As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky. But her crash landing in the jungle had injured her wing and she was grounded for a few days. A few days---it might as well be a few months, or a few years!
The mosquitoes buzzed loudly, the macaws cried from the high trees; yet, all of these distracting noises were not enough to cover the sound of the predators following her every step. Some instinct make Daring turn. A ferocious pony-eating tiger roared as it lunged at the tan heroine. Daring Do ducked and dived over a log, mere inches ahead of the savage beast, only to have her retreat barred by a massive black panther. Spinning to her right, she saw a brown lynx charge screeching toward her from another direction. A spotted cheetah yowled menacingly while emerging from a mass of ferns, blocking yet another possible escape route. ‘Only one path left,’ she realized. ‘I wonder what hideous horror will block it.’
Trapped between a semi-circle of beasts, our heroine turned to the last path open to her. As if her internal monologue had tempted fate, the leaves near the last path shivered and parted to display this next foe: a fearsome fluffy white kitten. Relief surged through her. Finally a break! She charged forward, leapfrogging over the cat and running as fast as her legs could take her, ferocious feline foes following in close pursuit! Running full tilt through the dense undergrowth of the jungle, she almost stepped off a cliff that suddenly appeared before her. Skidding to a stop just in time, Daring Do looked back at her pounding predatory pursuers and knew she had no choice.
With leap fueled by desperation, she launched herself from the edge of the cliff and grasped a vine, looping it around her as she swung over the gargantuan ghastly gorge. Her golden compass rose cutie mark glinted in the sun as she spun to salute her feline foes. Safely landing on the other side, Daring finally allowed herself a moment to breathe. She turned around to find herself face to face with the long lost temple that she had sought tirelessly for over sixty days and nights!