The Panda and the Turtle (Book 1)

Chapter 15: Don't Tell Monkey

As night dissolved to dawn. Shifu sat under the peach tree with Oogway's staff, deep in thoughy. He had probably been that way all night.

Shifu stirred, that made his ears pricked as he heard kung fu noises in the distance. He went to investigate, as he went to the place people would usually expect to see kung fu: the Training Hall. Shifu looked inside... it was empty. The noises continued from somewhere else... the bunkhouse. Inside the bunkhouse, as Shifu turned the corner, he saw Po's shadow as he performed some amazing kung fu.

Vee's bedroom door opened and the turtle kunoichi walked out with a yawn. She wore a light turquoise tank top under a periwinkle pajama coat with matching pants and sky blue slippers.

"Hai...yah! Wai-ya!"

As Shifu and Vee entered the kitchen, they found Po who punched through a cupboard door with his bare fist, that came out with food and proceeded to stuff his face. As he saw Shifu and Vee, he stopped mid-munch. In silence they all eyed each other. Shifu surveyed the room... he saw broken locks, smashed doors, unhinged cabinets... the supposedly useless panda had completely trashed the kitchen. Po belched, that brought Vee and Shifu's attention back to him.

"What?" Po asked, annoyed and with his mouth full. "I eat when I'm upset, okay?"

Shifu got a glimmer in his eye. He had an idea.

"Oh, no need to explain." Shifu replied. "I just thought you might be Monkey. He hides his almond cookies on the top shelf."

"Shifu..." Vee said before Shifu dragged her arm with him to leave.

Shifu and Vee calmly exit and hid just outside the doorway, as they waited to see if Shifu's hunch is correct. Po looked to the shelf, smiled, and snuck out of sight. KLUMP! KLONK! THUNK! Shifu and Vee rushed back inside and they were amazed as they found Po perched atop the high shelves, as he jammed cookies from a jar into his mouth, his legs were in a split. Shifu's disbelief turned into a wise smile. Vee was amazed and smiled as well. Po spotted them and stopped eating.

"Don't tell Monkey." Po pleaded with his mouth full.

"Look at you..." Shifu said as he stepped forward.

"Yeah, I know. I disgust you." Po replied.

"No no, I mean... how did you get up there?" Shifu asked.

"Yeah, Po." Vee agreed. "That's pretty high up for someone to jump on that level."

"I don't know. I guess I— I don't know. I was getting a cookie..." Po replied as looked at the cookie and then couldn't help but eat it.

"And yet you are ten feet off the ground... and have done a perfect split." Shifu remarked.

"No, this... this is just an..." Po said before his eyes widen as he began to slip. "...accident."

WHOOMP! Po slipped and crashed to the kitchen floor. A cookie rolled over to Shifu and he picked it up.

"There are no accidents." Shifu recalled. "Come with me, both of you."

Po picked himself up from the pile of pans and stared as Shifu and Vee walked off.

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After she changed her clothes, Vee hiked up in the Wudang Mountains, with Shifu as he lead Po, who was weighed down with a large backpack and breathed hard, up a rocky path.

"I know you're trying to be all mystical and kung fu-ey, but could you at least tell me where we're going?" Po asked as he was panting.

Shifu just continued to walk.

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Later, Shifu sat on a rock in front of a still pool, as the morning mist partially obscured the immeditate area. Winded and wheezing, Po staggered his way next to Shifu, he collapsed to the ground and discarded the backpack. Shifu breathed in the morning mist, with his eyes closed, as Po crawled towards the pool in disbelief. Vee walked over to Shifu and stood by him.

"You... dragged me... all the way out here... for a bath?!" Po asked as he still panted.

With a sigh, Po began to pat his armpits with water. Vee groaned in disgust and covered her eyes.

"Panda, we do not wash our pits in The Pool of Sacred Tears." Shifu said.

Po quickly stopped with realization.

"The Pool of..." Po said in awe.

Shifu jumped off the rock as the mist began to thin.

"This is where Oogway unravelled the mysteries of harmony and focus." Shifu explained. "This is the birthplace... of kung fu."

In pure amazement and disbelief, Po slapped a paw on his heart as the sunlight shined through and revealed that they stood on rock shapes that resemble a yin yang symbol. Po and Vee could see a vision of a younger Oogway doing kung fu moves on a rock. FLASH FRAME. Shifu leapt atop one of that same rock and looked down at Po.

"Do you want to learn kung fu?" Shifu asked.

"Yeah!" Po replied in awestruck.

"Then I am...your...master!" Shifu said.

"Okay!" Po said as tears of joy welled up in Po's eyes.

"Don't cry." Shifu said.

"Yeah, don't." Vee agreed.

"Okay." Po sniffled before he wiped his nose and smiled.

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Shifu and Po faced each other an open field of green grass as Vee sat on a nearby rock.

"When you focus on kung fu... when you concentrate...you stink." Shifu said, that made Po's face fall. "But perhaps that is my fault." Po looked at Shifu. "I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five or Venus. I now see that the way to get through to you... is with this."

Shifu produced a bowl of dumplings.

"Oh, great, 'cause I am hungry." Po said in relief.

Po reached for the bowl. Shifu chuckled and pulled it out of his reach.

"Good." Shifu said. "When you have been trained, you may eat."

Po scowled as Shifu ate a dumpling and walked off.

"Let us begin." Shifu said.