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    Gorinjas: The Beginning
    Gorinjas: The Beginning
    Gorinjas: The Beginning
    Ebook141 pages2 hours

    Gorinjas: The Beginning

    By Mark Lancaster

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    About this ebook

    When you’re a young gorilla who has an unusual patch of white fur, fitting in can be tough. But when you meet a jungle legend of martial arts, things get very interesting. Follow gorillas Gonga and Jemma through a fast-paced action adventure full of danger, secret tunnels, underground surfing and valuable life lessons. But will their secret training be enough? Are they really prepared for anything?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTellwell Talent
    Release dateNov 21, 2016
    ISBN9781925529722
    Gorinjas: The Beginning
    Author

    Mark Lancaster

    Mark Lancaster is a Christian, parent, survivor, martial artist, scuba diver, author and outdoor enthusiast.He writes action adventure books for 8-12yr olds (Middle grade).The story in his books show how determination helps to take ownership of a problem. Coupling this with hard work and facing your fears, helps find a solution to a problem, while enabling you to make new friends and enjoy unique experiences along the way.Mark grew up in South Africa, attending boarding school at Jeppe high school for boys. Later in life he moved to the UK for 14 years, before finally settling in sunny Australia.Mark holds a black belt in Wado-ryu karate, one of four traditional styles from Japan that incorporates both karate and jiujitsu. He has also dabbled in other styles like Goju-ryu and Shuai Jiao (traditional Chinese wrestling). Like his main character, Mark himself has used his training to overcome some very difficult experiences in his life, including a near fatal car crash which left him partially paralyzed.His writing began when his children asked ‘tell us a made-up story, Dad!’ This became a regular bedtime story request, so he began writing during work lunch breaks to keep up with their demand. His goal was always to remove the stresses of their day by stimulating their imagination and transporting them to entirely new and exciting worlds, while encouraging determination and self-confidence.Mark's was an avid reader and his writing was influenced by the likes of Enid Blyton's "Secret Seven" and "Famous Five" series' when he was a young boy. His father instilled a love of the outdoors in him from a young age, enjoying camping and fishing, as well as the lure of the wild, open spaces in Namibia as he grew into his teenage years. Mark's adult reading enjoyed the fast-paced action and intrigue of Wilbur Smith and Geoffrey Jenkins. He has always been drawn to outdoor adventures in far flung places, so it is no surprise that his own children's books follow a similar pattern.Mark is a member of the Australian Society of Authors and the Children's Book Council of Australia.Mark has a desire to encourage reading in middle grade children, encouraging their imaginations to find the same enjoyment in action adventure stories that he enjoyed as a young boy. He firmly believes that prolific reading when growing up has immensely improved his vocabulary and command of the English language, and he wishes to encourage children to do the same.His first book in the Goringas series encourages imaginative thought, confidence and self-esteem through relatable characters and all-too-familiar bullying scenarios.Mark's favourite radio station is Hope 103.2.

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    • 4/5
      Gonga is a little different from the rest of the gorillas and a gang insists on tormenting him. He and his friend Jemma, run into Shintu, an old gorilla, who gives them lessons in martial arts. The rest of the story revolves around lessons, dealing with the gang, and life threatening activities. Lessons on dealing with conflicts are scattered throughout. This would be a good book for middle grade children.

    Book preview

    Gorinjas - Mark Lancaster

    A word of caution:

    Attempting any of the techniques described within this book without the training or supervision of a qualified martial arts instructor would be extremely unwise. These can be highly dangerous moves and could result in you seriously injuring (or worse) yourself or your friends.

    The author, illustrator and publisher take no responsibility for any injuries of any kind to anyone resulting from attempts to perform any of the techniques described in this book, no matter how capable you think you may be.

    Chapter 1

    Behind the waterfall

    Let him go! No! stop! Pull him back in! Pull him back in! yelled Jemma. She struggled but was firmly pinned against the rock face by Bollo. Jemma was up against the back wall of the walkway behind the waterfall. She watched helplessly as Todda and Jud held her best friend under the white torrent of water. Each of them was holding an arm and Gonga was spluttering and struggling to breathe, desperately trying to get out from under the force of the water. Todda and Jud were older and much stronger, so Gonga’s struggles were in vain. Bollo laughed even louder as Todda yelled, Let’s see if we can wash this stain off once and for all! referring to the white splash of hair in the centre of Gonga’s chest. He was the only gorilla in the entire band that had one, and was tormented mercilessly for it by Todda and his gang.

    After school, Gonga met Jemma and they were enjoying a leisurely stroll past the three big boulders, under the old tree they affectionately knew as ‘Old Bow-Legs’ and up to the walkway behind the waterfall. It was easy to see why they nicknamed the tree because if you looked at it quickly out of the corner of your eye, it looked like a bow-legged old man. The walkway behind the waterfall was about halfway up the cliff, and enjoyed a good view over the pool and river at the bottom of the waterfall far below. As they were halfway through the walkway, the gang closed in – again! Todda had blocked the exit in front of them, while Jud and Bollo blocked the entrance behind them. As the three advanced on them, Todda yelled, Time to wash you off, freak! and grabbed him by the arms.

    Now Gonga spluttered and gasped as the monumental force of the water knocked almost all the breath from his battered body. Gonga clung desperately to the ledge with his toes while Todda and Bollo stood laughing. Gonga was leaning back precariously, his chest, shoulders and face taking the full weight of the waterfall. Every time Gonga tried to pull himself back in, he was pushed backwards under the curtain of water again. Looking up, he could see the water falling down onto his chest like a relentless, white-water guillotine. He could vaguely hear yelling and laughter coming from the other side of the water curtain but was too scared to take much notice. Just as he thought he was about to die, he was yanked back through the heavy, stinging water and shoved up against the rock wall next to Jemma.

    Leave him alone, you cowards, she screamed. Gonga’s legs felt like jelly, but Todda held him up, a vice-like grip around his throat.

    No boys. It looks like it’s permanent after all! shouted Todda above the roar of the waterfall and punched Gonga on the white spot in his chest. The bullies laughed at him and Todda let him go. Gonga slumped to the ground, his legs unwilling to support him any further, his chest still heaving from exertion. Todda and his gang swaggered off laughing as Jemma knelt down next to Gonga, helping him sit up against the wall.

    Too far, gasped Gonga as he coughed up water. They’ve gone too far this time!

    Jemma had seen how he had endured this treatment almost every day and understood how her friend felt. After all, she had taken some of the heat herself when she was around.

    Why don’t you try to avoid them for a while? she asked, knowing full well what his response would be. It always made him angry and this time was no exception.

    I can’t run away from them, Jem. It’ll just make it worse, said Gonga, his brow furrowed with determination. I won’t let them get the better of me anymore, Jem. I won’t! Gonga had never, ever backed down from the gang, and he paid the price for it frequently. She wondered if there was another way …

    Chapter 2

    A scary morning

    Donk!

    Ow! yelled Gonga, looking at the Makalani palm nut which had hit him on the head, woke him up, and come to rest on the pillow of leaves in front of his eyes. The Makalani nut was hard, reddish brown and about the size of a golf ball. As a matter of fact, that was about the size of the lump growing on his head where the nut had hit him, or so it felt to Gonga anyway. He rubbed it gingerly with one hand, before enjoying a good stretch and a yawn. Gonga looked out over the jungle below him. The sun was starting to throw an orange glow over the valley below him, the mist still lingering over the tops of the trees and the river. He briefly thought about the nasty incident with Todda yesterday afternoon but quickly dismissed it because it was such a magical morning.

    Gonga was a young gorilla, about 11 years old, living in the jungle with his mum and dad and the rest of their band of Gorillas. He was a pretty average young guy. Gonga was by no means the strongest, fastest or brightest young gorilla in their group but he was usually pretty happy.

    Gonga slid down the tree he had been sleeping in and started walking. He ambled through the thick undergrowth along a well-trodden path, down to a pool at the river’s edge. As soon as he arrived, he sat down and studied the water. He was the first to the water this morning, so he had to be extra careful. A few months ago a small gorilla had been caught by a crocodile, never to be seen again. Gonga sure didn’t want that to happen to him, so he scanned the water very carefully for any signs of movement. The adults had built a fence and placed it underwater at the back of the pool, but that was no guarantee of safety. He stood up and moved toward the water, but a movement in the trees above caught his attention and he stopped. He thought he had seen something grey coloured, and was just peering up when he glimpsed it again and a branch came crashing down into the pool. Just then, a huge crocodile jumped up out of the water, snapping its jaws at the intrusion. The croc settled slowly back into the water, until only its eyes and snout were visible. It watched Gonga for a short while before turning around and heading to the back of the pool, where it swam straight out into the river and disappeared downstream.

    Gonga waited until the pool was calm again, looking up into the trees and wondering what it was he had seen. He also thought about how lucky he was that the branch had startled the croc, checking his hands to see if they were still shaking. He threw a few pebbles into the brown, murky water, and said the fence must be broken, to no-one in particular. Once he was satisfied it was safe, he walked in up to his waist and, shivering slightly, started washing his face in the chilly water. I wonder where my friends are? Gonga thought to himself. They’re normally here by now.

    Just then the water next to him exploded and he was absolutely drenched! Gonga jumped sideways and screamed loudly, thinking that the big croc had returned. He scrambled toward the side of the pool and looked back to see Todda in fits of laughter. Todda had swung out over the pool on a jungle vine, and bombed Gonga, landing in the water right next to him. Jud and Bollo were hiding behind a tree and howled with laughter at Gonga, who was still trying to wipe the water out of his eyes.

    As soon as that happened, the entire Gorilla band was woken up, and started shouting Hey! Keep the noise down! Do you kids know what time it is? Someone hurled a branch at them. Gonga narrowly avoided it by swiftly ducking under the water. However, as soon as he resurfaced, Todda and his two friends started pelting him with mud, saying to each other, Aim for the white target, boys! Just as Gonga was getting pelted, his friends came to his rescue. Splat! Splat! They peppered Todda and his gang with some of their own medicine. Thonk! Bollo howled as he was hit in the ear by a hard piece of mud.

    I didn’t know there was a stone in it! Honest! said Jemma, but a sly little smile afterwards told Gonga and his friends otherwise. Jemma was always up to some sort of mischief! Gonga’s other friends were Stikey, a tall thin gorilla who always mumbled; Karanga, a short little gorilla who wore spectacles; and Bof, a young gorilla who looked like he was 14 years old already. He was huge, simply because he never stopped eating. His parents were always afraid of sleeping on the same branch as him in case it snapped from the weight. He was constantly munching on something, even if it wasn’t food. Gonga caught him chewing on an elephant’s old toenail once! When Gonga asked him why he was eating it, all Bof said was, I like to chew, as if that offered some kind of explanation. Gonga hoped that it had been a really hygienic elephant that cleaned its toes every day – for Bof’s sake anyway.

    Soon the adults came down to the water’s edge, having been woken by Todda and his friends’ prank. They found Gonga

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