skipped from one tree to the next. He grinned. His eyes were a bit foggy- but don´t worry! He could still see.
There were his penguins friends and the pretty otter Marlene. Julian was hanging amongst them too, a funny expression on his face. And Maurice, little Mort, the chimpanzees, and even the nice animals from the park. Mother Duck, the dUcklings, Antonio, Max the moon cat, and that terrible raccoon Archey. So nasty. You know what he did? He stole items from the zoo. And lied about it! Private poked him with his fork. Archey gave a little moan. His head drooped, like he was giving up.
But Private couldn´t bother with him anymore. He had a game to play. A really nice game. He will play all day. Forever. Private was very happy.
He went to Skipper´s tree. The penguin hung. Silently. Still. Private poked him. Nothing. Oh well, let´s continue onto the next tree.
Kowalski´s chest was heaving. His eyes fluttered like a butterfly´s wings. Private laughed. He looked like a girl, batting her eyelashes. He jammed the fork into KoWalski´s head. The tall penguin stopped trembling. Instead he swayed back and forth. As quiet as a mouse. He didn´t even seem to care that blood was running down his neck. He was a good loser. He didn´t even complaIn he lost the game.
Next was Rico. Rico was struggling. He tried to pull his throat free of the jump rope holding him above ground. Private furrowed his eye brows. How rude! What a sore loser. Knowing he had lost the game. He couldn´t quit now! The little penguin thrust the fork into his chest. Rico made a sound. It sounded like a toilet being unclogged. Private giggled. It sounded funny.
Marlene wasn´t moving, but her heart was beating. She was slowly giving up. Her heart was. Okay, she could lose the game on her own. She didn´t need help from him.
One by one, Private hunted down his friends. He loved every moment of it. It made him feel like a predator, seeking his prey. And destroying it.
He was such a good pLayer. Why? Because he never bragged about his victory. He even patted Mort´s head after pulling the fork out. "Better luck next time." He encouraged him. What a nice penguin! His mother taught him so well. She would´ve been so proud to see what a nice boy Private had grown into.
Finally, everyone was found. No one won. No one except Private.
Private smiled at his friends. "Thank you so much for playing!" He told them all. He tapped Skipper´s stomach. "Even you, Skipper. I know you don´t like games, but you came to pLay with me anyway! You´re a great friend." Skipper didn´t respond, just rocked to and fro. His eyes had gone missing. There were only holes now.
Private felt hungry. His stomach rumbled. He had an idea. He quickly dashed in and ate two more cookies. And poured himself some milk. He set the fork aside and sat down on the living room couch after his little snack. He watched some more TV. It was fuzzy. A face smiled out of the fuzziness. He smiled back. "Thank you." He told it. "For showing me this wonderful game."
After a while he grew bored. He turned the TV off and grabbed the fork. But there was no one left to play with. Oh wait! He had an idea! Private had a wonDerful idea. He laughed, thinking how fun it will be to play this game again. This time with new friends.
He turned around. Turned to face you. "Would you like to play with me?" He asked. He smIled as you stared back at him. "Oh don´t worry, I have plenty of jump ropes you can use." He pointed to a heap of ropes lying in the corner. "Just pick a tree, count to five and yell, I´m ready! Then I will find you." He held up his fork. Private narrows his eyes as he sees you think, this is just a fanfic. It´s not real. How rude.
Private grabs the fork and the ropes. He gives you a cute smile. Look how adorable he is! And he´s not mad at you. He understands that you´re worried about losing. Don´t worry, he won´t brag or laugh in your face. He´ll completely understand.
He´s sliding away now. WhEre is he going, you ask?
He´s coming for you.
Find the letters that stand out. What do they spell?