'Hey Mabo,' police chief Duffy called as he walked over to one of his officers.
'Yeah, chief? What is it?' Mabo, standing on the sidelines of the festivities and observing the crowd, asked.
'A few minutes ago, I saw one of those Koalaville koalas start to walk up towards the northeast.'
'So what? He's probably going to the forest path, so he can go home,' Mabo saw no reason to be suspicious.
'That's what I thought at first, but the celebration's only just begun. Why would he go home so soon? And besides, that koala looks to me to be one of the rowdy sort. I got to thinkin', and I figure he may be goin' up north to burglarize a few trees. After all, now that practically everybody is here in the center, it would be a perfect chance for criminals to steal everything they can find in the trees up there.'
'Good point, boss. What do you suggest?' Mabo asked.
'Well, maybe he's harmless,' Duffy replied, 'but just to be sure, why don't you go up there, see if you can spot him, and check out what he's doin'? He'll be easy to find, since he's probably the only one there now.'
'Should I follow him if he enters the forest?' Mabo wanted to know.
'Maybe a bit, to make sure he's headin' back to Koalaville. Then you can return and report to me.'
'Will do, Chief!' Mabo elbowed his way through the dense crowd until he had gotten to the northernmost part of the central clearing, then headed northeast through the grove.
Bumpy, meanwhile, had reached the forest path a good five minutes before. He looked around and saw no-one, so he figured that he had arrived early, and decided to wait for the mysterious beauty.
After a minute, he heard a high-pitched giggle coming from behind a nearby tree:
'Hee hee, here I am, hee hee!'
'Why, that must be her!' he thought to himself. Then, speaking aloud, 'Is that you? Are you the beauty that wants to meet Bumpy? Well, I'm Bumpy!'
'Oh, you're sooo cute!' the voice responded; it was a high voice, but nonetheless sounded a bit rough to Bumpy. He figured that the poor thing must have a cold. He walked over towards the tree.
'Don't be shy! I'm sure we'll get along swell!' he said when he got to the tree. Then he added, just before bending down a bit and peeking around the trunk, 'Don't worry, I won't hurt you!'
'No, I'll hurt you!' a now-low voice responded, as a figure stepped around from the other side of the tree, faced him, then punched him in the face before Bumpy could lift his paws in defense. Bumpy fell onto his back, stunned by the blow.
When Bumpy looked up from the ground, there were three figures towering above him, looking down upon him with evil grins on their faces: Chuppy, who had hit him, Guppy, and Moldy. Bumpy knew he was in big trouble, but wasn't about to let the three brutes intimidate him.
'Oh, so you mangy idiots think you can scare me, huh?' he asked defiantly. 'Well, I'll have you know that I am Bumpy Koala, and I don't know the meaning of the word 'fear'!'
'Well then,' Chuppy replied, 'maybe we oughta teach ya!' With that, the three blackguards pounced on him and started beating him with a vengeance. Bumpy thrashed about, trying to punch whomever he could. The four were wrestling around on the ground, almost appearing to be one big hairy ball of unbridled rage and savagery: the fur was truly flying. Bumpy managed to sink his teeth into Moldy's shoulder, and held on; the latter emitted a shrill yell while his friends continued to pommel their victim.
Only about a minute had gone by (though to poor Bumpy, it seemed like half an eternity), when suddenly, someone pulled Chuppy up and pushed him aside, then did the same with Guppy and Moldy, who yelled all the louder, since in so doing, the newcomer had caused a small piece of flesh to be ripped from his shoulder, as Bumpy had not loosened his bite.
Reaching down to pick up Bumpy as well, Mabo – for it was, of course, the policekoala who had followed Bumpy who was breaking up the fight – was knocked backwards by a punch in the nose. Bumpy, who was still lashing out, fighting for his life, had not noticed that it was a policekoala whom he was hitting. Mabo was stunned for a few seconds, which gave Chuppy, Guppy and Moldy ample time to run off among the trees to escape arrest. Bumpy, however, wasn't so fortunate.
'So, hitting a police officer, eh?' Mabo said angrily as he raised his stick, threatening to give Bumpy a whack on the head. 'Calm down right now, or I'll knock you senseless!'
Bumpy, seeing that the worst was over, looked up at him apologetically. 'Oh, sorry about that. I thought you were one of those thugs. It's good you got here when you did, or I might have bought the farm!'
Mabo thought he was delirious. 'What would a scoundrel like you want with a farm?'
'No, I mean I might have soon been pushin' up daisies,' Bumpy explained.
'You out of your mind, or what? There aren't any daisies around here!' Mabo replied, irritated.
'No, I mean I might be dead, you fool!' Bumpy put it plainly.
'Oh, attackin', then insultin' a police officer. You'll pay for this, you rascal!' Mabo, reaching down to grab him, rolled Bumpy over, placed his knee on his back so he couldn't move, then took out a cord with which he tied his hands behind his back.
'You're under arrest. You have the right to shut your darned mouth. Anything you say can and will be used as an excuse to punch you in the snoot. You have the right to an attorney, though I don't know where the devil you're gonna find one here in Koalatown willing to defend a scurvy beast like you. And if you can't afford an attorney, tough luck!' Mabo pulled him to his feet and led him off. Bruised, sore, and hurting all over, Bumpy gradually realized that for him, the Great Spring Celebration was over.
Watching the scene from the leafy limb of a tree about thirty yards away, Chuppy and Guppy were delighted. Moldy might have been as well, but he was too busy moaning in pain, pressing a handkerchief against the wound in his shoulder in order to stop the bleeding.
'I guess there's justice in this world after all!' Chuppy rejoiced. 'We got to give that moron the beatin' of his worthless life, and now he'll be chained to the Tree of Justice and put on trial. It couldn't get any better than this!' he laughed.
'Shhh!' Guppy warned. 'Not so loud, or that Mabo might hear you!' They were silent for a moment until the policekoala had taken his prisoner off further to the south. 'Yeah, you're right there. That was the most fun I've had in a long time!'
'Well, not me!' Moldy whined. 'My shoulder really hurts. That animal took a big chunk out of it! I should go to a doctor. Who knows, he might have given me rabies or somethin'!'
'Oh, stop complainin', will ya?' Guppy told him. 'Look, you can't go to a doctor, 'cause he'll know you were in a fight, and might report you to Duffy or one of those other lamebrains who work for him.'
'But suppose I die or somethin'?' Moldy asked with a groan.
'Don't worry, there's a solution for everything. We'll go back to the southwest, then I'll go to my tree and ask my momma to give me that little stone that stops the bleedin' when you hold it up against a wound.'
'Oh, yeah, Chuppy, I remember that thing. Some doctor gave it to you last year when a scrill bit you in the hand as you reached into his tree and tried to steal his nuts,' Guppy recollected.
'Yeah, I should've wrung that little devil's neck!' Chuppy remembered with a scowl.
'As I recall, you looked so scared that I thought the scrill was gonna wring your neck!' Guppy laughed.
'Aw, shut up,' Chuppy responded angrily. Then, to both of his accomplices: 'Okay, let's get back to the southwest. We've done our good deed for the day!'
***
'Oh, Humpy!' Milly walked over to Bumpy's pal, who was having a drink with Meppy, and said to him in a loud voice so that he could hear her over the noise of the crowd, 'It's been two hours now, and Bumpy still isn't back. I'm getting worried!'
'Well, I wouldn't worry if I were you,' Humpy tried to cover for his friend. 'Those business meetings can really get stretched out sometimes, especially when it comes to negotiating a final deal. I'm sure Bumpy will be back before long. Here, let me buy you another drink.' He and Meppy led Milly to the nearest refreshment stand and bought her a eucalyptus drink – drink, not liquor, since Milly preferred to keep her wits about her – paying the vendor five walnuts.
Dumpy and Silly, who were leaning against a tree between dances, looked over to their friends. 'Uh, gee Silly, I guess Milly is worried or somethin', since Bumpy isn't back yet, huh uh huh.'
'Oh, he'll be back. Didn't you see how well he was getting along with Milly? Hee hee hee!'
'Huh uh huh, yeah, I guess you're right. You and me get along pretty well, too, don't we? Huh uh huh,' Dumpy asked shyly.
'Now that you mention it – hee hee heee! – I think we do, too!' Silly replied and gave Dumpy a quick but tender kiss on his nose.
'Gee, Silly, huh uh huh, you're real nice,' Dumpy blushed a bit and stroked Silly's shoulder gently. 'Oh, they're startin' to play another song. Do you wanna go over and dance again?'
'Oh, I'd just love to, Dumpy, hee hee hee!'
***
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Volume II
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