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Hello, my name's Tim.
If you like bloodthirsty pirates and riches beyond your wildest dreams, then shiver my timbers.
Today's story is spot on.
We begin one moonlit night as Jim Hawkins, a young boy working at a harbourside inn in Bristol, hears shouts from downstairs.
A yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.
A salty old sea captain named Billy Bones is arguing with a rough-looking sailor who hands him a black spot.
The next morning, Billy Bones is dead.
Opening his room, Jim spots an old wooden sea chest containing a compass, a ship's logbook and a stained, spotted piece of paper.
Now whatever could that be?
After a spot of lunch, Jim shows the paper to his friends, Dr Livesy and Squire Trelawney.
Straight away they spot that it's a treasure map.
It must be the map made by notorious pirate Captain Flint when burying his stolen gold.
And there in the middle, a big X marking the spot.
On the spot.
Jim the doctor and the squire hurry to find a ship that will take them in search of the unknown island on the map.
If only they hadn't been so quick, it would have saved them a spot of bother.
But I'm jumping ahead of the story.
Let's return to the harbourside, where Jim meets the trustworthy Captain Smollett and hires him and his ship, the Hispaniola.
Then Jim sees something which glues him to the spot.
A fearsome man with one leg, gold teeth and a parrot on his shoulder squawking A pirate if ever I saw one.
But Jim greets the man Long John Silver by name, who persuades the doctor and squire to hire him and his men as crew, which they foolishly agree to.
Only Captain Smollett is worried, believing Long John Silver and his men to be none other than the former pirate shipmates of Captain Flint.
Days pass as the Hispaniola sails the seven seas.
One night, Jim overhears Long John Silver plotting with the crew.
Mutiny!
Kill Captain Smollett and take the top spot and the treasure for himself.
Things start to turn ugly when suddenly, with the cry land ahoy.
An island is spotted and silver and his mutinous crew row ashore.
Having a soft spot for jim, smollett allows him ashore too, with the plan to maroon the mutineers on the island.
But soon Jim finds himself in a hot spot as the pirate's treasure lust is released and he runs away scared.
From his hiding spot in the jungle, Jim sees the ground spotted with blood.
Long, John Silver has murdered a sailor who refused to mutiny, and carnage breaks loose as the pirates fight amongst themselves to find Captain Flint's treasure.
Jim flees deeper into the jungle, where he chances upon a wild, half-crazy man, Ben Gunn, who explains how Captain Flint abandoned him on the island years before after burying the treasure in a secret spot nearby.
Meanwhile, the pirates have built a fort.
From the ship's mast, Captain Smollett spots the enemy's position and a terrible battle ensues.
In the fight Long John Silver knocks spots off, Jim kidnaps him and, in a final attempt to control his cutthroat, gang shows them the treasure map.
But when they arrive at the right spot, they are shocked to find the treasure gone.
At that moment, Smollett, Ben Gunn and the others open fire and the pirates scatter in fear.
Long.
John Silver sees the error of his ways and helps Jim get back to the others who were waiting at Ben Gunn's cave, where they find the treasure Ben had discovered months before gold and silver beyond their wildest dreams.
Here we end our story, learning that a pirate, unlike a leopard, can change his spots after all.
I hope you liked today's adventure on Treasure Island.
For me, the story really hit the spot, and I hope you'll join me for another one soon.
