The Danderfield Twins: Goodbye, Goodbye

“Winning this holiday cruise for all of us by guessing the number of jellybeans in a six-foot jar is the smartest thing you’ve ever done,” said Kavita to Deidre as she stretched out on her deck chair around the ship’s swimming pool.

“It’s such a great adventure, and we’re so lucky they let you bring your family and two friends,” said Marty.

“And don’t forget pets,” said Deidre, giving Plato a pat on the head.

“It’s so sad when a story comes to an end,” said Maisie, closing her magazine. “I’m done with this issue and now I have nothing to read. I think I’ll go to the ship’s library and see if I can find another one.”

But just as she stood up, a sudden jolt rocked the ship so violently that the pool water splashed up, soaking them.

“Wow,” said Deidre. “Let’s go investigate.” Kavita and Marty chose to stay by the pool, but Maisie went off with Deidre to see what caused the jolt. When they came back, Mr. and Mrs. Danderfield and Marcus were with them. All five Danderfields looked grim.

“You know that bossa nova dance contest we were all going to enter tonight?” said Maisie, shaking her head gravely.

“Yes,” said Kavita. “What about it?”

“We’ll have to postpone it,” said Deidre.

“Oh no, why?” wailed Kavita. She had been practicing her bossa all morning and had almost perfected her nova.

“Because,” said Deidre. “We have very much hit an iceberg.”

“Very much?” asked Marty. “You’re sure it’s not just slightly?”

“In the middle of the south seas?” said Kavita. “That seems odd to me.”

“To me, too,” said Maisie. “But the captain said he can almost always tell an iceberg from a collision with a small craft. He told us to abandon ship right away.”

All the Danderfields and Marty and Kavita managed to squeeze into one lifeboat.

“Now this is cozy,” said Deidre, removing Commander Lapin’s paw from her ear and Plato’s tail from the collar of her shirt.

Fortunately, land was in sight. Unfortunately, when their boat got near to shore, it became apparent to all that the beaches of this fair isle were badly infested with tigers.

“If it had only been lions,” said Kavita.

“Are they less dangerous?” asked Maisie.

“No, but I’ve always wanted to dance the bossa nova with one. I’m almost sure it can be done.”

“Now what do we do?” asked Marty.

“I believe it’s time for me to swim to shore and practice my tiger-mesmerizing skills,” said Maisie.

“I didn’t know you knew how to mesmerize tigers,” said Marty.

“There’s so much you don’t know,” said Maisie. She dove into the water and did a dashing butterfly stroke, skirting the sharks and sea snakes and bounding onto the sand, where in just a few quick moments she had put all the tigers down for naps.

“What talent,” gasped Marty.

“What silliness,” said Kavita. “This whole episode in our lives is getting sillier and sillier.”

“Maybe because it’s the end, and endings are hard,” said Deidre.

“The end of what?” asked Marty.

“The end of the cruise. Part of the prize was a week on an island. I wanted to keep that part of the prize a secret until the last minute. Look at those tigers up close,” said Deidre, giggling.

“Hey,” said Marty. “They’re just people in tiger suits.”

“Welcome to Adventure Island!” said one of the tigers. “You’ve won a week’s stay here, learning survival skills, living in bamboo huts, and eating three gourmet meals a day.”

“Wow,” said Kavita. “This prize gets better and better.”

“But I’m sorry the cruise is over,” said Marty. “I really liked it.”

“Never mind. The third and final part of the prize is taking a tall ship home and learning to sail!” said Maisie. “It’s sad to leave an adventure, but there’s always a new one around the corner.”

“So say good-bye to the cruise ship!” said Deidre as they watched it sail into the sunset. “And let’s begin the new adventure.”

“Good-bye!” called the children and Mr. and Mrs. Danderfield. Plato barked and Commander Lapin twitched his nose. “Good-bye! Good-bye! Good-bye!”