Bonk pressed his hand against the wooden wall of his fishstick hut. The paint was peeling and the roof leaked when it rained. He dreamed of something better—a real restaurant where people came from all over Cutlass Valley to taste his cooking. But first, he needed to find the rarest river monsters and learn their secrets. Each creature would inspire a new dish, a new recipe that no one had ever tasted before. He walked to the river's edge where his new canoe waited. The boat was wide and sturdy, with a clear window cut into the bottom so he could see beneath the water. Next to it sat his diving helmet—rough wood bound with vines, tiny crystals pressed into the sides to let in light. He'd built both tools himself over the past month. Now he could search the deep parts of the river where the strange creatures hid. He lifted the helmet and tested its weight. Tomorrow, he would begin his hunt for the first monster. But seeing under the water wasn't enough. He needed to spot the creatures from far away, to track their movements before he got close. Bonk spent the next week building a lookout tower beside the riverbank. He lashed wooden poles together with thick vines and sealed the joints with tar. The structure grew taller each day, swaying slightly when he climbed it. At the top, he mounted a telescope made from a hollow log and crystal lenses he'd traded for at the market. Through it, he could see a mile down the river in both directions. From up there, nothing could hide from him. His hunt was about to begin. That night, Bonk sat outside his hut and drew pictures of river monsters in his journal. He sketched fins and teeth and scales, imagining what he'd find. Each creature would become something special on his menu. The Snapper Stew. The Spike-Tail Skewers. The names already tasted good in his mind. He looked at his old hut one more time, then at the tower standing tall against the stars. Soon he'd have enough discoveries to rebuild this place into something real. Bonk's Fishstick Hut would be more than a dream. It would be the best restaurant in Cutlass Valley.