Turbo Pudding

Dilly DeliversFriday pudding

The hawk taxi of Echo Gorge

· The Turbo Pudding team · 4 min read

The hawk taxi carries Dilly up out of a chasm in Echo Gorge, drawn large in the middle: the hawk, a round golden-brown bird with a cream belly, big amber eyes, pink cheeks, a small yellow beak and a little blue postal cap, spreads its wings wide and holds on with its yellow talons; below it hangs Dilly, a yellow duckling in a teal cap with an envelope badge and a pink scarf, a parcel on her back, eyes squeezed shut and a little yellow star beside her; to the right a deep purple chasm cuts through the sandy path, and behind them are a wooden fence, a sleepy lilac mine cart full of pastel crystals and pink desert mesas with a tall rock spire

It’s Friday, so here’s a small one. Echo Gorge is the third chapter of Dilly Delivers, and its paths have gaps in them. Miss a hop over one, and Dilly doesn’t have to start the delivery over. She gets a ride.

“A hawk taxi?!”

Day 9, the first day in the gorge, is called Hawk Watch. Old Horn, the ram who keeps the post office there, explains the rules the way he explains everything, at the top of his voice: “GAPS EVERYWHERE! Fall in, and my hawk brings you back up. The parcel gets a bump, though.”

Dilly has one question: “A hawk taxi?!” That’s exactly what it is.

Dilly, a yellow duckling in a teal cap with an envelope badge and a pink scarf, a parcel tied on her back, hops across a narrow purple chasm in the sandy path, drawn large in the middle, with two puffs of dust where she took off; behind her run a wooden fence and a sleepy lilac mine cart full of pastel crystals, a pink rock dozes on the path at the left next to a little letter z, and pink desert cliffs with round purple doorways rise beyond
Searched “duck jumping game.” This one has a backup plan.

Most of the time, a good hop clears the gap, and no taxi is needed. At the end of that first day, Tumble the prairie dog, who got a periscope from Dilly that day, reports what it looked like from above: “I saw you from my lookout! You FLEW over the gaps!”

How the ride works

Elsewhere on Dilly’s route, a hole in the path is full of water. Fall in, and Dilly swims back to the bank in 1.2 seconds, while the parcel gets soaked. Echo Gorge and Snowpeak have chasms instead, and a duck can’t swim out of a chasm.

So Dilly drops in, and about a third of a second later the hawk has her. It flies her up and back to the last firm spot before the gap, then sets her down on the edge. The whole trip takes 1.6 seconds. The parcel loses 16 points for the fall, and Dilly gets 1.3 seconds when nothing else can bump her, so she can catch her breath.

A hawk in a postal cap

The hawk is drawn round and soft, like everyone in the valley. It has golden-brown wings that flap very fast, a cream belly, big amber eyes, pink cheeks and a little yellow beak. On its head sits a little blue postal cap, so the taxi works for the post, too. Its talons hold on to the strap of Dilly’s backpack.

Look up while you’re in the gorge, and you’ll see more hawks. Three of them circle slowly over the canyon, and our notes call them a hawk family. The biggest of the three wears the same blue cap.

Polish for Old Horn

From Drizzle Dale on, the last parcel of each chapter goes to the head of the local post office. In Echo Gorge that’s day 12, and the parcel is horn polish. For a perfect delivery, Old Horn shouts his thanks, and the gorge shouts them back: “HA! PERFECT! ...perfect ...perfect. That’s the echo agreeing.”

Old Horn, a fluffy white ram with curly golden horns, a white beard and star-shaped eyes, waves happily at Dilly in front of the Echo Gorge post office, both drawn large; Dilly, a yellow duckling in a teal cap with an envelope badge and a pink scarf, a parcel on her back, smiles with her eyes shut on a peach doormat; behind them stands a pale stone post office with an arched wooden door, two glowing yellow windows, a green envelope sign and two stacked parcels by the wall, with a wooden mailbox with a heart and a red flag on the right and pink cliffs in the sunset beyond
People also ask: “do rams polish their horns?” This one does.

Hello again

The hawk comes back in the next chapter. Snowpeak is cold, and its post office is run by Captain Frost, a Saint Bernard, who says hello like this: “Woof! Welcome to Snowpeak! I’m Captain Frost. I rescue folks. And parcels.”

On day 14, Icicle Lane, the sun comes out, the icicles start to drip and drop from the cliffs, and Captain Frost has news: “And there are cracks in the snow. Fall in, and the hawk will fetch you.” Dilly is delighted: “Hello again, hawk taxi!”

The same hawk in a little blue postal cap lifts Dilly out of a crack in the snow on Snowpeak, drawn large: the hawk spreads its golden-brown wings above her and holds on with yellow talons, and Dilly, a yellow duckling in a teal cap and a pink scarf with a parcel on her back, hangs below with her eyes squeezed shut and a little yellow star beside her; on the right a deep blue crack in the ice cuts through the snowy path, and behind them stand a pink house with icicles along its roof, green shutters, flower boxes and a balcony with hearts, a snowy wooden fence and pale purple mountains
Search: “hawk carries duck game.” Same hawk, colder day.

So Snowpeak has two rescue services, one with wings and one with paws. At the end of the chapter, Dilly gets to deliver to the second one. The last parcel of day 16 goes to Captain Frost, and it’s a rescue barrel.

Captain Frost, a white and orange Saint Bernard with floppy orange-brown ears, star-shaped eyes, a red collar and a tiny barrel with a heart hanging from it, waves at Dilly on a snowy path, both drawn large; Dilly, a yellow duckling in a teal cap with an envelope badge and a pink scarf, a parcel on her back, smiles with her eyes shut on a blue doormat with a white zigzag; behind them stands a wooden chalet on a stone base with an orange roof, a sign with a heart and a paw print, a coil of rope and a barrel by the wall, with a pink sled and a blue sled leaning by a snowy fence on the left, a wooden mailbox with a heart and a red flag on the right, small glowing houses on the pink hills and snow falling
Search history: “rescue dog game” “who rescues the rescue dog.”

A parcel in perfect shape gets the highest praise a rescue dog can give: “Woof! Rescued and delivered! You’d make a fine rescue dog.”

Catch a ride

Chapter 1, Pudding Town, is free to play in your browser at dillydelivers.com. The full game, all six chapters, Echo Gorge and Snowpeak included, is $4.99, paid once. More about the game is on the Dilly Delivers page.

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