Gallant Painter II

By: Wolfgang Ausserbauer

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A New Kind of Adventure

Jon Rene Moleairen was a mole from a faraway galaxy, and he had a very special spaceship named the Galant Painter. But this wasn’t just any spaceship—it could dig through rock faster than a dolphin swims through water! And guess what? The Galant Painter could talk. His name was Asbar, and he was very clever.
One day, Queen Isabella of the Mole System said, “Jon Rene, you owe me taxes! Give me your ship!”
Jon Rene didn’t agree. So he packed up his family—his wife Chonisy, his son Jon Rene Jr., and his daughter Penelope—and zoomed across the galaxy to a planet called Earth.
Earth was blue and green and full of oceans. It looked like a good place for a vacation. Asbar, the talking ship, was excited too. “I may be small here,” he said, “but I’m still the fastest digger around!”
They landed in a place called Red Rock, California. The soil was soft and red, perfect for digging. Jon Rene said, “Let’s go exploring!” So Asbar zipped underground, heading northwest.
But then—uh-oh!—he hit something sticky and black. It smelled terrible and shot the ship high into the air like a geyser!
“What was that?” Jon Rene asked.
“Oil,” said Asbar. “Earthlings love it. We make oil from trash. They make trash from oil!”
Jon Rene wrinkled his nose. “We need fresh air and a bath. Let’s find a lake.”