Ricardo is questing! Episode 1/25

Chai was just putting the last items into his green carry sack when there came a knock at his front door. Knock, knock. “Hey, Chai, it’s me Ricardo.”
Chai opened the door to his next door neighbour. Ricardo noticed the green sack Chai was holding, “Are you going somewhere?”
Chai explained that he had received a letter from his best friend who lived very far away and whom he had not seen for many years because of circumstances that had affected everyone. Ricardo nodded. Chai carried on, “Along the way Robin and I are going to look for the super ultimate ingredient and bake my best friend a very special Christmas pudding.”
Ricardo got very excited at this and said, “Do you want company, can I tag along?” Chai nodded and Robin nodded. “There is always room for more adventurers.”

Ricardo is questing! Episode 2/25

After Ricardo ran home and collected a few bits and pieces for the trip they all set out and the first place they were going to travel through was the forest behind Chai’s house. It was a beautiful day, perfect for walking. Robin flew on ahead landing on branches high up in the trees. “Tweet, tweet.” Robin called.
To Chai, Robin said, “I have a friend who lives in this forest and maybe his favourite food would be the ultimate ingredient you need.” Suddenly they heard a crashing sound through the lower bushes. Ricardo hid behind Chai, not sure what was coming toward them. “It’s ok,” said Robin,” It is just my friend Badger.”

Ricardo is questing! Episode 3/25

Robin introduced everyone and told Badger about the adventure they were on and what they were looking for. Badger looked thoughtful, “You’re most welcome to come to my dwelling and try out my favourite food in your pudding recipe.”
Badger’s home was snug and dry even though it was below the ground. Chai and Badger worked together to create the pudding batter and Badger added his favourite food, some worms as the final ingredient. Ding, the pudding was done. Everyone crowded around to have a taste. As Robin was declaring the pudding, “Delicious.” he noticed Chai turning a peculiar shade of green, while Ricardo was not looking overjoyed. Badger noticed as well and said, “I don’t think worms are what you are looking for. Take these cookies I found in the wood to keep your strength up while you continue your journey.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 4/25

“Where to next?” said Ricardo. The three adventurers stood still in the forest clearing and thought. “Giggle.” “What did you say?” asked Chai. Robin and Ricardo shook their heads, they had not said anything. “Giggle.” Robin turned around quickly. “I am sure I saw something behind those trees and look, there on the ground, more cookies!”
Before anyone could respond the air was filled with a whooshing and suddenly before the three stood a little Sugar Glider. “Hi!”
Startled, Chai said. “Hello, where did you come from?”
“Those trees,” said the Sugar Glider waving behind him.
“Did you notice anyone else in the forest just now?” Robin asked.
The Sugar Glider just shook his head and giggled and said, “Come along to my house and we can have some tea.” So the three adventurers followed the little Sugar Glider.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 5/25

The Sugar Glider flew just a few steps in front of Chai and his friends. Time was passing and it seemed as if they were never going to reach their destination, all the while Chai, Robin, and Ricardo kept picking up the cookies that appeared in their path.
At long last they arrived in a small clearing, there were flowers and the buzzing of bees all around them. The Sugar Glider just motioned them toward a tall tree with steps going way up and they could see a lovely house at the top. “I think Sugar Gliders love honey.” said Ricardo, "I remember reading about that in a book."
Robin tweeted and said, “Honey is sweet, maybe that will be the super special ingredient you need for your pudding.” Robin flew up to the house while Ricardo and Chai walked up the stairs. The view was lovely but they could see the sun sinking lower. Maybe they could stay here for the night. What with the strange sounds in the forest and the mystery of the appearing cookies, none of the adventurers wanted to travel through the night.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 6/25

Inside the Sugar Glider’s house, Chai noticed jars of honey on all the shelves. “Please sit down and I will make the tea and we can talk.” said the Sugar Glider. After everyone had their cups of dandelion tea sweetened with honey and were seated comfortably they began to chat. Chai wanted to ask about the mysterious cookies but the Sugar Glider was really anxious and jumping up and down and wanting to know where the three were going.
Chai was thankful that the Sugar Glider had said they could stay the night, so Chai told his host where they were going and what their mission was, and forgot all about the questions he wanted to ask. The Sugar Glider’s face lit up. “I love your idea, I think perhaps honey might be the secret ingredient you need. I get lots of honey from the bees, they love to share. Honey is the best!”
It was too late to start cooking now so they all snacked on cookies and drank tea and rested comfortably until the morning sun peeked in the window.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 7/25

In the morning the cooking began. The Sugar Glider had never made a pudding before and Robin and Ricardo had never cooked with honey before. The honey was very sweet and tasty and it was easy to lick off of any spots that had become sticky. I don’t think anyone can cook with honey without getting some of the sticky amber syrup on themselves.
Before too long the pudding was ready for tasting. Ricardo said it was delicious and thought this would be a fine pudding for Chai’s friend. Robin said, “ Ugh, mrfff, too sticky.” While Chai stated, “ It is not bad, but I wonder if it is just a bit too sweet? You can have too much sweetness and then your tummy goes funny.”
The Sugar Glider nodded but kept shoving more pudding into his mouth. “I am sorry honey is not the answer, where will you go now?”
“We keep heading north,” said Chai, “Even if we do not find the special ingredient I must see my best friend, it has been so long and I miss him. We grew up together, but I went away to a cooking school and then... well things happened that meant I could not travel.”
The Sugar Glider hugged each of the adventurers and wished them the best of luck.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 8/25

Pointing the way north, Chai led Robin and Ricardo along a path that led to a small river, and farmland stretched beyond as far as the eye could see. “Tweet, tweet, what a beautiful view,” said Robin.
“I know this place,” said Ricardo, “I have a friend who lives just over that hill on a small farm.”
“Look, more cookies, and they lead over the log bridge.” Chai picked up the cookies and thoughtfully bit into one. “Do you find it odd that these cookies are appearing in the direction we are going?”
Ricardo responded, “I have traveled this way many times and never seen cookies on the path before.” he shrugged. “They are lovely cookies and they have been nice to snack on while we walk.” Chai and Robin agreed and continued on.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 9/25

Ricardo started running and jumping and waving his hands in the air. “Rex, Rex, Rex, it’s me Ricardo!”
Robin and Chai ran to keep up. Ricardo had grabbed Rex Rabbit and was hugging the little brown bunny and yelling, “These are my friends, Rex, we are on an adventure and we need to borrow some carrots to see if they are the secret ingredient we need to make the ultimate pudding.”
Chai and Robin said hello to Rex Rabbit and explained in a calmer fashion what they were doing. “You have a wonderful farm,” said Robin. The little brown Rex Rabbit nodded happily and said, “Of course you must use some of my carrots for your pudding, but first do you mind helping me bring in the harvest? It is going to get colder soon and I want to gather all the carrots before they freeze.” Of course, all the adventurers agreed to help Rex Rabbit, and they all spent a delightful day gathering carrots and chatting.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 10/25

Adding the carrots to the pudding mixture was easy after Rex Rabbit had grated them. While they waited for the pudding to cook, Chai, Ricardo, and Robin enjoyed a bottle of carrot juice which they all felt restored their energy admirably. The pudding was ready and they all had a taste.
Ricardo made a bit of a face, “Sorry, I like carrots but not in pudding.”
Robin was not sure.
“Hmm!” Chai said, “Well, it is not bad, and we could all certainly eat more carrots, but I don’t think it is quite right for this pudding.”
Rex Rabbit was munching away and could barely speak with his mouth full of pudding. “I love this, I think I will add the recipe to my Christmas baking must-haves. I am sorry that I could not help you, Chai.”
Hugs all around once again as the adventurers prepared to leave the cosy warren. Chai did not feel too bad about the outcome, he may not have found his super-secret ingredient but he was very happy with all the hugs and the new friends he had made. Rex Rabbit gave Chai all the cookies he had been collecting and they waved farewell, promising to meet up again soon.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 11/25

The three were so busy chatting that they did not notice where they had ended up. That is, until Robin heard something that the other two could not. “Tweeeet?”
Chai and Ricardo stopped talking and looked at Robin. Robin pointed ahead. “Oh-oh!” said Chai. “We may have taken a wrong turn, and we were all so busy chatting we never noticed when the cookies stopped appearing.”
Sure enough, there were no cookies on the ground, and ahead of them loomed the dark swamp. Ricardo said in a nervous voice, “Do we go through there?”
Chai looked up at the sky, “There is still plenty of daylight and if we hurry we should come out near the hills that lead up into the mountains.”

Ricardo is questing! Episode 12/25

Chai, Robin, and Ricardo hurried through the swamp but it became harder to know where to put their feet. There had been light when they entered the swampy forest now there was no light at all. All around them eerie sounds arose and green eyes peered out at them from behind dark trees. “I wish I was not here,” squeaked Ricardo.
“Keep going,” said Chai, “We have to get through this forest and the quicker the better.” Chai nibbled on a cookie to soothe his nerves. He felt responsible for his two traveling buddies and he had to make sure he remained calm.
Out of nowhere cookies started to fly in the air, whoever belonged to those peering eyes was making a horrible noise, more and more cookies were flying in the air and striking the creatures hidden in the dark trees. Chai yelled, “Run and keep running!” Panting, running, not daring to look behind, it felt as if they had been running forever when they saw a small beacon of light in front of them. “Head for the light!” Chai yelled.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 13/25

“Phew!” Chai bent over his knees to catch his breath. “We made it and look, there are mountains in the distance, not long now till we reach my friend.”
Ricardo said, “That is not all there is to look at, I think those are Quokka and what are they doing? They seem to be gathering some kind of brightly coloured bean.”
Robin flew on ahead and could be seen chatting with one of the Quokka. “Tweet! The Quokka are gathering jelly beans. They said they would gladly share some and we can use their house to cook in.”
Chai and Ricardo followed Robin and his new Quokka friend until they reached a lovely house. They all piled inside and sat down. They were so worn out from the race to get out of the swampy forest that they fell asleep where they sat.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 14/25

Rubbing eyes and stretching the three adventurers woke up and looked around. “Oh my goodness! I am so sorry we fell asleep on you.” Chai apologized to the Quokka that were sitting at a table having breakfast. The Quokka smiled and brought the three friends some tea and breakfast and said, “We can go outside when you are ready and we can cook that pudding, what was it, Christmas Pudding? We gathered lots of jelly beans you can use and we are all anxious to see what it is like as we have never heard of it before.”
When they were ready they all trouped outside to the cooking spot. Mixing the ingredients in a big pot, the Quokka lined up and each tossed a handful of jelly beans into the batter.” There was a burble and then a burp and then a wheeze and then a very loud BANG! Jelly beans flew in all directions, zipping through the air and hitting trees, houses, and occasionally a Quokka and even Chai got a jelly bean in the noggin. “Oh no!” wailed Chai.
“I am so sorry. Good thing this happened outside.”
“I guess jelly beans are not the answer either.”
After helping to clean up the exploded jelly beans, Chai, Robin, and Ricardo said their goodbyes and headed off in the direction of the mountains.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 15/25

Chai, Robin, and Ricardo headed into the trees, finding more cookies. At least they all felt that with the cookies they were on the right path. It had been a long time since Chai had made the trip and nature tends to grow and change so he was not always exactly sure of the way to go.
Now and then they would hear chittering in the trees but they did not see any sign of the voice’s owner. Snow began to gently fall, but they did not mind, it only added to the beauty of the surroundings.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 16/25

The snow was starting to accumulate and the three adventurers stopped to toss snowballs at each other. Laughing at the fun, Ricardo turned to lob a snowball at Chai and stopped mid-throw. “A squirrel,” he said. Sure enough, out on the snow had gathered a family of very pretty Moondust Squirrels and they were holding what looked like acorns.
Robin flew over to talk to the squirrels. “Hey! The squirrels have chocolate acorns. Do you suppose they could be the super ingredient you need? Chocolate goes with almost anything after all.”
Chai and Ricardo ran over to the squirrel family and explained why they were journeying and what they were looking for. The Moondust Squirrel family happily invited the adventurers back to their house.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 17/25

Chai and one member of the squirrel family started to mix the ingredients as soon as they were inside the house. The aroma as the pudding was cooking was wonderful, a rich cocoa smell wafted all over the small house. Tummies started to rumble, this would surely be the ultimate Christmas pudding. As soon as the pudding was cool enough everyone had a taste. “Mmmmmmm.”
“Delicious.”
“Outstanding chocolate flavour.”
Everyone loved the taste! No one loved the chocolate mess. Chai turned to the Moondust Squirrel. "Thank you so very much, your chocolate acorns are really wonderful. I just think they are too wonderful, they overpower the taste of the other ingredients and they are messy.”
They all said their goodbyes. Ricardo held back and spoke softly to the Moondust squirrel. “What was that about?” said Robin. “Oh, I wanted a few chocolate acorns to munch on our journey, I do not live by cookies alone,” laughed Ricardo.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 18/25

The three adventurers were in the mountains now. Snow was falling heavier and it was becoming colder. Chai had brought scarves for everyone to help keep them warm. The trees were denser and the climb steeper. Chai knew they were getting very close to the end of their journey and he was really starting to wonder if he would ever find the special ingredient. Thankfully there were still cookies on the path they were taking. Chai was not sure why he found this so comforting.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 19/25

Ricardo was the first to spot the Sasquatch, who was walking toward the group. The Sasquatch was carrying a big basket of cookies and wearing a big smile. Ricardo was encouraged by the friendly demeanor of the Sasquatch and ran up to him. “Hi, you live near here?”
“I do," said the Sasquatch. “You want to come inside my home and warm up, it is getting chilly and night will soon fall.”
Chai told the Sasquatch what they were looking for, and the Sasquatch showed Chai the big basket of chocolate cookies he was carrying. “Maybe these cookies will help you?”
They all decided to go to the home of the Sasquatch and have something warm to drink and maybe get a bit of sleep before trying out the cookies in the pudding recipe in the morning. The Sasquatch covered them with a big blanket and hung up their scarves and sang them a lovely Sasquatch song.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 20/25

Bright and early in the morning Chai and Sasquatch were cooking up the puddings. Robin and Ricardo had slept in, but when the smell of the pudding reached their noses they jumped out of bed. “It smells nice,” said Ricardo. Robin was sniffing the air eagerly.
Sasquatch donned his oven mitts and took the pudding out of the oven. “Ready for tasting.”
Chai chewed slowly, “Sadly I don’t think this is what we are needing, the cookie is great on its own and it tastes good, but it has made the pudding dry.” Both Robin and Ricardo nodded. They liked the flavour but it was dry. The adventurers ate some pudding as breakfast and washed it all down with some tea and said their farewells to the helpful Sasquatch.
“Please come and visit me again if you are out this way. I don’t get many visitors.” Sasquatch said while waving goodbye.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 21/25

Chai looked up at the mountains. “Beyond that mountain there,” he said pointing, “Beyond that one there is a small valley. Our final destination is just a wee way from that valley.”
They continue walking in the snow, and from time to time they stop to watch the snow silently falling around them. It is so peaceful here.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 22/25

The three adventurers were getting very excited and Robin was flying around and tweeting happily. Something was in the air. Chai and Ricardo were sniffing the air, there was a tantalizing scent but they had no idea where it was coming from. None of them were paying attention when suddenly Chai bumped straight into a cute little creature. “I am sorry,” said Chai, “I was not paying attention to where I was walking, there is a delicious smell in the air and the scent is very strong right here.”
Chai looked down, the little creature was holding a basket of berries. Berries that seemed vaguely familiar to Chai but he could not place them. Gibby introduced himself and explained that the berries were Cloudberries and they were found under trees. The berries were slightly tart and sweet. Chai excitedly explained what he was looking for and the little Gibby invited them all back to his house to try cooking with the berries, which he assured them all, were delicious.

Ricardo is questing! Episode 23/25

Chai was very nervous. The home of his dearest friend was close by and this would be the last chance to make the ultimate Christmas pudding. Chai and Gibby made the batter and Gibby put a generous handful of Cloudberries in the mixture. Everything was ready and the puddings were put into the oven. The wait was intense, but the aroma coming out of the oven was heavenly. Chai closed his eyes and said a little wish.
“Tada.” Said Gibby, placing the pudding on the table.
Chai, Ricardo, and Robin gasped as one. “This is it, I know it is, look at that pudding. It even looks different!” Everyone had a taste and each adventurer smiled their biggest smile, and they all felt something inside lighten and brighten and they knew, this was the ultimate Christmas Pudding!

Ricardo is questing! Episode 24/25

“Your best friend is Santa!” Ricardo yelled. “The cookies were placed by the fairies and Santa must have sent the fairies.”
“Hohoho. I did send the fairies to make sure you did not get lost.”
Santa was introduced to everyone, and Chai explained that Santa and he had grown up together and now he remembered why the Cloudberry smelled so familiar. When they used to cook together at Christmas time they always used Cloudberries in their pudding. This pudding held the memories of happy times spent together with those you love, and now they had a new memory, the best memory of all, being reunited with those you hold dear to your heart!

Ricardo is questing! Episode 25/25

The party went on for hours and more pudding was made.
When, at long last, the night drew in and sleepy eyes were in need of a rest, Santa tucked everyone into bed and read them a story, while the fire crackled in the fireplace, and Santa thanked them all very much for making the long journey and for making this Christmas the best ever, for whether the adventurers realized it or not, this was Christmas eve.
“Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all! Hohoho.”
Ricardo has completed the quest! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can also take part!