Bastian's birthday turns into a gruelling trek through the Swamps of Sadness when the Childlike Empress gives Bastian a mission to deliver a beautiful gift-wrapped box to Moral the aged tortoise. Matters are made worse when Bastian finds himself stuck with a loud-mouthed chatterbox Rooster named Jacko, who have them walking in circles.

When Bastian has the flu, he takes little notice of doctor's orders to stay in bed, choosing to visit his friends in Fantasia instead. It's a journey he soon regrets when he realizes he has passed his sickness onto his friend, Falkor the Luck Dragon; a creature who never gets sick. Ruza, the wise Night Hob tells Bastian the only possible cure is the nectar from the Tarkiss Flower. But the flower only grows way up in the Dead Mountains.

When Bastian arrives on the Grassy Plains of the Greenskin tribe, he finds out that the Purple Buffalo have disappeared along with his great warrior friend, Atreyu. On his mission to find them, Bastian is visited by the Great White Buffalo spirit whose message becomes clear when Bastian finds a strange Land Galleon floating on the Grassy Ocean. The vessel belongs to Xayide, who has used her evil sorcery to capture the Purple Buffalo, imprisoning them...

Bastian's adventure begins with all the Fantasians preparing for the Giving of the Gift celebration. This year it's new a thrown of the Childlike Empress. But when Urgl's bad batch of Bombardier Bug Honey goes missing, it's just the beginning of a chain of thievery originating from the Shadow Goblin and Vermin.

Bastian arrives to see that Barktroll has been pleasantly rewarded (with faerie dust) for his efforts when he inadvertently helps a town of Faeries. However, Barktroll soon expects rewards from everyone, including a lonely trekker named Trell, who collects water and delivers it back to his town, where they suffer from drought. The jeopardy begins when Barktroll accidentally leaves the jug cap loose, breaks Trell's cart and water barrel, and ends up...

Babar goes to live in the big city and learns all about the ways of people. Returning to the jungle, he uses his knowledge to end a war with the rhinoceroses and to build a beautiful city for the elephants.