The Adventures of Chuppa (Part 3)

"Wow! Chuppy! Have a look at that beauty!" Kermit burped as he gazed at the humongous tree before him.

"You do realise Kermit, that my name is Chuppa not Chuppy!" replied Chuppa in a slightly annoyed yet rat-like fashion.

"I know Chuppy" grinned the monkey still in a dream-like stare at the tree. Chuppa knew the name would stick and decided to hit Kermit with a small rock.

"Oi you little devils" came a mouse-like grumpy Scottish cry. Chuppa and Kermit looked at each other confused. Where had the voice come from? As they continued to stare at each other Kermit winked to break the eerie tension. Chuppa hurled at him a passing rat.

It was strange, the voice seemed to come from behind the vast tree. As the two peeked around, they saw a wrinkly and thin trunked tree. At the base of it was an aged metal sign. It was so rusted that anything that touched it would burn and melt into fine golden ash. It read "The Great Oak".

"Well? What did you expect? Do you think knowledge grows on trees..hmmm...well...?" questioned the talking tree. "In your case it does you old bag" said Kermit. "You cheeky monkey you, if i had legs I would..." "...would walk?" interrupted Kermit. "Ha ha ha ha ha" chuckled the tree. "I like you, you monkey. What are ye called?"

"I'm Chuppa and this is Kermit. We've travelled a long way to see you Mr Great Oak... Sir." As Chuppy finished his sentence, the creases in the oak itself began to rapidly fall, much like when a mirror turns to liquid.

"You are...are...the...THE Chuppa?" stuttered the Great Oak. Chuppa's eyes rapidly moved between Kermit and the Oak. So rapidly infact that Kermit fainted from sheer fright.

"You are famous in these lands Chuppa. In my 7000 years of existence I have never been so honoured to meet someone. What would you like from me oh great one?" exclaimed the Great Oak.

Chuppa looked shocked. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" He ran around the near by area looking for cameras but to no avail. "Am I on T.V?"

"Oh you will be, when the news spreads." The tree continued to explain that a scout had been sent to find Chuppa a few days ago. He was a dwarf, but it had been assumed that he was killed by the dark forces as no reply was received.

"Ooohh!" Kermit began to groan as he regained consciousness and rolled around on the floor like a diseased slug. Suddenly, the Great Oak fell into silence as a yellow glow illuminated one of Chuppa's pockets. It seemed to want to move towards Kermit. Chuppa looked down at the glow, and back up at the Great Oak. "Beware of the Ape, Chuppa, he..." Before the tree could finish, Kermit jumped up in an energetic, frog like action in front of Chuppa. "How Long was I out?" he asked Chuppa with a half awake look.

Chuppa looked at Kermit in a new light now. Or should I say, lack of light, more like darkness. As Chuppa gazed into Kermit's eyes he could see the very evil oozing from his eye balls, fire oozing from his ears and blood oozing from his eyebrows as a result of him falling on a metal hedgehog.

Now ever so slightly afraid of Kermit, Chuppa replied "Only a couple of moments Kermit". Kermit retorted, "You do scare me sometimes Chuppa". "Yer, and you scare me too", said Chuppa frightfully whilst still replaying in his head what the Great Oak was trying to tell him.

In some weird way, Chuppa began to realise the true gravity of what the Great Oak had told him. The Dwarf that the Oak spoke of who never returned was in fact the one whom they thought was a little boy.

Upon realising this, Chuppa thought deeply about the true purpose of their voyage. Now they were no longer looking for the apparent child's parents, they were searching for something greater. Something magnificent. They were searching for the key of the universe, only, they didn't know it yet.

"What happened to Oaky?", questioned Kermit inquisitively. "It just vanished when you woke up", replied Chuppa after a short pause as he came out of his deep thoughts. "So what did that old bag actually tell you then?", Kermit queried with an evil grin on his face and with eyes fixated on Chuppa's every movement. Chuppa saw Kermit's desperation and replied, "Nothing! Nothing! it told me nothing! It was about to say something and then you woke up and everything just changed....this place freaks me out". Chuppa cleverly changed the statement and Kermit nodded in agreement. "Yer, I think we should go from here, this place doesn't look safe". "I agree, let's continue our journey. But where do we go now then?", said Chuppa. "We must continue through the Forest of Freedom where there is a small village. There we shall find the boy's parents". "Oki Doki! Lead on Kermit...lead on."

Chuppa and Kermit both headed off deeper into the forest, with Kermit leading and soon they were totally submerged and surrounded by the vastness of the Forest of Freedom. It was getting dark now too and the forest was becoming more alive with sounds never heard to man...(to be continued)...