The Great Race was fast approaching. It was a sunny Tuesday, and the big race was planned for Saturday. Most of the animals in the forest were excited because it was one of the most important sports events in the Animal Kingdom. Everyone wanted to participate, but not all of them had the right skills.
The jungle morning began as usual with a group exercise session. Patrycja, the desert mouse, led the workout with energy and enthusiasm.
“One, two, three! Paws up!” she commanded, hopping gracefully.
Kuba the lion, wearing his favorite hat, was doing squats with dramatic faces, making each move look like a great feat. Zofia the giraffe stretched her long neck elegantly, and Alfred the anteater performed special eye exercises.
“I need to have hawk-like eyes to clearly see who crosses the finish line first,” Alfred explained, squinting.
After their exercises, it was time for breakfast. Everyone enjoyed their favorite treats: Patrycja nibbled on cheese biscuits, Zofia munched palm leaves, Kuba savored a steak, and Alfred ate ant delicacies.
That week, the animals cut down on their morning consultations. They only accepted urgent cases because all their time was spent preparing for the race. Patrycja practiced regularly on the lake, improving not just her muscles but also her board agility. The race could bring unexpected obstacles — like Hippo Horacy surfacing mid-course and blocking the way. They had to be smart and quick to avoid collisions and rush to the finish.
On Tuesday morning, after the workout, the animals sat at their consultation table. They had two urgent cases that day. The gate opened, and Zofia the giraffe welcomed a grasshopper.
“Hello, Grasshopper! What brings you here? You don’t visit often. We usually see you at evening classical music concerts in the meadow,” Zofia said, bending down her long neck.
“Listen, animals, sorry to waste your time. I know you’re preparing for the race, but I have a problem,” the Grasshopper began. “Yesterday, I practiced hard on my board. I put it carefully in the storage and locked it. Today, I came to check, but my board is gone!”
“That’s terrible!” exclaimed Patrycja, pulling out her magnifying glass. “Why would someone take your board? Are you sure you put it in the storage?”
“Yes,” said the Grasshopper. “I have footage from my camera showing the board was stored and the lock was closed. But maybe there was a blackout last night, and someone sneaked in and stole it.”
“This is very strange,” said the animals. “We’ll note everything down and after our consultations, we’ll visit your home to look for clues.”
“Thank you so much! I’ll wait anxiously and try not to erase any traces,” said the Grasshopper and hopped away.
Next came Mrs. Ant.
“Listen, animals, I have a huge problem,” she began.
“Did your board disappear too?” Alfred guessed, surprising everyone.
“Yes! How did you know?” Mrs. Ant asked.
“Grasshopper was here just now. Looks like someone in your category decided to steal boards,” Alfred explained.
“But why?” Mrs. Ant wondered.
“I don’t know,” Mrs. Ant said. “I practiced hard yesterday and left my board right next to our ant hill. Nobody ever goes there — people fear ants might bite, though we don’t actually bite. No animals come near either, except one.”
“Oh dear,” Alfred said, “Sometimes I crave ant biscuits, but I don’t hunt ants anymore.”
“Just joking, Alfred,” Mrs. Ant laughed. “Anyway, I don’t know if there are clues because I was in such a hurry I didn’t check carefully.”
“This is very strange. We have no more consultations, so we’ll go with you to the anthill. Meanwhile, Kuba the lion and Zofia the giraffe will visit the Grasshopper’s home to look for traces.”
When they arrived, the animals carefully examined the area. Alfred sniffed around but couldn’t track for long — the ant smell made him drool. He wanted ants for a snack but, by agreement, no one could eat the ants living in the animal forest. Alfred took only some ant biscuits from his pocket to satisfy his hunger.
Patrycja found some biscuit crumbs — very strange! Nearby, Kuba and Zofia also discovered the same biscuit crumbs close to the Grasshopper’s home.
“What happened here? Who loves biscuits?” wondered Patrycja. „Usually rabbits eat biscuits, but why would a rabbit want small boards?”
The animals returned to their base and sat at the table, analyzing the situation.
“There are no other traces, so whoever took the boards must be very small,” said Patrycja. “The biscuit crumbs show a sweet tooth. Alfred didn’t smell anything notable, but he couldn’t analyze much because of the ants tempting him.”
“Do we have any other clues?” Patrycja asked.
Zofia answered, “Maybe the category of the lightest animals can help. Let’s think — there’s the Ant, Grasshopper, and who else?”
“The Bee and Ladybug,” said Kuba. “Could one of them have taken the boards?”
“Let’s visit them,” suggested Patrycja.
First, the animals went to see Bee. Her hive was high up in a tree, safe from bears. They stood below while Zofia stretched her neck.
“Bee, Bee! Are you home?” she called.
A different bee popped out of a hollow. “No, she isn’t. The Bee is at the lake, training on her board.”
“Did she go anywhere last night?” Kuba asked.
“No, we bees sleep at night. The queen would scold us if we moved,” came the reply.
“Looks like it’s not Bee,” Patrycja said.
Next, they went to Ladybug’s house.
“Hello Ladybug, are you home?” asked Zofia.
“Yes, I am,” answered Ladybug.
“What are you doing today?”
“Resting. I’m very tired.”
“Tired from what?” Patrycja asked.
“I watched shows on TV all night,” said Ladybug.
“Ladybug, aren’t you training for Saturday’s race?” Alfred asked.
“I tried, but it bored me. I can’t beat the best time and I think I’ll come last again.”
“Hmm,” said the animals. “Ladybug, may we see your board?”
“Why do you want to see it?” Ladybug asked, surprised.
“We want to check for traces from the lake. There was some coloring in the water, and we want to see if the boards got stained,” explained Kuba.
Ladybug hesitated but then said, “Okay, you can look. Here’s my board.”
Patrycja looked closely through her magnifying glass. The board was completely dry. This meant Ladybug hadn’t practiced at all. This was a clue for the detectives.
Kuba asked one more question, “Ladybug, what did you eat yesterday?”
“I had a pack of biscuits from my cousin and some chocolate bars.”
“Can we see those biscuits?” Patrycja asked.
“No, I ate them all,” Ladybug admitted.
The animals suspected Ladybug wasn’t telling the whole truth. They decided to set a trap.
“Okay, Ladybug, we’re going back to base. If you see any abandoned boards, please let us know — some insects in your race group have lost their equipment. We’re trying to find who took them,” Patrycja said.
They left Ladybug’s house but hid behind bushes to watch. As expected, Ladybug sneaked out, carrying boards to hide in the bushes. That’s when Patrycja jumped out.
“Stop, Ladybug! We saw you carrying boards that belong to others. You must give them back. Can you explain why you took them?”
“You caught me. I thought you had gone back to base,” Ladybug sighed. “Last year I lost. Two years ago I came second. This year, I wanted to be first. So I decided if others don’t have boards, I’d win because I’d have no competition.”
“That’s not fair,” said Kuba.
“I know. I got very upset that I couldn’t win,” Ladybug admitted.
“Ladybug,” said Patrycja, “to win, you need to practice a lot. Others have trained for weeks, while you ate biscuits and chocolate without exercising. You can’t win without steady training. I think the judge will disqualify you this time. But if you train hard, next year you have a good chance at the podium.”
“If you want, you can join our team,” Patrycja offered. “We’ll train hard and make sure you stick to a good diet and exercises.”
“Okay, I promise to improve. I won’t race this year, but I’ll help as a judge with Alfred. Next year, I’ll train hard to win,” Ladybug promised.
The animals returned the stolen boards to Grasshopper and Ant and eagerly waited for Saturday.
On Saturday, the jungle was buzzing from morning. All the animals headed to the lake. Alfred the anteater had a stopwatch and binoculars to see who crossed the finish first. Kuba had a starting pistol to kick off each of the four groups. Ladybug helped Alfred watch the race, planning how to train for next time. Patrycja lined up, put on headphones, and focused on music to concentrate.
The first group’s race was won by Grasshopper. Ant was just behind, Bee was third. Ladybug felt a little sad — the race was fun, but she had to face consequences of her dishonesty.
In the small animals’ category, Patrycja the desert mouse was fastest. Rabbit was just behind, but Patrycja cleverly turned her board at the last moment to avoid Hippo Horacy surfacing in the course. She crossed first. The rabbit’s board hit the heavy hippo, bounced back, and the rabbit had to catch up, finishing second.
The next category ended in a tie — Rabbit Karol and Fox Lucek crossed simultaneously, observed closely by Alfred and Ladybug.
The largest animals’ category was won by the tiger, who had the biggest muscles and trained hard.
The animals received trophies and treats in their favorite flavors. After the race, they threw a big party, talking and tasting goodies from around the world. The celebration lasted almost till dawn. Since the night was warm, the animals didn’t go home but laid their sleeping bags on the meadow and admired the morning stars before falling into sweet dreams, dreaming of next year’s race.
Goodnight.