Once upon a time, in a far faraway place, there was a boy who lived as an apprentice, a girl who was the governor’s daughter, and a pirate genie who lived on a hidden island in a rum bottle.
It was midnight in the middle of the Caribbean. In the fog, there waited a man in a small rowboat. Suddenly, the man saw a lantern. It was another man in a rowboat. Of course, these men came from pirate ships. It was only a matter of minutes before the two men met.
“Finally, I’ve been waitin here for eternity!” said the man in the first boat.
“Sorry captain, but this fog makes it impossible to travel. Well I’ve got the sacred medallion!” screeched Twigg.
“Look at this Scum,” said the captain, showing the medallion to the monkey on his shoulder. “What we’ve been huntin for for the past two years.”
Suddenly, the sea became as still as if they were sittin at port on a calm sunny day. “Well, well, well. Would ya look at that Twigg!” said Captain Mammosa. “That be the secret island of treasure, Isle de Muerta!”
The two boats rowed to shore. “Twigg, in there be the magic pirate’s genie livin in Captain Kidd’s old rum bottle. If you fetch me that bottle, you can have a fifty-fifty share in the treasure in that there cave and I’ll name you Commodore Twigg. Then you get your ship, I get mine and we have the makings of our very own fleet. Savvy?”
Right as Twigg was entering the cave of the island, he dropped dead. “Why, I’ve forgotten the code! Ah, oh yes, it’s all comin back now. Anyone who enters the cave of Isle de Muerta must be worthy. Only one whose worth is buried deep within a diamond in the rough may enter. Well Scum, guess we better get back to our ship. We need to find us a worthy chum to get that bottle.”
“Eeaeek”
“What’s that you’re sayin Scum? What should we do with Twigg’s body? Oh, just go grab his money and c’mon. We’ll leave him there until next time. Then, we’ll throw him overboard into the crushin, black oblivion of Davy Jones’s locker!”
The next day found Ross Aladdin Sparrow working in his master’s shop on a very special project. It was his last year of apprenticeship for a lazy, rum lover of a blacksmith. The shop could have very well been Ross’s even though Master Brown got all of the credit for Ross’s work. Anyway, that special project was a sword for the governor. It was going to be Ross’s best work ever, and maybe this time he would tell the governor who really did all of the work.
While Ross was working his pet parrot kept insulting Mr. Brown, who couldn’t have understood even if he was awake. Mr. Brown was almost never sober.
Meanwhile, in the governor’s household, Jasmine Goose, the Governors daughter, was having tea with a man named Thomas Morris. They both sat on a table in the yard. Her Bengal tiger, from India, sat quietly on the lawn.
“Lovely day is it not?” said Morris.
“Yes, lovely,” answered Jasmine.
“I was thinking…”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry if I sound outright Jasmine, but I must speak my thoughts. You are a very fine woman. Will you marry me?”
“Aah-hii! Hot!” Jasmine yelled. “The tea! Hot!”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Excuse me,” said Miss Goose, running to the house.
Later, after Mr. Morris left, Jasmine told her father all about how Thomas proposed and how she spilled tea all over herself.
“That’s wonderful! You should get married right away.”
“But I…”
“Miss Amy! Quick, come hear. Please call the town church and make arrangements. Oh yes and I need to order the cake from the…”
“May I ask the occasion?” questioned Miss Amy, one of the house maids.
“Mr. Morris is going to marry my daughter.”
“Father! I haven’t said yes yet. And I don’t know that I will.” said Jasmine.
“Of course you will say yes. You must go tell him immediately.” replied Governor Goose.
Jasmine rushed to the place where her pet Bengal tiger was resting, her eyes full of tears. “Oh Hajar, what am I ever going to do?” she said to the tiger. She looked out at the sea. She thought about stories of pirates. “I want to run away, to sea. I want to be a pirate.” she thought. So, she ran down into the city of Port Majesty. She would leave, and never come back.
