The next morning, Kofi woke up as the sun was just stretching its first golden fingers through the window. But something was different. There was no bird chirping. No rooster crowing. Nothing.
“That’s strange,” he murmured and sat up. “Why is the world so quiet?”
Outside his window stood Lamu, a small baboon with a red neckerchief that constantly slipped over one eye. Lamu looked like he hadn’t slept for a whole week – which was probably true.
“Kofi,” said Lamu in a voice that sounded like dry leaves, “you have to help me.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Kofi as he opened the door.
“I... I lost my laughter,” Lamu admitted sadly. “Last night I laughed. At a joke from Gustav. But today... I can’t anymore.”
Kofi frowned. “How can someone lose their laughter?”
“It happened when I read Madame Croco’s wish savings bond,” explained Lamu. “I thought: ‘Wow, twenty wishes! That’s incredible!’ And then... pff. Gone. My laughter.”
“A wish took your laughter?” asked Kofi, surprised.
“No,” said Lamu. “THE THOUGHT OF THE WISHES took it. Too much excitement. My laughing muscles... fell asleep.”
At that moment, Felix hopped by, still on his search for donuts. “Hello Kofi! Hello Lamu! Have you heard about Mr. Bongo? He’s trying to count flies, but he only gets to three!”
Lamu didn’t even smile at that. “That’s... not funny.”
“See?” said Felix worriedly. “His laughter is really gone!”
Kofi scratched his head. “We need help. We have to go to the Baobab tree.”
“The whispering tree?” asked Lamu. “It really knows everything?”
“Everything, except how to make a joke,” said Kofi grinning. “Come along.”
The three set off. Along the way, they met Zahara, a young giraffe with a scarf made of colorful feathers. She wore glasses she had made from twigs.
“Where are you going?” asked Zahara, stretching her long neck so high she almost touched the clouds.
“To the Baobab,” said Kofi. “Lamu lost his laughter.”
“Oh no,” said Zahara, alarmed. “Without laughter, the savanna is like water without fish – empty and sad. I’m coming!”
So they continued their journey, with Lamu in front, Felix on his shoulder, Kofi in the middle, Zahara behind (her neck towering over everyone), and Gustav circling above, occasionally telling a joke that no one understood because his feather was always in the way.
When they reached the Baobab, Madame Nala – Kofi’s grandmother – was sitting there knitting a sock from spider webs.
“Ah,” she said when she saw the group. “You’re looking for laughter.”
“Yes,” said Kofi. “Can you bring it back?”
“Laughter can’t be called back,” said Aunt Nala. “But it can be replanted. Like a seed.”
“A seed?” asked Lamu. “With what material?”
“With joy,” said Aunt Nala. “And patience. And a really bad joke.”
“A bad joke?” repeated Felix, leaning forward. “I know one!”
“Not you,” said Gustav. “Your jokes sound like frog noises.”
“That’s a compliment!” exclaimed Felix offended.
“Listen,” said Aunt Nala calmly. “Each of you must tell a joke. A really bad one. The one whose joke is the worst will get their laughter back.”
“So we have to be deliberately bad?” asked Kofi.
“Yes,” said Aunt Nala. “And that’s harder than it seems.”
First, Gustav tried. “What does a vulture say when it finds a cookie? ‘CookiE!’ Because I see... um... yeah.” He stuffed a feather into his beak and said: “That wasn’t good.”
Second was Felix. “Why can’t a frog wear glasses? Because then he sees everything too close! HAHAHA!” He waited for laughter. No one laughed.
Third tried Zahara. “What does a giraffe say when it loses a hat? ‘Oh no, I can’t find my head!’ ... So...” She sighed.
Fourth attempt: Kofi. “What does an elephant do when it dances? BOOM! It causes an earthquake!”
“That wasn’t a joke,” said Lamu seriously.
“And that’s the goal!” shouted Aunt Nala. “PERFECT!”
At that moment, Lamu began to giggle. First quietly. Then louder. Then so loud that all the birds flew up startled.
“HAHAHA!” shouted Lamu. “MY LAUGHTER IS BACK!”
Everyone laughed with him – even Madame Nala, which was rare. Her knitted sock fell to the ground, and she had to hold on so she wouldn’t fall down laughing.
“You won,” said Aunt Nala smiling. “Because your joke was the worst.”
“But that was fair!” said Kofi. “No one should want to win.”
“Exactly,” said Aunt Nala. “That’s why the laughter is back.”
Right at that moment, the Baobab tree whispered:
“Good. But watch out for Madame Croco’s wishes. They have a price. And this price will soon be demanded.”
“What price?” asked Lamu excitedly.
“You’ll find out tonight,” said Aunt Nala mysteriously. “When the sun sets and the stars appear.”
“What kind of secret?” asked Felix curiously.
“That’s today’s task,” said Kofi. “Come along. We have to visit Madame Croco.”
“WHY?” shouted Gustav. “THAT’S DANGEROUS!”
“No,” said Kofi. “Madame Croco is just... complicated. Like a crocodile bag full of wishes.”
And so they all set off to the pond, with Lamu telling a new joke along the way: “What does a baboon say when he loses his laughter? ‘Oh no, my joy is gone!’ And what does a baboon say when he finds it again? ‘HELLO JOY! HOW ARE YOU?’”
Everyone laughed. And for the first time in days, the savanna felt completely normal.
(To be continued in Part 4...)