CHAPTER 4: King Julien’s frutas Salad
Marlene was just about to serve cena for Skipper when they both heard a loud voice coming out from upstairs. They saw all sorts of fruits: bananas, coconuts, pineapples and pears, falling down on the ground one after another.
Skipper didn’t have to wait for King Julien to appear, he already knew who was the cause of all the commotion.
“Ringtail!” he cried, pressing his flipper to his aching forehead. “What is it this time?! Throwing fruits all over our HQ? What has got into you? Seriously, Marlene, that monkey is going crazier por each day!”
“He-heeeh! No one, I mean NO ONE can beat me up in my marvelous frutas supply!” stated King Julien, jumping down on the ground. “Maurice!” he shouted, his head turned towards the entrance . “Hurry up a little, okay? We’ve got some work to do!”
“Coming, Your Majesty!”
“Guys, guys, I think tu owe us some explanation!” dicho quickly Marlene. She put Skipper’s plate aside and leaped up towards the lemurs. “What’s with all this mess?”
“For your information, Pretty nutria Lady” started King Julien, haughty expression plastered on his face. “We are just about to start our famous “King Julien’s frutas ensalada Treatment”.
“Woo, woo , woo.. wait a minute, what are tu talking about, what.. ensalada Treatment?”
“That silly pingüino, pingüino de – friend of yours got sick, right?” continued King Julien. “Therefore I want tu to know, that the only way to put him back on his feet is to treat him with my own “King Julien frutas Salad”. It’s tasty, it’s healthy, it’s got all sorts of vitamins. And I know the recipe! So, will tu excuse us!” he pulled Marlene away and made his way towards the table, Maurice and Mort following him. Mort was stooping under the weight of a cocina knife, while Maurice was carrying a basket full of raisins, nuts and figs. Before Marlene had a chance to respond, all threesome had already made themselves comfortable round the table.
Marlene sent Skipper a desperate look. She didn’t have a clue what was going on. But Skipper just sat in his bunk, watching over the lemurs in silence, his eyes goggled out.
“Marlene, would tu please lead me a hand, there are too much things for one person to take care of!” barked King Julien.
Marlene looked at Skipper again.
Not a single word of protest came out of his beak, so she reluctantly set off to help the lemurs.
“Maurice! Bring me the knife!” ordered King Julien. “I need to cut this silly coco-nut into half!”
“Just one question, Julien” asked Marlene few minutos later, when Julien was fighting with a pear.
“All tu want to do is to make some frutas ensalada - do tu really need to use Skipper’s HQ for this goal?”
“ We don’t have the kitchen, silly Otter” muttered King Julien without even raising his head from the pear. “Besides, we already had in plans to pay him a visit”.
He squeezed his pera too hard – a thick, naranja stream of jugo, jugo de splashed against Marlene’s face.
“Darh! Watch it man!” she barked, her eyes covered with pear’s sweet muss. He turned her face towards Skipper ; he was doing his best not to burst out in laughter.
“Nice face mask, Marlene” he comentó loudly.
“Enjoying yourself over there, Skippa?” she barked out in anger, violent blush leaking on her face. Skipper stopped laughing, dropped his head and smiled apologetically.
“Mort, fetch me a handkerchief” she muttered to the youngest lemur.
“Why won’t tu pull yourself together, Marlene?” comentó King Julien fuzzily. His nonchalant remark only stirred up her anger. “Women” he muttered under his nose.
Marlene balled her paws into fists, but dicho nothing. She didn’t want to kick a row in front of Skipper.
They continued their work in peace now, chopping and cutting fruits into small pieces. When the ensalada was ready, Maurice poured some uva mash all over the plate and decorated it with raisins, nuts and figs.
“Teheeeh! No one can deny it, I truly AM a master!” dicho King Julien, clasping his hands together and watching over his ensalada with delight. “Marlene, what do ya think about my abstract pineapple – pear- manzana, apple composition?
Marlene leaned over the plate and took a peak.
“Looks interesting” she nodded.
“Hey, tu silly penguin, the ensalada is ready!” cried King Julien to Skipper who was napping in his bunk, wrapped in cama sheets. Marlene estola a glance at the pingüino, pingüino de and realized he looks really cute and cuddly. She barely ever got a chance to see him sleeping. There was a couple of times when she was forced to invade their HQ in the middle of the night due to some emergencies, like flood in the habitat, o two, angry, bloodthirsty badgers, chasing her all over the zoo.
Skipper lifted himself on his arm and rubbed his eyes dreamily. por the time he regained full consciousnees, King Julien was already kneeling beside him, his hands holding a plate of salad. Skipper goggled his eyes out, glanced at the lemur, then again at the salad.
“You really made this one.. for me?” he asked both astonished and touched.
“But of course, tu silly penguin” replied King Julien, watching over his fingertips. “No dish, I mean NO DISH can equal with my Kingly frutas Salad. It has been dado special powers por the Sky Spirits!”
Skipper chuckled under his beak and asked Marlene to bring him a fork.
Meanwhile Private, Rico and Kowalski returned from shopping. They gazed at the fruits, wallowing on the floor. Skipper smiled under his beak and waved towards his comrades
“Everything’s under control, soldiers!” he said.
A couple of minutos later, the whole group was sitting round the table, talking, bantering and wolfing down King Julien’s frutas Salad.