Tigers at Twilight Read online

  “Is it poisonous?” asked Annie.

  Jack pulled out their book. By the last light of day, he found a picture of a python. He read aloud:

  The python is not a poisonous snake.

  “Whew,” said Annie.

  “Not so fast,” said Jack. He read more:

  To kill its prey, the python squeezes it to death, then swallows it whole. A python can swallow an animal the size of a full-grown deer.

  “Oh, yuck!” said Annie.

  “This is more than just yuck, Annie,” said Jack. “This is life or death,”

  Kah and Ko chattered at Jack and Annie.

  “Not now,” said Jack. “We have to think.”

  The langurs grabbed thick vines. They leaned back. Then they jumped out of the tree!

  The langurs swung through the air like trapeze artists. They swung over bushes and tall grass and landed in another tree.

  They screeched at Jack and Annie and waved their arms.

  “I know what they’re saying,” said Annie. “They want us to copy them!”

  Annie grabbed a vine.

  Jack looked back at the python. The giant snake was still winding its way up the tree. It had almost reached their branch.

  Jack took a deep breath. Then he grabbed a vine, too.

  “Lean back, like Kah and Ko did,” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie leaned back.

  “One, two, three—go!” said Annie.

  They swung out of the tree.

  Jack felt his stomach drop. Air rushed by. Leaves and branches slapped at him.

  Suddenly, the forest shook with a great roar.

  Like a flame, a tiger leaped up from the bushes!

  His yellow eyes blazed. His teeth shone like daggers. His claws barely missed Jack and Annie!

  “AAAHHH!” they yelled.

  The tiger crashed back down into the bushes.

  Jack and Annie swung into the langurs’ tree.

  Jack threw one leg around the trunk. He let go of his vine and held on tightly to a branch.

  “Oh, man!” he said. He was in shock.

  The langurs patted him, as if to make sure he was okay.

  “Wow, that was fun,” said Annie, sitting on a big branch.

  “Fun? Are you nuts?” said Jack.

  “The swinging was fun,” said Annie. “The tiger was scary.”

  Just then, the tree began to shake. Branches snapped below.

  “Oh, no!” said Jack.

  “Can tigers climb trees?” asked Annie.

  “Probably,” said Jack. He hugged the trunk and squeezed his eyes shut.

  From below came loud sounds of chewing, smacking, and crunching.

  Teddy growled.

  Jack groaned.

  “Now the tiger’s eating the tree,” he said.

  Annie burst into laughter.

  Kah and Ko whooped as if they were laughing, too.

  Arf! Arf! barked Teddy.

  “What?” said Jack, opening his eyes.

  “Look!” Annie pointed at the twilight.

  A thick gray tube was waving in the air.

  “Another snake?” said Jack, horrified.

  “No! An elephant trunk!” said Annie.

  The trunk wiggled near Jack and Annie, as if it were sniffing them. Then it picked leaves from the tree and disappeared.

  “Let’s go see!” said Annie.

  With Teddy still in his backpack, Jack followed Annie down to a lower branch.

  They peered out at the twilight forest.

  In the gray gloom, they saw a herd of elephants.

  One stood beneath their tree, eating leaves. Others munched grass.

  “Hey, I’ve got a really cool idea,” said Annie.

  “Uh-oh,” said Jack. “What is it?”

  “I know how to escape the tiger,” said Annie. “Our book said tigers don’t attack elephants, right?”

  “Yeah,” said Jack.

  “So we should travel through the forest on the back of an elephant,” said Annie.

  Jack nodded slowly.

  “That is a cool idea,” he said. “But—”

  “No buts. I’ll get on first,” said Annie.

  She climbed down the tree until she was close to the elephant’s back. She carefully lowered herself off a branch. When her feet rested on the elephant’s back, she let go of the branch. Then she slowly sat down.

  The elephant let out a low rumbling sound and shifted her weight.

  “Don’t worry, it’s just me,” Annie said softly. She patted the huge creature’s back. “Thanks, Saba.”

  “Saba?” said Jack.

  “That’s her name,” said Annie. “She just told me.”

  “Yeah, right,” said Jack.

  Arf! Arf! barked Teddy.

  “Come on, Jack,” said Annie. “It’s not scary.”

  Jack sighed and slowly climbed down the tree. When he was above Saba, he lowered himself off the branch.

  He put both feet on the elephant. Then he carefully sat down in front of Annie.

  Saba rumbled again.

  “Tell her not to worry,” said Annie. “Pat her head.”

  “Don’t worry, Saba,” Jack said. He patted the elephant’s head. Her skin was rough and wrinkled.

  The elephant curled her trunk back and rested it on Jack’s head.

  “Hi,” he said in a small voice.

  Saba flapped her ears.

  Kah and Ko swung to the ground in front of Saba. They chattered at her. She waved her trunk at them. The langurs began bounding through the forest.

  Saba followed.

  The rest of the herd followed in line. Saba walked with a calm, rolling motion. Jack felt as if he were riding over ocean waves.

  A full moon was rising above the trees.

  “Where are we going?” Jack asked.

  “Just relax,” said Annie. “Kah and Ko know where to go.”

  Arf! Arf! Teddy barked from Jack’s backpack.

  “You relax, too,” Jack said to the little dog.

  Fireflies blinked. The moon lit a path between the trees as the elephants marched on.

  From a distance came a low growl.

  Is that the tiger? Jack wondered.

  The elephants paid no attention. They kept walking through the warm woods. They marched slowly under hanging vines and through misty clearings.

  Kah and Ko bounded ahead of them, two moon shadows leading the way.

  “We’re going far from the tree house,” said Jack.

  “Don’t worry,” Annie said.

  Suddenly, a long roar split the night.

  A chill went down Jack’s spine.

  The roar came again. It turned into a yowling. The yowling turned into steady moaning. It sounded as if the whole forest were moaning.

  “That’s a really sad sound,” said Annie sleepily.

  “Yeah,” said Jack.

  But the elephants all marched on.

  Jack rocked in sleepy rhythm with Saba’s walk. He could hear Teddy snoring in his backpack.

  Soon Jack’s head rested on Saba’s back. He began drifting in and out of dreams—dreams of rocking in a boat under the dark treetops.

  Caw! Caw!

  Awk! Awk! Awk!

  Jack slowly came out of his dream. He opened his eyes with a start.

  He was surrounded by hazy sunlight.

  Where am I? he thought in a panic.

  Then he remembered—he was in India, on an elephant’s back!

  He sat up. Through the haze, he saw that Saba was standing on a muddy stream bank.

  Jack yawned. Where was Annie?

  The other elephants were upstream. They sprayed water on each other with their trunks.

  Teddy, Kah, and Ko were at the edge of the forest. Teddy sniffed the tall grass. The langurs ate flowers.

  “Good morning!” called Annie.

  She was sitting on a big black rock downstream. She was barefoot and soaking wet.

  “Hi,” said Jack. “How did y
ou get down?”

  “Teddy and I slid off Saba into the mud,” said Annie. “Try it. But throw down your sneakers and backpack first.”

  Annie went to Saba’s side. Her feet were buried in mud up to her ankles.

  Jack threw his things to Annie. Then he patted Saba’s rough, wrinkled skin.

  “Thanks for the ride,” he said softly.

  The elephant touched him one last time with her trunk.

  Jack slid down her side—feet first—and fell into the mud. He caught himself with his hands. They sank into the mud past his wrists. His glasses were spattered, too.

  “Wash off in the stream,” Annie said.

  She put Jack’s pack and shoes on the rock while Jack waded into the cool water.

  He washed the mud off his hands and feet. He rinsed off his glasses. Then he looked around.

  Saba had joined the rest of the herd. The elephants looked beautiful in the morning mist.

  Everything looked beautiful.

  Yellow and blue water birds spread their wings. Mossy hanging vines swayed in the breeze. Huge white flowers floated on top of the stream.

  Then Jack saw a strange sight. It looked like a horn and two ears sticking out of the water. One ear flicked away a fly.

  “There’s a weird creature out here,” he called to Annie. “It looks like it has a horn.”

  Annie waded into the stream.

  “I better check the book,” said Jack.

  He hurried to his pack, wiping his wet hands on his T-shirt. He pulled out the India book.

  There was a picture of a horn sticking out of the water. He read:

  The one-horned rhinoceros, or “rhino,” washes in a forest stream. Rhinos are not usually dangerous. But because they do not see well, they sometimes charge at things by mistake. A loud noise will usually stop them.

  Jack felt sorry for the rhinos. Too bad animals can’t wear glasses, he thought. He read more:

  The Indian rhino is a very endangered animal. This means that there are not many left. People called poachers kill them and sell their body parts as medicine and good-luck charms.

  Jack started to take out his notebook.

  Just then, a slurpy, sloshing sound came from the water.

  “Whoa!” said Annie.

  Jack looked up.

  The rhino rose from the stream. He looked like an ancient swamp creature.

  “Oh, man!” said Jack.

  The rhino peered at Annie with his tiny eyes.

  Then he snorted and lowered his head. His horn pointed right at Annie.

  “Make a loud noise!” Jack yelled.

  Annie clapped her hands and shouted, “We come in peace!”

  The rhino stopped. He grunted. Then he sank back into the water.

  Annie laughed.

  “Whew,” said Jack. “I better take some notes about that big guy.”

  Arf! Arf! Teddy barked from the edge of the forest.

  “And I better get Teddy,” said Annie.

  She hurried out of the stream and ran to get the dog. Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

  “Jack!” shouted Annie. She was racing toward him, with Teddy at her heels. “Come quick!”

  “What’s wrong?” he said.

  “We found something terrible!” Annie was close to tears. “Really terrible!”

  Jack threw his things into his pack and followed Annie to the forest edge.

  Teddy stayed close to them, whining. Kah and Ko bounced around, chattering nervously.

  As Jack got closer, he saw a tiger. The tiger was lying on his side, completely still.

  His eyes were closed. His front paw was caught in a trap.

  “Is he dead?” said Jack.

  “No, he’s still breathing,” Annie said. A tear ran down her cheek. “He’s worn out from struggling. He must have gotten caught last night. That’s the sad sound we heard.”

  “What can we do?” said Jack.

  “We have to free him!” said Annie. She started toward the tiger.

  “Wait! Wait!” Jack grabbed her. “Tigers eat people, you know.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s see what the book says first.”

  “Hurry,” said Annie.

  Jack opened their India book. He found a chapter called “Tiger Traps.” He read:

  Poachers catch Indian tigers with steel traps. This is against the law. After trapping a tiger, they kill it and sell the body parts for money. Like the rhino, the tiger is a very endangered species. If the killing does not end, they both face extinction. Extinction means that someday there may be no Indian tigers or rhinos left on earth.

  “Oh, man, we do have to save him,” said Jack.

  Under the writing was a picture of a steel trap used to catch tigers. Jack studied it. It looked horrible and deadly.

  “Okay,” he said. He showed the picture to Annie. “Here’s the plan. I’ll push down on this part. The trap will spring open. Then you pull his leg out. Got it?”

  “Got it,” said Annie. “Sit, Teddy.”

  The little dog sat.

  The langurs watched silently as Jack and Annie moved closer to the tiger.

  He was the most majestic creature Jack had ever seen. His huge head was a dark orange color. He had perfect black-and-white stripes around his wide face.

  The leg in the ugly steel trap was bleeding.

  Slowly, silently, Jack pushed down the lever.

  He raised the bar off the tiger’s leg.

  The tiger kept sleeping.

  Slowly, silently, Annie freed the tiger’s leg. She stroked his fur gently.

  “Get well,” she whispered.

  The tiger didn’t move.

  Slowly, silently, Jack and Annie stood up.

  They turned around. They started tiptoeing back toward the langurs.

  Koo-koo-koo! warned Kah and Ko.

  Jack and Annie turned back.

  The tiger was on his feet. He stared right at them. His eyes seemed to glow.

  Jack looked about wildly. How could they escape?

  The tiger snarled at Jack and Annie.

  Then slowly, silently, he started toward them.

  The huge tiger limped closer and closer to Jack and Annie.

  Jack clapped his hands.

  “We come in peace!” he shouted.

  But the tiger didn’t turn away. His eyes blazed. His lip curled.

  Arf! Arf! Teddy barked fiercely at Annie.

  “Teddy says run and hide!” said Annie.

  She grabbed Jack’s hand and pulled him over to the bank.

  “Wait—what about Teddy?” he cried.

  “Don’t worry!” Annie said.

  She pulled Jack down behind the black rock.

  “What about Teddy?” Jack asked again.

  “He’s okay—he told me!” said Annie.

  Jack heard Teddy’s barks turn to fierce growls.

  ARF! ARF! GRRR! GRRRR!

  The growls grew louder and louder.

  “That doesn’t sound like Teddy,” said Jack.

  Then suddenly, there was silence. A strange silence.

  “Teddy?” Annie asked. Now she sounded worried.

  Annie raised her head. She and Jack both peered over the rock.

  Teddy stood tall and brave in the grass.

  The tiger was limping away. He disappeared between the trees.

  All the forest seemed to hold its breath—until Annie broke the silence.

  “Teddy, you’re a wonder dog!” she said.

  The langurs clapped and jumped up and down.

  Arf! Arf! Teddy was just like a small scruffy dog again. He wagged his tail and ran to Annie and Jack.

  Annie scooped him into her arms.

  “You saved us!” she said.

  “How did you drive away that tiger?” asked Jack, rubbing Teddy’s head. “Did you turn into a wild dog?”

  Teddy just panted and licked them both.

  Jack pushed his glasses into place and looked back at the forest.

  “W
ell, 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.