"W-w-who goes there?!?" Diddy called. There was no answer but the flashing of claws and teeth. Diddy somersaulted into the fray but was quickly overcome by the weight of many scaly assailants.

"It'sss the sssmall one...Ssseal him inssside thisss barrel and tosss it into the bussshesss... Donkey Kong'sss bananasss are oursss!" came a sinister voice.

The next morning, Donkey Kong awoke to the familiar rasping voice of Cranky Kong. "Take a look inside your banana cave," Cranky cackled from outside his treehouse. "You're in for a big surprise!"

Donkey's mind raced as he vaulted to the cave and peered inside. Instead of the dull golden glow of thousands of bananas, there were only a few discarded peels. These had been trampled into the dirt by hundreds of reptilian feet, judging from the many three-toed footprints that covered the damp cavern floor. But what about...