When one looked back on it, the destruction of the rainforest hadn’t taken that long. Day after day, year after year, more and more acres of trees were cut down and harvested and the undergrowth burned.

 For those faraway from the situation, the possibility of having no home seemed impossible, but for those who lived in the rainforest, they saw the end coming as the state of affairs was very real.

 Munchie Gecko and Feo Monkey suddenly found themselves having to leave their homes and look for another. Some animals didn’t travel far, but others who loved adventure went to the extreme.

 Feo Monkey had set out to find the lost continent of Atlantis. He had heard from the jungle elders, stories about the animals and the people living there.

 If he could find this continent, he could bring all the homeless animals to its fertile land and begin again.

 Munchie Gecko, his best friend, appeared before him now in his wetsuit, helmet and oxygen tank. All day he and Munchie Gecko had searched the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. Today they had found no clues and were no closer than they had been since leaving Africa five months ago.

 "See anything on that last look around?" mouthed Feo Monkey.

 Munchie Gecko indicated no and signalled to surface to their little boat.

 After a week, they had reached warmer water and prepared to go below again to once more look for the lost continent.

 They weren’t down five minutes when sharks circled them and a giant octopus approached from the west.

 Munchie Gecko, in his panic, tried to surface too fast and Feo Monkey grabbed him to keep him from getting the bends.

 Staying down however, was to the sharks’ delight as they closed in. The octopus stretched its arms and the end for the pair seemed in sight.

 Suddenly, a radiant light emanated through the water and in fright, the sharks and octopus fled.

 "What is it?" mouthed Feo Monkey, inside his helmet.

 Munchie Gecko looked around and saw a clam perched on a rock. From the clam came the glowing light. The pair swam to him, receiving an upward signal to bring him to the top.

 "I am a magic clam," explained the clam to their questions. "I will grant you one wish."

 "We are looking for the lost continent of Atlantis. Have you heard of it?" asked the pair excitedly.

 "It will be a hard journey through hot springs, pollution dropped overboard from ships, sea monsters and currents, stronger now from global warming. I will go with you, if you don’t object," said the clam.

 Seeing how the clam had dispersed with the sharks and the octopus, they both agreed the clam would be a good asset.

 The trip was exactly as the clam predicted with all the perils as he had described. They even had an encounter with a biker gang of penguins. If it hadn’t been for the clam’s magic spell, which caused the bikers on seahorses to shed their leather jackets decorated with chains for ballerina tutus, the bikers would not have fled. Frightened seahorses scattered as pink ballet slippers dug into their sides.

 Close to them was the continent they had dreamed about. It was submerged in water under bedrock, causing an air bubble. It would be hard to convince the animals to go down there, but the trees were tall and the land fertile, as the elders had said.

 The magic clam did one more act for the pair, giving them a giant ark to collect the animals for their new home. The clam slipped under the water, never to be seen again.

 Question about the story: Who first told Feo Monkey about the lost continent?

 Send answers to Storytime, c/o Verna Dunlop, RR#1 Moser River, NS BOJ 2KO or e-mail vernadunlop@yahoo.com. Prizes will be sent to those sending in the answers.