Dingoes at Dinnertime (2 page)
Annie sat on the porch steps. She stared down the street at the Frog Creek woods.
“Hey, Jack,” she said. “Do you hear it?”
Jack sat next to her. He was reading a book.
“Hear what?” he said.
“Teddy’s calling us,” said Annie.
“You’re kidding,” said Jack. But he looked down the street and listened, too.
A faint bark came from the distance.
Arf! Arf!
A big smile crossed Jack’s face.
“You hear it!” Annie said.
“Yep,” said Jack. “You’re right. Time to go.”
He stood up and grabbed his backpack.
“Be back soon!” Annie shouted through the screen door.
“Don’t be late for dinner!” their dad called.
“We won’t!” said Jack.
He and Annie ran down the street and into the Frog Creek woods.
Soon they came to the tallest oak.
There was the magic tree house. A little black nose stuck out the window.
“Hi, silly!” Annie called. “We’re coming!”
Arf!
came a happy bark.
Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started climbing.
Jack followed her up into the tree house.
A small dog sat in a circle of afternoon sunshine. His tail wagged.
“Hey, Teddy!” said Jack.
Jack and Annie hugged Teddy. And the dog licked both of them.
“Morgan’s note is still here,” said Annie.
“Yep,” said Jack. He knew the note by heart now.
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
Beside the note were the gifts from their first three trips:
1. a pocket watch from the
Titanic
2. an eagle’s feather from the prairie skies
3. a lotus flower from a forest in India
“We just need to get a gift from a kangaroo,” said Annie, “and Teddy will be free from his spell.”
“We must be going to Australia,” said Jack. “That’s where kangaroos live.”
“Cool,” said Annie.
Teddy whined and scratched at a book lying in the corner.
Jack picked it up.
“What’d I tell you?” he said.
He showed the cover to Annie. The title was
Adventure in Australia
.
“Great,” said Annie. She looked at Teddy. “Ready to meet a kangaroo?”
Arf! Arf!
Jack opened the book. He found a page with small pictures of different animals and a big picture of a forest. Jack pointed at the forest.
“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.
Jack opened his eyes. Glaring hot sunlight flooded into the tree house.
“Neat hats,” said Annie.
She and Jack were both wearing hats.
“I think they will protect us from the sun,” said Jack.
He and Annie looked out the window. Teddy looked out, too.
The tree house had landed in a scrubby forest filled with droopy plants and dry brown trees.
“Man, this place needs rain,” said Jack.
He sat back on his heels and looked at the picture of where they had landed in the Australia book.
He read:
Australia’s forests go through times of drought (say DROWT). A drought is a long period of time without any rain. The same forest can be flooded by heavy rains at other times of the year.
Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:
“Hey, Jack,” said Annie. “Doesn’t it smell like a cookout?”
Jack sniffed the air. It
did
smell like a cookout.
Jack looked out the window. A wisp of smoke floated above some trees in the distance.
“Maybe people are camping over there,” Jack said.
“Let’s go see,” said Annie.
Jack put his notebook and the Australia book into his backpack.
“Put Teddy in there, too,” said Annie.
Jack slipped the little dog into the pack. Then he followed Annie down the ladder.
When they stepped onto the ground, the hot wind nearly blew their hats off.
“The campers must be over there,” said Annie.
She pointed at the smoke in the blue sky. They started walking across a sun-baked clearing.
They passed bushes and scrawny trees. Lizards ran over the dry, cracked ground.
Arf! Arf!
Teddy barked from Jack’s pack.
“Whoa!” said Jack.
A pair of huge, funny-looking birds walked out from behind a bush.
They were taller than Jack. They had fat bodies, long, skinny legs, and long, skinny necks.
“Who are
you?
” Annie asked the strange pair.
Jack opened his pack and took out the Australia book. He found a picture of the birds.
“They’re emus,” he said. He read aloud:
The emu (say EE-myoo) is a large bird that doesn’t fly. It can run as fast as thirty miles per hour.
“Wow, that’s fast,” said Annie.
Arf!
Teddy jumped out of Jack’s backpack and barked at the strange birds.
The emus gave the little dog a haughty look. Then they turned and walked proudly away.
Jack wrote in his notebook:
“Look, a
live
teddy bear!” said Annie.
Jack looked up.
Annie ran to a tree at the edge of the clearing. The “live teddy bear” was nestled in the fork of the tree.
“Aww, it’s so cute!” whispered Annie.
The creature was fast asleep. He had large round ears, a black nose, and a furry body. His feet had long, curved claws.
“It’s a koala bear,” said Jack.
“Hi, sleepyhead,” Annie said to the koala.
She patted his soft fur. He opened his big eyes and looked calmly at her.
Jack found a koala picture in the Australia book. He read:
The koala is actually not a bear at all. It’s a marsupial (say mar-SOUP-ee-ul), like a kangaroo. A marsupial mother carries her babies in a stomach pouch.
“That’s neat,” said Annie.
Jack kept reading:
Koalas mostly eat the leaves of gum trees, so cutting down gum trees to clear land has hurt them. Wildfires are also a threat. Koalas are slow-moving and can’t escape the smoke and flames.
Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:
“What’s wrong, sleepyhead?” Annie asked the koala. “Don’t you feel well?”
“Don’t worry,” said Jack. “Listen to this—”
He read more from the book:
Koalas, like kangaroos, are active at night and sleep during the day, when the sun is hot. The name “koala” means “no drink,” because koalas rarely drink water. They get moisture from the leaves they eat.
Jack licked his lips. His mouth felt dry.
“Speaking of water,” he said, “I’m thirsty.”
“Me, too,” said Annie.
Teddy was panting, as if he was thirsty, also.
“Let’s find those campers,” said Jack, sighing. “Maybe they can give us some water.”
Jack put Teddy back into his pack. He tucked the book under his arm, in case he needed to look something up.
They began walking again. Suddenly, there was a loud, harsh cackle.
“Yikes,” said Annie.
“What was
that?
” said Jack.
