One day, Baddy Fox announced in Champakvan that he would like to take all the animals on a trip to the moon.

Everyone was very excited. “Are you really taking us to the moon?” Damru Donkey asked in amazement.

“Yes. Everyone will be able to go, except the big and heavy animals. Our rocket won’t take off with them inside it,” said Baddy.

Everyone laughed at this. “But where is your rocket?” asked Cheeku Rabbit. “Also, how much are you charging for taking us to the Moon. I have heard that it’s very expensive.”

Everyone became sad when they heard this, because they had very little money. “Our rocket is on an island a few hours away. And nobody is to worry about the cost. I’m not doing this to make money. I just want everyone to have a good time and visit the moon. So this is a free trip,” said Baddy with a smile.

The animals were delighted and began talking excitedly about the trip. “I think there’s something fishy going on,” muttered Cheeku to his friend Jumpy Monkey. “I agree,” said Jumpy. “We have to be cautious."

The two friends decided to tell the king. “If Baddy wants to do this for Champakvan, it’s a good thing. Why are you both so suspicious?” growled King Shersingh. “Leave this alone. If you don’t want to go, don’t. But there’s no reason to stop the others.”

Cheeku and Jumpy realised they would have to deal with this on their own. They walked back thoughtfully, and soon came to a place where the animals were lining up to register for the trip to the moon.

“Please don’t worry, friends,” announced Baddy. “There’s room for all on our rocket. Just make sure you are ready. If the weather is good, we will take off tomorrow. This evening, I will bring a big motor boat to take you all to the island.”

The animals could not contain their excitement. “I’ll pack my favourite dress,” said Teetu Butterfly. “And I’ll bring all the matching jewellery with it!”

“No, no,” shouted Baddy, trying to make himself heard above the sound of the excited animals. “Please do not bring clothes or money or jewels with you. You will be issued special spacesuits. Leave your valuables safely at home.”

With no packing to be done, everyone waited impatiently for the evening. Finally, Baddy appeared in a large motor boat, and the animals started climbing in. “I say Cheeku, aren’t you coming?” Baddy asked. “Sadly, no,” said Cheeku. “I’ve got some urgent work to finish. But Jumpy is with you, so he’ll tell me all about it!”

Cheeku waited till the boat left, and then raced to Shersingh. “Your majesty, we found something you must see,” he said, pulling out his laptop. He opened a search engine and typed in Baddy’s name. The first was a news report, which Cheeku opened and showed Shersingh a photo of Baddy in handcuffs.

“Why did the police arrest Baddy?” asked Shersingh even before he read the report. “Sir, Baddy and his friends looted the animals of Sonavana. The police caught him, and he was sentenced to jail, but he tricked the guards and ran away,” explained Cheeku.

“What? How did he do that?” demanded the king.

“Your majesty, Baddy told the citizens of Sonavana that he would take them to the moon. And then he took them all to a remote island at night. When they were sleeping, Baddy and his friends looted their homes. It’s exactly what he plans to do in Champakvan. Going by his track record, the minute the houses are looted, Baddy will run away to another forest to hide,” said Cheeku.

“This is terrible,” exclaimed Shersingh. “Why wasn’t I told before?”

“Jumpy and I tried to warn you sir,” said Cheeku. “You told us to let Baddy take the animals to the moon!”

“Indeed you did. I was wrong. But what can we do now?” asked a worried Shersingh.

“Don’t worry sir. We have a plan. Jumpy has gone with the other animals, so he will ensure no harm comes to them. Tonight, Baddy’s friends will try and steal from 5houses in Champakvan. If we can catch them, then we can catch Baddy too!” said Cheeku confidently.

“I’m going to call Inspector Blacky Bear,” said Shersingh. “He will help us nab these criminals.”

That night, Inspector Blacky and his team identified all the empty homes and hid close to them. There was no noise for some time. Suddenly, there was a small sound near Damru Donkey’s house. The hidden police team came to attention, and saw someone breaking into the house. They sprang into action and caught Laptu Jackal red-handed.

Soon, all the other thieves were caught as well.

“Now, how do we catch Baddy?” asked Shersingh, who had been monitoring the police action. “He is the mastermind and we really must catch him!”

“We have a plan for that, sir,” said Cheeku.

Under police supervision, Laptu was made to call Baddy on his mobile phone. “Hey Baddy, we’ve collected all the valuables from all the houses. We need you to get us out of here in your motorboat.”

“Good job, Laptu,” said Baddy, laughing. “These animals are all fast asleep after I mixed sleeping powder in their food. I’ll come and get you and the gang and we can vanish! Meet me at the riverside dock in half an hour.”

In half an hour, as promised, Baddy arrived at the riverside dock. Only, instead of his friends, he found the police there to welcome him!

The next morning, the animals who had been taken to the island woke up. “Have we reached the moon?” squeaked Meeku Mouse, looking around.

“No, you aren’t on the moon. You are all still in Champakvan. Your trip to the moon didn’t happen. But Baddy’s trip to jail is happening,” said Cheeku, laughing. Shersingh and Blacky also started laughing. The other animals looked more and more puzzled and confused.

Cheeku and Jumpy, and Inspector Blacky, told them the story of how Baddy was planning to rob their houses. “Thanks to Cheeku’s persistence, we were able to destroy Baddy’s plan,” exclaimed Shersingh. All the animals cheered, and everyone thanked Cheeku.