A ‘Jolly’ Quest

Not long after returning from their quest to save Happy After, Maxi, Nettle and Wild were snuggled up in their beds. They had asked to share the loft in their parents new house and they would spend every evening telling stories about their recent adventure. This particular evening they were very excited. Christmas was just around the corner and they were whispering about all the wonderful things that they loved about Christmas.

As they drifted off to sleep, dreaming of tinsel and presents and snow they felt that feeling of falling that often marks the beginning of a good dream…but this time they didn’t jerk themselves back to reality, this time they continued to fall and fall and fall. Like Alice plunging down the rabbit hole. They floated and floated.

All of a sudden the floating stopped…The three children tumbled into a tangled knot in a pile of snow. Peering up they saw a snowman. He smiled at them and told them of their quest.

“Greetings Maxi-Nettle Wild, I have heard of your tremendous success in defeating evil in the Land of Happy After, now we need your help, here, at Christmas Island. Father Christmas has been taken and there will be no Christmas unless we find him. You must follow the chocolate buttons and complete each quest in order to release him from his snowy prison. On your way you will have to endure many challenges. Do not forget to collect the golden coins along the way as you will need them to pass through the gingerbread house of the Snow Queen. Good Luck Maxi-Nettle Wild. May Christmas be in your hands.

Max, Nettle and Wild looked at each other. Could this really be happening again? Knowing that they could succeed if they worked together, they got up, dusted off the snow and began to follow the chocolate button path.

Soon the children came across the first obstacle. An oversized evil reindeer blocked their path. He was picking up snowballs and spitting them at the children. They realised that the snowballs were almost like boulders as one smashed on a rock close to them. Taking cover they decided to blast the reindeer from all angles. They quickly made piles and piles of snowballs. Leaving Wild hiding behind the rock, Max and Nettle sneaked around

to the side and behind the reindeer. While he was bending down to pick up the next boulder-ball, they shouted, “Go!” and together began to blast him from all sides. With a creak and a groan the reindeer fell to the ground defeated. The children tip-toed up to him, easing the gold coin from under his body and dashed back to the chocolate path.

A little further along the way they came across a giant noughts and crosses board. The snowman appeared and explained that the boards was magical. In order to pass they would have to compete and win a game of noughts and crosses. If they failed they would be locked as statues forever in the shape of an X. Taking a deep breath they

began the challenge. Fortunately, they had played many games of noughts and crosses with each other and Max had identified a fail-proof formula so that he never, ever lost. Wild and Nettle watched with bated breath as Max played the magical game. As the board realised it had lost it let out an ear-splitting blast as it dragged itself into the sparkly forest that covered the mountain in the centre of the island. The children rushed to grab the gold coloured ‘O’ coin to put with their other one.

Jumping from chocolate button to chocolate button, the children continued their journey. All of a sudden they came across what could only be described as a ‘waffle assault course’ the giant waffle was dripping with syrup. The snowman appeared again. “If you step in the syrup you will be stuck on Christmas Island for ever. You must clamber up the waffle, jumping into each dip of the waffle at exactly the same time…if you don’t the waffle will collapse and you will be crushed to death!” The snowman disappeared. Max, Nettle and Wild practiced walking in step – like a giant three-legged race….only with six legs instead. Satisfied that they could step in the same time, and humming a tune to keep them together they slowly bounced up the ridges of the waffle. Avoiding the sinister syrup they managed to scramble to the top and then slide down the candy cane on the other side (grabbing the third gold coin as they went).

On again, along the chocolate button path, until they came across what can only be described as a rain – oe….it was a rainbow…and a piano! Up

popped the snowman and told them that in order to cross the rain-oe, they must play the correct keys for

‘Jingle Bells’ or face the ‘PIT OF DEATH!’. Humming the tune until they got it right they helped Nettle up to complete this challenge. She was the musical one. With ease she leapt from key to key, creating the jingly jangly tune of ‘Jingle Bells’ its notes flew through the forest. As she played the last note the rain-oe keys lifted Max and Wild up across their rainbow arch and sent them flying down their giant colourful slide to drop them next to Nettle. Blowing a raspberry at the ‘Pit of Death’ the children skipped on, flicking the fourth coin up and into their pockets as they passed it.

In front of them the chocolate button path weaved its way into a dense, dark forest. Behind them the snowman whispered: “If you can get past the racer snakes you will stand half a chance. But if they bite you then you will be forever rooted as a tree in the deep dark forest. Be careful, use your skills and knowledge of snakes and ladders and you may just be lucky.” As they turned round to look at him, he had disappeared. A large dice span in the air. Suddenly it stopped. The floor lit up light a chequer board and the children took the 5 steps that they were allowed. Out of the corner of his eye Max noticed something slithering towards them. This is no ordinary game of snakes and ladders, he thought, these snakes are real! They move! That shouldn’t happen. With good luck and speed the children managed to escape the venomous snakes and claim the gold coin of victory as they hit the 100th

square. Running through the woods they were drawn by the delicious smell of sweets and the soft plume of smoke. They must be near a cottage, they thought.

As they emerged from the deep, dark wood they saw the beautiful little gingerbread house nestled in the field. It was a welcome sight after all those challenges. And look at all those sweets! Wild set off at a run towards it. But just as he reached the door, a witch threw it open, raised her hand and screeched at them! “Who are you? And what do you want?”

“It is Max, Nettle and Wild,” said Max in a trembling voice, for he had horrific memories still of Babs Haggard and her wicked ways. “We have saved Ever After and now we will save Christmas. You will release Father

Christmas and all the children in the world will have a lovely day!” The

wicked witch laughed her wicked and evil witchy laugh. “You! Save Christmas. Never!” “In order to do that you must pay the princely sum of 5 gold coins…and you would never have been able to find those!”

“Well,” said Nettle. “It just so happens that we DO have 5 gold coins. We worked as a team to save Christmas. We have braved evil reindeer, snow-boulders, magic games, vicious snakes and sinister syrup, and we are still here.” “Take these coins and release Father Christmas at once!”

The witch took the coins in astonishment. However did these children manage to overcome all those obstacles? She thought. With a hiss of smoke she disappeared. The children ran through the field to find Father Christmas tied up with tinsel. They carefully released him and guided him to his sleigh. He lifted the children onto his sleigh, wrapped them in a blanket and set off. The children, exhausted by their adventure fell fast asleep. When they woke up they were back in their beds…Christmas had come. They had saved the day.

The Making of ‘A Jolly Quest’

Based on the book The Cake, The Wolf and The Witch we decided to create our own quest. We thought of lots of ideas and then settled on saving Christmas. A Jolly Quest was chosen as it is a play on words… Jolly for Father Christmas and Quest to show our journey.

This is us making our adventure happen. We told our teachers what obstacles the children faced, then we decided how they would get there and what would happen in the end. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.