A Perfect Time for Pandas Page 5

  The pilot landed in a large field lit by emergency spotlights. Two other helicopters were also in the field. Tents had been set up, and people were carrying the injured on stretchers to the helicopters.

  When the blades completely stopped turning, Jack and Annie carried the sleeping cubs out of the cabin and down the steps to the field.

  “Jack! Annie!” someone called. Four women dressed in dark coveralls rushed to greet them. “We work for the panda center. Thank you for bringing the cubs to us!” one said.

  Annie kissed each of the little pandas. “Be good now,” she said.

  Then she and Jack handed them over to the women. “We really love them,” said Annie.

  “I am so glad,” said one of the women. “We will get them to a safe new home very soon. Later the others will join them there.”

  “We must help you, too,” said another woman. “Go with Mrs. Chang to our office, and she will locate your grandmother.”

  “Oh, that’s okay …,” said Jack. “We know exactly where she is.” He started to back up.

  Annie did the same. “That’s right,” she said. She pointed to the street. “We’re going to meet her in a restaurant in town.”

  “Good-bye,” said Jack.

  “Good-bye,” said Annie.

  Before any of the women could speak, Jack grabbed Annie’s hand and started to run. They ran across the busy field, weaving around the tents and helicopters, doctors, nurses, and military people. When they came to the street, they stopped to catch their breath.

  “Ready to go home?” asked Jack.

  “No, wait,” said Annie. “We still have to find the special food.”

  “No, actually, we don’t,” said Jack.

  “What?” said Annie.

  “I said we don’t have to look for the special food anymore,” said Jack.

  “But why? What do you mean?” said Annie.

  “We … don’t … have … to … look … for … it,” Jack said.

  Annie stared at him. “Are you saying we have it?” she asked.

  Jack nodded, then pulled the hunk of panda bread out of his backpack. “It’s called panda bread! When I went to say good-bye to Bing-Bing, Master Lee was feeding it to her.”

  “But what makes you think—” began Annie.

  Jack held up his hand, interrupting her. “Panda bread is a healthy food,” he said. “It’s grainy and good, baked with love, tough as wood, round in shape, and the color of sand. And it’s given to those who have lost their land—the pandas at the center!”

  “Perfect!” breathed Annie.

  Jack held up the panda bread and looked at it. “This is why I think pandas will survive,” he said.

  “Why?” asked Annie. “Because of panda bread?”

  “Nope,” said Jack. He put the bread into his pack. “I think they’ll survive because people take responsibility for them. People make healthy bread for them and carry them to safety and raise money for them. And people speak up for them because they can’t speak up for themselves.”

  “That’s it,” said Annie. “That’s what panda bread stands for! It stands for people protecting and saving animals.”

  “Exactly,” said Jack. “And now we have to go save Penny.”

  “Great,” said Annie. “I think the tree house is nearby.” She looked around. “Yes! It’s there, in that line of trees. See it?”

  “Yep,” said Jack. “Let’s go!”

  When they came to the grove of trees, Jack switched on their small flashlight. The beam of light guided them to the rope ladder hanging in the dark.

  “Wait! Our volunteer clothes!” said Annie.

  They took off their coveralls and left them at the bottom of the tree. Then they climbed up the rope ladder into the tree house.

  “Is everything still here?” asked Annie.

  Jack shined the flashlight into a corner of the tree house. The light fell on the emerald rose, the white and yellow flower, and the gray goose feather. “It’s all here,” he said.

  “Add the fourth thing,” said Annie.

  Jack pulled out the panda bread from his backpack and placed it on the floor next to the feather.

  “Good,” said Annie.

  Roaring sounds filled the night. Jack and Annie looked out the window and saw another helicopter coming in.

  “Remember our helicopter ride in Antarctica?” said Annie. “When you hid Penny in your jacket?”

  “I totally remember it,” said Jack. “We couldn’t let anyone see her and she kept peeping, so I had to keep pretending to cough.” He thought about the penguin’s big eyes and her fuzzy little head. He thought about Teddy and Kathleen and the wonder and beauty of Camelot. Suddenly he couldn’t wait to be there and help bring Penny back to life. “Are you ready to go to Camelot?” he asked Annie.

  “Absolutely!” she said.

  Jack reached into his backpack again and took out their note from Teddy and Kathleen. He pointed to the word Camelot. “I wish we could go there,” he said.

  A blast of light—

  a roar of wind—

  a rumble of thunder—

  and all was quiet.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Breaking the Spell

  A crescent moon hung low in the dark purple sky. A few stars still twinkled. Jack and Annie didn’t move for a moment, breathing in the clean, fresh air.

  Jack broke the silence. “It looks like we made it to Camelot before break of day.”

  “Yep. Where did we land exactly?” said Annie.

  Jack turned on their flashlight. He pointed it out the window. The light shone on trees, their branches heavy with golden apples.

  “I’ll bet we’re in the orchard where we landed the last time we were here,” said Jack.

  “Turn off the light,” whispered Annie. “I think I see something in the distance.”

  Jack switched off the flashlight.

  A different kind of light was shining in the dark orchard—a flickering light that moved toward them. Jack heard leaves crunching, twigs cracking, feet running, and voices whispering.

  “Jack? Annie?” a boy called out.

  “Is that you?” a girl said.

  “Yes!” cried Annie. She scrambled down the rope ladder.

  Jack gathered up the jewel, the flower, the feather, and the panda bread. He put them in his pack and carefully climbed down after Annie.

  Teddy and Kathleen stood in a circle of lantern light, dressed in their long dark cloaks. They hugged Jack and Annie. “Welcome!” said Teddy. “We have been walking the grounds all night, waiting for you. Finally we saw a light above the orchard!”

  “Our flashlight,” said Annie.

  “And then we saw your light!” said Jack.

  “We’re so glad you’re here!” said Kathleen.

  “We are, too!” said Annie.

  “Did you translate the last lines of the rhyme?” asked Jack.

  “We did, indeed,” said Kathleen.

  “And did you bring the four things to help us break the spell?” asked Teddy.

  “We did, indeed!” said Annie.

  “They’re all in my backpack,” said Jack.

  “Wonderful,” said Kathleen. “We knew if anyone could find them, it would be you two.”

  “You have brought the four special things, and now we are all together. It is time to undo the spell,” said Teddy.

  “Yay!” said Annie.

  “Yay, indeed,” said Teddy. “Come along! Before the sun rises!”

  Teddy and Kathleen started back the way they’d come, and Jack and Annie followed. Together, they wove between the trees in the fresh dawn air.

  Finally they all emerged from the orchard. Kathleen shined the lantern on the door of a wooden cottage.

  “Merlin’s garden house,” said Jack.

  “Yes,” said Teddy. “This is where we brought Penny from her little nest in the castle. We hoped that she might come back to life in Merlin’s favorite place. But alas, she has not done so
.” He sighed.

  Teddy opened the door to the cottage, and they all stepped in. Jack shivered. It was damp and chilly inside, like a tomb.

  Kathleen placed the lantern on a table in the middle of the room.

  “There she is,” Teddy said sadly.

  Penny stood on the table, lit by lantern light. The little penguin was as gray and lifeless as stone.

  “Penny?” said Jack. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been so cute, so warm and … alive.

  “Poor Penny,” said Annie. She touched the penguin’s beak and the top of her head.

  “Bring forth the four things you found to break the spell,” said Teddy.

  Jack reached into his backpack. “Here—this is the first thing we found. It’s from India,” he said. He took out the emerald cut in the shape of a rose. He placed the jewel in front of Penny, where it glowed in the lantern light.

  “The emerald rose stands for love,” Annie said. “The kind of love that rises above our faults and mistakes.”

  Jack pulled out the dried yellow and white flower and placed it next to the emerald rose. “This is from the Swiss Alps,” he said.

  “The glacial buttercup stands for being like a little kid,” Annie said. “The joyful, open spirit of childhood.”

  “This is from Abraham Lincoln, a great president of our country,” Jack said next. He took out the goose-feather quill and put it next to the flower.

  “This quill pen stands for the deepest kind of hope,” said Annie. “The hope that one day all our sorrows will make sense.”

  “And this is from China,” said Jack. He took out the panda bread and put it next to the feather.

  “This is called panda bread,” said Annie. “It stands for protecting animals, for loving them and speaking up for them because they can’t speak for themselves.”

  All four things were lit by the circle of glowing lantern light, along with Penny.

  “Teddy, stand closer, you’re the spell caster,” said Kathleen.

  Teddy stood in front of the table. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he raised his arms and exclaimed, “All four things are here with me, the one who cast the spell. Spell be broken! Penny, come back to life!”

  Teddy opened his eyes. Everyone stared at Penny, waiting for something to happen.

  They waited and waited.

  “Please, Penny … come back to life,” whispered Teddy.

  They all waited another long moment.

  Slowly Teddy lowered his arms. “It’s not working,” he said quietly. “The spell to break the spell, it doesn’t work.” He picked up the small stone penguin and cradled her in his arms. “So you won’t come back to us,” he said. “You’ll never come back to us.” A tear fell from Teddy’s eyes, then another.

  “Oh, Teddy,” said Annie.

  Teddy wiped his face on the sleeve of his cloak. “Don’t look at stupid me weeping,” he said.

  “It’s okay to cry,” said Jack.

  “Are you sad because you think Merlin will banish you from Camelot?” said Annie.

  “No—no.” Teddy shook his head. “I’m sad because … well, what you’ve shown us—what you said to us just now—makes me terribly sad. The emerald makes me think how much Merlin loves Penny, and your flower makes me remember the joy she brought to everyone. And your gray feather makes me think how desperately Kathleen and I have been hoping we could undo the spell and bring Penny back to life. And your panda bread makes me think how I was supposed to protect Penny while Merlin was gone. But I didn’t care properly for her. I caused her harm instead…. I—I can’t change that now. I can’t, not ever, and I’m so sorry.” As Teddy wept, his tears fell onto the stone penguin.

  “Teddy,” said Annie, “please don’t …” But then she stopped.

  Peep.

  “Hush, Teddy,” Kathleen said. “Stop crying. Listen.”

  Peep.

  Teddy and the others looked at Penny. As they watched, the baby penguin’s body turned from dull gray to soft white. She tilted her head. Her eyes blinked.

  Peep.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  One Penguin at a Time

  “Penny! You came back! You are alive!” whispered Teddy.

  “Hurray!” Annie shouted.

  Teddy started crying again, but this time, he was laughing, too. Kathleen and Jack and Annie laughed with him, and the only tears now were tears of joy and relief.

  The little penguin blinked and looked at each of them, one at a time. Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep! she greeted them, waddling up and down the length of the table.

  Teddy picked up Penny. He rubbed his cheek against her fuzzy head. “It’s a miracle,” he said softly.

  Trumpet blasts came from the distance. Startled, they all looked toward the window. Dawn light was creeping into Merlin’s cottage.

  “I’m afraid you must go now,” Kathleen said to Jack and Annie. “The sound of the trumpeters means that Merlin and Morgan have returned from Avalon. We could never explain all of this to them!” Kathleen laughed as she put the emerald, the flower, the feather, and the panda bread into a deep pocket of her cloak.

  Then she looked at Teddy. He was hugging Penny and grinning as if in a daze. “Let us bring Penny with us, Teddy,” she said. “We will lead Jack and Annie back to the tree house!”

  The sun was rising when they left the cottage. Kathleen’s cloak billowed behind her as she led them all through the orchard back to the tree house.

  “Good-bye,” said Teddy. “I—I thank you a million times. All of Camelot thanks you—or would thank you if they knew how you had helped me.”

  “Yes, yes, they would!” said Kathleen. She hugged Jack and Annie.

  “Wait,” said Jack, “what was the last part of the rhyme again, the part you just translated? Do you remember?”

  “Yes, I do,” said Teddy. Then he recited the words from memory:

  When these four things come together

  with the one who cast the spell,

  the spell will then be broken

  and all again be well.

  “Oh, now I get it,” said Annie. “You broke the spell, Teddy. You broke it all by yourself. By feeling all the feelings you felt for Penny, you broke the spell.”

  “Yes,” said Kathleen. “I quite think that’s what happened. The four things that Jack and Annie brought back did not break the spell. They only served to awaken feelings deep within you, Teddy. And that is what really broke the spell.”

  “Yes. You must be right,” said Teddy. “I’m sorry you two had to go to such trouble to help me, and that Kathleen had to worry so. Not only Penny, but all of you suffered on my behalf.”

  “That’s okay. We loved all our missions,” said Annie. “We helped an elephant find her baby. We helped a funny dog find out that he was a great dog, and a president find hope, and some pandas find their way home.”

  “All because you were trying to help Penny,” said Kathleen.

  “True,” said Jack, stroking the little penguin. “It’s weird how that works sometimes.”

  The trumpets sounded again.

  “Hurry,” said Kathleen. “They’re getting closer.” Annie brushed her hand down Penny’s back.

  “Bye, Penny,” she said.

  Peep.

  “And peep to you,” said Jack. He kissed the top of the penguin’s fuzzy head.

  Jack and Annie then scrambled up the rope ladder into the tree house. Annie grabbed the Pennsylvania book, while Jack hurried to the window.

  Sunlight poured into the tree house, making it blindingly bright. Trumpet sounds filled the fresh morning air.

  “I wish we could go home!” Annie said, pointing to a picture of the Frog Creek woods.

  “Farewell!” Teddy shouted from the dazzling light. “Thank you!”

  The wind began to blow.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

&n
bsp; * * *

  “We’re back,” said Jack. He and Annie looked out the tree house window. Dappled light danced in the woods. As always, no time at all had passed in Frog Creek while they were gone.

  “Time for school,” said Annie.

  Jack groaned. He was exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached. He opened his backpack and took out their guide book to Southwest China. “Hey, we forgot. Our breakfast sandwiches are in here,” he said.

  “They must be cold by now,” said Annie.

  “Who cares?” said Jack. “I’m starving.”

  “Me too,” said Annie.

  Jack gave Annie a cold egg sandwich. Then he unwrapped his own and took a big bite. “Yum!” he said. “It really tastes great.”

  “This is our panda bread,” said Annie, “made with love by Mom, one of our keepers.”

  Jack laughed. “Right.”

  “So the panda bread stands for protecting the pandas,” Annie said between bites. “I think it stands for protecting birds, too, like Penny.”

  “Of course,” said Jack, his mouth full.

  “And trees and other plants,” said Annie.

  Jack nodded as he chewed.

  “And dolphins and whales and fish,” said Annie. “All the stuff in the ocean …”

  Jack nodded again.

  Annie finished her sandwich and wiped her mouth. “In fact, there are millions of things to protect,” she said.

  “Whoa, slow down,” said Jack. He pulled on his backpack. “One panda at a time.”

  “Right,” said Annie. “One penguin at a time.”

  “Right,” said Jack.

  The two of them climbed down the rope ladder. Then they hurried through the Frog Creek woods, finally on their way to school.

  Author’s Note

  On May 12, 2008, the Great Sichuan Earthquake killed many thousands of people in Southwest China. Though the quake devastated the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center, all the workers and all but one of the giant pandas survived. The pandas have since been relocated to other panda reserves, until the Wolong Center is rebuilt.

  News of the disaster in China brought a great deal of attention to the pandas, and support for these beloved animals increased.