yelled Dude.
Squirt stopped until Dude and Bro caught up with him.
“Where are you going?” panted Bro.
“To the highest tree!” said Squirt. “That’s where you told Squeak to go, remember!”
“Aw, yeah,” said Bro, remembering.
“You said, ‘Climb to the top of the tallest tree and get a leaf ’,” said Squirt.
“And then?” said Bro.
“‘Bring it back’,” replied Squirt.
“And then?” asked Bro.
“You said you’d think of something else,” said Squirt, beginning to get exasperated.
“I did?” said Bro.
Squirt sighed. “You did!”
“Heh-heh-heh,” chuckled Dude.
“What are you laughing at?” said Bro.
Dude thought for a moment. “I’ve got no idea, mate.”
Squirt looked up. From down on the ground all the trees in The Acacia Koala Sanctuary looked pretty tall to him, but which one was the tallest? It was hard to say. And then he saw it. One tree just a little bit higher than all the rest.
“Look,” said Squirt. “Over there!”
Dude and Bro both looked.
“Do you think that one’s the tallest?” said Squirt.
“Could be,” said Dude.
“Ya reckon?” said Bro.
“Don’t start that again!” said Squirt, scurrying towards the tree to get a better look.
“Does that look like a eucy tree to you, mate?” said Bro, setting off after Squirt again.
“Nah, mate,” said Dude, following. “Wish it was!”
“That makes two of us,” said Bro.
“Two?” said Dude. “Who’s the other one?”
“Me, ya wombat!” said Bro.
“Oh, right, yeah,” said Dude.
By the time Dude and Bro reached the tree, Squirt was already halfway up it.
“Squeak? You up there?” called Squirt. “Squeak?”
But there was no reply. Squirt began to get more and more worried. What could have happened to Squeak? He had to keep climbing. He had to get to the top of the tree as soon as possible!
Squirt climbed and climbed and climbed. Far below, the everyday sounds of the sanctuary faded first to a whisper and then to nothing at all. The only sound to be heard was the sound of Dude and Bro puffing and panting (and grumbling, in Bro’s case) as they followed him up the tree.
Then, all of a sudden, Squirt could climb no further. Not because he’d finally run out of puff, but because he’d finally run out of tree. He’d reached the very top of the very highest tree in The Acacia Koala Sanctuary. The view was quite simply breathtaking. In one direction, Squirt could see the sprawling city. In the other direction, he could see green mountains and a splash of bright blue ocean. But Squirt couldn’t see the one thing that he really wanted to see – his baby sister, Squeak.
“She up here?” puffed Bro as he and Dude eventually appeared at the top of the tree.
“No,” said Squirt.
“Oh,” said Bro.
“Bummer,” said Dude.
There was nothing much else to be said. Well, there was one more thing to be said. It was just a question of who was going to say it first.
Dude, Bro and Squirt looked at each other.
Each knew what the other two were thinking.
“Well?” said Bro.
“Well?” said Dude.
“Well?” said Squirt.
There was a moment’s pause. The wind began to stir the leaves. The branches began to sway ever so slightly. Somewhere even higher above, an aeroplane drew a thick white line across the sky.
“What now?” said Dude, Bro and Squirt together.
“I’ve no idea, mate,” said Bro.
“What do you mean?” said Dude.
“How am I supposed to know what you’re thinking?” said Bro.
“Uh?” said Dude.
“Think about it,” said Bro.
“Think about what?” said Dude.
“What I just said,” said Bro.
Dude thought about it. Or at least he tried to. “Sorry, mate. Can’t remember.”
“You can’t remember what?” said Bro.
Squirt sighed with exasperation. Here they were, at the very top of the very highest tree in The Acacia Koala Sanctuary – on a mission of the utmost importance – and Dude and Bro were making even less sense than usual. And that was saying something.
“Can I ask a question, please?” said Squirt.
“Go for it,” said Bro.
“Totally, mini-dude,” said Dude.
“What on earth are you two talking about?”
Dude and Bro turned to each other and shrugged. Even they had no idea what they were talking about any more.
“I’m off!” said Squirt, making his way back down the tree again.
“Where to?” said Bro.
“Well, she’s obviously not up here,” said Squirt. “So she must be somewhere else!”
“Who?”
