Lions at Lunchtime - Mary Pope Osborne [6]
“Oh, man,” whispered Jack. “That’s it.”
“That’s what?” asked Annie.
Jack said Morgan’s riddle:
I’m the color of gold and as sweet as can be. But beware of the danger that’s all around me. What am I?
“I get it,” Annie whispered. “Honey … ”
“Honey,” said Jack, nodding and smiling. “That’s it. We’ve answered Morgan’s riddle. Let’s go home.”
He stood up to leave. He gasped.
Standing in the shadows was a tall man with a spear and a curved sword hanging from his belt. His face was painted in fierce, bright colors.
Jack knew at once what he was.
A Masai warrior.
“Hi, there,” Annie said in a small voice.
The warrior stared back at Jack and Annie.
“We were helping one of your honey guides,” said Annie.
The warrior was as still as a statue.
“We didn’t mean to steal anything,” Jack said. “In fact, it’s all yours. We’ve had enough.”
“Lots of good honey still there,” Annie said, smiling.
The warrior narrowed his eyes.
Is he angry? Jack wondered.
“I’m sorry we were trespassing,” said Jack. “We come in peace. In fact, we bring gifts.” He picked up his backpack and held it out to the warrior.
The warrior still didn’t move.
“This?” Jack held up his book.
Nothing.
“Uh—” Jack reached into his pack. He pulled out the big jar of peanut butter.
“Peanut butter!” He pulled out the loaf of bread. “Bread! Hey. Hey! How about a peanut butter and honey sandwich?”
“Yum!” Annie said, watching the warrior.
The warrior stared at the food.
“We’ll show you,” said Jack.
As Jack unwrapped the bread, his hands shook.
Annie opened the jar.
“We don’t have anything to spread it with,” she said.
“Use your fingers,” said Jack.
“Excuse me,” Annie said to the warrior. “I have to use my fingers. But they’re pretty clean. An elephant just—”
“Just do it, Annie!” said Jack.
“Okay, okay.”
She spread the peanut butter onto a slice of bread with her fingers. At the same time, Jack spread the honey from the beehive on another slice.
Jack and Annie put their pieces of bread together.
“Ta-da!” said Annie, handing the sandwich to the warrior.
The warrior took the sandwich, but he didn’t eat it. He just looked at it.
“Let’s make sandwiches for us, too,” Jack said. “So he doesn’t have to eat alone.”
They quickly made two more sandwiches.
“See, like this,” said Annie. She bit into her sandwich. “Mmm … yum.”
Jack took a bite, too. “Mmm … ” he said. It was really good.
Finally, the warrior bit into his sandwich. He chewed slowly.
“This is called a picnic,” said Annie.
They ate their sandwiches in silence.
When they finished, Jack screwed the lid back on the peanut butter jar.
“Not bad, huh?” he said.
The warrior smiled. He had a kind, dignified smile.
Jack and Annie smiled back at him.
Then the warrior turned gracefully and vanished into the trees.
“Oh, man,” said Jack. Part of him wanted to follow the silent warrior through the shadowy forest.
“Ready?” Annie asked softly.
Jack nodded.
Annie started to go.
“Wait,” said Jack. He put away the peanut butter and bread. “We’re going back to the tree house, right? We’re not going to do anything silly, like rescue anything or chase birds. Right?”
“Those things aren’t silly,” said Annie. “Don’t forget that the bird gave us the answer to the riddle.”
“Oh. Right,” said Jack.
He looked at the little honey guide. She was on the ground, pecking at the honeycomb.
“Thanks,” Jack said to the bird.
“Have a good feast,” said Annie.
Jack put on his pack. Then he and Annie started out of the forest.
When they passed the pond, they saw the elephant still splashing in the water. He lifted his trunk. He seemed to be waving at them.
“See ya!” Annie shouted, waving back.
They rounded the bend in the river, then started through the tall grass.
As they walked back toward the tree house, they saw the wildebeests in the distance. There were still some crossing the river.
They saw a family of zebras grazing together.
They saw lone giraffes walking from tree to tree, eating the leaves.