Captain Ellie and the Floating Jungle

Read-aloud note

After the story, ask one simple question about how the friend felt.

Story

Captain Ellie the elephant wore a big green captain hat and kept a tiny silver whistle around her neck. Every morning she gave it one small toot. Tweet! And that meant one thing: adventure time.

"All aboard, animal crew!" she called. And oh, they came running. Mango the monkey tied the ropes with quick little fingers. Penny the penguin waddled straight to the big steering wheel. Lulu the lamb folded soft blankets into fluffy piles. Oscar the owl climbed up to the lookout tower and blinked his wide golden eyes. And Hippo Hugo heaved the fruit baskets on board, one big grunt at a time. Their ship was called The Banana Breeze and it was the most wonderful ship in the world because it could sail on rivers, float on the sea, and fly above the treetops. All Captain Ellie had to do was press a round yellow button. Just one button!

That morning, she said, "Today we visit the Floating Jungle." Nobody on the crew had ever been there. Oscar had heard it was up very high. Lulu had heard the trees grew upside down. Mango had heard the clouds smelled like mangoes, which he thought was very good news. The Banana Breeze sailed down a shiny river, swish swish swish, and then Captain Ellie pressed the yellow button. Pop! Whirr! Whoosh! Up they went up past the birds up past the clouds, until they saw the most curious thing: little green islands, just floating there in the sky, slow and gentle, with flowers and vines dangling off the edges like the jungle had simply decided to go for a float.

Then Oscar heard it first. A tiny voice, soft as a sneeze. "Help! Help!" Down below on a single spinning leaf sat a baby panda, eyes big and round, drifting further and further from the nearest island. "Do not worry," said Captain Ellie. "We are very good at helping." Oscar leaned out and found the safest path through the clouds. Penny steered slowly, slowly, slowly. Mango tossed a soft rope, and the panda grabbed on tight. Then Captain Ellie reached out her long, gentle trunk and lifted the baby panda safely onto the deck. The panda blinked. Then smiled. "Thank you," the panda said, very quietly.

They all sat together under a rainbow tree on the biggest floating island, sharing bananas and starfruit and one enormous stripy melon that Hugo had been saving. When the stars came out, Captain Ellie gave one small toot on her tiny silver whistle. Tweet. The Banana Breeze turned for home, sailing soft and slow under all those stars, with one more friend tucked up in Lulu's fluffiest blanket.

Scenes

All Aboard the Banana Breeze

Captain Ellie gave her tiny silver whistle one small toot. Tweet! That meant adventure time. Mango tied the ropes, Penny took the wheel, Lulu folded blankets, Oscar climbed the lookout, and Hugo heaved the fruit baskets aboard. The Banana Breeze was ready to go.

Up Past the Clouds

The Banana Breeze sailed down a shiny river, swish swish swish. Then Captain Ellie pressed the round yellow button. Pop! Whirr! Whoosh! Up they went, past the birds, past the clouds, into a sky as soft as cotton.

The Floating Jungle

There it was, the most curious thing! Little green islands floated slow and gentle in the sky, with flowers and vines dangling off the edges. Oscar blinked. Mango sniffed. Lulu gasped. The clouds really did smell a little like mangoes.

A Tiny Voice in the Clouds

"Help! Help!" Oscar heard it first. Down below, a baby panda sat on a spinning leaf, drifting further and further. Penny steered slowly, slowly. Mango tossed a soft rope. And Captain Ellie reached out her long, gentle trunk and lifted the panda safely onto the deck.

Under the Rainbow Tree

They sat together under a rainbow tree, sharing bananas and starfruit and one enormous stripy melon. When the stars came out, Captain Ellie gave one small toot. Tweet. The Banana Breeze turned for home, with one more friend tucked into Lulu's fluffiest blanket.