This story was written by Jymn Magon and presented in a Disney Audio Entertainment Read Along. This story and the TaleSpin Characters are copyright Disney. No profit is being made from its presentation here.
In the highest office of the tallest building in Cape Suzette sat one of the worl'1s wealthiest tycoons, Shere Khan. Today he was planning the details of his annual Air Hunt contest. nearby, an assistant took notes as Mr. Khan drummed his razor-sharp claws on the cold marble desk.
"McWhirtley, I want you to increase the prize money in this year's Air Hunt contest to ten thousand dollars."
Young McWhirtley tapped his pencil, nervously. "But, sir, that's twice as much money as last year! We really shouldn1t take chances like th...EERK!"
Khan snagged his assistant by the wind pipe. "Let me "remind" you, McWhirtley, that I never leave anything to chance."
The young man grinned weakly. "Of course not, sir!"
Meanwhile at Higher for Hire, Rebecca Cunningham raced down the dock with a flyer in her fist. "Wake up, Baloo! I just entered you in the Khan Industries' Air Hunt contest!"
Baloo rolled over in his hammock. "Forget it, Becky. That contest is rigged! Every year, Khan sponsors that shindig, and every year his pilots win it. Nothin' you could say would change my mind, Beckers."
But Rebecca wouldn1t give up. "If we could win this contest, we'd get lots of customers, Baloo! Besides, this year it's a worldwide hunt!"
Baloo shot up like a rocket and dived into the Sea Duck, digging through his junk. "Have you seen my camera, Becky?"
Rebecca ducked a flying boot. "What do you want it for?"
"So I can take pictures of all those places I've never been! Ooo, baby, I always wanted to fly around the world."
"That's the spirit, Baloo! And don't forget to win, OK?"
The next day, fliers from all over were lined up for the big Air Hunt, especially Khan1s ace panther pilots. The squadron leader pointed at the Sea Duck and laughed. "You don't stand a chance, Baloo. Why don't you quit right now?"
"Not on your tin-type, pal! I'm not only gonna win this little contest, I1m gonna drum up lots of business for Rebecca, too! Have fun catchin' up!"
As the pilots gathered, Shere Khan stepped to the microphone. "The Air Hunt is the true test of a pilot's skill, speed, courage and ingenuity. Therefore, this year, the winner shall receive...ten thousand dollars."
As the crowd applauded, Khan whispered to McWhirtley, "Since my pilots cheat, they always win. That way I get my money back and lots of free publicity, besides."
Just then a young pilot named Nancy tugged at Shere Khan's coat. "I may be new to flying but I'm going to win that prize!" At that, the crowd broke into laughter.
Khan chuckled. "Of course you will, my dear." Then he waved the starting flag and the pilots rushed to their planes.
Khan's panther pilots roared off first, leaving a wake of very rough and windy air. As the other planes took off, tricky air drafts bumped and bounced them so much that they had to slow down to keep from crashing. Baloo was furious. "Man, those panthers will pull any dirty trick to win! No decent pilot would ever treat another pilot like this!"
As soon as Baloo steered the Sea Duck into calm sky, he turned to his navigator, Kit Cloudkicker. "Read that list of goodies we gotta get, L'il Britches!"
"Okay, Papa Bear. Wow! We've got to find things from ten different countries. That's a lot of travelling!"
Baloo chuckled. "Kit-boy, I'm looking forward to it."
Kit checked his map. "Head west by north-west, Baloo."
The first stop in the Air Hunt was East Gafia. But just as Baloo neared its snow-covered mountains, he was buzzed by two of Khan1s pilots! "These jokers are crowding me towards those rocks! They1re trying to make us crash!"
Kit shouted out the window. "Beat it, you dirty cheats!"
But the pilots swooped over the Sea Duck again! Baloo grabbed the controls and banked the plane sideways, taking it through a narrow canyon. "Ha-ha! We're safe now, Kit!2
"Yeah, but we're way off course, Papa Bear."
Baloo pointed. "I don't think so, Kit. Look down there!"
As the Sea Duck landed, Kit saw a herd of shaggy creatures. "Yaks! That's the first item on our list--a genuine yak flea collar!"
Baloo grinned as he neared the herd. "Guess Khan's flyboys helped us more than they hurt us. We1re winning, Little Britches! What's the next stop?"
"Head for the Yoocan Jungle, Papa Bear."
As the Sea Duck approached the Yoocan Jungle, Baloo searched for a rare tropical bird. But once again, Khan1s pilots buzzed the Sea Duck and wouldn't let Baloo land. "It looks like we need a plan, Kit."
"Okay, Papa Bear! Leave it to me!" Kit snapped open his airfoil. Hanging from a tow rope, he glided down to just above the treetops and snagged a Yoocan Toucan right out of the air! "That's two!"
Halfway round the world in the Sea of Kangaroon sat a lovely island where Baloo picked up the next item--a rare seashell. But before heading off to the next location, Baloo stopped to listen to a local musician. "Man, what a beat! What do you call that crazy drum?"
The musician smiled. "It's a Kabongah."
Soon Baloo was hopping and bopping to the snappy sound. Kit pleaded, "Come on, Baloo. We've got to get moving!"
"Relax, kid. I came on this trip to see the world." Baloo liked the drum so much, he bought it. "Maybe Becky will like it as a souvenir!"
After another long flight, Kit and Baloo arrived at the Great Wall of Mynah, where they acquired one of the famous mimic bricks. "Hey, Kit-boy, snap my photo by the Wall!"
"...BY THE WALL, by the wall, by the wall..." the brick echoed.
"Man, won't this be fun on the rest of the trip!"
rest of the trip..."
Just then, Baloo spotted Khan1s men rummaging through the Sea Duck. Kit and Baloo raced to the nearby airfield. "Hey, leave my baby alone, you goons!"
"...YOU GOONS, you goons, you goons...." the brick repeated, as it was hurled at the villains. But Baloo was too late. The pilots had already dumped out his fuel and stolen all his items for the hunt!
As the panther pilots took off, one of them called back to Baloo. "You1ll never win now, smart guy. There goes your boss's new customers! But, here, maybe you can drum up some business with this!" And he tossed the Kabongah down to Baloo.
Dejected, Baloo sat with Kit on the empty runway. "The Air Hunt is over for us, Li'l Britches. We1ll never catch up now. I lost the prize money and let Becky down."
But what really hurt Baloo the most was that he wouldn't get to visit the rest of the great places in the Air Hunt.
As Baloo moped back to his plane, a young man in a tuxedo rused toward him. "Say, is that a snare drum?"
Baloo shook his head. "Sorry, pal, it's something called a Kabongah."
"Well, I'm supposed to be playing with my band in a half-hour and the airline lost my snare drum! Mind if I borrow your Kabongah? It just might work."
Baloo shrugged. "I've lost everything else--you might as well have this, too. Maybe it'll bring you some luck."
"Gee, thanks! I won't forget it!"
Back at Higher for Hire, Rebecca apologized to Baloo. "I should have listened to you when you said Khan cheated. I suppose we'll just have to find our business some other way. Oh, well, at least Khan's men didn't win this year."
Baloo was stunned. "They didn't? Who did?"
"That little pilot, Nancy. Seems no one paid attention to her, and she slipped in first. Boy, was Shere Khan mad!"
Suddenly, the phone rang. It was the young drummer calling. "I just wanted to tell you that the Kabongah was a big hit with our audiences. It was so successful that we've been booked for a world-wide tour. How would you like to fly us to all of our twenty different locations!"
Baloo threw the phone in the air. "YAHOO! Pack your bags, Li'l Britches, we're going globe hoppin'! And Becky, we've got enough business to last for the rest of the year!"
Kit hugged Rebecca. 3Looks like Baloo got the last laugh on Khan's pilots. He DID drum up business after all!"
THE END
