Karl And Kelly's Long, Long Journey
A (Not Really) True Story
Once upon a time there were two koalas named Karl and Kelly and they were the only two koalas in the whole wide world. They lived on top of Mount Ararat in Turkey which is a country that is partly in Europe and partly in Asia. Living on the mountain top was bad for Karl and Kelly because as you may know, koalas can only eat eucalyptus leaves and there weren't any trees at all on this mountain. There was nothing for Karl and Kelly to do but leave the mountain top and try to find some eucalyptus trees.
Karl and Kelly were young koalas and couldn't walk very fast, so it took a very long time for them to get to the bottom of the mountain. When they finally got there they still didn't find any trees of any kind. They did find a few shoots of new grass, but as you know, koalas can't eat grass. They were very tired and hungry and they had to find food. They could have gone North. They could have gone South. They could have gone East. They could have gone West. Karl and Kelly decided to go South.
They walked and walked and walked and after many weeks they came to the Mediterranean Sea. Next to the Mediterranean Sea was a big wide desert called Syria. They didn't find any eucalyptus trees there either, and not even any grass.
Most koalas would have starved to death by now but Karl and Kelly were the only two koalas in the whole wide world so they didn't starve. They just kept on walking. They had grown bigger now, which was very strange because they hadn't eaten anything since they left the mountain top. Still they couldn't walk very fast. They walked and walked and walked and after many more weeks they came to the Indian Ocean.
Koalas don't really like to swim and it was a very, very big ocean, but Karl and Kelly waded into the water and began to swim. The water pulled them this way and that way and they got very, very tired. Most koalas would have drowned after a few hours, but Karl and Kelly were the only two koalas in the whole wide world so they didn't drown. They just kept on swimming.
After many weeks of swimming they finally came to another land called Australia. When they climbed out of the water they were very, very hungry. There were lots of plants there, but still no eucalyptus trees. Karl and Kelly had to start walking again.
Karl and Kelly were very tired and hungry and cranky from not eating, but still they kept walking. They walked and walked and walked and after many more weeks they came to another big, wide desert. They had grown even bigger now, which was very strange because they hadn't eaten anything since they left the mountain top. Still they could't walk very fast.
They walked and walked and after many more weeks they came to a forest and wonder of wonders they found many, many eucalyptus trees. Karl and Kelly climbed the eucalyptus trees and began to eat and eat and eat. When they had eaten all the eucalyptus leaves their tummies could hold they made lots of baby koalas and lived happily ever after.
The End
Copyright 2015 Kathleen McPugh all rights reserved