Tigers at Twilight - Mary Pope Osborne [7]
Jack pushed his glasses into place and looked back at the forest.
“Well, I guess we won’t be getting a thank-you gift from that tiger,” he said.
Annie laughed.
“I guess not,” she said. “I wonder where our gift is.”
“And I wonder where the tree house is,” said Jack.
Kah and Ko chattered at Jack. Then they bounded down the bank, waving their arms.
“They want us to follow them again,” said Annie. “Come on.”
She and Jack grabbed their things off the rock. They hurried down the stream after the langurs.
The water shimmered in the early light. Silver fish leaped into the air.
Teddy bounded ahead with Kah and Ko. Soon they disappeared around a bend.
Jack and Annie followed them.
When they went around the bend, they saw a man sitting cross-legged on a rock. The langurs sat close to him.
The man’s eyes were closed.
He had long white hair and a long white beard. His skin was brown.
He looked very peaceful.
Kah and Ko smoothed the man’s hair with their little paws and patted his cheeks gently.
The man smiled and whispered to the langurs. His eyes stayed closed.
Teddy walked up to the man and licked his hands.
The man still didn’t open his eyes. But he stroked Teddy’s fur.
“Knock, knock,” Annie said softly.
“Is someone there?” the man asked.
He turned his face toward Jack and Annie. Now his eyes were open, but he did not seem to see them. Jack realized that the man was blind.
“Hi, I’m Annie,” said Annie.
“And I’m Jack,” said Jack.
The blind man smiled.
“Good,” he said, nodding. “Would you like to visit with me?”
“Sure,” said Annie.
She and Jack sat down next to the man.
“Do you live in this forest?” Annie asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“Are you a hermit?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” the blind man said.
“What’s a hermit?” said Annie.
“Hermits live far away from other people,” said the blind man. “We like to be alone to think. I live in the forest so I can learn from nature.”
“How do you learn?” asked Jack.
“I listen,” said the blind man.
“Listen to what?” asked Jack.
“To the chatter of the monkeys, the rumble of the elephant, the roar of the tiger,” said the man. “I have listened for so long, they have all begun to sound like one voice—the one great voice of the forest.”
“Did the voice tell you that a tiger got caught in a trap last night?” asked Annie.
“Yes,” the hermit said.
“And did it tell you that after we saved him, he tried to attack us?” said Jack.
The blind man smiled.
“Please bring me one of the white flowers floating on the stream,” he said.
Jack wondered why the hermit was changing the subject.
But Annie jumped up and hurried to the stream. She pulled at one of the large flowers. It came up, muddy root and all. She took it to the blind man.
“Thank you,” he said.
The man touched the flower’s large white petals and its dirty root.
“This perfect lotus blossom grows from dark, thick mud,” he said. “Its beauty cannot live without its ugliness. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” said Jack and Annie.
“When you saved the tiger, you saved all of him,” said the blind man. “You saved his graceful beauty—and his fierce, savage nature. You cannot have one without the other.”
“Oh … right,” said Jack.
“Take this lotus as a thank-you gift from all the forest for saving our fierce friend,” said the blind man. “Our world would not be complete without him.”
Annie took the gift from the hermit.
“A gift from a forest far away,” she said.
Arf! Arf! Teddy wagged his tail.
The langurs clapped.
“We can go home now,” said Jack, “if we can just find the way.”
“Do not worry,” said the blind man. “Your house in the trees is close by. The elephants walked in a large circle. So you are back at the place where you started.”
“Really?” said Jack.
The blind man pointed to the sky.
There was the magic tree house, high in a nearby tree.
“Oh, great,” breathed Jack.
“I told you not to worry,” said Annie. She and Jack pulled on their socks and shoes and stood up.
Before they left, Annie touched the hand of the blind man.
“Thanks for everything,” she said.
The man held her hand for a moment. Then he took