The Adventures of Thea And Pan

The author of this book decided to remain anonymous and wanted to donate to an animal charity of my choice. SolRead will be matching his donation.

Chapter 1: Sunday’s Dream

One Sunday evening, Thea was in bed drifting off to sleep while still hugging her favorite stuffed animal, Pan. Pan was a panda. Thea had bought Pan at a garage sale the summer before last. Normally she saved all the money she earned from her Friday chores, but the purchase of Pan was special. It was time to sleep and Thea still had some thoughts running through her mind.

“Pan, do you ever get lonely?” whispered Thea.

“I never thought about it, I have you,” Pan whispered back.

“I know, but what about when I’m not around. What about when I sleep? I think I’d get lonely,” Thea whispered.

Pan replied, “I do the same things you do, I use my imagination. Last night I was the Protector of Bamboo Mountain, protecting the mountain from any…”

SNORRRRRRRRE Thea interrupted Pan, snoring.

Thea had fallen asleep already, she was a quick sleeper. Pan looked around the room imagining some of the largest bamboo he could think of. It was dark with only moonlight from the window, but Pan was not lonely. He had Thea and Thea loved him.

Slowly Thea began to drift into dreamland where she found herself in a very large jungle. Thea looked down and saw a name tag on her shirt that read:

‘Thea – Zoo Owner’

Without skipping a beat Thea and Pan were together in a dreamland and began a long walk through a dark jungle. Thea was not scared. Pan was with her and they made each other feel safe.

“Oh, look over there Pan. It looks like there’s a river and I’m thirsty,” Thea said while pointing towards the river.

“I don’t think we are close to home, Thea. We might want to be careful,” Pan whispered.

“Why are you whispering Pan?” Thea said loudly. “Are you scared? What’s there to be scared of, you are a bear and I am a girl, we can take care of ourselves,” Thea said.

Thea and Pan neared the river then Thea dipped her hand into the water, refreshing herself and splashing some water on Pan.

“Hey!” shouted Pan.

All of a sudden it got very foggy… clouds covering the warm sun.

Snapppppppppp

There was a noise that came from just inside the jungle’s edge. It sounded like a twig or branch cracking. Startled, both Thea and Pan stiffened up straight as time seemed to freeze looking deeply into each other’s eyes. Then Pan turned towards the jungle and said with a strong voice,
“Hello?”

Thea grabbed Pan’s shoulder and said, “I wonder what it is. I think I saw an owl as we were walking earlier.”

Just then an owl hooted HOOOT and flew over both Pan and Thea’s head from the opposite direction that the noise came. Thea and Pan now knew the noise did not come from the owl.

Snapppppppp-Ccccrrrraccckkkkk

This time the noise was louder.

“Show yourself, please. Don’t be scared, we can be friends,” Thea exclaimed. Suddenly a spotlight appeared to the left of where they thought the noise had come from. Out stumbled a baby jaguar. The jaguar was about the size of a full grown raccoon and it had a huge smile on its face.

“Hey baby jaguar, are you here to stay at our zoo? We'll take great care of you. We have a great jaguar exhibit here," Thea said proudly with a welcoming voice.

The jaguar shuffled over to Pan rubbing up against his leg, purring. Pan had never seen a jaguar before but he was not scared. Pan was excited. The jaguar had huge blue eyes and a very long tail, for a baby.

“I’m lost and don’t know what to do, sometimes the jungle scares me. Do you really have a home for me?” Baby Jaguar mumbled.

Pan and Thea looked at each other and knew right away.

“Yes, we do have a home for you, Baby Jaguar. You can stay with us and we think you’ll love it,” replied Pan with a soft voice.

Chapter 2: Monday’s Dream

It was getting late, bedtime was near and Thea had just finished brushing her teeth. As she walked to her bed in a room only lit by the moonlight, Thea tripped over Pan.

“OH, I’M SORRY, PAN!” yelped Thea.

Thea snatched up Pan and comforted him as she began to fall asleep. Thea wondered if she could go back to the dream she had had the night before. Thea missed Baby Jaguar.

“Pan, are you there?” Thea whispered.

“Yes, my friend. I’m here,” Pan whispered back.

“Do you think we will be able to visit Baby Jaguar again?” Thea whispered.

Pan paused for a minute and then began to whisper his reply.

“Of course, Baby Jaguar is our new friend. I love new friends. Before I met you I had a wonderful friend, she was a penguin and we used to…”

Thea interrupted Pan with her snoring, again.

“Sweet dreams, Thea, I’ll see you in the morning,” Pan said before he rubbed his nose on her cheek.

Pan’s first thought after Thea falls asleep always seems to be bamboo and this night was no different. He was imagining a giant bamboo forest as he himself fell asleep.

“Thea! Pan! Where have you been, this jaguar exhibit is great. We get steaks, fresh water, there are birds to chase and the people are so nice, I love it here!” Baby Jaguar burst out, while purring.

“We hiked to the tallest bamboo ever on earth. It was Pan’s idea. I have never seen bamboo that tall before,” Thea said.

Just then, bamboo began to grow all around them. There was tall bamboo, thick bamboo, thin bamboo and short bamboo. All kinds of bamboo came up from the ground beneath them. Everywhere the three adventurers looked, there was glorious bamboo. They were surrounded.

Pan’s jaw dropped wide open and he let out a pleasant murmur. “Mmmmhmmmmm.”

A strong wind started to blow and the bamboo began to sway back and forth. There was no danger and Pan had already begun to chew away at some of the best bamboo he had ever tasted. “This is great! Amazing! You’ve got to try some, Thea!” shouted Pan.

“I don’t know about that, the last time I tried bamboo I felt very sick. I don’t think my stomach is made for such treats, but I’ll try a little,” Thea replied to Pan as Pan turned to Baby Jaguar.

“Really, this is great, and good for you Baby Jaguar, please try some.”

Baby Jaguar decided to take a small piece of bamboo and began to chew. First it was a mint flavor, then lemon, then it became milky. Baby Jaguar fell in love with the bamboo right then and there.

“This is way better than chewing on the bones everyday, Pan, thank you for suggesting I try it,” Baby Jaguar said.

Suddenly, Thea began to float freely among the wind and swaying bamboo. Pan and Baby Jaguar both looked up to see Thea smiling. And then Pan and Baby Jaguar began to float too. The three continued to float like leaves in the wind through the bamboo forest, passing kangaroos, elephants, rabbits and crocodiles. There was one thing that these three loved and that was being together. Then as quickly as the dream began… it came to an end.

Chapter 3: Tuesday’s Dream

Tuesday had come and was now winding down. The sun had set, dinner was eaten and Thea’s teeth had been brushed. Off to bed she went. It was a rainy night and both Thea and Pan loved the sounds as raindrops pitter-pattered on the window and roof. Thea knew that if it was cold enough for long enough the rain would turn to snow and Thea loved snow. Last year Pan and Thea built a snowman. She had used a carrot for the snowman’s nose and some coal for the snowman’s eyes and mouth. Pan’s favorite was the snowball throwing. Although Pan always seemed to be the only one having a snowball hit him, he did not mind because it made Thea laugh. Pan loved Thea very much. They lay in bed chatting, both hoping to wake up to snow.

“Pan, do you think it will snow tomorrow?” Thea said.

“I’m not sure, I do hope it does. Maybe this year we can build a snowwoman instead of a snowman. I’d like that,” Pan replied.

“Have you ever built a snowwoman before, Pan?” Thea asked.

“Oh sure, one winter it rained so much we built a whole snow family. There was a brother, a daughter, a kitten, a puppy and parents, but they—“ Pan replied as he was interrupted yet again by the sound of Thea snoring off to sleep.

Pan smiled and rolled his eyes. Pan was staring out the window imagining that each raindrop was a snowflake, so that he and Thea could build a snowwoman. Pan’s eyes became very heavy and he too began to sleep. They both slept to the wonderful sounds of the rain and as the night went on, Thea began to dream.

“Hello Pan, it’s nice to see you here. I was wondering if you’d make it or not,” Thea said to Pan.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Thea,” Pan replied, grabbing hold of Thea’s hand.

“Have you seen Baby Jaguar?” Thea asked Pan. “No, no I have not. I wonder where Baby Jaguar may be.”

Just then a flash of lightning lit up the sky for as far as they both could see. Not even one second later a gigantic boom of thunder roared through both their bodies.

“Thunderrrrr!” Pan yelled at the top of his lungs, almost inviting the thunder to reply.

“Thunderrrrr!” shouted Thea.

“Thunderrrrr!” They both howled at the same time, laughing.

Rain began to pour down, and just as quickly as it started the rain became a downpour of snow. Thea and Pan began to dance together as the snow fell to the ground, hooting and hollering with great joy.

Thea let go of Pan’s hand and said, “Baby Jaguar! Where are you?” A long echo accompanied her voice as the snow began to pile up to their knees. Pan climbed up onto Thea’s back so that he could see higher as he looked for Baby Jaguar.

“I do not see Baby Jaguar,” Pan said to Thea.

“Mmmm, I’m sure Baby Jaguar will be fine. Our zoo has plenty of places for him to find shelter,” Thea replied. “You’re right Thea. We will not worry,” Pan said confidently.

All of a sudden there was a great sun parting the darkness. Thea and Pan felt a kind of warmth they had never felt before. The snow melted into a river underneath them and they began to float down this river, laughing as they went. “I wonder where this river will take us, Pan,” Thea said, scratching her head. Pan climbed Thea’s head to get a better view as they floated along the river. “I think I see the end soon, it’s a small pond. Can you see it, Thea?” Pan replied from the top of Thea’s shoulders. “I cannot see it. But I believe you, Pan. I really enjoy ponds, they have fish and frogs and other animals. Ponds are great, don’t you think, Pan?” Thea said to Pan as they both popped out of the river and into the pond.

“I do too, I think my favorite part of a pond are the dragonflies. They are so beautiful and sometimes they land on my nose.” Pan said.

Thea giggled, and so did Pan. As they waded around in the pond they noticed a large dragonfly. This dragonfly kept flying close to Pan but did not land on him because Pan kept moving closer to the dragonfly.

“Pan, try not moving, be patient. Let the dragonfly come to you. I bet it will land on you if you wait.” Thea suggested to Pan. “Mmm, okay Thea. Usually you know best.” Pan muttered.

About thirty seconds passed and Pan had not moved. The dragonfly got closer and closer and closer to Pan. Pan closed his eyes for a few seconds but could not wait any longer, so he opened his eyes. Pan saw the dragonfly had landed on Thea’s nose and that made Pan very happy for her.

“Thea, it’s time to wake up,” said the dragonfly.

Chapter 4: Wednesday’s Dream

Every Wednesday is Friend’s Day. On Friend’s Day Thea invites some of her friends to come over and talk and/or watch a movie. Mostly they talk, laugh, smile and listen to music while drinking hot chocolate. Pan is always there but he does not say a word. He does not drink a sip. Pan only talks to Thea when no one is around. Friend’s day had come to an end. Betty, Kirti, Brandon, Alex and Ida had all been picked up by their parents and Thea was off to bed. Earlier in the evening Thea had overheard her parents whispering about moving to another town. She thinks she heard something about a new job her mother may have.

It was raining again, still no snow. As Thea crawled into bed she nudged Pan in the tummy with her elbow.

“Hey, watch it!” mumbled Pan.

“Oh, I’m watching it all right, I got you right where I aimed,” Thea whispered giggling as she began to tickle Pan’s feet.

Pan laughed, he liked it when Thea was playful. Thea was very tired and had closed her eyes as she was tickling Pan.

Pan whispered, “You know, I remember when you first tickled me. I had never been tickled before and I didn’t know what was happening. I felt joy and confusion at the same time…” snoring Thea As usual Thea interrupted Pan with her snoring. Pan Turned over towards the window to focus on the sound of the rain. Pan loved the rain. Pan decided to imagine he was chewing on a tasty piece of bamboo bubble gum. He closed his eyes and chewed away. He imagined blowing bubbles with his bamboo bubble gum until he too had fallen asleep to the sounds of the rain.

Thea found herself in complete darkness. Pitch black, but she was not scared. Thea was very brave. She called out for Pan.

“Pan? Are you there?”

There was no answer. She called out for Baby Jaguar because Pan had not answered.

“Baby Jaguar? Hello? Is there anybody out there?” Thea said with a strong voice.

Thea was alone. Slowly the darkness faded away as if the sun had begun to rise. It was beautiful. The most beautiful sunrise Thea had ever seen. Not one sun, but two. There were 2 suns, Thea realized. She had only ever seen one sun before. “Pan! Baby Jagaur! You’re missing it, there are two suns. This is the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen, where are you guys!?” Thea shouted.

There was no answer. Pan was not there. Baby Jaguar was not there, only Thea was there. As the two suns continued to rise, time passed and Thea soaked in the warmth of the two suns when suddenly Thea heard what she thought was jazz music. Thea could not figure out where this music was coming from. She turned over a rock she had noticed. The music did not get louder. She looked in her pockets, there was no music. Thea closed her eyes and began to simply appreciate the music.

Suddenly she found herself in a dark alley. The two suns were gone. There was moonlight reflecting on a rainy pavement she stood on top of. Thea started to walk down the alley and as she walked down the alley the music got louder. She continued to walk and it got even louder. Thea came to two doors across from each other in the alley. There was one door to her right and one door to her left. It seemed like the music was coming from behind both doors and this confused Thea. The door on Thea’s left began to open slowly and Thea decided to go inside. There were animals everywhere, like some sort of animal party. On stage there was a band of beavers playing the music she had been hearing.

“Thea!” a voice said, coming from one corner of the animal party.

“Thea, over here!” the voice repeated.

Thea pushed her way past the penguins, around the parrots and underneath the monkeys who were swinging from a chandelier on the ceiling. As she shuffled past the cows, Thea saw who she thought was Baby Jaguar and Pan sitting at a table with a third empty chair. They were grooving to the music and waving at Thea to come over and join them.

“Pan! Baby Jaguar! How’s it going? You won’t believe what I saw earlier. There were two suns! Not one, but two suns. I saw them at sunrise and it was glorious,” Thea said loudly so that she may be heard over the animal party and the beaver band playing music. “Wait, you saw two suns?” Baby Jaguar questioned, looking at Pan with a mouth wide open.

“Yep, two suns. I wish you both could have been there. It was so warm and beautiful. I heard some jazz music and decided to try to find out where it was coming from. And here I am,” Thea said.

“We’re very glad to see you, Thea. We were just getting ready to leave here and go look for you. We thought you would enjoy the music,” Pan said.

“You’re right. You know how I love music, Pan,” Thea said, smiling.

A loud knock thundered throughout the animal party. The beaver band stopped playing music. The monkeys disappeared. The parrots became quiet and Thea was awakened by the sound of her mother calling out to her.

“Thea, honey, it’s time to wake up!”

Chapter 5: Thursday’s Dream

It was Thursday night, the day after Wednesday and the day before Friday. Thea was already tucked into bed with Pan clutched in her arms. There was no rain tonight and it had not snowed any of the nights before.

“Pan?” Thea whispered.

“Yes, Thea. I’m here,” Pan replied.

“Do you ever have bad dreams?” Thea whispered.

Pan replied, “Yes, but I try not to worry. Sometimes I try to figure out if I’m dreaming. You can call on all your friends and they can come and help you. Dreams are special. You can even take control if you…”

Snoreeeee Thea interrupted, snoring.

Thea, Pan and Baby Jaguar found themselves in a deep and dark pit. There were snakes everywhere and all three of them were very frightened.

“Thea, watch out. There’s a snake underneath your leg, don’t move,” Baby Jaguar whispered. Pan grabbed Baby Jaguar and placed him on his panda bear shoulders so that Baby Jaguar would not be near the snakes. Baby Jaguar was probably the most scared of the three adventurers. Baby Jaguar was crying, not a lot but he was scared. Baby Jaguar had only seen snakes at the zoo. Pan was trying to be strong for Thea and Baby Jaguar but Pan was scared too. A large snake crawled around Thea’s ankle and began to slither its way to her knee.

Pan shouted, “Thea, think of spaghetti or jump ropes! Use your imagination, Thea!”

Thea closed her eyes and began thinking of spaghetti, jump ropes and even worms! Thea opened her eyes and to her delight the snake had magically turned into a pile of spaghetti. Thea loved spaghetti. She turned to Pan and Baby Jaguar and they were jumping rope, both smiling and laughing.

“Great thinking, Thea!” Baby Jaguar yelped with a huge smile on his face.

“Yeah, this is great fun!” Pan said.

The darkness lifted and the three found themselves in what seemed like quicksand.

“Oh, no! What’s happening, this can’t be good!” screamed Thea.

Baby Jaguar managed to squirm free. Baby Jaguar offered his tail for Pan to grab hold of as Pan started to slowly sink. Pan struggled but didn’t seem to be getting out of the sinking quicksand.

“Thea! Try thinking of banana pudding, anything but quicksand!” yelled Pan.

“I’m trying, but it’s not working!” yelped Thea.

Just then, a loud clap was heard and in no time the quick sand had turned into a big bowl of Jello. Thea loved Jello. Baby Jaguar let out a small, happy roar, “Roarrrwhooooo.”

Baby Jaguar helped Thea and Pan out of the big bowl of Jello with his tail. Then the three laid down side by side on their back and enjoyed what was left of the Jello. It was strawberry Jello, Thea’s favorite.

Chapter 6: Friday’s Dream

Friday was finally here and Saturday was just around the corner. Saturday was Thea’s favorite day. Thea went to sleep early on Fridays so that Saturday might come sooner. She also goes to sleep early because Fridays she spends doing her chores around the house. Chores like taking out the trash, pulling the weeds in the garden, cleaning the cat litter box and cleaning her room. After dinner on most Fridays, Thea’s family sits down and folds laundry together while listening to their radio. Pan was always there but he never said a word. At least not words anyone around but Thea would hear.

At last Thea found herself and Pan in bed, almost sleeping. Time for bed.

“Pan?” whispered Thea.

“Yes, Thea?” Pan whispered back.

“Why is the sky blue?” Thea asked Pan.

“This is a great story, Thea. A long, long time ago there was a Grand Master of Bamboo painting. This Grand Master loved the color blue but it had been outlawed by the evil eagle of the East…”

SNOREEEE Thea’s snoring put a quick end to Pan’s story.

Pan laughed to himself, closed his eyes, and began counting sheep in his head. Soon, he too began to drift off into dreamland once again.

Thea found herself staring at a large mountain surrounded by many trees. There were steps that went up the mountain just like any steps you’ve ever walked up. But these steps went all the way up the mountain. As Thea’s eyes began looking up from the very bottom step, she saw Pan sitting about fourteen steps up. “Pan! What are you doing there?” Thea yelled to Pan.

“Well, Thea. I’ve been waiting for you and you’re right on time,” Pan shouted back.

“Am I? What time is it, Pan?” Thea questioned.

“It’s time to walk up the mountain, Thea,” Pan said with confidence.

Thea pressed Pan further. “Really? This was the plan, just walk up a mountain? Oh, that’s all?”

“Thea, this isn’t just any mountain. This is a special mountain. This is the mountain I’ve been telling you about. At the top of this mountain is something very rare. But it’s a secret only for those that climb the mountain,” Pan replied.

Thea began walking towards the bottom step when she noticed a sign near the beginning of the steps that read:

‘You can do it!’

Thea laughed to herself thinking, ‘Yeah but do I want to?’

Thea and Pan began to walk up the very many steps the mountain had to offer. They walked between the trees. They walked over a river. They walked for hours. It made her feel small, but it also helped her appreciate everything else so much more.

They walked for so long Pan’s feet began to hurt. They decided to sit down underneath a tree. The tree was large and created some shade in the place where Thea and Pan sat.

“How do you like the hike so far, Thea?” Pan asked.

“It’s okay, not really my cup of tea though,” Thea grumbled.

“Why did you come then?” Pan questioned.

“Well, I wanted to spend time with you and then I saw that sign. I believe I can do it, even if I don’t want to,” Thea answered.

“That’s a very good attitude,” Pan said, laughing.

Pan began to climb the tree. Slowly but surely he got to a large branch that stretched out far from the tree. As he made his way out on to the branch, balancing carefully as he went, he began to see the peak of the mountain.

“I think I can see the top of the mountain, Thea!” Pan yelled.

Thea was staring up at Pan and the tree. She was a little worried that Pan may fall. But she had confidence that even if Pan fell he would land on his feet.

“Great, let’s get you down from there and keep walking,” Thea replied.

As Pan climbed down the tree he noticed that with each step the expression on Thea’s face got less and less stiff. And as soon as he stepped back down on to the ground, Thea smiled.

“I’m back! Let’s get going, we’re very close.”

Thea and Pan began to continue their hike. Pan quickened his pace and then Thea quickened her pace to catch up. Then Pan began to jog even a bit faster. Thea decided to start running. In no time they were both running at full steam. They were laughing while making sure not to trip on one of the steps as they ran.

Their run came to a sudden stop. They were at the last step. A cliff. The sun was setting. There was a sign. The sign read:

‘Never give up, you did it!’

Thea turned to Pan and he chuckled.

“I told you so…” Pan said.

Thea and Pan sat down on the edge of the cliff. Both of them were sweating more than they ever had before. There was a nice breeze that came through the valley, helping them cool down. As the sun finally set, Thea turned to Pan and said,

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Pan.”

“I bet you could!” Pan replied.

Chapter 7: Saturday’s Dream

Saturday was long. Thea and her family had spent most of the day at the library reading. Thea loved to read. Her favorite part of library day was listening during storytelling time. Each Saturday there was a new story that was read out loud in the children’s section. This Saturday it was ‘Pele The Thummala,’ by Dr. Rystad. On the way home Thea drifted off to sleep. She was tired but there was no dream while she was sleeping.

Thea grabbed Pan from the sink in the bathroom and ran into her room, jumping onto her bed. Then she crawled underneath her covers, gripping Pan tightly. She was exhausted. Pan was mumbling something but Thea was very tired and could barely understand him.

“Too tighttttt,” Pan whimpered. “Too tighttttt...”

Pan was almost out of breath, until he sneezed and squirmed free.

ACHOOOoooo

“Now, Thea. We had this talk before. You’ve got to be careful and not squeeze me too tight. Sometimes when you roll over at night, it’s on top of….”

Snorrrreeeeeeeeeeee

Thea had fallen asleep. Pan rolled his eyes with a smile and thought to himself,

‘Bend, not break. Be the bamboo. Be. The. Bamboo.’

Thea found herself falling through the air. For some reason she was not scared. As she fell she passed a few pigeons. She went through a few clouds. She saw an airplane off in the distance. She began to wonder when the falling might stop.

As she fell, she realized she was dreaming. As soon as she realized it was a dream she splashed into a river of thin honey. She tasted the river. It was an amazing taste. The temperature was perfect. Ten minutes had passed and she began to get lonely. She wondered where Pan was. She thought to herself where Baby Jaguar might be. Asking herself,

‘Why am I all alone?’

Suddenly there was a voice that boomed throughout her entire body.

“Thea?” the voice said loudly.

“Yes?” Thea replied, confused.

“How are you?” the voice thundered.

“I’m good, but I’m lonely,” replied Thea.

“Why are you lonely?” the voice asked Thea.

“I miss Baby Jaguar and Pan. It’s not the same without them around.”

“You’re right,” the voice boomed.

“What do you mean, I’m right?” Thea exclaimed.

“I mean, you’re right. It’s not the same without them. When you are alone, it’s different. But that’s okay,” the voice said loudly.

“I guess so. You’re here, so that’s nice.”

“I’m not really here, Thea. Remember, you’re dreaming,” the voice whispered.

Just then Thea awoke. She was laughing as if she had heard the funniest joke ever.

“What’s so funny, Thea?” Pan asked.

“Oh Pan, you had to be there,” Thea replied.

“Where? I’ve been here the whole time,” Pan replied.

“Exactly!” Thea exclaimed.

They both looked at each other oddly and then burst out laughing, tickling each other until Thea’s mother came knocking at the door.

“Are you OK?” Thea’s mother asked, standing outside Thea’s door.

“Fine mom,” Thea replied while she was laughing.

“I had a funny dream, but I’m going back to bed now,” Thea said.

“Is Pan with you?” Thea’s mother asked.

“Yes, mom. He’s right here next to me.”

“That’s good, get some more sleep and I’ll see you in the morning, sweetie.”

“Goodnight mom!”

THE END.