Mary Altaffer, Associated Press Author and publisher Michael Stadther personally hid 12 tokens redeemable for one-of-a-kind jewels that represent 12 forest creatures featured in "A Treasure's Trove: A Fairy Tale About Real Treasure for Parents and Children of All Ages." Click photo for larger image. Related links Stadther's Web site A Treasure's Trove has the latest developments on the treasure hunt, including a link to the Pultoraks' appearance with author Staadther this morning on appeared on NBC's Today Show.

A Pittsburgh-area man is the first treasure hunter to decipher the clues in the book "A Treasure's Trove: A Fairy Tale About Real Treasure for Parents and Children of All Ages" to redeem a $25,000 prize.

Jake Pultorak, 35, found the clue, hidden as a token, on May 22 at the Ricketts Glen State Park near Red Rock, Pa., a 4 1/2-hour drive from his home. The token's prize is an 18-karat gold dragonfly decorated with diamonds and sapphires.

Pultorak, a computer consultant, had been reading "A Treasure's Trove" with his 4-year-old daughter, Allie.

"Once I found the token, I couldn't believe how easy it was," he said in a statement released today. "The clues were so accurate!"

Author and publisher Michael Stadther personally hid 12 tokens redeemable for one-of-a-kind jewels with a combined value of $1 million in public places around the country. The jewels represent the 12 forest creatures featured in the fairy tale.

Stadther, Jake Pultorak and 4-year-old Allie appeared on NBC's Today Show this morning. Pultorak said he found the token in a knothole in a beech tree.

Allie received a replica of the jeweled dragon fly brooch. The real brooch goes on display at a children's museum in New York. The dragonfly is decribed on Stadther's Web site as "a lovely piece made of platinum and 18K gold, with blue sapphires, diamonds, and pliqu?-a-jour-enameling." The Pultoraks will receive it in 2008.

There is Internet chatter that three other tokens are "missing" from their hiding spots but Stadther's spokeswoman, Carolyn Mandelker, said those claims have yet to be verified.

To find one of the jewels, readers have to follow clues in the book that lead to a gold token. The token gives the information needed to get the jewel. The tokens are hidden throughout the continental United States.

"I wanted the hunt to be accessible, and be a learning experience, one that would encourage puzzle-solving, reading and exploring. It took me eight years to figure out how to hide the treasure, yet not bury it, and not put it in dangerous places or on private property," Stadther said.

The book had been ranked No. 2 on The New York Times best-seller list for children's paperbacks earlier this year and was No. 1 on Publisher's Weekly's best-seller list for children's picture books. Treasure Trove Inc., Stadther's publishing company, has sold film rights to Cruise/Wagner in association with Paramount Pictures.