As the sun set behind the acacia trees, the savannah was bathed in a warm orange-red glow. The shadows grew long, and the first crickets began to play their nightly music. Kofi and his friends marched towards the pond, each with a different thought in mind.
“Say," said Lamu, nervously wagging her tail, “what do you think is the price for the wishes?"
“Maybe we have to count flies," said Felix hopefully. “I can do that! I can count to three!"
“Two," Zahara corrected lovingly. “You stopped at a butterfly last week."
“THEN I’LL COUNT TO FOUR!", Felix shouted indignantly. And he immediately began: “One... two... three... um..."
“That’s enough for now," laughed Kofi. “But seriously, we should be careful. Madame Croco is... well, complicated."
Gustav circled higher. “I’ve seen her several times. When she gets a wish, she becomes... euphoric. Like a vulture that just发现 (finde ich?) sees a big piece of meat."
“You mean," said Zahara. “Your Chinese words are confusing."
“It’s a new word," said Gustav proudly. “I learned it yesterday from a traveler."
Finally, they reached the water lily pond. Madame Croco was already waiting on the water surface, balancing on her fin on her behind like a circus performer.
“AH!", she shouted when she saw the group. “THE CUSTOMERS ARE HERE! WELCOME TO CROCO’S WISH PARADISE!"
“Paradise?", Kofi repeated skeptically. “She only has a small sign."
“THE SIGN IS SYMBOLIC!", Madame Croco shouted. “LIKE A BOTTOM THAT CALLS FOR A BATH!"
Everyone remained silent. That was... oddly phrased.
“Good evening," said Kofi politely. “We wanted to talk about our wishes."
“EXACTLY!", Madame Croco shouted. “Every evening at this time I arrive! And today is the day when I COLLECT PAYMENT!"
“Payment?", Kofi asked, stepping back.
“YES!", Madame Croco said and briefly submerged. When she resurfaced, she held a large book in her fin. “I HAVE RECORDED ALL THE WISHES YOU MADE! AND NOW COMES THE PART WHERE YOU PAY!"
“But... we didn’t promise anything except the promise note," Kofi said cautiously.
“A PROMISE IS A PROMISE!", Madame Croco shouted. “TWENTY WISHES! TWENTY WISHES! XX VINGT VOEUX!"
“She speaks three languages," Felix whispered impressed.
“Exactly," said Madame Croco. “And each language costs extra! So twenty wishes plus language fee plus interest plus late fee plus... um... whatever I forgot!"
“That’s unfair," said Lamu indignantly. “We only wanted flies!"
“THAT TOO!", Madame Croco shouted. “FLIES ARE INCLUDED, BUT ONLY WITH ONE WISH! WITHOUT A WISH IT COSTS THREE WISHES!"
“That makes no sense," murmured Zahara. “How can three wishes cost more than one?"
“BECAUSE FLIES ARE MORE VALUABLE WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO PAY!", Madame Croco shouted triumphantly.
At that moment, Mr. Bongo suddenly appeared from the tall grass. He still wasn’t wearing a hat, but instead had placed a box on his head – labeled “Treasure Chest No. 7”.
“HELLO!", Bongo shouted, raising both ears. “I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU! MY AUNT TOLD ME THAT MADAME CROCO SELLS WISHES!"
“YOUR AUNT?", Kofi asked confused. “Does Bongo have an aunt?"
“ALL ELEPHANTS HAVE AUNTS!", Bongo shouted. “AND HER NAME IS AUNT ZARA! SHE IS THE QUEEN OF THE TANGO!"
“The queen of the dance?", Gustav repeated. “But Bongo, you dance so..."
“BOOM!", Bongo interrupted and made a spin. The treasure chest fell from his head and landed right next to Madame Croco’s fin.
“OPEN IT!", Madame Croco shouted excitedly. “THERE MIGHT BE MONEY INSIDE!"
She opened the chest. Outside fell... pieces of chocolate. Many pieces of chocolate. All with little wishes written on them.
“WISH CHOCOLATE?", Felix said horrified. “THAT IS MADE OF CHOCOLATE!"
“EXACTLY!", Aunt Nala shouted, suddenly stepping out of the bushes. “MY SISTER MADE THIS CHOCOLATE. IT IS CURSED!"
“Cursed?", Kofi asked, stepping back.
“YES", Aunt Nala said seriously. “WHOEVER EATS THIS CHOCOLATE MUST TELL A CRAZY WISH. AND WHOEVER IS TOLD A CRAZY WISH MUST PASS ON THE CHOCOLATE!"
“So... a cycle?", Lamu asked confused.
“EXACTLY", Madame Croco said, already chewing on a piece. “MMMH! TASTES LIKE CHOCOLATE AND... UM..."
Her eyes widened. Suddenly she began to speak:
“I WISH THAT EVERYTHING IN THE SAVANNAH SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE! AND THAT THE ROCKS SMELL LIKE VANILLA! AND THAT EVERY CROCODILE WEARS A CHOCOLATE HAT!"
“That’s not a good wish," Kofi said worriedly.
“OH NO!", Madame Croco shouted alarmed. “I SPOKE IT OUT LOUD!"
“NOW I HAVE TO PASS IT ON," said Aunt Nala. “THAT IS THE RULE OF THE WISH CHOCOLATE!"
Suddenly the stars in the sky began to glow. A warm, chocolate-like scent filled the air. And indeed – all the rocks around suddenly smelled like vanilla.
“That is... strangely beautiful," Zahara said, sniffing a stone.
“BUT", Aunt Nala said sternly, “EVERYONE MUST MAKE A COUNTER-WISH! OTHERWISE THE CHOCOLATE WILL STAY FOREVER!"
Kofi thought. “So... if Madame Croco says a wish, someone else has to wish a better one so that everything stays normal?"
“EXACTLY", Aunt Nala said. “THAT IS THE MAGIC OF THE SAVANNAH!"
“THEN..." Kofi said slowly, “I WISH THAT ALL WISHES ARE ONLY USED FOR JOY! NOT FOR MONEY! NOT FOR POWER! ONLY FOR FRIENDSHIP!"
At that moment the chocolate scent stopped. The stars shone normally again. Madame Croco looked at her fin, which no longer smelled of vanilla.
“YOU WON", she said respectfully. “YOUR WISH WAS BETTER THAN MINE."
“THANK YOU", Kofi said and smiled. “Now we can share the chocolate."
“SHARE?", Bongo shouted excitedly. “ELEPHANTS LOVE CHOCOLATE!"
“But only one slice per person," Aunt Nala said. “Otherwise there will be stomach aches."
So everyone ate a slice of chocolate – and for the first time in a long time, everything just felt right.
But deep in the forest a voice whispered:
“Well done... but watch out for the next full moon. Because then the cave of old wishes opens..."
“Who was that?", Lamu asked excitedly.
“Don’t worry," Kofi said, smiling tiredly. “We can do it. Together."
(To be continued in Part 5...)