The+Adventures+of+Bounce+and+Quacky

Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler ELA 3/4 B November 18, 2009

The Adventures of Bounce and Quacky Part 3—The Island

The sound of splintering wood cut through the monotonous pounding of waves on the sharp black rocks surrounding the island. Planks groaned as the small boat was ripped apart. Debris and supplies were launched into the air as if an invisible hand had thrown them. As the pair of friends inside were thrown into the icy water, they wailed in terror and pain. With swift, sure, strokes, Quacky the duck swam towards his unconscious companion, Bounce the bunny. Quacky grabbed Bounce tightly and pressed onwards, aware that their only hope was to reach the island looming ahead of them.

As Quacky neared the island, Bounce began to stir. He added his own weak kicks to the powerful strokes of Quacky’s feet, pushing them closer and closer to the island. The waves began to die down as the duo dragged themselves onto land. Too exhausted to speak, they moved slowly away from the waterline and took shelter under the hanging leaves of a palm tree. Finally, Bounce and Quacky succumbed to exhaustion and sleep.

At dawn the next day, Bounce and Quacky awoke. They quickly discussed their duties.

“I’ll build a fire,” Bounce told Quacky. “Try to salvage as much of our ship as you can. We might be able to rebuild it.”

As Quacky waddled off in search of the wreck, Bounce took out the knife he always carried. Swinging it with expert precision, Bounce quickly chopped down a palm tree. He used a rock and his knife to make some sparks, which quickly caught the finely shredded wood on fire.

Meanwhile, Quacky had reached the edge of the calm, turquoise ocean that surrounded the island. It looked nothing like the violent body of water in which they had nearly drowned the day before. He dove in, wetting his sleek yellow feathers. Quacky quickly located several crates of supplies. He surfaced, and then dived back down. By slowly shifting the crates, he managed to get them onto the shore, where he and Bounce could recover them later.

Quacky returned to their “camp” to find Bounce sketching designs in the sand with his knife. “Raft plans,” he said, without looking up.

“I found some supply crates, but not the boat. We could use the wood for a raft,” Quacky commented. “We’ll be off this island in no time at all.”

“I don’t think it’ll be that quick. Can you bring me some of the crates? I’ll find some vines to lash them together,” Bounce said.

Quacky hurried along the beach, heading for the point where he had left the crates. He shoved them into the water and swam alongside them until he reached Bounce’s fire. Bounce ran out to meet him, and the duo dragged the crates to the fire.

As Bounce cut the wood into planks for the raft, Quacky scanned the horizon, looking for any signs of approaching airplanes. He saw nothing except a large gray cloud formation. “There’s a storm coming in,” he told Bounce. “We should get the raft finished so we can be out of here before it hits.”

Bounce had finished cutting the planks, and began making two layers with them. Those layers were then lashed to each other, creating a two-tier raft. Quacky ran to a palm tree and, using Bounce’s knife, began cutting it down. He cut of the foliage at the top and put the thick trunk on the raft to serve as a mast. The leaves were brought to Bounce, who stitched them together and hung them up as a sail. The raft was complete.

By then, the wind had started to pick up, The palm trees swayed, and drops of rain were beginning to fall. The water seemed to get darker, as if warning the duo of what was to come. Heavy clouds moved in. Only minutes remained before the storm hit, and Bounce and Quacky had no shelter.

“The wind’s picking up!” Bounce hollered. “We should launch the raft before the storm hits!”

“It’s too risky!” Quacky called back. “We need to get into the jungle and find shelter!”

“There’s no time to argue! We have to decide //now//!” Bounce yelled. “We must choose!”

“We probably won’t reach the jungle in time,” Quacky said, his voice suddenly calm. “The raft will be destroyed, and we don’t know if we’ll have the time or the materials to build a new one. We have to leave.”

“I agree” Bounce responded. “Let’s launch the raft.”

Bounce and Quacky raised the raft and moved it quickly into the water. Bounce leaped aboard and Quacky paddled it past the rocks where their boat had been wrecked the night before. He leaped on just as the wind caught the sail, propelling the raft forward with enormous force. The small craft was tossed around like a child’s plaything, going over one 15-foot wave only to be drenched by the next. Even Quacky, who was used to aquatic life, had a hard time staying onboard.

After what seemed like days (though it was only a few hours), the storm began to calm down. The waves subsided, and the wind died down to a pleasant breeze. The pair of bedraggled friends lay on their half-destroyed raft, clutching the mast. As they stood up and began to survey the damage, Bounce’s keen eyes spotted a dark blur ahead. “Land!” he called out. “I see land!”

As the raft drew closer, Bounce and Quacky saw the familiar coastline of Duckrabbit Bay. They had come back home.