In the labyrinth of the mysterious cave E-Book

Silvia Kaufer

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 102

Beschreibung

Like every year, Toby spends his summer vacation at his grandmothers and grandfathers place in Spain. Toby has no idea yet how memorable his vacation will turn out to be this time and spends some time at the beach until his friends arrive. Suddenly he hears the whining of a little dog coming from the bushes. He approaches it and meets Mister Blackjack, a very extraordinary dog. Toby adopts the little dog and takes good care of him. They play fetch, wander around the area and have a lot of fun together. After his friends Max, Lewis, and Emma finally arrive, they all go to the beach to explore and discover a hidden cave entrance. Despite the prohibition sign with the warning, the childrens curiosity wins out and they enter the cave. They have no idea of the great danger and get lost In the labyrinth of the mysterious cave. And then suddenly something unexpected happens.

Leseprobe

In the labyrinth of the mysterious cave

In the labyrinth of the mysterious caveCopyright

In the labyrinth of the mysterious cave

An adventure novel

Chapter  1

The sun was shining from a magnificent blue sky on this warm, summer, August day. It was the first day of the summer school break and Toby Brown spent his vacation not at home, but with his grandmother Charlotta and grandfather Artus, as he did every year. Little did he suspect that this holiday would be unforgettable.

Grandma Charlotta and Grandpa Artus had a small cottage in Mascarora, a small and picturesque fishing village on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, idyllically surrounded by olive groves. From the grandparent’s house you could see the small, crescent sandy beach, bordered by huge boulders

Toby sat high up in his tree house that Grandpa Artus had built last year. From up here he had an even better view of the sea and the beach, his favorite pastime at the moment. Each day he met his friends Max, Lewis, and Emma in the little cove, where they played soccer, built giant sand castles or checked out the underwater life while snorkeling. Sometimes they dressed up as pirates and then the cove became an exciting adventure playground. They hid in open crevices and discovered new things.

They always met at Bariti Bay, its official local name, at eleven o’clock on the first vacation day, but as a lark they renamed it ‘Pirati Bay’. Toby scouted the area with his new binoculars and saw that the beach was deserted. Wondering where everyone was, Toby checked his watch. Okay, it wasn’t eleven yet, so they should show up at any moment.

Toby was quite a little rascal, ten years old and had short brown hair. His birthday wasn’t far off, making him another year older. But, he still had to be patient for a while longer. Would he get the big, red, electric fire truck and awesome matching, red helmet? He had wanted both for so long, Toby thought to himself. He was already feeling incredibly excited. As he was dreaming about his up-coming birthday, he suddenly heard a strange noise. It sounded like whining, quiet whimpering.

With a leap, Toby jumped down from his tree house and listened. Where was the noise coming from? Toby went down on his knees and carefully approached some bushes. There, underneath, something light brown, with big, brown eyes. It was a dog! 

“Who are you?” Toby asked quietly, and cautiously held out his hand so that the dog could sniff his scent.

“Hello, my name is Mister Blackjack,” the dog told Toby in a deep voice.

Toby’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Why can you talk?”

“I’m from the planet Planedogia, where dogs can speak,” Mister Blackjack informed him. “But, only you can understand me and of course all other animals.”

“This is unbelievable. So, you didn’t run away from someone, you came directly from outer space?”

“That’s right! Every dog that dies here on earth comes to the planet Planedogia and lives there for a few years, enjoying a terrific life before eventually being sent back here to earth. Some of us then have the privilege of being able to talk to humans.” 

“So, do you then stay here on earth forever?” Toby asked skeptically.

“Well, we don’t really stay forever. We also have to say good-bye to earth at some point in time.”

Mister Blackjack’s journey through the universe must have been exhausting because he lowered his little head to the floor, closed his eyes and fell asleep. Toby stroked his brown soft fur and was happy to have a new friend. What would Max, Lewis, and Emma think about this? They wouldn’t be able to understand Mister Blackjack like he could! Well, they might be able to have some fun with that, he thought to himself.

After a while, Mister Blackjack opened his eyes and grunted in satisfaction, almost like a little piggy.

“Wow, I’m really hungry and thirsty now,” Mister Blackjack said, yawning.

“Then come with me and we’ll go see Grandma Charlotta. I’m sure she has something for you to eat,” Toby said, elated to have this little dog as a new friend. We will surely have lots of fun together, he thought, while quickly running with Mister Blackjack to the house. 

Chapter  2

Grandma Charlotta sat in the small kitchen on the corner bench, peeling potatoes for lunch. She was a warm-hearted older lady who had white hair and who was always delighted when Toby came for a visit. That was when she cooked his favorite food and baked his favorite cakes. Grandma Charlotta was exactly as you imagine a real grandma.

“Holy Moses, who did you bring along?” exclaimed Grandma Charlotta, when she saw them enter the house.

“This is Mister Blackjack and he came from outer space,” Toby proudly explained to his grandmother.

“Yes, of course, and I’m the Queen of England. Hm, a dog from outer space? I think you’ve been reading too many adventure stories, sweetie.”

Grandma Charlotta put the last peeled potato in the bowl and rose from the corner-bench. Mister Blackjack sat quietly on his rump like a good dog, wagged his tail and eyed Grandma Charlotta expectantly.

“Hello, little one, where did you run away from? You look well-taken care of and I don’t think you’re a stray,” Grandma Charlotta said, petting the four-legged visitor.

Mister Blackjack looked visibly relaxed and rubbed his head against her legs. Did she just call him ‘little one’? Well, I’m not that little, he thought. But, no matter, the main thing is that I get something to eat and drink.

“I believe there is still some dog food in the storage shed,” Grandma Charlotta said, furrowing her brow thoughtfully. “We took care of our neighbor’s dog for two weeks and I’m sure there is still some food left.”

It didn’t take long before Grandma Charlotta returned with a bowl brimming with dog biscuits. She placed the bowl of biscuits, as well as one filled with water, on the floor. Mister Blackjack didn’t need to be asked twice and inhaled the delicious biscuits. Even the water tasted great to him.

“But, tomorrow we have to go to the police and tell them we have Mister Blackjack. I’m sure his owners have been looking for him everywhere.”

“What happens if no one is looking for him?” Toby asked.

“What happens if he has no owner? Well, that’s a good question. I guess you may keep him then.”

When Grandma Charlotta heard the squeaking of the garden gate, she looked out the window and saw Grandpa Artus loaded with shopping bags.

“Oh, look, here comes Grandpa Artus.”

Grandpa Artus was his favorite grandpa. He too was a warm-hearted and friendly older gentleman with white hair, even though at times he was a bit stricter than Grandma Charlotta. Grandpa Artus was technically talented and therefore had no problems building a great tree house for Toby the last time he was here on vacation. Toby was mighty proud to have his own tree house and when it was finished, he had a little housewarming party with his three friends. This year Grandpa Artus was busy building a wooden hut to store firewood and afterwards a large wooden bench and large table for the garden. However, no one could guess that he wouldn’t get to it this summer.

“Look, Grandpa went to the weekly market and bought fruits, vegetables, meat, and cheese.”

“Did Grandpa buy bread and rolls too?” Toby asked with interest.

“No, we don’t buy bread, we bake it ourselves. If you like, you can help me when I bake bread this afternoon.”

“We don’t bake bread at home. Mom always buys it at Willi’s bakery around the corner,” Toby told his grandmother. “First, I’d like to meet Max, Lewis, and Emma on the beach and then I’ll help you bake bread.”

“Hello, I’m back,” Grandpa Artus greeted. “It was quite busy at the market, let me tell you. The bank nearby was robbed yesterday evening and police are searching everywhere for the thief.”

“Do they have any information about the robber?” Grandma Charlotta inquired.

“The word on the street is that it was a big, strong, older man, wearing black pants and a red sweater. He left the area on an old motorcycle. I’m sure he’s long gone.”

“We should go look for him, I’m sure we’d find him,” Mister Blackjack said in his deep voice.

“Do you really think we’d find him if we searched for him?” Toby asked in astonishment.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Of course we’re not going to look for him, that’s what the police are for!” Grandpa Artus merely shook his head, wondering if his grandson had perhaps been too long in the sun.

Toby realized now that he had to be careful when talking to Mister Blackjack. After all, Grandma and Grandpa couldn’t hear Mister Blackjack. They might think he was sick and order bed rest. 

Mister Blackjack lay sprawled in the corner of the small kitchen, unmoving. Grandpa put away all the groceries, took his seat on the corner bench, placed his slim reading glasses on his nose and began reading the newspaper. “Have you greeted our new houseguest yet?” Grandma Charlotta asked with a smile on her face, pointing in the direction where Mister Blackjack lay.

“Ooh!” Grandpa Artus exclaimed in astonishment. “Aren’t you a beautiful dog? Who do you belong to? Where’d you come from?”

Mister Blackjack got up on his paws and slowly walked over to Grandpa Artus. Grandma Charlotta told her husband how Mister Blackjack happened to be in their home, except she left out the part about him being from outer space. That was just Toby’s wild imagination, she thought.

“Oh, look at the time; it’s already a quarter past eleven. Mister Blackjack, we have to go, I’m sure my friends are at the beach by now, waiting for me.”

Toby quickly grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and went flying out the door with Mister Blackjack following close behind.

“Don’t forget, lunch is served at one o’clock!” Grandpa Artus called after them.

The footpath to the beach was winding and narrow. It meandered through a meadow of tall grass and ended above the rocky cove. However, Toby didn’t follow the trail to the cove, but instead took a shortcut down the partially eroded, dangerous slope.

“Be careful, Mister Blackjack, it’s awfully steep here and I don’t want you to slip and fall.”

“Don’t worry about me, I have four paws and it’s not the first steep slope I have climbed down. By the way, I can see your friends have made it to the beach. Look, they are even waving at us.”

Last week’s rain made the slope slippery and Toby carefully placed one foot before the other, making sure to hold on to tufts of grass or roots growing out of the ground. Climbing down the steep slope was difficult this time because Toby was only wearing sneakers instead of hiking boots. Only a few yards separated him from the ground when the roots he was holding on to suddenly broke.

“Oh no, I’m going to fall,” Toby shouted.

“Quickly, hold on to me,” said Mister Blackjack, who was immediately right next to him.

Toby grabbed his thick fur and together they took a great leap to the ground below. Their landing wasn’t quite as soft as Toby and Mister Blackjack hoped for, but since it was on the sandy beach no one was hurt. The three friends immediately ran towards them and were visibly relieved when they saw that nothing had happened to Toby and the dog.

Chapter  3

All greeted each other warmly. Naturally, the friends wanted to know where the little dog came from. The four sat in their favorite spot in the sand, hidden behind a boulder from spying eyes and Toby told them the whole story. He revealed where he met him the first time, that he was from outer space, and that only he, Toby, could talk and understand him. At first, the three friends didn’t quite believe his tale, but then they remembered they had all swore never to lie to one another and in the end, they accepted it as the truth. 

“Oh, did you know the bank was robbed last night?” Toby asked.

“Yes, of course, it’s all over town,” Max said. “Imagine if we could catch the robber. Boy, that would be something. I’m sure it would be mentioned in the newspaper the next day, along with our pictures. Headline: Four German children catch a bank robber.”

“Come back down to earth, Max,” Emma said, grinning. “Your great imagination is out of control.”

“Max isn’t far off the mark,” Mister Blackjack said suddenly, and his ears pricked up. “I feel something is going on here. I somehow feel that something will happen.”

“What do you mean,” Toby asked him.

“Patience, I need more information first.”

Everyone looked at each other, yet no one commented.

“Come on; tell me, what have you been up to this past year?” Toby wanted to know from each of his friends.

Everybody explained in great detail what they had been doing since their last vacation time together.