Happy Feet Two

by Paul Livingston

  Will turned and swam up toward the surface.

  “Where are you going?” asked Bill.

  “I’m moving up the food chain.”

  “The food chain?”

  “That’s right, Bill. I’m gonna chew on something that has a face!”

  Mumble stood at the edge of a deep, wide crack in the ice. This crevasse stretched in either direction as far as the eye could see.

  “I don’t remember this being here,” said Mumble. “We’ll just have to go around.”

  “But Emperor Land is straight ahead,” Bo insisted and pointed her flipper at a bridge of ice over the chasm. Mumble didn’t trust it.

  “No. This way is safer,” he said, heading off.

  “But shortcuts are shorter,” Bo argued.

  Mumble turned around to make sure the kids were following him. But they weren’t there—they had already begun crossing the dangerous ice bridge.

  “Kids! Stop! It’s not safe!” yelled Mumble.

  Bo and Atticus stopped midway across the bridge, but Erik kept going. Mumble hurried over to join the kids and shuffled across the narrow path, hoping his weight wouldn’t bring down the bridge. When he caught up to Bo and Atticus, and finally to Erik, he said, “Okay, we’re going to have to keep going, but take it nice and slow. And don’t look down.”

  Of course, Atticus immediately looked down and was terrified.

  Then Mumble looked across the bridge and saw another scary sight—a humongous Elephant seal blocking their path!

  “Where ya headin’?” boomed the beast.

  “Home,” said Mumble.

  “Oh yeah, so am I,” the Elephant seal replied.

  “If you don’t mind backing up a little bit, we’ll just squeeze past,” Mumble said politely.

  “That’s the one thing I can’t do, matey,” said the creature. “Bryan the Beachmaster backs up for nobody.”

  “But we’ve come all the way across,” said Mumble.

  “Then you’ll just have to go all the way back, won’t ya?” replied the Beachmaster.

  “But I’ve got the kids,” said Mumble. “It’s kind of dangerous.”

  “Fair enough,” said the Beachmaster. “But see it my way: One day I’ll be protecting my beach and some pumped-up punk wants to take it from me. We’re nose-to-nose. The whole world’s watchin’. And in the back of my mind there’s this niggling doubt. I once backed up for a penguin! He’ll see it in my eyes and I’m gone. Good-bye, ladies; hello, lonely beach. Ya with me?”

  Mumble tried to reason with the Beachmaster, but it didn’t work.

  “Get out of my way!” roared the Beach-master, losing his cool.

  Bo decided to take action.

  “My mother says every obstacle is an opportunity,” she said.

  In a flash, Bo jumped onto the Beach-master’s nose and backflipped right over him. She was almost on the other side of the bridge, but the Beachmaster flicked his huge tail and sent her flying back, right onto Mumble’s chest.

  Atticus was not going to stand for this. He waddled up to the Beachmaster and slapped the seal’s drooping trunk.

  “Yo, dog! You be apologizin’ right now or I’m gonna tear you a new nostril!” he said.

  “You know he didn’t mean that,” Mumble said to the Beachmaster.

  “That’s okay,” said the Beachmaster, blowing Atticus backward with one blast of air through his trunk. “I didn’t mean that, either.”

  Summoning SvenThink, Erik stepped forward and placed his flippers to his temples. But before Erik knew what had happened, the Beachmaster sucked him up with his trunk like a vacuum cleaner and tossed him backward. Erik landed safely, but he was now on the other side of the crevasse … and the Beachmaster stood between him and the other penguins!

  Mumble was furious. “You fat mother of all bullies! GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

  The Beachmaster reared up and lunged at Mumble, who scrambled back to safety. As he grabbed Bo and Atticus, he watched the enormous seal come crashing down on the ice bridge.

  Cruuuuunch! The ice shattered and the Beachmaster dropped into the crevasse.

  Mumble was shocked, but also relieved as he looked across to see Erik, safe on the other side. Beside Erik were two baby Elephant seals—the Beachmaster’s pups. They stared into the crevasse, wondering what had happened to their daddy.

  Mumble peered over the edge, expecting the worst. But not too far below, the Beachmaster was lying slumped on a ledge.

  “Are you okay?” Mumble called down.

  “Not exactly,” replied the Beachmaster.

  The pups were overjoyed to hear their father’s voice.

  “Daddy! Get back up here!”

  “Not sure I can,” moaned the Beachmaster.

  “There is a way,” Mumble said. “But you won’t like it.”

  “You want me to back up, don’t ya?” said the Beachmaster.

  Mumble knew that if the Beachmaster backed up, he would be able to turn himself around and pull himself up to the top.

  “Daddy, we won’t think any less of you, promise!” one of the pups said.

  “Well, I suppose technically it’s just reversing,” the Beachmaster said, inching his way along the ledge.

  “That’s the way,” Mumble encouraged him.

  As the Beachmaster turned, he lost his footing and teetered on the edge of the ledge. Everyone let out a gasp, but he was able to steady himself.

  “Reach out with your trunk! One last ooomph!” called Mumble.

  Straining and puffing, the Beachmaster curled his snout over the top of the crevasse and grabbed onto the edge. He pulled himself up until he was eye to eye with his pups.

  “G’day, boys,” said the Beachmaster with a wink just before crrrraaaak! The entire ledge supporting the Beachmaster collapsed beneath him and he fell again—but this time much, much deeper down. There was a long silence. Everyone held their breaths until they heard a distant thump. The Beachmaster landed somewhere deep down in the crevasse.

  “Daddy? Can you hear us?” cried the fearful pups.

  After some time, they heard a faint, shaky voice calling their names. “Shane? Darren?”

  Their father was still alive.

  “I need you both to be strong,” said the dazed Beachmaster. “I know you will ’cause you’ve never let me down. Penguin? You still there?”

  “Right here,” said Mumble.

  “Would you see that my boys get home safely to their mother?” asked the Beachmaster.

  “Daddy?” cried the pups. “What are you saying?”

  “Boys, the clock’s about to run out on your old man’s career.”

  Tears welled up in the pups’ eyes. But Mumble had not given up hope. “Take a good look around down there! Can you see a way out?”

  “I’m stuck here,” the Beachmaster called back.

  “All right, everyone away from the edge, and nobody move till I get back,” Mumble said.

  “Where are you going?” asked Atticus.

  “To see what I can do for their daddy,” Mumble replied.

  “What can he do?” said one of the pups, looking at Mumble. “He’s just an ordinary penguin.”

  The pups turned to Erik, who could only agree with them. His dad certainly couldn’t fly down there like Sven could. How could he save an enormous Elephant seal?

  Nearby, Will and Bill finally reached the surface of the ocean and climbed onto a sheet of floating ice.

  Will stood to his full height—a whole inch—and declared, “That’s one small step for a krill, one giant leap for spineless invertebrates!”

  Looking around, Will and Bill realized they were standing on the tail of a dozing Leopard seal. They were staring at the back end of a black hole.

  “Holy mother of krill!” cried Bill.

  “How’s your appetite, Bill? He’s a big un!”

  Will crouched on the ice and crept farther up onto the Leopard seal’s tail.

  “What on earth are you doing?” squeaked Bill.<
br />
  “Shh,” whispered Will. “I’m stalking.”

  “You can’t stalk. You’re a krill!”

  “Less talk, more stalk,” snapped Will. “We’ve got to evolve, Bill.”

  “Evolve? Just like that? It’s taken us millions of years just to get this far!” said Bill as he followed his friend.

  “Watch and learn, Billy boy,” cautioned Will. “I’m about to naturally select.”

  Will bit into the seal’s blubber, but the Leopard seal didn’t notice a thing.

  Will thought about the taste. “Mmm, a little chewy. Keenly aromatic with just a hint of …”

  “Derriere?” Bill offered. “You just nibbled on its butt. Don’t let it go to your head.”

  “Au contraire! I shall go to its head,” exclaimed Will in triumph. “Onward and upward, my friend! Fresh delicacies await!”

  Will and Bill began the long climb to the top of the Leopard seal.

  Mumble slipped quietly into the water because not far off a huge Leopard seal was dozing on a small ice floe. It happened to be the very same Leopard seal that the krill were climbing … at the very same time.

  Mumble swam deep down under the ice shelf until he saw a ray of light illuminating a transparent wall of ice. Through the ice, he could see the Beachmaster slumped motionless at the bottom of a dry cave. There was no time to waste. Mumble hurled himself at the ice wall with his shoulder again and again, trying to break through it and set the Beachmaster free. But it didn’t work; the ice was too thick. Mumble had another idea. He headed back to the surface.

  Mumble swam close to the ice floe where the large Leopard seal still dozed. Climbing on it, the two little krill had almost reached the summit.

  “How far now?” gasped Bill, exhausted.

  “The head is just ahead!” cried Will.

  Mumble now circled the ice floe, taunting the Leopard seal.

  “Hey, dufus! Kelp sucker!” said Mumble, hopping onto the ice.

  But the Leopard seal did not stir.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Mumble. “My mistake. I thought you were a ruthless killing machine.”

  The seal remained completely still. Mumble was as close as he dared to go. At that very moment, Bill and Will were about to reach the top of the seal’s head.

  “Stand back,” Will whispered. “This could get messy.”

  Will flexed his little thoracopods in preparation for his meal. He bit down hard on the Leopard seal. Just then, the seal opened an eye and lunged at Mumble!

  Mumble immediately leaped into the water. The chase was on!

  They zoomed through the water, Mumble keeping just ahead of the seal. He twisted and spiraled, leading the Leopard seal toward the wall of ice standing between them and the Beachmaster.

  All the while, Will and Bill clung on to the seal’s head for dear life.

  “He’s a fighter,” said Will, convinced that the seal’s wild twists and turns were all his doing. Of course, the seal didn’t know the krill even existed.

  “But he’ll drop soon!” Will continued. “It’s just his death throes!”

  As Mumble reached the wall of ice, the Leopard seal moved in for the kill. At the last moment, Mumble darted to one side … and the Leopard seal slammed headfirst into the ice wall.

  Crrraaaack! As the ice shattered, the astonished Leopard seal found itself on top of the Beachmaster’s belly.

  “G’day, gorgeous,” said the Beachmaster, raising himself up. The Leopard seal took one look at the huge Beachmaster and shot off.

  Mumble’s plan had worked perfectly. As seawater gushed into the cavern and the crevasse flooded, Mumble and the Beachmaster floated up to the top.

  Erik and the pups were delighted.

  Back under the ice, Will, too, was thrilled with the success of his first hunting expedition. He and Bill let go of the Leopard seal and watched him swim off in a big hurry.

  “Woo-hoo! Did you see the look in his eyes? Mortal terror!” shouted Will in triumph.

  Bill was far less enthused. “You said he was finished. Done for!”

  “I spared his life, Bill. He’ll tell his friends, spread the fear. There’s a new predator in town!” yelled Will. “Someone’s got to keep the numbers down, Bill. And we are that someone!”

  Safely back on the ice, Mumble was reunited with Erik, Atticus, and Bo and the Beachmaster was back with his beloved pups.

  “How’s that shoulder?” the Beachmaster asked his rescuer.

  “It’s okay,” said Mumble, shrugging it off. But when he shrugged, it really hurt.

  “I owe you, my friend,” said the grateful Beachmaster. “All you have to do is ask. Any time, any place, anything. No worries. Okay?”

  “No worries,” said Mumble.

  The Beachmaster slid into the water with his adoring pups on his back and swam off toward the horizon.

  Mumble turned to the three little penguins gathered around him.

  “Kids, I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get home.”

  As Mumble led the way back to Emperor Land, Erik gave his father a long look before he, too, ambled after them. Maybe his dad couldn’t fly like Sven, but he had saved an Elephant seal!

  Later in the day, Atticus and Erik trudged up a long slope while Bo walked along an ice ridge above them. Mumble came to a halt and looked around. It didn’t make any sense. Emperor Land should have been right there. Right where they stood!

  From her high vantage point, Bo spotted something. “Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed.

  Quickly, the others scrambled to higher ground and looked down. The entire Emperor nation was imprisoned by a massive wall of ice—the very wall of ice on which Mumble and the kids were standing. They were on the Doomberg! They realized that the rogue iceberg had slammed into the entrance of Emperor Land, trapping all the penguins below.

  “Hey, look! Somebody got out!” came a cry from down in Emperor Land.

  Thousands of Emperor penguins looked up hopefully to the top of the Doomberg.

  “Hey, buddy, how do we get out?” one penguin yelled.

  “I don’t know,” shouted Mumble. “I’m trying to get in.”

  The crowd gave a collective groan of disappointment.

  “Atticus, my man!” cried Seymour, overjoyed to see his boy again.

  “Yo, dad!” yelled Atticus. “What happened?”

  “That big old ’berg you’re standing on came a thumpin’ and a bumpin’, and here we are!” Seymour explained.

  Gloria pushed her way through the crowd.

  “Mumble! Erik! Down here! My beautiful boys! I thought I’d never see you again!”

  At the sight of his mother, Erik dashed forward.

  “Whoa, Erik!” Mumble shouted. “Back from the edge!”

  “Sweetie, you stay real close to your daddy, okay?” Gloria called. “Mumble, what’s going on out there?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. But whatever it is, there’s gotta be a way to get you out,” Mumble assured her.

  “There is a way. We just haven’t found it yet,” Gloria replied.

  “We’re searching every nook and cranny for a way out of here,” Seymour added.

  “In the meantime, Mumble, we’ve got a lot of hungry kids down here. Can you get us some fish?” Gloria asked.

  At the mention of food, hundreds of tearful baby penguins rushed forward, hungrily snapping their beaks.

  Mumble knew he couldn’t feed that many penguins by himself and racked his brain for a plan.

  “There is a way to feed a whole lot of you. I’ll go to Adelie Land and bring back some friends. It’s going to take some time, so you’ll have to be patient. Okay?”

  But before Mumble had finished speaking, Bo headed off.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” called Mumble.

  “I’m taking the shortcut!” said Bo.

  “No, you’re not, you’re staying right here,” commanded Mumble.

  “But I’m very fast.”

  “I’m fa
ster,” said Mumble.

  “No, you’re not. You’re hurt,” she said.

  “I’ll manage,” said Mumble, trying to convince himself.

  From down below came the voice of Miss Viola. “Boadicea! Do you have a tail feather?”

  “Yes, I do!” shouted Bo.

  “Then shake it, my dear!” insisted Miss Viola.

  Mumble did not like the idea one bit.

  Erik wanted to go back to Adelie Land, too, but he knew he could never keep up with the free-running Bo … and that Mumble would not let him go!

  “Miss Viola, there are all kinds of dangers out there,” Mumble warned.

  “Not dangers,” Miss Viola corrected. “Challenges!”

  From his tower, Noah proclaimed, “Now that’s the Emperor spirit! Go, lass, and may the wind be at your back!”

  And with that, Bo headed off to Adelie Land.

  “Find Uncle Ramon. Tell him to bring as many friends as he can,” Mumble called after her.

  Miss Viola let out a parting yodel as Bo sped over the rise.

  “Yeeodelay-tee-hoo!”

  “Yeeodelay-tee-hoo to you, too!” Bo yodeled back, disappearing from view.

  Mumble felt a tug on his tail feathers. “Come on, Uncle Mumble. We got some fishing to do,” said Atticus, his generous belly growling with hunger. Erik knew they had to start gathering food for the little penguins below.

  Diving again and again, Mumble flung fish after fish onto the shore where Atticus and Erik watched them land on a growing pile. Erik grabbed the biggest fish in the pile, and Mumble, Atticus, and Erik all hurried back to Emperor Land with their catch just as the sun was dropping below the horizon.

  As he struggled up a steep rise, Erik hauled his huge fish by the tail, barely able to hold it in his tiny beak. Mumble helped him drag it along until, at the top of the slope, Mumble let go of the fish so it could slide down the other side of the hill.

  “Okay, you let it go, too,” Mumble instructed Erik.

  But as the fish slid down the slope toward Emperor Land, Erik jumped onto its back, riding it like a sled! Because the slope was steep, Erik sped faster and faster down toward the edge of the Doomberg.