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Tom stood and waited for the next big wave to come ashore. He could see in the distance a big wave about to come in. He picked up another stick. He was ready to throw his last stick for Patch and then he would have to go. “Here it comes” he shouted to Patch “get ready, it’s a big one”. The wave came crashing in. Tom put back his arm and threw with all his might, but as he did the wave was so big it swept him off his feet and he was carried away into the sea. Try as he might he couldn’t get back. The water was in his eyes and ears and although he was a good swimmer and tried hard to swim back, he was being carried further and further away by the wave. He could see Patch in front bobbing up and down, unable to get back but still holding on to the stick that Tom had thrown. Soon Tom was at the side of him and managed to get hold of the end of the stick Patch was carrying and together they rode the wave. On and on the wave carried them. Further and further away from the beach. Tom was cold and frightened. He knew he must keep hold of the stick and not slip off the wave or he would drown in the sea. It was starting to go dark and Tom didn’t know how much longer he would be able to hold on. It seemed as though he had been holding on forever and his fingers were starting to go numb. He didn’t know whether Patch was still alive, and didn’t dare try to look to the side of him in case he fell off the wave. Suddenly, just as Tom felt his fingers loosing their grip, the wave seemed to rise even higher and lifted Tom and his dog high into the air. It seemed as if he was flying and the next moment he was on the beach again with Patch beside him. They curled up together feeling safe and they both went fast to sleep. The next morning when Tom woke up, he rubbed his eyes and looked around. He couldn’t understand why he was lying on the beach. Then he jumped up quickly. He must have fallen asleep and had been dreaming about being swept to sea. His mother would be so angry with him, she was waiting to set off home. He knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble. He looked around for Patch but he wasn’t there. He must have gone off without him. Tom started running towards where his Mum had parked the car, but as he ran he suddenly realised that this was the wrong part of the beach. It must be further down the other way. He turned back and started to run in the other direction. Where was the car? He stopped and looked around. It didn’t seem to be the right part again. Wherever was he? He began to look carefully at where he was. Where were all the deckchairs, where were all the Ice Cream Vans and where were all the children. He couldn’t even see anybody to ask. All he could see were palm trees which he didn’t seem to remember seeing before. He looked out to sea and couldn’t even see any boats. He walked further up to where the beach seemed to be leading towards even more palm trees. No road, no cars, no people, no houses, he couldn’t hear anything at all only the sound of the sea. As he stood there looking around it very slowly began to dawn on Tom that he was the only person there. He was on a Desert Island all on his own. He shouted for Patch, but even he wasn’t there. Whatever was he going to do. He was feeling very hungry and thirsty, but most of all he was very frightened. What was that? He thought he could hear a noise. Yes, far away in the distance he felt sure he could hear a dog barking. There it was again. “It’s Patch, I’m sure it’s Patch” he thought. He ran towards where the barking was coming from. It sounded very muffled as though it was far away. He had now run past all the palm trees and into a clearing and straight in front of him he could see a huge cave from where the sound of the barking was coming from. “Patch, Patch, here boy” Tom shouted, as loud as he could but the dog didn’t come to him. He shouted again “Patch, Patch, it’s me Tom, here boy” but the dog just carried on barking. The barking seemed to be getting closer to where he was. He tried to peer into the cave but all he could see was a flicker of light at the other side. There was only one thing he could do, and that was to go into the cave and bring Patch out. Very carefully he made his way into the cave. It seemed very dark but he knew he could get out at the other end if he kept on walking towards the light. Under his feet it felt very soft so he knew he was walking on sand. Further into the cave he went, shouting for Patch all the time. Yes, he could just see him at the other end. It was Patch. Patch, Patch, here boy. The little dog came running up, so pleased to see Tom and licked him all over his face. Tom felt as if he had just had a good wash but without any soap. “Good boy” Tom rubbed him and stroked him and made such a fuss of him. He had never been so pleased to see anyone as he was now. Patch jumped up and down, his little tail wagging furiously. They both ran round the cave in excitement, so pleased to have found one another again. After a while Tom stopped playing with Patch and looked around. “We must get out of here Patch, we’ve got to find out where we are”. Tom bent down to pick up Patch, but as he did something in the sand made him shake with fright. Right there in front of him leading out of the cave was what looked like enormous footprints but bigger than any he had ever seen before. Was there a monster that lived in this cave or a big animal that might eat him up. He wasn’t going to stay around to find out. He turned around to go back the way he had come in but just as he was almost back to the entrance of the cave, something made him stop dead. He couldn’t move, he didn’t even dare to breath, for there right in front of his eyes were two big shiny metal legs which towered over Tom. He couldn’t see what was on top and was so scared he didn’t even dare to look up. Tom started to cry and Patch started to bark. “Please, please, don’t hurt me, I want my Mum, I’m scared and I don’t know where I am”, and big tears streamed down Tom’s face. He looked down at the two giant feet in front of him blocking his way out . He was trapped and he couldn’t escape. Suddenly, the feet started moving and whatever it was just walked out of the cave. Tom waited. Did he dare run out of the cave or should he go back in and try to get out at the other end. But before he could make up his mind, Patch leapt from his arms and ran outside. Tom followed, whatever happened he must not be left on his own. But as he crept slowly out of the cave, he got such a shock he thought he must be dreaming. In the distance, knocking coconuts from off the trees was, “no, it couldn’t be, he must be seeing things”. Tom rubbed his eyes, but yes he was right, it was a Robot. A big, steel Robot. He could see it trampling through the trees. He could see flashing lights coming from it’s shoes, and sparks everywhere as it knocked down the coconuts. It was so big it didn’t even have to reach up to get them. The Robot was as big as the trees themselves. Tom hid behind one of the bushes and watched. He held on to Patch tightly. He didn’t want him to run out and show the Robot where they were hiding. But it was too late, the Robot was coming back. Whatever was Tom going to do. All sort of thoughts went through his mind. Perhaps the Robot hadn’t seen him after all. Perhaps he was so big that he couldn’t see little things on the ground. Maybe he would just go back into his cave again and then Tom would be able to run away. But no, the Robot was getting nearer and nearer and he was carrying some coconuts. Tom started crying again. He was so scared the Robot was going to just lift one big leg and trample him down or maybe do something to him much worse. Tom hadn’t thought that Robots really existed. He thought they were just something that were in scary films or stories. But here was a real Robot and it had seen where he was hiding. The Robot was coming to get him. He tried to get out from the bush, but the Robot put his huge hand into the bush and blocked his way. Then a very strange thing happened. The Robot spoke to him. “Don’t cry little boy, I won’t hurt you, I’ve brought you something to eat. I’m going to be your friend”. Then the Robot sliced a coconut in two and gave it to Tom. Tom had never seen anything like it. The Robot had got a saw inside his arm which he could use to cut things up. He also had other tools tucked away in his arm, a hammer, knives, a spanner, in fact he even had nails. He was fully equipped for anything. Tom was so hungry he finished all the coconut and drank the milk from the inside of the other coconut. The Robot tried to sit down at the side of Tom, but he made such a clanging noise, that Patch was frightened and run off. “Don’t worry” the Robot said, “I’ll go and fetch him back for you and then you can tell me what you are doing here, because this is Robot Island and we don’t ever get visitors here”. The Robot got up and went to find Patch. Robot Island, whatever did he mean. Surely there wasn’t more than one Robot. Tom was feeling a little bit better now. He knew the Robot was friendly and wasn’t going to hurt him. He had enjoyed the coconut and didn’t feel hungry anymore, but he really must get back home. How he wished he had gone to the car when his Mum had shouted him. He thought about how the wave had washed him away and realised that it must have carried him far away to another island and he might never get back home again. He looked up and he could see the Robot coming back with Patch and some fish. Then the Robot threw the fish into the sand, and to Tom’s amazement out of his other arm came a ray gun. He pointed the ray gun at the fish and within a few seconds he fish were cooked. He threw them to Patch and then the ray gun disappeared back up his arm. Tom began to smile. Maybe life on Robot Island was going to be good fun. The Robot sat down at the side of Tom. “Now little boy, tell me what you are doing here, have you come to help me with the professor’s work?” Tom didn’t know what the Robot meant. He told the Robot all about how he had been swept away by a giant wave and had been washed up onto this island. He told the Robot that he was called Tom and he was 10 years old and lived far away on another island but didn’t know how he would get back. The Robot listened then stood up. He reached down for Tom’s hand and together they walked back into the cave. Down the cave they went again with Patch following closely behind. When they reached the other end of the cave the Robot pointed to another cave which looked to be even bigger. “Come with me, I have something to show you” he said. They walked into the big cave. What a shock Tom got. He didn’t know what to look at first. Inside the big cave were all bottles of liquid bubbling away. Some green, some red, some with pipes leading from them and smoke coming out. On another wall were shelves and shelves full of micro-chips and electronic circuits, nuts and bolts, lazers, eyes, arms, legs, feet, voice boxes, in fact anything you would need to build a Robot. The wall across had shelves up to the top with great big books all covered in dust and what appeared to be an old computer also gathering dust. Tom pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. No, he wasn’t. He turned to the Robot. “Who lives here, is this where the professor lives that you thought I had come to help, will you let me meet him”? The Robot looked at Tom and shook his head. “The professor has gone, I don’t even know where he is. One day a long time ago he went for a walk and he never came back. I have been looking for him everyday but I can’t find him. He has never finished the job that he came here to do”. Tom listened as the Robot told him that he had been made by a mad professor who had wanted to make a Robot but everybody had laughed at him and told him he was mad. So he had come away to this desert island to be on his own and to make a Robot without people interfering. The Robot said that the professor had made him and he was complete and could do anything at all. He had special powers that nobody else had got and that he was able to speak any language and knew exactly what Tom was thinking. The Robot told Tom that he must never tell anybody about this island because there was still lots of work to be finished and if anybody found out they would steal all the professors drawings and ideas and try to take me to pieces to see how I work. He had special powers that nobody else had got and was able to speak any language and he knew exactly what Tom was thinking because he could read people's minds. The Robot told Tom that he must never tell anybody about this island because there was still lots of work to be finished and if anybody found out about the professor’s work they would come to the island and steal all his drawings and ideas, and then the professor’s work would never be finished. Tom was very excited. “But you are finished” he told the Robot “that is why the professor hasn’t come back. “No, the Robot said “ the work isn’t finished at all. The professor didn’t just want to make one Robot, he wanted to make lots of Robots and live here on the island with them and nobody else. I have been trying to carry on the professor’s work for him until he gets back but I need someone to help me. You look like a kind boy, would you be able to help?” “I could try” said Tom “but I don’t know anything about Robots and I really can’t stay on this island forever. The Robot laughed. It sounded very funny to hear the Robot laughing. His laugh was so loud that Patch started to bark again. “If you help me Tom, I will try and help you get off the island and go back home to your mum and dad and all your friends again”. Tom felt very happy now and said “Yes, I will help you if I can but what do you want me to do?” “First of all” said the Robot “I want you to give me a name. I like your name, can I be a Tom as well?” Tom laughed “You are funny, not everybody is called Tom, people have all sorts of different names. Even dogs and cats have names. I think you should be called Zaaba, because Robots should have different names to people. Barber, Barber, Barber. The Robot was so pleased to have a name he kept saying it over and over again, but he was saying the wrong name. “Listen” said Tom “it’s not Barber, it’s Zaaba say it again slowly. Zaaba, Zaaba, Zaaba, and the Robot walked round saying it very very slowly until at last he said it properly and Tom clapped his hands. “That’s it, you are now named Zaaba, and you are my very best friend. And they both started to laugh. “Now” said Zaaba “I will take you to meet the other Robots” “Other Robots” said Tom, he felt a little bit scared “Don’t be scared” said Zaaba, “they won’t hurt you, they can’t do anything properly, the professor never came back to finish them”. A sudden noise made them both look round. Into the cave flew a huge bird, bigger than the biggest eagle. It swooped down and before Tom could stop it, had lifted Patch into the air and flew off with him. Zaaba pointed his arm at the bird and out came his Ray Gun. Like a flash of lightening the Ray Gun stunned the bird. It dropped Patch and fell to the ground. Zaaba picked up the bird and threw it out of the cave. He turned to Tom “I don’t think it will try that again” he said. Tom ran over to Patch, he wasn’t hurt but was very upset. He started running and barking round the cave. Tom tried to stop him but Patch had jumped onto the shelves where the coloured bottles were. As Tom reached out to get him the bottle with the green mixture fell over and spilt onto Tom’s hands and legs. It felt very sticky and icy cold. Zaaba hurried over and picked Tom up. He quickly took him outside and washed him in the sea. It was very hard to get it all off because it was so sticky. Tom could feel a strange tingling sensation beginning to creep up his legs. Zaaba told him it was important that he washed all the mixture off as it was a special mixture that gave Robots their powers. After Zaaba had washed all the mixture off Tom, he led him round the other side of the cave. Tom had the biggest shock of his life. There, right in front of his eyes were lots and lots of Robots. Some were only part done, without any arms or legs, others were just stacked up in piles going rusty, and some were just walking about saying funny things. Zaaba said that the ones that were walking about were nearly finished but they needed the wires connecting up at the back but his fingers were too big to do that. “I can do that, my fingers are only small and I can join the wires together” said Tom feeling very excited. “Let me go and tell them that you can help them” said Zaaba and he walked over to where they were. Tom could see Zaaba talking to the Robots and they looked round to see where Tom was. Zaaba came back. “They say that if you can put their wires together they might be able to say things properly and walk straight instead of walking and talking backwards all the time. Tom thought this was funny and went with Zaaba to see what he could do. The Robots all wanted to be repaired at once. They started pushing one another out of the way to get to Tom, but every step they took forward they took another one back. They all kept saying funny things as well. Instead of saying “I want to be first they all kept saying “I want to be last, do me last”. Zaaba said “They really mean they want to be first” Tom couldn’t stop laughing, it was all so funny. Zaaba told the Robots that they would all have to wait their turn and because Tom was a lot smaller, they would have to sit down so he could reach the wires in their backs. One by one the Robots came and sat down. They were all saying things the wrong way round. “Tree that mind” said one, Zaaba told Tom the Robot really “meant mind that tree” because he was always walking backwards into trees. Another one said “Swim a for day nice” instead of “nice day for a swim” and another was shouting “Pants my where’s” instead of “where’s my pants”. The funniest one of all was the one that kept asking “clean look teeth my do” instead of “do my teeth look clean” and “I want to hair my comb” instead of “I want to comb my hair”. Tom went to the first Robot and looked inside his back. He could see the wires they just needed joining together. It was so easy. He went all along the line of Robots connecting all the wires and when he had finished they all stood up and walked in a straight line the right way. They were so pleased, they wouldn’t stop walking. Up and down the beach they walked. Round and round in circles, side to side, they even tried to do handstands but of course they couldn’t stay up because they were too heavy. “Nice day for a swim” said one , who this time had actually said it the right way round, and it walked straight into the sea. All steam started to come out of it’s legs and arms, so he went back to swim in the sand like it always did. Tom’s work had been done and now it was time for the Robots to help him get off the island and go back home. The next day Zaaba told Tom that when the professor had first come to the island he had got there by boat and he knew where the boat was but it was a long way hidden by trees and bushes and Tom would not be able to get through all the jungle. The only way they could get there was for Tom to climb onto Zaaba’s shoulders and carry Patch in his arms. Zaaba bent down and Tom and Patch climbed onto his shoulders. It was difficult to hold on because Zaaba’s body was hard and slippery, but he managed to grab hold of his neck. When Zaaba stood up Tom could see for miles. He was bigger than the trees and felt as though he could touch the sky. Holding on tightly, they made their way across to the other side of the island to where the professor’s boat was. “There it is”Tom shouted, he could see the boat from quite a distance away. “Hurry up Zaaba”we’re nearly there. But as they approached it Tom could see it was all broken and there was a big hole in the bottom of it. It was no good, he wouldn’t be able to use it. Zaaba bent down and Tom jumped from his shoulders and ran down the beach to look at the boat. No, it was all rotten and pieces had broken off it. He felt so disappointed, whatever would happen to him now. Zaaba knew what Tom was thinking and said “Cheer up, we can still help you. All the other Robots are your friends and together we might be able to make a raft for you to get back home. We mustn’t give up, come on, lets go back and ask them”. Tom climbed onto Zaaba,s shoulders again with Patch and off they went to find the other Robots. It was a long way from where they were and Patch kept trying to bite the branches as they caught his face. Tom was scared they might fall off, but they finally get to the beach where the other Robots were. The Robots were so pleased they could walk straight they were still walking up and down the beach and they all could speak properly now. When they saw Zaaba and Tom they hurried across the beach towards them. “Thank you, thank you”they kept saying to Tom “we love being able to walk and talk like Zaaba, we are so pleased you have come to our island”. Zaaba started to tell the other Robots that Tom couldn’t live on the island forever and he needed to go home to another island a long way away so he could be with his Mum and Dad and all his friends. Zaaba told the Robots that Tom would have to build a raft so he could sail back and asked the Robots if they would help him. “A raft, what’s a raft” they started scratching their heads. “We don’t know what you mean”. Zaaba explained to them that a raft was like a big square piece of wood with a pole in the middle with a sail on it. When it was put on the sea the wind would blow it far away and Tom would be able to get back home. The Robots listened and they all said they wanted to help, but were sorry that Tom couldn’t stay on the island with them. “ Right” said Zaaba “tomorrow you must all come to the professor’s cave and we will start building the raft. Tom was so excited he found it hard to sleep that night. He kept waking up to see if it was daylight. He couldn’t wait to start building the raft. When the morning finally came, Tom went with Zaaba to catch some fish so he could have a good breakfast before the other Robots came. Tom watched as Zaaba pointed his arm with the Ray Gun into the sea and straight away had caught enough fish for Tom and Patch. After they had eaten the fish it was time to start work on the raft. The other Robots were waiting by the cave and Zaaba gave them all jobs to do. First of all he made them all check that the tools inside their arms were in good working order. “ Go and test them out” he said and Tom watched in amazement as they moved their arms around in the air. Lights flashed from their elbows and smoke came out of their ears. The Robots eyes lit up and turned purple and red and they twisted their bodes round until sparks flew around everywhere. Strange noises came from them all and Patch was so frightened he ran back into the cave and hid. They all walked towards the trees. Tom could see lights and flashes everywhere as the Robots used all their saws and lazer guns to chop down the trees. “We need to make the raft with wood” Zaaba said and the Robots all ran into the cave. As they ran in, Patch came running back out, his fur standing on end with fright. A few minutes later the Robots came back out each carrying a leg or an arm from the professor’s shelves. “We’ve got some wood” they shouted “let’s make the raft”. “That’s not wood” said Tom laughing “they’re all parts to make other Robots, take them back into the cave.” The Robots did as Tom said. “What’s wood” they asked. “That’s wood that you have just chopped down” said Tom and they all started to laugh. They worked very hard all day until at last the raft was made. It was a big raft made from the trees and a pole in the middle with a sail made from the big leaves. Now it was ready for Tom’s journey home. The Robots came the next morning to say goodbye to Tom and Patch. They brought some coconuts for him and Zaaba gave him some juice to drink. They all watched as Tom climbed onto the raft by the side of the sea. Tom was sorry he had to leave all his Robot friends and promised them he would never ever tell anybody about them so they would be safe forever on their secret island. The Robots gave the raft a push and Tom and Patch were away. Holding onto the pole in the middle of the raft the waves gently washed the raft away from Robot Island. Tom couldn’t see the Island now. He had waved and waved until the Robots became just like little specks and the Island disappeared from sight. Now all he could see was the great waves that kept crashing against the raft. He sat down and held onto Patch and just hoped and prayed the raft would sail back to the beach he knew. On and on the raft sailed. The wind was starting to get very strong now and the sea was getting rougher. Tom held on tightly. Maybe he would never get back. Maybe he would just sail on the sea forever until he died. Terrible thoughts kept going through his mind. He wished now he had stayed with the Robots. He was thinking a giant whale or shark might overturn the raft and eat him up. What if the wind blew the raft over and he drowned in the sea. He thought of all the nasty things that might happen to him. He shut his eyes to stop himself looking at the giant waves. He pretended he was on a ride at the funfair and he would be getting off soon. Dare he open his eyes to see what was happening? Yes, he must. Very slowly he opened his eyes again and there right in front of him he could see a beach straight ahead. It was his beach, the beach he knew, the beach he had played on all week with Patch on his holidays. Closer and closer he was sailing towards it. He was so excited he nearly fell off the raft. “Patch, Patch, we’re here. We’ve got back”. The beach was now only a few minutes away and Patch was barking and jumping up and down. He was pleased to be back as well. Suddenly, a mighty gust of wind blew the raft straight up and onto the sands. Tom jumped off with Patch and the next moment the raft had been blown back into the sea. Tom stood and watched as it bobbed up and down on the waves. Then he ran up the beach to where his Mum was waiting for him. She was so pleased to see him she wasn’t even angry. “Wherever have you been, I’ve been looking for you everywhere” she said hugging him. “I’m sorry I just fell asleep on the beach” Tom said. He got into the car with Patch and they all set off back home. He was really happy now that he was going home and wanted to tell his Mum all about Robot Island but he knew that he must keep his adventure a secret forever.
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