In a quaint London country home one late spring Tuesday morning, Hello Kitty skimmed through magazines. She wanted to travel somewhere for her next summer vacation. She was just about to give up and set the magazine down, when suddenly, a small pamphlet slipped out between the pages.
"What's this," she pondered as she picked it up. On the front, it showed a beautiful alignment of forests, jungles, and an icy glacier divided amongst each other. In fine legible lettering, it read, "Kookamunga: A Perfect Summer Getaway." This intrigued Hello Kitty, and opened it.
Inside, it told of a humble town called Mooseknuckle, and the Pig Rangers that guided all of Kookamunga. Hello Kitty was very excited.
"This is where I'm going for summer vacation," Hello Kitty smiled.
Later that afternoon, she booked a plane ticket to Kookamunga, which was all the way in Canada. The plane was to take off that Friday at 11 am. In the meantime, Hello Kitty was packing for her trip. She would be staying there for two weeks. She packed 5 t-shirts, 5 pairs of pants, 3 skirts, 2 sweaters, a jacket, about 4 pairs of undergarments, two pairs of shoes, 2 dresses, and 3 pairs of socks. She also made sure that she had her picture camera, enough film, and enough money for food, souvenirs, and the trip back home.
"I hope the people that live in Kookamunga like me," Hello Kitty pondered. "It might be nice to make a few new friends there."
On Friday morning at 9 am, Mimmy drove Kitty to the airport with her luggage. Hello Kitty was wearing her red bow, red shirt, and blue overalls. They stopped at the white zone outside the airport.
"Be careful out there, Kitty." Mimmy advised Hello Kitty.
"Don't worry, Mimmy," Hello Kitty smiled. "I will."
And with that, Hello got out of the car and the two friends said goodbye. Well, it was more of a 'see you later.' She got into the airport and waited at the gate for her plane. Soon, the plane was ready to be boarded, and the passengers went on. Hello Kitty was given a window seat so she could see the beauty of the world. At 11 am precisely, the plane took off.
"Wow," Hello Kitty said to herself. "What a beautiful sight."
The plane did take a while to get to Canada from England, so Hello Kitty had to wait through the flight. She drew in a sketchbook, read a good book, and listened to music. She started to feel a little sleepy, so she had a small rest. 4 hours later, the plane landed at the Canadian airport. Hello Kitty woke up just in time to see the plane land. She got out of her seat, and waited until everyone was out of the plane so she wouldn't get hurt. She got her luggage and got out of the airport. Outside of the airport, there was a bus stop. She looked for the bus that would take her to Kookamunga on the schedule. When it arrived, she boarded the bus. Hello Kitty looked out the window to see the lush nature of the Canadian landscape.
"I have a feeling," she said to herself quietly, "That I might like it here. It's so beautiful."
Soon enough, the bus arrived at the Kookamunga bus stop, and she stepped off. She looked around, but couldn't see anyone. However, a friendly opossum girl walked up to her. She had red hair in a ponytail, a purple shirt that shows her belly button, pink capris with a green scarf acting as a belt, pink bracelets, and black slipper shoes.
"Hi there," the opossum smiled. "Are you new here?"
"Yes," Hello Kitty answered. "I'm vacationing here for two weeks and I don't know where everything is."
"Ooh, I'll help you," the opossum smiled. "I'm all about giving tours this week. Follow me."
Hello Kitty did as she was told.
"My name's Kira, by the way," the opossum, now named Kira, smiled. "What's your name, anyway?"
"It's Hello Kitty," she responded.
"Nice to meet you, Hello Kitty," Kira said. "You're going to have a great time here."
The two arrived in Mooseknuckle. It was small, but indeed a friendly environment.
"Thank you, Kira." Hello Kitty smiled.
"Anytime, Hello Kitty," Kira grinned. "Say, how about I treat you to lunch? It could give you a chance to get to know the place better, and I can introduce you to my friends."
"I would love that," Hello Kitty beamed. "Thank you very much."
The two walked into a little establishment called Zoop's. It looked like a general store and a lunch counter combined into one. Behind the lunch counter, a chipmunk was serving orders to her customers. The chipmunk had soft blue eyes, a yellow and orange headband, a pink dress with a purple flower on the chest, and white geta shoes.
"Good afternoon, Kira," the chipmunk smiled in calm voice.
"Hey, Zoop," Kira answered back.
"Is that a new friend with you," Zoop asked as she saw Hello Kitty.
"Yeah," Kira smiled. "This is Hello Kitty."
"Hello, Hello Kitty." Zoop greeted.
"Hello, Zoop," Hello Kitty answered happily.
"I'm treating her to lunch since she's going to stay here in Kookamunga for two weeks," Kira explained.
"Well, we are so happy you decided to come here." Zoop was sincere with her words. "Would you like to try the special?"
"That sounds wonderful," Hello Kitty smiled.
Hello Kitty set her luggage to the side, so that no one would trip on them. She then sat at the lunch counter next to Kira, who had taken a seat. Zoop later brought out two bowls of a chilled strawberry and kiwi soup. Hello Kitty took a spoonful, and ate it. As soon as the rich flavors tickled her tongue, her eyes widened, and she smiled.
"Oh, my goodness," Hello Kitty gasped. "This is so delicious!"
"You said it, Hello Kitty," Kira smiled. "Zoop, you have really outdone yourself."
"Thank you, Kira." Zoop smiled as she headed back to the kitchen.
Hello Kitty enjoyed the soup greatly, and ate every last bit of it. Soon afterwards, Hello Kitty and Kira were walking out of Zoop's, with her luggage. The two decided to walk through the forest, to enjoy the feel of the wilderness.
"Wow, Kira," Hello Kitty sighed in wonder. "You are very lucky to see all of this."
"Thanks," Kira said. "If I hadn't seen this place, I would still be living in the city."
Hello Kitty smiled, then the two continued on their way. Some time later, Hello Kitty heard two pairs of footsteps, that were different from hers and Kira's. She was curious to know who the footsteps belonged to. The footsteps started to get louder and closer. Coming alongside the path were a pig and a beaver. The beaver saw Hello Kitty and Kira and his face became from one of relaxation to one of fear.
"Stop!" the beaver shouted, and he and the pig screeched to a halt.
Kira saw this, and she and Hello Kitty screeched to a halt as well. Luckily, none of them got hurt.
"Whoa, that was close," sighed Kira. "Iggy, Jiggers, are you two alright?"
"Don't worry, Kira," The pig said with a chipper smile on his face.
Hello Kitty finally saw the pig and beaver. The pig wore a deep green rangers uniform, a dark brown rangers hat with an acorn badge, and had big aquamarine eyes. The beaver had a right eye that was longer than his left eye, a red baseball cap, and blue patterned overalls. The pig was named Iggy
Arbuckle, and the beaver was named Jiggers. Jiggers then turned his attention to Hello Kitty.
"Hey, Kira," Jiggers said. "Who's your new friend?"
"Oh, right," Kira said. "Iggy, Jiggers, this is Hello Kitty."
Hello Kitty gave a friendly smile, while still holding onto her luggage. Iggy walked over to her, and shook her paw.
"Pleasure to meet you, Hello Kitty," Iggy smiled. "Welcome to Kookamunga."
"Thank you, Iggy," Hello Kitty grinned. "Kira was just showing me around."
"That's good of her," Jiggers smiled. "Say, how about you stay over at our place tonight?"
"I would like that," Hello Kitty smiled. "My stuff was starting to hurt my arms."
"Great," Iggy said. "Come on, we'll take you there."
So, she and Kira followed Iggy and Jiggers to a tall tree-based home by Thunder Falls. Hello Kitty hadn't seen such an amazing sight. Iggy walked Hello Kitty inside, and she set her luggage by the couch.
"Ahh, much better," Hello Kitty sighed, rubbing her tired arms. "I'm comfortable with sleeping on the couch."
"Hey, I don't mind if you sleep in my bed," Iggy said. "I can sleep on the couch."
"You really mean it," Hello Kitty asked.
"I insist," grinned Iggy.
"Wow," Hello Kitty smiled. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome," Iggy beamed. "Now, we have the rest of Kookamunga to see. Let's go!"
And with that, they set off. The friends showed Hello Kitty Mt. Kaboom, the Brain Freeze glaciers, the deserts, and Lake Gottalottawotta. Soon, they got back to Mooseknuckle. Hello Kitty enjoyed the tour.
"Thank you, you guys." Hello Kitty said tired, but happy.
"It was our pleasure," Jiggers said.
As they were walking, Hello Kitty stepped on a crumpled piece of paper. She looked down and picked it up. She then walked over to a trash can, and threw it away. Another piece of paper flew past her in the wind. She tried running after it, but a black and white blur caught up to it. The blur is revealed to be a male skunk with a light green zipped up jumper, dark green trousers, a light green sanitation cap with an orange patch, an orange canvas bag strung around his shoulders, and he carried a brown sanitation stick.
"Gotcha," the skunk said in a scratchy voice. "You didn't think you couldn't get away from me."
Hello Kitty was amazed by what she saw. She had never seen anyone pick up trash as fast as he did. Zoop, walking over to Hello Kitty, explained.
"That's Spiff," Zoop smiled. "I once taught him the Way of the Skunk to boost his confidence, and tweak his qi."
Spiff had finished with his garbage collecting and he wiped his brow. Hello Kitty's eyes sparkled wide with wonder. Spiff saw Hello Kitty standing there and walked over to her. He sniffed her lightly.
"You recently stepped on a piece of crumpled up paper, picked it up, and threw it away in the trash." Spiff managed to say.
"Y-yes," Hello Kitty said, amazed. "H-how did you know that?"
"My sense of smell never fails," Spiff smirked. "Keep up the good work at throwing away litter. What's your name?"
"Hello Kitty, sir."
Spiff wrote her name in a notebook.
"You just made it into my good book. Keep it up."
And with that, he walked into Zoop's. Hello Kitty was confused, but managed to shake it off.
"You all must be hungry after the exciting day you all had," Zoop smiled. "Come on, you guys. Dinner's on me."
"Thanks, Zoop," Kira piped.
The five walked into Zoop's, and the six friends had a delicious dinner of pasta and organic tomato sauce. Hello Kitty got to know her new friends much better, and they learned a few things about her. Soon, it was night, and Hello Kitty was tired from the exciting day. Iggy walked her back to his home, they put on their pajamas, brushed their teeth, and went to bed.
Two days later, Hello Kitty was walking through the forest getting fresh air and sunshine. She was wearing a pink tank top with matching bow, blue shorts, and blue sandals. She sighed contently and she felt like things were going well. However, a few minutes later, two ferrets zoomed past her from the opposite direction. She wasn't knocked down, but after seeing them, she became curious as to where they were going. So, Hello Kitty took off after the ferrets as fast as her legs would carry her. She peered through a patch of bushes, and saw the ferrets had stopped in front of a dilapidated lot of trailers. In front of it was a sign reading, "Stu's Adventure Camp."
"What a strange place," Hello Kitty gasped, catching her breath. "I wonder why Iggy didn't tell me about this place."
After she caught her breath, she walked over to the ferrets. One of the ferrets had a dopey face, a boring blue shirt, and dark blue jeans with a belt around his waist. The other ferret had a more relaxed face, a dark blue beret, a red and white striped shirt, and blue jeans. Before she could ask them about the establishment, a small yellow catfish stepped out of his office. The catfish had a red-orange dorsal fin, a black unibrow, big brown eyes, a blue jacket over a tan vest, and darker blue trousers.
"Why, hello," the catfish said to Hello Kitty. "Welcome to Stu's Adventure Camp. I'm Catfish Stu, and these are my, ahem, associates, Robert and Robear."
"Duh, hello," the dopey ferret, whose name was Robert, grinned.
"Bonjour," the relaxed ferret, whose name was Robear, grinned in his French accent. "En' chante, mon cherie." He kissed the back of Hello Kitty's paw.
"Uh, hello," Hello Kitty squeaked nervously. "My name is Hello Kitty. I'm vacationing in Kookamunga for two weeks."
Catfish Stu then cleared his throat.
"Now then," Catfish Stu declared, "I have some papers for you to sign. Because you found my place, you now have the right to stay in one of my gourmet five star cabins."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hello Kitty managed to say, "But I already have a place to sleep while I'm here."
"Oh, please," Stu said in a weasel-like tone. "Why sleep in a dirty old tent in the woods, when you could be sleeping in a warm and comfortable bed... For a small price?"
"I'm not sleeping in a tent," said Hello Kitty. "I'm sleeping at my friend Iggy Arbuckle's house."
Catfish Stu, Robert, and Robear gasped in shock! Catfish Stu despised Iggy Arbuckle with a burning intensity.
"Well," Catfish Stu managed to say, "I'll give you another chance. Come stay in one of my cabins."
"I don't want to," Hello Kitty said, "And I should be getting back to Iggy and Jiggers."
Hello Kitty turned around to leave, but Robert and Robear blocked her path, and they each grabbed one of her arms.
"I'm sorry," Catfish Stu said, "But that isn't the answer I'm looking for. You're staying in one of my cabins whether you want to or not. Robert, Robear, take her away."
Hello Kitty took in a deep breath, and let it all out from the top of her lungs with a loud, "HELP!" The sound carried on through the wind, and made it to Iggy and Jiggers' ears.
"Oh, my gosh," Iggy gasped. "Hello Kitty is in trouble!"
"She's at Catfish Stu's place," Jiggers could tell from where the scream came from. "We have to save her."
And with that, Iggy and Jiggers rushed to Stu's Adventure Camp. They stopped just in time in front of Catfish Stu's office. Iggy opened the door to find Stu, Robert, Robear, and a trapped Hello Kitty tied to a chair.
"Stu," Iggy shouted. "Let go of her."
"Do you mind, Arbuckle?" Stu said annoyed. "My customer and I are about to take care of some business."
Iggy began to lecture Stu, while Jiggers distracted Robert and Robear with snack foods. Robert and Robear chased after the snack foods, and Jiggers untied Hello Kitty. Jiggers and Hello Kitty sneaked out the back door, which was good because Iggy had finished his lecture. Catfish Stu did his best to look convinced, but in his mind, he had another trick up his sleeves.
"Oh, don't worry, Iggy," Catfish Stu said, with big sad eyes. "I won't bother Hello Kitty anymore."
Iggy Arbuckle had his suspicions. He pointed his right index and middle fingers to his eyes, then turned them to Stu's eyes. He then walked out of Stu's office, and he, Jiggers, and Hello Kitty raced back to his home as fast as they could.
"Phew," Iggy gasped. "That was close."
"I'm sorry I put you two through so much trouble," Hello Kitty sighed. "I didn't know those three would do that to me."
"It's not your fault," Jiggers said, comforting Hello Kitty. "Catfish Stu is crafty, and Robert and Robear just do what they're told."
"Thank you," Hello Kitty smiled. "You really did a wonderful job at saving me." She then hugged her two friends, rewarding them with a little smooch on their cheeks.
"It's our job as Pig Rangers to protect," Iggy said, lightly blushing.
"Yeah," Jiggers said. "And besides, we all have got your back, Hello Kitty."
Hello Kitty smiled happily. The next night at Zoop's, Hello Kitty, Zoop, Kira, and Spiff, were all having dinner. They were eating hot tomato soup with cornbread muffins. Hello Kitty was just about to take a bite of her cornbread muffin, when suddenly, Catfish Stu walked into Zoop's. He walked over to Hello Kitty and tapped on her shoulder. She decided to ignore him, and took a bite of her cornbread muffin. Stu snapped his fingers, and Robert pulled Hello Kitty off of her seat. Kira and Spiff saw this, and tried to force Robert to let her go. Zoop was scared, but knew something must be done. She didn't know what, though.
"Okay, so maybe yesterday wasn't my best day to ask you," Catfish Stu said, "So I decided to give you another chance. Stay in one of my cabins during your vacation here."
Before Hello Kitty could answer, Zoop turned on a fan, and set it in front of a batch of freshly baked cookies. She turned it on, and the aroma of the cookies wafted in front of Robert's nose. He enjoyed the smell, and as he let got of Hello Kitty, he walked over to the cookies, and started eating them.
"I'm sorry, Stu," Hello Kitty managed to say, her head turned away from him. "My answer is still no. I want to stay with Iggy while I'm here."
Catfish Stu stepped in front of Hello Kitty's way, and grabbed on to her paw.
"I'm going to ask you this one more time," Catfish Stu growled with his big sharp teeth. "Stay at my cabins, or else!"
"Never!" Hello Kitty shouted.
Catfish Stu let go of her paw, and walked back and stopped towards the exit.
"Alright!" Stu snarled. "You asked for it!"
Catfish Stu charged at Hello Kitty, but she stepped out of his path, and Kira tripped him. He flew through the air, and landed in the pot of tomato soup with a splash. Robert was too busy eating the cookies to notice, and Robear was looking around the general store and was too distracted. Catfish Stu bobbed back up to the surface of the pot.
"Great," Stu said, annoyed. "How can this get any worse?"
As if right on cue, Spiff pulled Stu out of the soup, walked him outside, closed the door, and with a mighty poof, Spiff sprayed Catfish Stu. Catfish Stu coughed and ran back to his home. He packed his bags, and he ran off into the night. Back inside Zoop's, Spiff walked in, and wiped his brow.
"Trust me," he managed to say, "You don't want to go out there for a few minutes."
Hello Kitty walked over to Spiff, and she hugged him.
"Thank you very much," she said with a tear of joy in her eye.
She then hugged Zoop and Kira and thanked them too. Robert and Robear noticed that Stu had left, and with nothing better to do, they walked away from Zoop's, packed their bags, and followed Catfish Stu.
"I really want to thank you all," Hello Kitty said with glee and appreciation. "I don't know what I would have done without you."
"Hey, it's no big deal," smiled Kira.
"You would have done the same for us," beamed Zoop.
"And besides," Spiff said, "You had no idea how long we wanted to do that."
Hello Kitty smiled, and celebrated this occasion with her new friends. The next day was the first day of summer, and everyone in Mooseknuckle had a summer solstice party. They played games and danced until nightfall.
Through the course of Hello Kitty's stay, she spent time with each of her new friends. Iggy Arbuckle took her canoeing, hiking, and swinging through the jungles. Hello Kitty helped Jiggers to make bobble-heads of her friends. He even made one special for her. Zoop and Hello Kitty spent time together making candles and tie-dyed shirts. Kira showed Hello Kitty around her visitor center, and the two worked hard. Spiff and Hello Kitty worked together collecting the litter, he showed her the statues he makes with the rubbish he collects, and he even sang to her in his powerful operatic voice. On the last day, they all got together and celebrated Zoop's birthday.
Finally, it was time for Hello Kitty to head back home. With her luggage and her souvenirs, she was at the bus stop ready to go home. Her friends were with her as they all said their goodbyes.
"We're really glad you decided to spend time here in the Kookamunga," Iggy said with a little tear in his eye.
"I had a really good time," Hello Kitty said, "But I think I had a better time with all of you."
"We're really going to miss you," Zoop squeaked, wiping away a tear.
"I'm going to miss you all, too."
And with that remark, Hello Kitty received a group hug from her new friends.
"Be safe getting home," Jiggers said.
"I will," Hello Kitty reassured him.
"Take care," Kira said.
"Thank you," Hello Kitty said, "You too."
Spiff didn't have much to say, but Hello Kitty did manage to give him a kiss on the cheek, and he did the same for her.
"Be sure to remember my promise," he managed to say at last.
"I will," Hello Kitty smiled. "Thank you for all you've done."
This brought a small smile to Spiff's face. Soon, the bus arrived, and Hello Kitty got on board with her luggage.
"Goodbye," Hello Kitty said as the bus revved its engine.
The five Kookamunga residents waved goodbye, but they had a feeling that she would be safe. As they all went home, Zoop placed something on her bedroom wall: a group picture of her, Iggy, Jiggers, Kira, Spiff, and Hello Kitty. In marker, she wrote on the bottom, "Very good friends."
That night in London, as Hello Kitty came home with her luggage, she placed her souvenirs on a shelf, and placed a copy of the same picture Zoop has on her bedroom wall. She also took a marker, and wrote, "very good friends" on the bottom of it. She went to sleep that night dreaming of the fun she had at Kookamunga, but smiled when her new friends appeared in her dreams. She slept through the night, dreaming of the day she would return to Kookamunga.
The End
