A Perfect Time for Pandas Read online

  “Don’t worry,” said Jack. “I’m pretty sure I’m tall enough to wade across.” He took a deep breath, then stepped into the river. The cold water swirled around his waist. The current nearly knocked him over. Slowly and carefully, he stepped around a huge rock that had rolled into the river. Suddenly Jack felt his body start to quake.

  Another aftershock, he thought. He paused, but his body kept shaking. As Jack shook, he started to grow smaller. In an instant he had shrunk back to his normal size.

  He and Annie plunged into the swiftly churning water. Jack grabbed the branch of a fallen tree. Clinging to the branch, he looked around frantically for Annie. She was holding on to a log. “Here!” shrieked Jack. He reached out his hand, and Annie grabbed it. As the water swirled around them, he pulled her over to him.

  “Can we get to the bridge?” Annie cried.

  “Try!” yelled Jack. They both let go of the branch and thrashed through the water until they grabbed on to a piece of the wrecked bridge.

  Jack and Annie hoisted themselves up onto the slab of concrete. Jack pointed to the part of the bridge that still stood at the edge of the ravine. He took another deep breath and leapt over the gap onto the broken bridge. Annie followed.

  Jack and Annie clung to a piece of bridge railing and stared at the entrance gate of the panda center. Muddy rocks, branches, and leaves were piled on the other side.

  “I think we can climb over,” said Annie. She led the way, stepping onto the railing next to the gate.

  Jack followed her. They climbed over the gate and kept climbing over the heap of branches, brush, and rocks that blocked the entrance. When they reached the top of the wreckage, they looked down.

  Staff members were rushing around with buckets, shovels, and first-aid kits. When Master Lee and Dr. Ling caught sight of Jack and Annie, they both stopped dead in their tracks and gaped at them.

  “Hi there,” Annie called. “Can we help?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  One Panda at a Time

  “Yes, thank you! We need all the help we can get,” said Dr. Ling. She looked dazed and frightened.

  Jack and Annie scrambled down from the wreckage.

  “Where’s your grandmother?” asked Dr. Ling.

  “Um … she’s …” Jack looked at Annie.

  “Helping earthquake victims south of here,” said Annie.

  “Good for her,” said Dr. Ling, sighing. “Everyone needs help.”

  “This is a huge disaster for our region,” said Master Lee. “We have no water or electricity. We’ve been able to make calls on cell phones, but we must conserve the batteries.”

  “How’s Bing-Bing?” Jack asked.

  “She’s missing,” said Master Lee. His voice quavered.

  “Missing?” said Jack.

  “Yes,” said Master Lee. “I can’t find her anywhere.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll help you!” said Annie.

  Master Lee’s eyes welled with tears. “Thank you,” he said. “She is like a member of my family.” He took a deep breath, then spoke clearly and steadily. “The pandas are terrified by the quake and the landslides. Many of their homes have been destroyed. The stone walls around their yards have collapsed.”

  “We also have staff who have been injured,” said Dr. Ling. “Master Lee and I must go now to help those who have been trapped in the rubble.”

  “While you do that, we’ll look for Bing-Bing,” said Annie.

  “Thank you,” said Master Lee again, “but be very careful. Remember, she’s a wild animal. She might be so upset and confused that she could attack you by mistake.”

  “We’ll remember. Come on, Jack!” said Annie.

  “Oh, wait,” said Dr. Ling. “So everyone will know you are here to help, please put your volunteer clothes back on.” She pointed to the bin, then she and Master Lee hurried off.

  Jack and Annie grabbed their coveralls from the bin and pulled them on over their wet clothes. “Let’s check around Bing-Bing’s house first,” said Jack.

  He and Annie ran across the grounds over shards of glass and fallen debris. They passed broken windows and cracked concrete walls. The kindergarten area was empty of cubs. The quake had overturned the swing sets and slide.

  When Jack and Annie arrived at Bing-Bing’s house, they saw that the stone wall enclosing her yard had crumbled.

  “She must have run off into the woods,” said Jack.

  “We have to go look for her,” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie climbed over the collapsed wall. Then they scrambled over piles of shrubs and branches into the forest.

  “Bing-Bing!” Annie called.

  “Bing-Bing!” Jack echoed.

  They kept moving through the broken brush until Jack stopped. He grabbed Annie. “Shhh!” he said, and pointed.

  Bing-Bing was sitting in the middle of a fallen bamboo grove. Her forepaws rested in her lap. Her head sagged on her chest, and her eyes were closed. The giant panda was snoring.

  “She looks exhausted,” said Jack.

  Annie smiled. “She doesn’t look like she’s going to attack us,” she said.

  Bing-Bing raised her head. When she saw Jack and Annie, she let out a bellow.

  “Don’t be scared, Bing-Bing,” said Jack.

  He and Annie crept closer to the panda. They knelt down beside her.

  “Hi there,” said Annie. She gently patted the giant panda’s furry head.

  Bing-Bing made soft sounds.

  “Are you hungry?” asked Jack. He picked up a broken bamboo stalk and offered it to the panda. She took the shoot in her paws and pulled off the leaves with her teeth. She gazed at Jack as she chewed. He thought she looked weary and sad.

  “Listen,” Annie whispered.

  Soft whimpering sounds came from the trees beyond the thicket.

  Annie stood up and quietly stepped through the broken bamboo. “Look! It’s Roly and Poly!” she said.

  “Wait here,” Jack said to Bing-Bing. “Keep eating.” He hurried to Annie’s side. High up in a tree were two small pandas.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay,” said Jack, as if he were talking to little children. “Come down now. One panda at a time.”

  “Come on, Roly.” Annie coaxed the nearest panda cub. “Come to me.”

  The small panda started down the tree trunk, rump-first. When he got close to the ground, Annie put her arms around him and pried him loose from the tree. Roly made little chirping sounds.

  “I understand,” Annie said to the cub. “The earthquake was awful, wasn’t it? You were so scared, but you’re fine now. I’ve got you.”

  “You’re next, Poly!” said Jack. “Come down!”

  Poly hugged the trunk and used the soles of her feet to pull herself up even higher into the tree.

  “Not up!” called Jack. “Down!”

  As the little panda looked down at him, her hind paws slipped on the trunk. With a shriek, she tumbled to the ground.

  Jack dropped to his knees and put his arms around Poly. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” he said, cuddling her. “You’re safe now.”

  The panda nibbled Jack’s arm with soft, tiny bites. Jack laughed. “That tickles,” he said.

  “We have to get them back to the center,” said Annie.

  Jack stood up and lifted Poly into his arms. The cub was surprisingly heavy! “Come with us, Bing-Bing!” he called to the giant panda. She was still chewing her bamboo stem.

  “Lead us back to Master Lee, Bing-Bing!” said Annie. “He misses you!”

  Bing-Bing licked her paws. She stood on all fours and shook herself like a dog. Then she started toward the panda center with her rolling gait.

  Jack and Annie carried the cubs through the brush, until more whimpering panda sounds made them stop.

  “Wait, Bing-Bing!” called Jack.

  “Look!” said Annie.

  A third cub—smaller than the other two—was peeking out from behind an old tree stump.

  “Hi there!” sa
id Jack.

  The cub rushed toward Jack, yipping like a puppy. He clasped Jack’s legs and held on tightly. Clutching Poly gently under his right arm, Jack bent down and put his left arm around the little panda. The frightened cub was shivering. “Poor little guy,” said Jack.

  “Can you carry Little Guy, too?” asked Annie.

  “I’ll try,” said Jack. He clumsily scooped Little Guy off the ground.

  “Got him?” said Annie.

  “Yep.” Jack felt as if he were carrying two chubby little kids—except these kids had fur and paws! “All set,” he said. “Let’s go, gang!”

  Jack held on tightly to Little Guy and Poly. Annie carried Roly in her arms. Bing-Bing trotted ahead over the fallen rocks and crushed bamboo. They all climbed over the ruins of the collapsed wall.

  Master Lee was standing in Bing-Bing’s yard. When he saw the panda, his face lit up. “Bing!” he cried, and raced across the yard toward her.

  Bing-Bing sat on her back legs, and Master Lee grabbed her forepaws. “Oh, Bing! You’re not hurt one bit, are you?” he said. He hugged the giant panda and laughed.

  Bing-Bing made snorting noises that sounded like laughter, too.

  Dr. Ling came running into the yard. “The missing cubs!” she cried. “Where did you find them?”

  “Hiding in the trees,” said Annie.

  The cubs made screeching sounds, as if they were trying to tell Dr. Ling about their terrifying adventure.

  Dr. Ling smiled. “We’ll take them to the nursery and give them milk to calm them down,” she said. “We’re using a small generator to keep the incubator going for the newborn.”

  “Did you help everyone out of the rubble?” Annie asked her.

  “Yes. All the workers at the panda center are safe now,” said Dr. Ling, “just bruised and shaken. We are very fortunate, for we have word that other workers in the nature reserve are harmed or missing. Let us go.”

  Before he went with Dr. Ling, Jack looked back. He saw Master Lee dancing with Bing-Bing, holding her paws and rocking from side to side. “See you later, guys!” Jack called. Then he followed Annie to the panda nursery.

  Inside, the tiny newborn panda was safe in her incubator. At least ten small pandas were lying on their backs on a blanket on the floor. They were all drinking milk from baby bottles.

  “Aww! That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!” cried Annie.

  Dr. Ling brought bottles for Roly, Poly, and Little Guy. The three cubs held their bottles with their forepaws. “We put a little sedative in the milk to help them go to sleep,” said Dr. Ling.

  As the cubs sucked on the bottles, a roaring sound filled the air. For a moment, Jack thought the noise was from another aftershock, but Dr. Ling smiled. “Ah, good,” she said. “The helicopter has arrived.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Totally All Right

  “Helicopter?” said Jack.

  “Yes, I received a call on my cell phone from the military,” said Dr. Ling. “They’re bringing medical supplies and food.”

  “That’s great,” said Annie.

  “We need to get our pandas to other reserves,” said Dr. Ling. “Until the road is cleared, we will send some by helicopter to Wolong Town. From there, a van will take them to a safe reserve.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” said Jack.

  Dr. Ling smiled. “I am glad you think so, because I would like to ask you to accompany these three cubs on their first helicopter flight. Do you think your grandmother would mind?”

  “No problem. We’ve been in choppers before,” Annie said casually. “Antarctica.”

  “Really?” said Dr. Ling. She looked surprised. “Well, good. I’ll be right back. I need to speak to the helicopter pilot and make a quick call to our staff in Wolong Town.”

  Dr. Ling started to leave the nursery, then stopped. “Why, I just realized—I don’t even know your names,” she said.

  “Jack and Annie,” said Annie.

  Dr. Ling nodded. “Thanks, Jack and Annie,” she said, and then left.

  “This is so cool,” Jack said to Annie. “I was wondering how we’d get back to Wolong Town and complete our mission.”

  Annie smiled at Jack. “Remember—things always seem to work out when we just do the next right thing,” she said.

  “Funny how that works,” said Jack.

  “And this way, we won’t have to leave the cubs yet,” said Annie. She wiped milk off Roly’s mouth with her hand and kissed the top of his head. All three cubs had dropped their bottles and were nodding off to sleep.

  “Can you stay with the kids while I say good-bye to Bing-Bing?” said Jack.

  “Sure,” said Annie. “Say good-bye for me, too.”

  “I will.” Jack hurried out the door. He dashed along the path to Bing-Bing’s house, sidestepping rubble and glass.

  Jack found Master Lee sitting with Bing-Bing on the concrete floor. He was quietly feeding her bits of bread from a small, round loaf. For a moment, the earthquake disaster seemed far away.

  “Bing-Bing loves a snack,” Master Lee said, smiling at the panda, “even when the world is turned upside down.”

  “I know,” said Jack, kneeling beside them. “I gave her some bamboo in the woods. What’s she eating now?”

  “It’s a special treat,” said Master Lee. “Here. You can give it to her.” He handed Jack the loaf.

  The bread was very hard. Jack struggled to break off a piece. Bing-Bing opened her mouth wide, and Jack placed the bread on her pink tongue. As the giant panda chewed, she stared at Jack with her wise and gentle gaze.

  “I thought she ate bamboo,” said Jack.

  “She does,” said Master Lee. “This is bamboo, but it’s ground up and mixed with molasses, grains, and vitamins. It’s very healthy. We call it panda bread.”

  Jack turned his head to look at Master Lee. “And it’s baked with love?” he said.

  “Yes …,” said Master Lee, looking puzzled.

  Jack gave him a radiant smile.

  “Is everything all right?” asked Master Lee.

  “Yes. Everything’s all right,” said Jack. “Totally all right.”

  “Good … I’m glad,” said Master Lee. “It has been a very difficult day.”

  “It has,” agreed Jack. “Annie and I have to take the cubs to Wolong Town, in a helicopter. Would it be okay if I took a little panda bread with me? To show Annie?”

  “Yes, certainly,” said Master Lee. He gave Jack a small hunk of the panda bread. “But don’t try to eat it,” he said. “It’s very—”

  “Tough,” finished Jack. “I know—tough as wood.” He put the bread in his backpack. Then he stroked Bing-Bing’s fur. “Bye, beautiful,” he said. He turned to Master Lee. “Bing-Bing is really lucky to have you in her family, Master Lee.”

  The panda keeper nodded shyly. “Thank you,” he said.

  Jack and the giant panda exchanged one last look, then Jack hurried outside.

  Leaping over the rubble, Jack ran back to the nursery. On his way, he saw that the helicopter had landed on the kindergarten playground. Soldiers in green-and-tan uniforms were unloading boxes.

  Jack found Dr. Ling and Annie waiting for him. They were holding Roly and Poly. “Jack, if you take the smallest cub, I will help you all get settled in the helicopter,” said Dr. Ling.

  “Sure!” Jack picked up Little Guy. The cub was drowsy and cuddly.

  “Let’s go!” said Dr. Ling.

  Dr. Ling, Jack, and Annie left the nursery and carried the little pandas outside. Night was falling as they stood in the playground and watched the soldiers finish unloading food and medicine.

  “Until you can get all the pandas out of here, how will you take care of them?” asked Annie.

  “We will set up tents and carry water from the stream and get by as best we can,” said Dr. Ling. “I believe people here in China and around the world will help us. I’ve already had a call from Pandas International. They promised to send powdered milk
for the young ones, and they will write about our situation and raise money to help the pandas.”

  “Cool,” said Jack. “Hey, in that case …” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the rest of their money. “We’d like to give something for the pandas, too.” He handed their Chinese currency to Dr. Ling.

  “Thank you!” she said. “All of this province will need help in the days to come. I have heard from the staff in Chengdu that this has been one of the most damaging earthquakes of all time. They think many people have been killed. Whole towns have been destroyed.”

  “That’s terrible,” said Jack.

  “What about your family?” said Annie.

  “My parents are safe in Beijing,” said Dr. Ling. “But in the face of this disaster, everyone in our nation is one big family now. Oh, look, the pilot is waving to us.”

  In the twilight, Jack, Annie, and Dr. Ling each carried a cub to the helicopter. They climbed up the steps and entered the small cabin. Jack and Annie sat down and buckled their seat belts. Dr. Ling handed Roly to Annie. Annie hugged Roly and Poly while Jack cradled Little Guy in his arms.

  “You will need this,” said Dr. Ling. She pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and gave it to Annie. “It will be dark when you arrive. Wolong Town is without power, too.”

  “Thanks,” said Jack.

  “When you land, staff members from our office in Wolong Town will be waiting for you,” said Dr. Ling. “Have a safe trip, and thank you for everything. Good-bye, Jack and Annie.”

  “Good luck rebuilding the panda center,” said Jack. “It’s an amazing place.”

  Dr. Ling climbed out of the helicopter and waved. The military pilot hopped aboard. “The ride will be very noisy,” he told Jack and Annie, putting headphones over their ears. Then he took his seat. The two soldiers sat behind him.

  A moment later, the engine roared and the blades started to spin. The helicopter shook; then it lifted off the ground and buzzed away from the panda center, through the darkening sky.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Panda Bread

  The helicopter flew over the broken bridge, over the blocked highway, and over the crumbling mountains of the Wolong Reserve. Soon it roared over Wolong Town.