Kug was the first to wake.
He looked around, confused, to see that there were no decorations for the winter solstice. As a matter of fact, the summer solstice decorations were still up.
He stepped carefully over his sleeping companions to make his way to find some breakfast. And when he saw that there was nothing prepared, he started to think there was something truly wrong.
"Wait a minute," he said aloud in his big dumb voice. "Why is everyone sleeping?"
"Hey!" shouted someone. "I'm trying to get some shut-eye here!"
Soon, in order of their deaths a half year before, all of the males began to wake.
"What happened?" asked Kug. "Why am I not the only one who slept?"
"Someone killed us all and kidnapped all of the females of the tribe!" announced Chief Blar.
"But who?" yelled out another tribesman.
"There is no way of knowing!" answered the chief. "It was a sneak attack."
"Wait!" yelled Thute. "I have a memory!"
"Let's see it."
And so, Thute projected his memory on the Amazing Wall.
The entire tribe watched as the wall showed Thute looking in the mirror, flossing and brushing his teeth.
"No! No!" Thute shouted, humiliated. "Not that memory!"
Laughter erupted, a screeching awful sound.
You see, Thute is the only one in the tribe who practices good hygiene, and everyone else looks down on him for it.
Finally, Thute remembered how to use his memory eye and played the right memory for the tribe.
Now, on the wall, Ferdge was looking over in Thute's direction, making an exasperated expression. And she said something to Garq who was standing next to her, but it couldn't be heard.
Then the grass shuffled and flattened as a massive yellow ball rolled into view. The ball parked and hundreds of spears shot out of it from every part of it.
The spears all turned and gathered in the air then rocketed toward the tribe, then piercing all of the males.
The tribe watched a spear spike through Garq then the Amazing Wall fade to black.
"It is decided then!" announced Chief Blar.
All of the tribe looked puzzledly at him as they didn't know what decision was to be made.
"The solstice champion will seek out the Great Yellow Ball and rescue our women!" the Chief declared.
Garq hunched over and tied his eyes with a sigh.
"And he shall choose any companions he desires!" the Chief said firmly, then after a moment, sheepishly added, "Except for me. I have Chief things to do."
There was no one in the world Garq would want to join him more than his best friend Kug. And so he loudly cried, "Oof!" because someone stepped on his toe.
"So sorry," said the culprit.
The Chief was getting a little hard of hearing, and there's no one in the tribe named Oof, so he thought he said, "Thute."
"Thute it is!" he yelled.
"That's not what I said!" Garq shouted.
"It's what I heard! And therefore it is decided! Thute shall go. Anyone else?"
Garq sighed then finally muttered, "Kug."
And so, Garq, Kug, and Thute started toward the trampled grass and onto their journey to find the Great Yellow Ball.
