I began,  in what I hoped was a confident tone of voice,  "consult my handy-dandy encyclopedic journal,  and learn all we can about phoenixes!"
   George brightened a bit.  "Do you really think there's hope,  Auntie M.?"  My name is Marianne,  but Gorge always calls me  "Auntie M."
   "Of course!"  I replied sternly.  "There's always hope!"  (At least I hoped there was,  I thought.)
   "And,  after we've done our research,  we'll be able to...
    


 

"my father,  hiding behind a tree!  I started to wave and say hi,  but he looked so furtive,  it made me uncomfortable,  so I pretended I didn't see him.  Could he have been following us?  Oh,  I should have told Petunia!  She always knows what to do;  she's so clever!  Oh,  auntie M,  please help me!  Petunia's the love of my life!"  His eyes got misty.  "I just love it when she...

"the Lord of the Jungle lives!  He scares me,  because he calls the animals with this piercing yell.  I've never talked to him,  but Petunia says"  here he sniffled a bit,  "she says he watches from way up there,  and knows everything that goes on in the jungle!"
   I was thunderstruck.  "George,"  I exclaimed excitedly,  "don't you see?  He's exactly the person we need to talk to!  He may have witnessed the abduction!  He may even know where Petunia was taken!"
   Before George could respond,  there was another crashing of tree limbs,  as Oscar finally arrived,  breathless and dusty from his precipitate landing.  "Sorry I'm late,  folks!"  he gasped.  "That glitch I told you about took me on rather an interesting side trip!  My dear,  have you ever been to the land of the Djinn?  Oh,  we can talk about that later.  For now,  tell me,...

"In that treehouse,  way up there!"  To my astonishment,  he pointed at the very treehouse George and I had been discussing.  "Her name is Minerva,"  he continued.  "She lives up there with a very interesting fellow called  Max,  sometimes referred to by  the locals as  'The Lord of the Jungle,'   because he has such a rapport with the animals.  Minerva is the local  'seer,'  possibly because of her powerful telescope."
   My mouth dropped open,  crowded with a hundred questions.  But Oscar went on,  impervious to my incredulity.
      "She certainly knows we're here,"  he asserted.  "But,  if we want to see her,  we'll have to...

Put them all in that box in the clearing,  then wait for her response."  Oscar chuckled.  "It's all just to demonstrate our sincerity.  Minerva has a unique sense of humor.  George,  any idea where we can find all this stuff around here?"
  "That's easy!"  Georged grinned,  obviously pleased at hearing a question he could answer,  for a change.  "All those things should be in that storage shed over there!"
      Sure enough,  it was all there,  and soon in the Oracle's designated box.  Breathlessly,  we waited,  and...