The Story
(be warned, this tale may brng tears to your eyes)

THE GOBBOS ARE DESCRIBED

Who were the Gobbos? Examine ancient paintings from the time of their civilization and you will find that the Gobbos were a short, furry people who could be politely described as 'gerbil-esque.' But what of their soul, their character? One historian wrote that the Gobbos were among the most advanced civilizations of their day, making great strides in science and literature, a people whose intelligence "shines like a beacon in the night." It should be noted that this historian was himself a Gobbo and not only made numerous grammatical errors in his account, but also misspelled 'Gobbo.'

IN WHICH A CROCODILE IS FOUND

It all started one morning in the third month of the Year of the Soupspoon*. King Rufus the Intolerant**, ruler of the Gobbos, was down by the riverbank watching the sunrise. He had just finished breathing a sigh of relief that, once again, the sun had returned, when suddenly a small basket floated ashore. He and a group of his Gobbo subjects huddled around it. Peering inside, they saw a baby crocodile. Naturally, they assumed he must be the early leader in the Annual Midget Crocodile Basket Race. Not that there had ever been such an event, but you never know about these things and many of the Gobbos placed bets just to be on the safe side. After a couple of hours, when no other baskets had come by, the Gobbos decided that perhaps there was no race, or that it had been called off the night before by crocodiles who shared their concern that the sun had gone away for good.

The Gobbos were at first wary of the little reptile but were quickly won over by his vulnerability and inquisitive nature. King Rufus decided that the Gobbos would raise the crocodile as one of their own and that he himself would care for it and instruct it in all the ways of the Gobbos.

*At the start of each year, the Gobbo high priestess would announce the kitchen utensil that, when put down their pants, would bring good luck. The Gobbos took this very seriously though some began to question the practice during the year of the electric can opener.

**People far and wide had heard of King Rufus the intolerant and feared him for his name alone. Of course, the Gobbos knew his full name was King Rufus the Lactose intolerant and, therefore, only feared him after a big bowl of cottage cheese.

IN WHICH TROUBLE COMES TO GOBBO VALLEY

The Gobbos had long told stories of the Dantinis, a band of villains known far and wide for their ruthless burning, wanton looting, and marvelous singing voices***. What was worse was that wherever there were Dantinis, Baron Dante could not be far behind. King of all villains, Baron Dante was stronger than a thousand Dantinis and he had a long established hatred for all things Gobbo. He had seen the Gobbos and Croc being blissfully happy and decided that enough was enough. It was time for the Gobbos to suffer.

The valley swarmed with Dantinis as they captured Gobbo after Gobbo and threw them into cages. Dante watched it all, laughing his horrible laugh. King Rufus knew he had to save Croc. He tailswiped the Gong that sat in the center of the village and it rang, summoning Beany the Bird. She appeared immediately and King Rufus instructed her to whisk Croc away to safety. Rufus looked at Croc, "You're our only hope." Before he could say anything, Beany spirited Croc away in a shower of Magical Sparklies, just as Baron Dante snatched up the king in his iron hand.

***The Dantinis glee club would have won all the big choral contests had they not been disqualified for eating the judges.

IN WHICH CROC REALIZES HIS CALLING

Baron Dante had taken over all of Gobbo Valley. He used his magical powers throughout the land, turning good creatures to evil. Ladybugs, ducks, lizards, fish and mountain goats all became horrific monsters under his command. Baron Dante stashed Gobbos under Dantini guard throughout his new kingdom so that if he needed someone to taunt or even bring to tears, a cute little Gobbo would always be nearby. The Gobbos meantime, being a highly social group, were distraught at being separated from each other.

Baron Dante kept King Rufus as a personal pet, locked in a cage in the back of his castle. Rufus was taunted day and night by Dantinis. He consoled himself in these dreadful hours that at least Croc was out of the Baron's reach.

Meantime, Croc and Beany the Bird watched as their homeland was turned into Dante's playground. Beany told Croc that he must act, but Croc was confused. What could he do against the might of Baron Dante? Beany grabbed him by the straps of his backpack and shook him with all her little bird strength, "You're the only chance they have. You must help! Can you imagine what it's like for a Gobbo being all alone? Croc sniffed. He could very easily imagine what it was like, and he felt more alone than he ever had before.

Straightening himself up, he said to Beany, "All right! But I'm going to need your help."

Here, the legend becomes fuzzy. Historians are unsure as to whether Croc was actually successful in saving his friends. But one thing is for certain, from that point on, he became the greatest champion the Gobbos had ever had...

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