Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Previously on Adventures on Awe Island, with Christians still
grounded, Marie and JJ went to Amato's to create their custom
ice cream flavor, Volcanic Visibary Eruption.
While at the shop, they learned from Madam Amato that she had
briefly seen Sophos, but she would not reveal anything
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further. Welcome to adventures on AWE
Island. Chapter 7 Digging for Treasure
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Part 3 The following morning, Marie and her dad got ready to
visit the oldest thing on AWE Island, the great Grandmother
Oak that was in the center of the forest.
JJ arrived on her bike at Marie's house right on time.
Marie and her dad were already outside putting on their helmets
(01:06):
off the group set heading to thetrailhead at the park.
Marie's emotions were still a roller coaster.
She was very excited to hopefully find this next buried
treasure and in doing so solve the third Riddle, but she still
felt uncertain how to explain. Needing to dig a hole in the
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forest to her dad, they told them they wanted to learn about
the Great Grandmother Oak. Being a botanist, he had been
all too eager to take this journey so he could share his
knowledge. The weather was much more
hospitable than their last forayinto the center of the forest.
The sun was shining brightly, and it was warm outside, but not
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overly hot. The trail, however, was just as
bumpy as Marie remembered it. She led the way, rumbling along,
alternately sitting on her saddle and standing to pedal
faster as they approached. The first split out of habit.
She shouted to the right. JJ shouted to the right in echo,
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riding deeper into the forest. They hit the second fork again.
Marie shouted to the right, and this time both her dad and JJ
shouted the same in return. Hearing her dad join in made her
laugh. It was quite a long ride, and
Marie's thoughts kept returning to the task at hand.
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They had to find the tree again,then use the compass to
ascertain due West, then measureexactly 15 feet and dig.
There they would find the treasure, that is if the
directions she had found in the secret spot book were to be
believed. As she was deep in thought,
Marie didn't even notice they were approaching the third split
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in the trail until JJ hollered to the right from behind her.
She veered right and knew this was it.
They were close to the center ofthe forest to Dragon's home and
the oldest thing on AO Wei Island, Great Grandmother Oak.
She couldn't wait to finally digup the treasure, or as the
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Riddle called it, the gift that's best for you to continue
on your quest. As she thought of the Riddle
again, another challenge came tomind.
Even if they managed to dig without much explanation,
whatever they found might promptquestions from her dad.
Without knowing what the treasure might be, it was hard
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to plan what to say. The clearing appeared ahead,
Marie could see the sunlight streaming through.
Marie, her dad, and JJ glided into the clearing.
Marie and JJ jumped off their bikes and quickly leaned them
against a tree. Mr. Duguay did the same.
Dragon's Cave stood nearby, without the gentle glow or curls
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of smoke that had greeted them on their last rainy visit.
Marie supposed it was best to greet AWE Island's only dragon
before they did anything else, so as not to startle the young
creature. She walked to the compact
opening of the small cave and called inside.
Hello, Dragon. Then she paused, listening
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closely for any sounds of movement.
There were none. Marie called out a second time,
just to be sure. Hello dragon.
We've come to look at the old oak tree by your cave.
Again, her words were met with silence.
I guess nobody's home. Her dad said.
I guess not. Marie agreed.
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Then she pointed to the oak treebeside the outer cave wall where
Dragon had shown them the strange etched symbol.
We think this is great Grandmother oak, she said.
Mr. Duguay walked up to the treeand placed a palm gently on the
trunk. Marie knew her dad had the
deepest respect for trees and all plants.
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He seemed in awe of the great oak's size.
Here she stands, the oldest thing on Awe Island.
Who knows what she has witnessed.
She is amazing, said Mr. Duguay.His eyes travelled upward.
She looks very healthy too, lotsof growth and vibrant looking
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leaves. He walked around her entire
circumference, slowly examining the bark.
Her bark shows no signs of disease that I can see.
I bet she'll be standing here long after we're all gone.
Uh huh. Marie murmured from behind him.
She made eye contact with JJ, who started to unzip her
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backpack and take out the troweland compass, but Marie shook her
head and silently mouthed the words.
Not yet. For the next 10 minutes, Marie
and JJ stood there listening to Marie's dad tell them all sorts
of information about oak trees, especially great grandmother
oaks species. The girls pretended to be very
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interested and asked questions to keep him talking, like how
much thicker does a tree's trunkgrow each year?
After all, Mr. Duguay thought, their entire purpose for coming
there was to learn about the tree.
Soon there were no more questions to ask.
Mr. Duguay smiled at the girls and said.
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I hope that was helpful. She certainly is a magnificent
tree she is. JJ agreed brightly.
She paused a moment then continued.
Mr. Duguay, we didn't want to come here just to learn about
Great Grandmother Oak. We also have something else we
need to do. Marie's mouth fell open and
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stunned to silence. Was JJ just going to outright
tell him why they were here? That hadn't been part of the
plan. What else do you want to do
here? Mr. Duguay asked, looking
puzzled. We need to dig for buried
treasure. JJ said resolutely.
Marie sucked in her breath so fast she choked on her own
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saliva. It sent her into a coffin fit
and her dad rubbed her on the back, trying to help her.
JJ glanced at Marie, then turnedback to Mr. Duguay and continued
speaking. Remember when you took Marie and
Christian to the civic building the other week?
Well, this is like a continuation of that.
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Some friends of ours buried something out here for us.
Oh my gosh, JJ is brilliant, Marie thought.
Mr. Duguay began to smile. Oh, so that's what you've been
up to, He said. A treasure hunt?
Yes, JJ said confidently. So if you don't mind, we'd like
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to dig up the buried treasure now, JJ continued.
It's supposed to lead us to our next clue.
That sounds like a really fun game.
I didn't realize you were still playing it, Mr. Duguay said.
How much longer before you finish the quest?
He asked. We have no idea, Marie chimed
in. But it might take part of our
(08:27):
summer break too, she added. It seemed like a good idea to
mention this, after all this mystery had already been going
on for weeks and who knew how much more there was to uncover.
OK, have at it, I'm going to look at some of the other trees
around here in the meantime, herdad said.
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But try to hurry, I'd love to stop by Amato's on the way home
and try the ice cream flavor youcreated.
He added. After he walked a bit away from
where they were at. Marie and JJ quickly got to
work. They gathered their trowels and
the tape measure and compass from their backpacks.
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JJ walked up to Great Grandmother Oak and studied the
compass. That way is W, she said,
pointing to the center of the clearing.
Got it. Marie replied.
She handed the end of the tape measure to JJ who held it near
the ground at the base of Great Grandmother Oak.
Marie walked out until she hit the 15 foot mark, then she laid
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2 sticks Criss crossed. There's our ex to mark the spot,
we should hurry. JJ whispered.
Agreed. Said Marie.
She pushed the twigs aside and they both began digging with
their trowels. The ground was firmly compacted
at the top and it was hard to make progress with their hand
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trowels, but they kept at it. Once they got beyond the first
few inches, it was a little easier.
They dug and dug until they wereat least a foot into the ground,
but there was nothing there. What if we have to dig 2 feet
down just like the first buried treasure?
JJ said abruptly. Marie's heart sank.
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She hadn't thought of that. It had been hard enough to dig 1
foot down and her hands hurt from jamming the small trowel
into the ground so many times. Tree roots were starting to get
in the way and both girls were already covered in dirt.
I hope not. Marie said just as her dad
reappeared in the clearing. Did you find it?
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He asked before his eyebrows furrowed into a frown.
You're both a mess. Your friend should have hidden
the treasure somewhere else. We haven't found it yet, we're
not sure how deep to dig. Marie said.
You're already pretty deep, Mr. Duguay observed, looking into
the hole. How do you know this is the
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right spot? We're supposed to dig exactly 15
feet due West from the great Grandmother Oak, JJ said.
As JJ said this, Marie had a thought.
If the treasure had been buried a long time ago, the oak's trunk
would have certainly grown sincethen.
They had measured 15 feet out from the current circumference
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of the tree, so they might be digging too far out.
On a whim, Marie moved a little closer to the tree and began
digging. I think we measured a little too
far out, JJ, She said pointedly to her friend.
To JJ's credit, she didn't argue, She just started digging
alongside Marie. Mr. Duguay started to kneel down
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beside them. I can dig, You both look tired.
He offered. Marie would have loved to accept
her dad's help, but they still didn't know what the buried
treasure was, and truthfully, she wanted to be the one to
uncover it. We've got this, Dad.
She said. But there is something you can
help us with. There's a strange symbol etched
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on the outside of Dragon's Cave.It's on the side closest to
Great Grandmother Oak, near the ground.
Can you take a look at it and tell us if you recognize what it
is? Certainly.
Her dad replied, standing up andmoving over to The Cave.
The symbol was small and very well hidden in the underbrush,
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so Marie knew it would take her dad a little time to find it.
She whispered to JJ. Dig fast.
And the two of them dug as if their lives depended on it,
jamming their trowels into the hard ground over and over again,
ignoring how much their hands hurt.
This time, they only had to dig a few inches before JJ hit
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something solid. It didn't sound like metal, nor
glass. They switched to using their
fingers to scratch and scrape away the dirt from the smooth
surface so they wouldn't break whatever it was.
As they did this, Marie called out to her dad.
Did you find the symbol? Not yet.
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Came her dad's reply. Where exactly did you see it?
It's hard to see because it's small and near the ground.
Marie said. She whispered.
Keep digging to JJ. Then she got up and went over to
show her dad where the symbol was.
Over here, dad. She climbed into the brush,
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knelt down and pushed the foliage away to reveal the small
symbol. Her dad crouched down beside her
and studied the symbol. Huh.
He said. That's a strange symbol.
It looks vaguely familiar, but Ican't recall where or when.
I might have seen it before. I wonder what it means.
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We were wondering the same, Murray said.
How did you find this? Mr. Duguay asked as he traced
the etched symbol with his finger.
Dragon showed us, Murray said. Just then JJ approached, holding
her dirty hand up. There was a blister on her
finger that had burst open. That looks like it hurts.
(14:22):
We should get it cleaned up and bandaged right away.
Marie's dad said. Did you find what you were
looking for yet? He asked.
I found this old tile. JJ responded, holding out a very
dirty square tile. I'm not sure if it's what we
were supposed to find or not. You want me to take a closer
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look at the tile? Maybe I can help?
Marie's dad offered. No thank you Mr. Degay, but
that's OK. We're supposed to figure this
out on our own, that's part of the challenge.
JJ responded as she quickly shoved the tile into her
backpack. I put the dirt back in the holes
we dug. Would you mind if we got going
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so I can take care of this blister?
It hurts a lot. Of course.
Mr. Degay responded with a nod. Let's get it rinsed right away
and start heading back. He took his water bottle out of
the cage on his bike as he squirted the water on J JS open
blister. Marie went over to her own
backpack, which was sitting on the ground.
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She put her trowel and tape measure away, slung her backpack
on, then tried to wipe her dirtyhands on her bike shorts before
she got on her bike. By the time she was done, her
dad and JJ were ready to go. I'll lead the way.
Mr. Duguay said as he pushed off.
Just holler if you need me to slow down, OK?
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Marie said, looking at JJJJ, looked her squarely in the eye
and raised her eyebrows a few times in quick succession as she
smiled a very satisfied smile. And she pushed off.
In that moment, Marie's heart swelled with excitement.
They had done it. They had solved the third Riddle
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and found their next clue quickly.
Marie pushed off too, standing to gain a little momentum.
Even though she was very dirty and her hands were sore from
digging, energy surged through her from head to toe.
She couldn't wait to take a closer look at the clue they had
on Earth, find out where it would take them.
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Marie and JJ finally found the next buried treasure, but it
wasn't the kind of clue they anticipated.
What will they do next? Find out when the adventure
continues in our next episode ofAdventures on Alway Island.
(17:00):
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