The trampoline was gone!

Panda and I had just arrived at the Australian airport to pick up our trampoline and head back to Fresno. We’d had a fun visit with our penguin friends and helped get them back on the right track to the South Pole. But when we went to the spot where we had left our trampoline, it was gone!

We had worked really hard to hide it behind the sign when we had first arrived in Australia. The sign said “No Vehicles beyond this point”, and we had been careful to follow directions. As we sat looking at the empty space where our trampoline had been, Panda was the first to speak.

“Umm, Foster,” he began. “I just thought of something. We flew in from the other side of this sign. But if you come from this side, the sign means something different. It means no vehicles are allowed on the that side!” I stared at him, my eyes wide. “Oh my word,” I replied. “You’re right! We parked on the side where you aren’t supposed to park! Our trampoline probably got towed away!” We knew this could only mean one thing. It was time to go get a snack and figure out what to do next.

We walked back into town and were surprised to find a McDonald’s! “Wow!” Panda exclaimed. “That sure doesn’t look like the McDonald’s in Fresno!” I agreed, and we decided to go see what it looked like inside.

We ordered our food and were amazed to see how big the servings were. “I wonder if it’s an Australian thing,” Panda mused, as he munched on a delicious French fry. “Hey, these are really good!” I nodded. “Too bad Mom’s not here. She would really like to have a fillet-o-fish this big.” Just then we heard a voice we had never heard before, asking, “Hey are you guys from around here?”

Imagine our surprise when we saw a dog standing on the counter, wearing an orange jacket! We left our food on the table and ran up to him. We introduced ourselves and I explained that we were from Fresno. “We were on our way home,” I said, “but the trampoline we flew here on has apparently been towed away.” The dog in the orange jacket looked skeptical. “You came on a flying trampoline?” he asked. We explained that we had a flying carpet and a travel tunnel at home but that we had recently discovered that the trampoline could fly as well. “Umm, not to be rude,” I added, “but what are you doing up on the counter? Do you work here?”

The dog jumped down from the counter. “No,” he replied. “Some friends of mine came here for a business meeting in the back and they told me to wait behind the counter. I got bored, and that’s when I heard you talking.” Panda and I nodded understandingly. “It does sound boring to stay back there by yourself,” I said. “Would you like to go with us? We’re thinking maybe our trampoline was towed to the police station.” The dog agreed cheerfully. “I’m sure my friends’ meeting will go on for hours.” he replied. “Let’s go!”

We decided to take the bus back to the airport first, to see if by some chance our trampoline had been returned. On the way, we chatted with our new friend about some of our recent adventures. His eyes widened when we told him about how the men in orange jackets had kidnapped Panda in Tokyo, and how we had helped the police to arrest them in several different countries. “Wow! I’m shocked they got away again,” he commented, more to himself than to us. When we looked at him quizzically, he just said, “Oh, never mind.” Just then the bus came to a halt. We were in front of the airport.

We showed our new friend where we had last seen our trampoline. “Hey, look at this!” he exclaimed, as he checked out a nearby sign. “The handwriting writing is pretty messy, but I think it says, “Lost: Diamonds! $100 Reward!'” Panda and I looked at him, amazed. “Look down by your feet,” Panda said excitedly. “Are those diamonds?”

“These must be worth a fortune,” Panda said as we scooped the diamonds into a pile to inspect them further. “I wonder whose they are?” After thinking for a minute, an idea occurred to me. “Is there a phone number on the sign?” The dog nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “It says ‘If found, call 1-800-MIOJ immediately!’ ” We looked at each other, our eyes wide. “Let’s go!” we said in unison. We gathered up the diamonds and headed back to the bus stop.

Once we were on the bus, we pushed the diamonds under the seat so as not to attract attention and tried to come up with a plan. We knew better than to call the number on the sign; it was obviously a trap. When we explained this to our new friend, the dog in the orange jacket looked a bit nervous. “Umm, guys,” he began hesitantly. “I have some information to share with you.”

We called the koala to meet us at a nearby outdoor cafe. All of us listened in awe as our new friend spoke. “I was born here in the city, but I’ve spent most of my life as a stray on the streets. Then, just a few days ago, I was picked up by two men in orange jackets. They put me in a taxi and said I was their dog now. They gave me this orange jacket and said I had to follow them everywhere they went.”

“So that’s how you happened to be at McDonald’s?” I asked, to which the dog replied in the affirmative. “They said they had an important meeting in the back, and I had to wait behind the counter. That’s when I heard you guys talking. I didn’t trust my new owners, but I didn’t know how to get away from them. Joining you was the perfect solution. I know which hotel they are staying at. Come on, I’ll take you there.”

“This is pretty fancy,” Panda said as we entered the lobby of the hotel where the men in orange jackets were staying. “I’m going to guess that they are running a stolen diamond operation now.”

“I think you must be right,” the dog answered. “I noticed that there were a lot of diamonds in their suite, but I didn’t think much of it at the time. I met a golden retriever who said he was the guard dog. I figured he knew what he was doing so I didn’t ask any questions.” Panda frowned. “I wonder where they stole them from,” he said thoughtfully.

It was then that we noticed a newspaper on a nearby table. “Hey, look at this!” the koala exclaimed. He pointed to an article on the front page. “Diamonds Stolen from Diamond Mine,” he read aloud. “MIOJ Suspected.” Panda folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. “We might need this,” he said. “Let’s go find the police!”

We gathered up our diamonds, thinking they might be useful as evidence. As we walked, we saw some firefighters and asked if they could give us a ride to the police station. “Sure, guys,” they responded cheerfully. “We’re on our way there ourselves. Hop in!” Panda and I enjoyed riding in the firetruck, and we told our friends how we had ridden in one when we joined the fire department back home.

After turning in the diamonds and filing a police report, we accompanied the officers to search for the men in orange jackets. We found them at the mall, apparently trying to blend in with the crowd. “There they are!” we whispered, excitedly. The officers radioed for backup and thanked us warmly for our help. “We’ll take it from here, guys,” they said. “You had better get out of sight now. We’ll let you know when they are behind bars.”

The next day we were surprised to see our picture in the morning paper. We were glad we had been able to help the police to apprehend the men in orange jackets once again. The police officers helped us find our trampoline, which had been towed by airport security for being left in a restricted area. We would have gotten a parking ticket, but they waived the fine as a reward for our help in recovering the missing diamonds. It was time to head back to Fresno.

As we soared over the breathtaking Sydney skyline, we reminisced about our latest adventure. “That was fun,” Panda said. “It was an unexpected turn of events.” I agreed. “Mom is never going to believe it when we tell her,” I replied. “Unless. . .” Panda laughed. “Unless she’s already read the paper!” he said. “Then we might already be grounded when we get home!”