Caroline's POV:
"There it is!" Gobo said as we entered a tunnel. "That's the Great Fraggle River."
"Yay, we finished the quest!" Junior said.
"No, Cantus said we start here. We need to find the Mark of the Fraggle, so we know where to go next." Gobo said.
We started to look around. The journey so far had been largely uneventful, so it would probably be easy to find.
"There!" Gobo said, pointing to a sign across the river. It had a picture of a Fraggle on it, with its hands on either side of its head in a silly way. An arrow was drawn next to it, pointing down a tunnel. "Looks like we have to swim across."
"Oh no!" Cotterpin cried. "Doozers hate to swim!"
"I can swim, but I don't like the look of that current." I said, watching the water rush past. "I'm not sure if any of us would be able to get across without getting swept downstream…"
"Ooh! I know! We can use a bridge!" Junior said.
"Except there isn't a bridge around to use." Gobo pointed out. We stood in silence as we each worked to figure out a solution. I looked around the cave, hoping to find a way to cross.
My eyes wandered up towards the ceiling, & I noticed something that might just work…
"Look at that!" I said, pointing. "It almost looks like somebody carved the rock ceiling into monkey bars!"
"What are monkey bars?" Gobo asked.
"It's a game." I explained. I noticed a pile of rocks to one side, almost arranged like steps, & climbed up so I could reach the first bar. "Kids climb on them, & try to cross by swinging from their hands, like this." I pushed off from the rocks, & used the momentum to swing to the second bar. After hanging there for a moment, I dropped back down.
"Cotterpin, why don't you get in my pocket? I can swing us across the river." She carefully slid off of Gobo's pack into my hand, & held open my jeans' pocket so she could fit inside. Once she was comfortably settled, I climbed back up the rock steps & prepared to grab the first bar.
"Wait!" Cotterpin said from my pocket. "Are you sure you can get all the way across? What if you fall into the river?"
"It's the only way we have to get across." I said. "I won't fall, but if I do, just hold on tight to my jeans. I'll make sure you're safe."
"Oh, all I can think about it is falling into that horrible rushing river…" Cotterpin moaned as I began to make my way across.
"Then let's think about something else." I said, deciding to go slowly & carefully. "All I know about Doozers is that they like to work. What's your life like?" I asked, trying to think of a topic. "Do you have any family?"
"Of course I do!" Cotterpin said. "I have a mom & dad just like every Doozer. My daddy even leads his own team of builders. Don't you have a family?"
"I do." I said. "It was just my dad & I for as long as I can remember. My mom walked out on us when I was very little."
"So you don't have a Ma at all?" Junior asked. He & Gobo were swinging along behind me.
"Actually, my dad just got remarried, so now I have a stepmom." I said…as I missed the next bar in front of me.
We were directly over the Great Fraggle River.
Luckily, I hadn't let go of the previous bar, so I swung back & held on tight with both hands, trying to calm my racing heart. That had been close.
"I also have some siblings for the first time." I said, trying to keep Cotterpin calm after our near fall. "There's my stepbrother, Niraj, who's only a couple years younger than me. I also have a stepsister named Esha, who's 7." I grabbed the next bar, & swung myself the rest of the way over the Great Fraggle River. I tried not to breathe a sigh of relief.
"We made it!" Cotterpin said, happily. "But, uh…how do we get down from here?"
"Getting down is the easy part." I said. "Hold on tight." I let go of the monkey bars, landing on the rock below. I stepped out of the way to let Gobo & Junior jump down after me.
"That was fun!" Junior said.
"C'mon!" Gobo said. "Let's go find the Cave of the Council!"
They've made it past the first challenge, but their quest won't be that easy…Next time, our explorers will face an even tougher challenge!
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