Danger Dan Tackles the Majulah Mayhem
Page 5
Grandma was absolutely delighted. “What a good boy you are! You will grow up to be big and strong.” For dessert, Grandma dished out cups of sticky, golden honeycomb ice cream. As she handed Danny his cup, she winked at him. Danny saw that he had received an extra big scoop. “Grandma, you’re amazing!” chirped Danny. His three sisters glared at him.
“Brown-noser!” sneered Amy.
“Traitor!” snivelled Betty.
“Pig!” scowled Candy.
After lunch, Danny’s grandma and parents decided to take a stroll along the neighbourhood shops. Danny and his sisters wanted to catch the latest episode of World’s Dumbest Criminals so they stayed behind and gathered around the television set. Just as they were watching a criminal get his foot stuck in a toilet bowl, Amy gave a blood-curdling shriek.
“AAARRRGGHHHHH! COCKROACH!!” Everyone swung around to look at the lone cockroach that had wandered into the middle of the living room. Danny’s sisters screeched like banshees. Amy sprang up onto a chair, her hands over her mouth. Betty backed into a corner, covering her ears. Candy didn’t move from her spot. She just covered her eyes. If she didn’t see the cockroach, it didn’t exist.
Danny froze, his eyes fixated on the cockroach.
“DANNY!” cried Amy. “Do something!”
“What?” he yelled back.
“Use the broom!” shouted Betty, pointing to the straw broom by the kitchen door.
“No, no, the broom won’t work!” cried Danny, rushing to the old wooden cabinet next to the television set and opening it.
“How do you know?!” screamed Amy, hopping on the chair.
“Trust me, I know! I’ve seen this before!” Danny vividly recalled the scene from his Fantasy Squad comic book. He took out a tall can of bug spray. “It must be gassed to death!”
Armed with a can of Death Spray, Danger Dan starts nervously towards the cockroach. “Long have you tormented me!” he declares. “But not anymore, you old fiend!”
Danger Dan gives the cockroach a long squirt of Death Spray. The cockroach struggles and tries to escape but Danger Dan persists! He engulfs the cockroach in a fine mist of Death Spray. Finally, the cockroach rolls onto its back and its legs stop twitching.
Danger Dan proceeds to expel half the can of Death Spray just to be sure. The three damsels in distress are forever grateful to Danger Dan for coming to their rescue!
The three sisters choked on the fumes. Amy looked at the cockroach lying in a huge puddle of bug spray. “I think you drowned it.”
The cockroach is defeated! Danger Dan has overcome his fear! He is invincible!
Zubir Said composed “Majulah Singapura” or “Onward Singapore” in 1958. It became Singapore’s national anthem in 1959. In his lifetime, Zubir Said wrote almost 1,500 songs! We bet you don’t even KNOW that many songs. And the Children’s Day song “Semoga Bahagia”? That was also written by Zubir Said!
Zubir Said left Singapore during World War II and returned in 1947. Times were tough and you might be surprised to know that he actually did give up music for a while! But he didn’t become a bus driver. He became a photographer and was a pretty decent one too.
Rohana was about eight years old in 1947. We knew a little about her childhood living above a coffee shop in Geylang because Rohana (now all grown up) wrote about it in a biography of her father, titled Zubir Said:The Composer of Majulah Singapura.
Happy World at Geylang was one of three amusement parks built in Singapore before World War II. It was Universal Studios, a shopping mall and a cineplex, all in one! As you can imagine, that made it a popular hangout for families. Sadly, by the late 1970s, the crowds had dwindled. People just had more entertainment choices. And they had TV! Happy World was finally demolished in 2001.
Kacang puteh was the popcorn of the past! Movie-goers would often buy a cone of nuts from a kacang puteh seller (there was always one parked at the cinema lobby). There was no fancy popcorn or other theatre snacks, like we have today.
1947 was known as ‘The Year of Strikes’. More than 300 strikes took place, involving almost 70,000 workers, in that year alone. That’s too many Sinister Soldiers to count! In real life, strikes are really dangerous and no kid would be caught dead near one. But try telling that to Danger Dan and Gadget Girl.
About the Characters
Name
Danny aka Danger Dan
Age
11 (but often behaves like he’s eight)
Distinctive feature
Big ears
Signature items
Fantasy Squad comic book. Red sling bag.
Likes
Anything cold and sweet. All of Melody’s gadgets. Comic books and superheroes.
Dislikes
His three older sisters. Vegetables in any form. Cockroaches, especially big, flying ones.
Strengths
Imaginative. Brave. Acts quickly in any situation.
Weaknesses
Doesn’t think before he acts. A magnet for trouble (and danger).
Name
Melody aka Gadget Girl
Age
14 (in the year 2135)
Distinctive feature
Silvery voice
Signature items
Silver hair clip (actually a mega computer which also conveniently keeps her hair in place). Grappling hook watch.
Likes
Gooey Gooberberry Gummies in all flavours except Coconut Explosion. Virtual jetpack tennis.
Dislikes
Danny being annoying. Birds.
Strengths
Smart. Usually calm (unless with Danny). Able to think under pressure.
Weaknesses
Terrible aim. Sometimes a little bossy.
Name
John/Johnny aka the Sinister Spyder
Age
Who knows?
Distinctive feature
Impressive moustache
Signature items
Spider-like watch
Likes
Unknown
Dislikes
Unknown
Strengths
Unknown
Weaknesses
Unknown
About the Authors
Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan are a mother-daughter writing team (in that order). If Lesley-Anne could have a super power, she would choose the ability to stop time, so that she can study and write books in no time at all. Monica’s preferred super power is mind control, so that she can make Lesley-Anne stop dreaming about time freezes and get back to work.
About the Illustrator
James Tan is an illustrator living in the western part of Singapore. He likes to draw animals and loves cats. He enjoys reading and drawing, garnering inspiration from daily life and travelling. James’ most heroic acts involve saving snails from being crushed by joggers and cyclists when he goes for walks.
Don’t miss the next episode when
Ferocious sea gypsies, angry fishermen and blood-thirsty pirates—has Danger Dan met his match?
In Danger Dan Spooks the Peculiar Peranakan Pirate, Danny travels back to 1819 to prevent the hijacking of one of the most important events in Singapore’s history. Meanwhile, the space-time continuum grows more unstable! Will Danger Dan and Gadget Girl rise to the challenge?
A SNEAK PREVIEW OF ISSUE #3
Melody and Danny kept their eyes peeled for any sign of movement beneath the water. Soon, a little splash caught their attention.
“Melody! Melody! There’s something over there!” cried Danny, pointing to the ripples in the water. A small wave came rolling in, revealing a dark shadow under the surface.
Danny was just about to press the purple button when Melody noticed an ominous fin emerging from the water. She gave a start. “No, Danny! It’s a shar-!”
But it was too late. Danny had already released the grappling hook. It flew straight through the air like an arrow. With perfect precision, it gripped onto the shark’s fin.
The shark thrashed abo
ut violently in the water. Danny tried to reel it in, but the shark was too strong. It was like a game of tug of war gone horribly wrong. Danny almost lost his balance and Melody grabbed his shirt to stop him from falling into the water.
“SHARK!” screamed Melody. “It’s a shark!”