The morning in the jungle began just like always. The sun rose gently over the sparkling lake, and birds chirped loudly in the crowns of the tall palm trees. On the terrace of their cozy home, the Animal Detectives were already standing, dressed in their bright gymnastics outfits.
“One, two, three — jumping jacks!” ordered Zofia, stretching her long neck high into the air.
Kuba, the lion, did his jumping jacks with great seriousness, as if it were the most important task in the whole world. Alfred, the meerkat, practiced balancing on one leg. With his long nose, it looked quite funny. Patricia, the desert mouse, jumped skillfully and counted in her head how many she had already done.
After their morning gymnastics, everyone jumped into the lake. The water was cool and clear. Ala, the parrot, did flips above the surface, while Kuba floated out to the middle and lay on his back for a moment, gazing up at the blue sky.
“Perfect,” he said, satisfied.
After their swim, they sat down for breakfast. Each had their favorite treat and their own portion of vegetables. Kuba’s carrot vanished suspiciously quickly — this time, without any protest.
“Something is not right,” noticed Patricia, looking at the lion’s empty plate.
“I was hungry,” Kuba replied, not lifting his eyes.
The gate of the Animal Detectives Agency was open. The time for advice had begun.
The first visitors were two little squirrels who had lost their acorn. Alfred helped them find it — it had been buried by mistake under the wrong tree. Then an old turtle arrived, needing help with a map to the neighboring pond. Zofia drew him a new, more accurate one.
And then, two strangers appeared at the gate.
The first was round, black and white, and looked at everyone with calm, kind eyes. The second was slender, covered in spots, and glanced around quickly, with a hint of worry — just like someone who couldn’t sit still.
“Good morning,” said the round one. “I am Panda Radzio.”
“And I am Cheetah Szymon,” introduced the spotted one. “We came through a portal. We need help from the Animal Detectives.”
Kuba pointed to chairs at the round table.
“Sit down. Tell us everything.”
Radzio sat comfortably. Szymon sat too, but his tail kept wagging from side to side.
“We live in the Land of Friendship,” Radzio began. “It’s a small place — you can walk around it in five days. But it is truly special.”
“Special how?” asked Patricia, opening her notebook.
Szymon grew excited.
“We have ice mountains where you can eat ice cream of any flavor you want. Strawberry, watermelon, salty caramel — just ask. There are lemonade waterfalls — the kind without sugar that doesn’t stick, doesn’t attract bees, and doesn’t hurt your teeth, even if you forget to wash them.”
“Sounds nice,” Kuba admitted.
“And there’s a funfair,” continued Szymon. “Roller coasters, slides, and recently even new hotdog flavors — cheesy, chip-flavored, and vegetable. The lines are always long because everyone loves them.”
“And we all live in harmony,” Radzio added calmly. “Lots of green, beautiful trees, and lakes. Sometimes it rains, which the plants need. Usually, the weather is pleasant.”
“Usually?” Patricia caught the word.
Radzio sighed.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to tell you. For some time, it has been getting warmer there. Not just a little warmer — really warmer. Even in the caves, where it was always cool, it’s now hot and stuffy. The fish in the rivers are lifting their heads and saying they can’t cool down. Flowers that once bloomed all year are now wilting at midday.”
Szymon reached into his bag and pulled out a thick notebook covered in tiny notes.
“I’ve been taking measurements for three years,” he explained. “Every day, at the same time, I record the temperature in seven places in the Land. And for a year, the numbers have only gone up.”
Patricia took the notebook and looked through a few pages. She looked at Alfred. Alfred slowly nodded.
“Systematic notes,” he said with admiration. “That’s a very good clue.”
Kuba placed his paws on the table.
“Then we’ve started our investigation. First, we’ll go to the Wise Book.”
Zofia brought a large, leather-bound volume from the library. She placed it on the table and opened it to the chapter about the warmth of lands.
Patricia read aloud so everyone could hear:
“Warmth in every land comes from the sun. Without the sun, all lands would be dark and very cold. But the sun is not everything.”
She turned the page.
“Every land is wrapped in an invisible blanket. When the sun shines, the blanket traps some of its heat — so the land is comfortable, not too hot, not too cold. You can’t see the blanket with your eyes, but it’s always there.”
Radzio listened carefully. Szymon stopped wagging his tail.
“If a land gets too hot, there can be two reasons. First: the sun has started shining stronger than usual. Second: the blanket has become too thick and traps too much heat.”
Kuba narrowed his eyes.
“Invisible blanket,” he repeated slowly. “So every land sleeps under a blanket?”
“Not sleeps,” Patricia corrected. “It just has one.”
“But I have a blanket, and sometimes it’s too hot for me too. Maybe we just need to air it out?”
Alfred looked at him.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
“Always more complicated,” the lion sighed.
Patricia closed the book.
“We have two clues,” she summarized.
Alfred was already rising from his chair.
“Clue one: we check the sun. Is it shining too strongly?”
“Clue two: we check the blanket. Is it thicker than it should be?”
Zofia nodded.
“Alfred and I will take the portable astronomical observatory. We’ll set it up in the Land of Friendship and measure the sun.”
“And we with Kuba,” Patricia added, “will check the blanket. We’ll compare old and new measurements.”
Radzio and Szymon looked at each other.
“Can we help?” asked Radzio.
“Szymon,” Alfred assured him, “your notes will be very important to us. We’ll need every number.”
Szymon straightened up and held his notebook tighter.
“I have everything.”
They left in the afternoon. The portal stood at the edge of the jungle, near an old baobab tree — a round opening surrounded by a soft, slightly golden glow. The portal, as you know, is used for traveling between lands. The Animal Detectives had used it many times before.
They went through one by one. Ala flew in first, followed quickly by Patricia with her bag full of tools, then Kuba with his hat pulled low on his forehead. Alfred entered last, carrying the carefully folded observatory in a long case.
And just then, the portal blinked.
The golden glow flickered, as if someone was playing with a broken switch. Then it disappeared for a fraction of a second and made a quiet, uncertain sound — something between a buzz and a hiccup.
“Huh?” Kuba said from the other side. “Is this normal?”
“No,” Patricia answered matter-of-factly, writing something in her notebook. “But it has happened before.”
The passage closed with a soft “puff” — and opened again a moment later, this time noticeably smaller.
“Alfred!” Ala called from above. “Hurry up!”
Alfred looked at the equipment he was carrying. The case was long. The glowing opening now seemed… a bit shorter.
“No worries,” he said slowly. “I’m handling the situation.”
He laid the package horizontally, crouched, and slipped inside sideways, with his nose pointing forward like a ram. The circle snapped shut exactly one second after the detective’s tail disappeared on the other side.
For a moment, everyone stayed silent.
“I knew that big tube would cause problems,” Kuba commented.
“Full success,” Alfred announced, adjusting his hat. “Observatory safe and sound.”
Radzio looked at them with wide eyes.
“Does… does your arrival always look like this?”
“Not at all,” Patricia said, closing her notebook. “Sometimes it’s much worse.”
Behind the portal, heat hit them. Not pleasant heat — thick and heavy, like someone had left the oven door open.
Before them stretched the Land of Friendship. In the distance, you could see the silhouettes of mountains, the shimmer of waterfalls, and the colorful lights of the funfair. It smelled of flowers and something else — something hard to name.
Alfred stood still.
He took a deep breath through his long nose — once, twice, three times.
“I feel something strange,” he said. “I don’t know what yet. But it’s not just heat from the sun.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Remember this,” he added. “It might help.”
Radzio stood beside him and looked at his land with the face of someone who desperately wanted everything to return to normal.
“Welcome to the Land of Friendship,” he said softly. “Please, help us.”
Will the Detectives discover what is happening to the blanket?
Will the ice mountains still have salty caramel ice cream?
And will Kuba finally get to those cheesy hotdogs?
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