trouble at tumbleweed towers (SOLVED)

[Flower143]

i'm playing through the tumbleweed towers area of the second mission. i've come to a part where the game wants me to barter with kiwi for tallmelon seeds. ok, that's fine. one problem: i got here via polar bear ride, and the only ways out of the area rely on me either having the polar bear or progressing past the tallmelon. to barter for tallmelon, i need snowflake fruit or whatever it's called. that only grows in the snowy areas of this mission, which i can no longer access, as i am stuck in this miniature australia with no polar bear and a strange donkey trying to sell me a money tree which i am highly suspicious of. am i missing something? i can't buy the tallmelon seeds at pigby's, i can only barter for them. any help would be greatly appreciated!

edit as of like five minutes after posting: looking in the controls menu, i found that the q key allows you to summon ride animals. also, the barter system with kiwi works differently than how i thought it did- you only need to give him enough of a valid item to weigh the cage all the way down, not provide exactly one of each valid item. in my defense, i haven't played this game in like two years.