Lions at Lunchtime (4 page)

“I guess the elephant doesn't like dirty kids!” said Annie, laughing. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

Finally, she was clean and soaking wet.

“Now it's your turn,” she said to Jack.

Jack stepped forward and shut his eyes tight. A blast of water hit him. It
did
feel like a shower—a strong shower.

When Jack was clean, the elephant let out a grunt. Then he started to splash himself with water.

“Thanks!” said Annie.

“Yeah, thanks!” said Jack.

“I'm spick-and-span now,” said Annie. “When the sun dries me off, I'll be like new.”

“Good,” said Jack. “Now we can get serious.”

He picked up his heavy pack. “We have to figure out the answer to the riddle. So we can leave this place … before we run into real trouble.”

He looked around nervously.
Where are the lions?
he wondered.

A small bird flitted near his head.

“Hi,” Annie said to the bird.

Jack turned back to her. “According to the riddle, we're looking for something gold and sweet.”

“What do you want?” Annie asked the bird.

The bird twittered and flew around Jack and Annie. Its feathers were dull gray. But it had a bright, happy manner.

“Annie, listen to
me
, not the bird,” said Jack.

The bird kept fluttering around them.

“She's trying to tell us something,” said Annie.

Jack let out a long sigh. “You are driving me crazy today,” he said.

“But I feel like she needs our help,” said Annie. “Maybe her babies fell out of the nest.”

“Annie, you can't save every animal in Africa,” said Jack.

“This bird is important,” said Annie. “Trust me.”

The bird darted toward the trees. It landed on a branch and cocked its head at them.

“She says
follow
,” said Annie.

The bird headed into the forest. Annie started after it.

“
Don't
go in there!” said Jack. “You might run into—”

There was no need to finish. The bird and Annie had disappeared into the trees.

“—a snake or a lion,” Jack said to himself.

“Come on!” Annie called.

Jack moaned. He pulled on his pack and ran. The peanut butter jar thumped against his back.

The forest was cooler than the sunny plains. It was filled with shadows and bird calls.

“Where are you?” Jack shouted.

“Here!” said Annie.

He found her in a thick glade.

Bright rays streamed between the trees. Green leaves and vines swayed in the dappled light.

The little gray bird sat in a tree, twittering at them.

“Yuck, what's that?” said Annie. She pointed at a round brown thing hanging from a low branch. Bees buzzed around it.

“If that's her nest, it's a pretty weird nest,” said Annie.

“That's not a nest,” said Jack. “It's a beehive. Don't you see the bees?”

“Yikes,” said Annie. She stepped back from the tree.

But the little bird darted at the beehive and pecked at it.

“What's she doing?” said Annie.

The bird kept pecking at the hive.

“I don't know. Maybe she's as nuts as you,” said Jack.

“Look her up in the book,” said Annie. “See if it says she's nuts.”

“Are you kidding?” said Jack. “That nutty bird isn't going to be in this book.”

“Just look.”

Jack opened his Africa book. He kept turning the pages. Just as he thought—there was no gray bird in the book.

“Forget it,” he said.

“Keep looking,” said Annie.

Jack turned one more page. And there it was: a little gray bird, a beehive, and a tall, painted warrior with a spear.

“I don't believe this,” said Jack.

Then he read aloud:

“Hi, honey guide,” Annie called to the bird. “I
knew
you were important.”

Jack kept reading:

“That's cool,” said Jack. “They work together, like the zebras and wildebeests and gazelles.”

“Yeah,” said Annie. “And she wants
us
to be her helpers. We have to scatter the bees and leave her the honeycomb.”

“How do we do that?” said Jack. He looked back at the book. It didn't say how.

“Well, maybe we could wave those weeds at them,” said Annie. She pointed to some bright green plants that looked like giant fans.

Jack put his book and backpack down. He and Annie pulled up the weeds. They waved them near the tree, and the bees scattered.

Next, Jack grabbed the tree branch and jiggled it. The hive fell to the ground and broke open.

Annie stooped and stuck her finger into the golden honeycomb.

“Yummy,” she said when she tasted the honey. “Try it.”

Jack stuck his finger in the honeycomb, too. He licked off the golden honey. It was the sweetest honey he had ever tasted.

“Now the honey guide can get to her honeycomb,” said Annie.

“Yeah, but she'd better hurry. Before the bees come back,” said Jack.

“It's weird,” said Annie. “Honey's so sweet and good. But to get it, you have to go past a lot of dangerous bees.”

“Oh, man,” whispered Jack. “
That's it
.”

“That's what?” asked Annie.

Jack said Morgan's riddle:

“I get it,” Annie whispered. “Honey … ”

“Honey,” said Jack, nodding and smiling. “That's it. We've answered Morgan's riddle. Let's go home.”

He stood up to leave. He gasped.

Standing in the shadows was a tall man with a spear and a curved sword hanging from his belt. His face was painted in fierce, bright colors.

Jack knew at once what he was.

A
Masai warrior
.

“Hi, there,” Annie said in a small voice.

The warrior stared back at Jack and Annie.

“We were helping one of your honey guides,” said Annie.

The warrior was as still as a statue.

“We didn't mean to steal anything,” Jack said. “In fact, it's all yours. We've had enough.”

“Lots of good honey still there,” Annie said, smiling.

The warrior narrowed his eyes.

Is he angry?
Jack wondered.

“I'm sorry we were trespassing,” said Jack. “We come in peace. In fact, we bring gifts.” He picked up his backpack and held it out to the warrior.

The warrior still didn't move.

“This?” Jack held up his book.

Nothing.

“Uh—” Jack reached into his pack. He pulled out the big jar of peanut butter.

“Peanut butter!” He pulled out the loaf of bread. “Bread! Hey. Hey! How about a peanut butter and honey sandwich?”

“Yum!” Annie said, watching the warrior.

The warrior stared at the food.

“We'll show you,” said Jack.

As Jack unwrapped the bread, his hands shook.

Annie opened the jar.

“We don't have anything to spread it with,” she said.

“Use your fingers,” said Jack.

“Excuse me,” Annie said to the warrior. “I have to use my fingers. But they're pretty clean. An elephant just—”

“Just do it, Annie!” said Jack.

“Okay, okay.”

She spread the peanut butter onto a slice of bread with her fingers. At the same time, Jack spread the honey from the beehive on another slice.

Jack and Annie put their pieces of bread together.

“Ta-da!” said Annie, handing the sandwich to the warrior.

The warrior took the sandwich, but he didn't eat it. He just looked at it.

“Let's make sandwiches for us, too,” Jack said. “So he doesn't have to eat alone.”

They quickly made two more sandwiches.

“See, like this,” said Annie. She bit into her sandwich. “Mmm … yum.”

Jack took a bite, too. “Mmm … ” he said. It
was
really good.

Finally, the warrior bit into his sandwich. He chewed slowly.

“This is called a picnic,” said Annie.

They ate their sandwiches in silence.

When they finished, Jack screwed the lid back on the peanut butter jar.

“Not bad, huh?” he said.

The warrior smiled. He had a kind, dignified smile.

Jack and Annie smiled back at him.

Then the warrior turned gracefully and vanished into the trees.

“Oh, man,” said Jack. Part of him wanted to follow the silent warrior through the shadowy forest.

“Ready?” Annie asked softly.

Jack nodded.

Annie started to go.

“Wait,” said Jack. He put away the peanut butter and bread. “We're going back to the tree house, right? We're not going to do anything silly, like rescue anything or chase birds. Right?”

“Those things aren't silly,” said Annie. “Don't forget that the bird gave us the answer to the riddle.”

“Oh. Right,” said Jack.

He looked at the little honey guide. She was on the ground, pecking at the honeycomb.

“Thanks,” Jack said to the bird.

“Have a good feast,” said Annie.

Jack put on his pack. Then he and Annie started out of the forest.

When they passed the pond, they saw the elephant still splashing in the water. He lifted his trunk. He seemed to be waving at them.

“See ya!” Annie shouted, waving back.

They rounded the bend in the river, then started through the tall grass.