Tigers at Twilight - Mary Pope Osborne [2]
Jack let Teddy out of his pack.
Annie picked up the note and read:
This little dog is under a spell and needs your help. To free him, you must be given four special things:
A gift from a ship lost at sea,
A gift from the prairie blue,
A gift from a forest far away,
A gift from a kangaroo.
Be wise. Be brave. Be careful.
Morgan
Jack touched the first two gifts, which they had already gotten: a pocket watch from the Titanic and an eagle’s feather from the Lakota Indians of the Great Plains.
“Now we have to get the gift from a forest far away,” said Annie.
“I wonder how far away?” said Jack.
“I know how to find out,” said Annie. “Where’s our book?”
She and Jack looked around the tree house for one of the research books that Morgan always left them.
Arf! Arf! Teddy pawed a book in the corner.
Jack picked it up and read the title: Wildlife of India.
“Oh, man. India,” he said. “That’s very far away.”
“Let’s get going,” said Annie, “so we can free Teddy.”
Jack pointed at the cover of the book.
“I wish we could go there,” he said.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
But only for a moment …
The warm air burst with sound.
Kah-ko!
Eee-eee!
Akkk-awkk!
“What’s going on?” said Jack.
He and Annie looked out the window.
The sky was lit by an orange glow as the sun went down.
The tree house was in a tree by a stream at the edge of a forest.
The wild screeching and cawing came from the forest’s tall, leafy trees.
Just then, two creatures leaped onto the windowsill.
“Aaah!” Jack and Annie yelled, jumping back.
Annie burst out laughing.
Arf! Arf! Teddy barked.
Two small monkeys peered at them. Their dark faces were framed with light gray fur. They looked as if they were wearing tiny parkas.
“Hi,” said Annie. “I’m Annie. He’s Jack. And he’s Teddy. What are your names?”
Kah-ko, kah-ko, the monkeys chattered.
“Cool,” said Annie. She turned to Jack. “Her name is Kah. His name is Ko.”
“Oh, brother,” said Jack.
“I bet he is her brother,” said Annie.
Kah and Ko whooped as if laughing at Annie’s joke. Their yellow eyes twinkled.
“We came to get a gift from the forest,” said Annie. “Do you know where we can find it?”
The monkeys nodded and chattered. Then they started down the tree.
Using their long tails and arms, they swung from branch to branch. They jumped to the ground and looked up.
“Coming! Bring Teddy, Jack,” Annie said. Then she started down the ladder.
Jack quickly flipped through Wildlife of India. He found a picture of the gray monkeys. He read:
This monkey is called a langur (say lun-GOOR). The word langur means “having a long tail.”
Jack pulled his notebook and pencil out of his backpack. He wrote:
Annie’s laughter came from below. It blended with the sounds of the forest.
Arf! Arf! barked Teddy.
“Okay, okay,” said Jack.
He put the book, his notebook, and Teddy into his pack. Then he hurried down the ladder.
Annie was playing with the langurs on the stream bank.
Jack put Teddy on the ground.
Kah bounded over to Jack and grabbed his hand. The langur’s paw felt like a tiny human hand.
Kah pulled Jack toward the forest. Ko pulled Annie, and Teddy scampered after them.
The langurs climbed the huge, leafy trees. Then they began swinging from branch to branch, like kids on a jungle gym.
Annie dashed beneath the swinging monkeys. Teddy ran after her.
“Wait, wait!” Jack called, hurrying after them all. “Annie, slow down! We don’t know anything about this place.”
The langurs slowed down, as if they understood Jack’s words. Jack caught up with Annie. They walked on through the forest.
“This is so amazing,” said Annie.
Jack agreed.
The sunset gave the trees a fiery glow.
The hot air smelled sweet.
Blue peacocks spread their tails.
Yellow birds flew from tree to tree.
Small deer ate red flowers in a clearing.
“It’s like paradise,” said Annie.
“Yeah, but don’t forget the title of our book: Wildlife of India,