Panda Li and the Brave Armadillo

Summary

Part 6/6: When the islanders and their new friends, the panda bears, confronted the rising water with a dyke, everything seemed to be saved. But when the flood did not subside despite the protective measures, a dangerous search for the real cause began - a search that put the animals' solidarity to the test.

Reading time: 7 min

After a warm welcome from the panda bears who had arrived to bring the last load of rock to the island, work began again immediately. With combined forces, the dyke was to be built as solidly and as quickly as possible.

When the work was finished, everyone was visibly relieved and now hoped that it would withstand the rising water for a long time. The islanders thanked the pandas for their efforts and looked forward to the get-together afterwards.

But there was something else that no one knew how to solve.

Patricia, the turtle and oldest inhabitant of this island, was visibly exhausted. A moment’s rest was needed to forget the constant tension that survival on this island had recently demanded of her and all the other animals. She withdrew for a moment, paused, and many thoughts flashed through her mind.

The island, which had been home to the old turtle and all its inhabitants for generations, still seemed to be in great danger despite the successful construction of the dyke. And this despite the great help of the panda bears and the tireless efforts of the islanders.

She thought of the exotic forests, the lush meadows, the small river and all the animals that lived here – from the busy ants to the stately elephants.

“There must be something else we’ve overlooked,” she thought dejectedly. Despite the dyke and the improved weather conditions, the water continued to rise.

Something was wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what on her own. She tried to remember previous floods, but none seemed as threatening as the current one.

With another sigh, she resolutely set off to gather all the animals together again to continue searching for the cause of the problem.

As soon as all the animals had gathered in a large circle, it happened again: rain began to fall and in no time at all the river began to overflow and flood the island from the inside. This was now happening more and more often during the heavy rain. Panic broke out again.

“We’re losing our home!” shouted the monkeys, causing even more unrest.

The panda bears saw that building the dyke was not enough, there was actually a bigger problem.

“We have to do something!” the armadillo suddenly said quietly. “Does anyone have any idea why the water is rising so high on the island now?” he asked even more quietly.

Everyone looked at him in confusion because he so rarely spoke. “Because it’s raining,” shouted the monkeys.

“Yes, but it used to rain and the lake never overflowed,” the little armadillo mumbled. “Maybe there’s another reason?”

The rain was now joined by darkness and the animals fled from the water to safe shelters.

The panda bears spent the night under the rocks. But sleep was out of the question. They would have loved to help their friends, but they didn’t know what to do either. Li in particular suffered with his friends, whom he had grown so fond of.

The next morning, the armadillo decided to investigate on his own. He dug his holes deeper than ever before – until he came across something strange: An old, clogged riverbed that ran deep beneath the island.

“That must be it!” he shouted excitedly. “The river that used to drain the excess water is blocked!”

He hurried back to the surface, where the animals were holding another emergency meeting. “I’ve found the solution!” shouted the armadillo, but no one listened to him.

“The dam won’t hold!” said the lion gloomily and in a pitiful voice. “We must prepare for the worst!”.

The monkeys could hardly be tamed and made a terrible noise because they were so frightened. The birds were flapping around wildly.

Patricia had to calm them down again and again and reminded everyone to keep calm. “Nothing good has ever come from shouting and wild bickering!”

“But I know what we can do!” shouted the armadillo once more, stamping his paw with determination. “Listen to me!”

Li was the first to notice the quiet shouting. “Someone here wants to say something!” he shouted loudly to the group. Suddenly it became very quiet. “What have you discovered?” Patricia asked the little armadillo.

The armadillo now explained everything in detail: the underground river he had discovered, the blockage and his idea to channel the water back into the river. The animals looked skeptical, but the lion, Li and the brothers finally nodded. “We have nothing to lose. We’ll give it a try!” they said.

The work began immediately. The beavers and otters were sent into the tunnel to clear the blockage. It was hard work – the dirt was old and firmly encrusted, and the animals had to proceed carefully to prevent the tunnel from collapsing.

Meanwhile, the elephants transported water away from the flooded lake so that the other animals had more time. The ants and birds formed a chain to get the stones and branches out of the tunnel.

It was a race against time. The water continued to rise and some of the animals wondered whether they still had a chance. But the armadillo encouraged everyone: “We can do it! We have to stick together!”

Finally, after days of hard work, an otter called out from the tunnel: “The water is flowing!”

And indeed: a powerful jet shot through the exposed river and made its way into the sea. Slowly but surely, the high tide on the island began to recede. The animals rejoiced.

“We could never have done it without you!” said Patricia on behalf of everyone and patted the little armadillo on the back. Everyone applauded.

“Oh, nonsense,” said the little armadillo sheepishly. “I was just digging.”

But secretly he was a little proud. And the animals on the island knew that no matter how great the danger – as long as they worked together, there was always a way.

The panda bears were very impressed. Not just by the wonderful island – no – but by the inhabitants of this island. The team spirit was simply unique and you could learn a lot from them.

“This island friendship shall last forever!” decided Li and everyone nodded happily. The panda bears returned to their island with happy hearts and in good faith that all was now well. As they said goodbye, they promised to visit each other again very soon.