15Ahoy, mates! I and my best friend Jess had to do a project on photosynthesis for Biology. We had the option of making a play, but we were too lazy, making a video, but we procrastenated too much, or making a children's book. You can see we did the latter...-rer...anyhow, it was about Jack, so I decided to post it. Yes, Jess knows I'm doing this, even though our project isn't due 'til Friday...The book was supposed to be for 9-11 year olds. So yeah, it's really just random babbling and really cheesey. Hope ye enjoy! Read and Review, please!
Disclaimer: Sadly, we do not own Jack...nor anything else realted to Disney or Pixar. ;.;
Captain Jack Sparrow and the Quest for Glucose
One night, just before dawn, near the town of Palmfrond, an the beach they called 'Stroma,' there lounged a pirate, chugging about eight bottles of rum over the course of five minutes and managing to stay sober. Not just any pirate, savvy, but Captain Jack Sparrow. His crew and the Black Pearl were currently visiting Tortuga, while he took a much needed break from captaining his beloved boat—ship.
As he was relaxing, about to drift off with sure hopes of waking up with a hangover, a piece of paper, blown by the wind, hit him in the face."You filthy, slimy, mangy—piece of paper!" he exclaimed, thinking it something else before realizing it was only a piece of parchment. He peeled it off his face, saying, "Eh, what be this then?" He gave it a quick scrutiny, and realized it was a treasure map! Spanning more than half of one side was the map itself, and scribbled randomly about it and upon the other side were directions on how to find the treasure. Looking over the map with a more careful eye, he spotted the mark which revealed the location of the treasure. Reading the words just under the mark, he exclaimed, "The Lost Treasure of Glucose!" Glucose was valuable. Very valuable.
More so than gold. In fact, it ran the whole of Palmfrond. Without it, nothing would function: All trade would stop, the world would probably come to a stop, and, most importantly, NO RUM! As Jack was learning, Palmfrond was currently experiencing a slight glucose shortage. So Jack decided to go on the quest to save the rum—erm, the town. Unfortunately, his crew were—uh—visiting in Tortuga, (visiting, yeah let's go with that, yeah...visiting) thus he was without a ship. Or crew. But luckily, even that problem was addressed in the instructions. '#1) Find an Electron,' said the first step of the instructions. "Seems easy enough," Jack said to himself. So he swaggered down to the docks and looked over the assortment of ships. Walking down to the end of the docks, he spotted a fairly large ship. At its stern, its name read The Electron. He strode up the gangway onto th deck. Lucky for him there was already a crew in need of a captain. So, he presented to them his mission and they agreed. "Alright, step one complete. Step two," he read next, "cast off at sunrise. Well, that's but a few moments away!" So they waited for the sunrise. Not long, we might add. Soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, they set sail, and their quest began.
They sailed on until they came to a large, maritime cavern. There was a sign over the entrance saying 'Welcome to Photo System II, we hope you enjoy your stay.' Soon as they entered, the current picked up at an alarming rate until they were rocketing through the cave. They managed to sail out the other end, sustaining their fast pace. But before Jack could wait for his stomach to catch up, the ship lurched forward, and the crew discovered they were headed down a waterfall! But luckily, they made it out in one piece. Then it seemed they were rising. Then falling again. Then rising. Then falling, back and forth, back and forth, up and down, up and down, back andforth. It was very dizzying, sickening. Then there was one last swell in the water, and as they crested it, the Electron slowed down, back to what was considered a normal pace. There were more waterfalls yet, but they were smaller and less violent. Then they entered a cavern similar to the first, also bearing a sign, reading 'Photo System I; please yield for sea turtles.'
"Sea turtles?" asked a very confused Jack. "Jimminy Cricket, why stop for sea turtles?" But they sailed on, and came to a final waterfall which they rode out of the cavern. As they exited, they saw a group of sea turtles. Aye, sea turtles. Deciding to heed the sign's plea, Jack ordered the crew to turn the ship sharply to its side, causing big waves to ensue. Moments later, a sea bird flew through one of those waves, emerging with a fish in its beak. But the bird was clumsy and dropped its prey, and it landed in the midst of a school or larger fish. One of the larger fish ate it and got really really hyper. The same thing happened again and again (and again and again and again), whereas the other fish in the school became hyper.
The waves continued onward, giving the sea turtles a free ride, making them excited. One of the turtles was Crash, from Finding Nemo, who called back, "Thanks for the killer waves, dude!" as he and the other turtles rode the waves away.
"Well, now that's over with," Jack mused. "Now, back to the mission." He opened up the map again and took a look at the directions. 'Step 4: Drop anchor at Calvin Island.' So they sailed on 'til they found the island of Calvin. "Aye, what next then?" enquired Captain Sparrow. 'Step 5: On the northern point of the Isle, find the coconut palm and take twenty paces east. Then dig until three keys are uncovered. They should be marked with the code: CO2.' "Ah, I knew this would be a bit of a hunt." He called back to the crew and they divided themselves into two groups: one to go hunt for the Glucose, and one to keep watch on the Electron. "To the North end of the island!" Jack directed them, snatching one of his comrade's compasses, seeing as his own did not point north. They found the coconut palm, apparently the only one on the island, and counted twenty paces east. Then, with tools they had brought along, they began to dig. Moments later, they came across a silk pouch. Emptying its contents, they uncovered three keys marked CO2. "Five down. Now," he read the next step aloud, "number six: count another twenty paces east. Dig until three boxed are uncovered. They should each bear the code of 5C." He counted another twenty paces, each step he took making him look drunk. Again they dug, and found the three small chests labeled 5C. They opened the chests with the keys marked CO2. Inside each of the chests was a key, one marked 6C, one 7C, and one 8C.
'Step seven: go to the Northeast side of the island. Dig at the base of the small cape and find two boxes labeled 3C. Only one of the three keys will open them.'
"That's interesting," Jack mused. "Using a number of keys and boxes to throw anyone without proper instruction off course. Ingenious! Aye, that's very interesting." After much looking, they finally found the cape, and began digging again. They came across the two boxes, and, through the process of trial and error, found that the 6C key was the one what opened them. Inside both were smaller chests, one labeled ATP, one labeled ADP. But none of the many keys they had acquired would open the chests.
"Dude, looks like you could use some help," said a familiar voice as Crash the sea turtle swam up on shore with a couple of his friends. "Dude, like thanks for the totally gnarly waves out there. They were awesome. So, man, in thanks for that wicked awesome swell, we decided to give you the keys ya need." And with that, he gave Jack two keys labeled Pi. "You only wanna open the ATP one, dude. Ya gotta use, like, both keys, a'right?" And he swam away.
So, using the two keys, Captain Jack opened the box bearing the code of ATP. He looked back at the map, but it said nothing more. He peered inside the box, and found the rest of the directions. 'Step 8: go to the easternmost point of the island. Dig at the high tide mark. Two chests: also marked 3C.' So they dug. And the 6C key worked again. The chests opened to reveal again two smaller boxes; one marked NADP, and one marked NADPH. But again, none of their keys would work to open either. Then a few fish swam into the shallows. They were the same fish from the school earlier. "Hey, mon!" called one of the fish in a Jamaican accent. "Ye migh' want a key ta dat, eh?"
Jack massaged his temples. "Great. First the sea turtles were talking, and now this. What next? Flying pigs?" A large, wing-ed hog flew by. "Alright, nevermind. Yes, we want the key. You know where we can find it, aye?"
"Ya mon! We were so gre'tful for da feast ye gave us we wanted ta help ye out. So here ye go, mon. Da key ye need ta open da NADPH box. Ye don' need da other one." The fish flopped onto the beach to deposit a key before flopping back into the shallows.
Jack tipped his hat to the fish, well aware of how foolish he must look. "Much obliged."
"It's a pleasure, mon!" and with that, the fish swam away.
Jack picked up the key, but did not open the box yet. Instead, he looked back to the instructions. 'Step 9: go to the south cape and find the solid wall of rock. Find the opening. The treasure lies within.' They made their way there and, with little difficulty, found the solid stone outcropping, rising several feet from the ground to well above their heads.
Now Jack opened the box. Inside were six, unmarked keys. An inscription inside the lid read: 'Choose only one, and hope it's the right one. If the incorrect key is inserted, the stone will collapse, destroying all the treasure.' "Well, that poses quite the dilemma," Captain Sparrow stated the obvious. But he saw how the sun glinted off each iron key. Perhaps they were not unmarked after all. All had CHO, but the numbers separating the letters were different for each one. For instance, one said C3H6O3, while another said C12H22O11. All sorts of codes were inscribed, but, no matter how much he tries to cover it up, Captain Jack Sparrow is a smart man. He knew what the code for Glucose was. Confidently, he picked out the key marked C6H12O6 and swaggered up to the stone. He ran his hand along the smooth surface until he felt it go over a small crack. But ol' Captain Jack knew better. He stuck the key into the crack and turned it. The ground immediately began to shudder beneath them, and for a moment Jack doubted whether he'd chosen the right key. A crack appeared in the stone, and a secret door opened. Jack stepped inside. "REALLY BAD EGGS!" he exclaimed, as he had become accustomed to exclaiming when he was excited.
His crewmates rushed in to see what was there, and a cheer arose immediately. "Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!" They had found the Lost Treasure of Glucose. They took what they needed of the supply and prepared to leave, but not before Jack noticed words chiseled into the wall.
It read: 'Please return all the keys to their chests and the chests to their original locations so that in the event anyone is in need of this glucose again, they can find it. Any keys found aboveground must be cast into the sea.'
The crew groaned, and Jack along with them. It had been a lot of work digging everything up, and now they had to bury them again! But the work went quickly, and soon they were embarking the Electron. They cast off as the sun was setting and returned to the town of Palmfrond. Though it was a risk, Jack went straight to the governor and presented him with the glucose. "Captain Jack Sparrow, you have saved this town from its glucose deficit," said the governor at a public ceremony the next day. "For your bravery and triumph, we award you and your crew with whatever you want. Gold, silver, even a small share of our precious glucose if it so pleases you."
A wry grin spread across Jacks face, the sun glinting off his gold teeth. "A life's supply," he said slowly, so as not to be misunderstood, "of rum." Those of his crew present to hear cheered. "That's right. DRINKS ALL AROUND!"
So Palmfrond was saved from destruction, and Jack got his beloved rum. That night, he and some of his crew were dancing drunkenly around the fire. "We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs!" they sang. "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"
Fin.
P.S. If you leave your e-mail address, I'll send you the grade it gets when it's graded.
This was so much fun to write. It was done in haste, but I think it turned out pretty well, considering the circumstances. So, now, there is that little button down there. Please click on it. Thank you.