Read Online Gatwick Bear and the Secret Plans by Anna Cuffaro - Free Book Online
Authors: Anna Cuffaro
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Little Sister copied her big brother.
The way soon became steep as it went through some woods. All of a sudden they were in a pitch black tunnel. The driver honked the loud horn just as the nose of the train was about to emerge from darkness.
âWhat did he do that for?â Little Sister asked Gatwick.
âItâs because there may be some animals on the tracks. There are a lot of animals up here. I saw the pictures in the brochure. The chamois is the symbol of Emerald Mountain. Did you know that their fur is light brown in summer and dark-brown in winter? Our fur doesnât change colour, does it?â
âThat is so interesting, Gatwickâ, she was hugely proud of her big brother. What a life she was having now. She briefly thought of the dusty book shelf, but soon put it out of her mind and admired the view, which was now breathtaking, really breathtaking. Little Sister stopped breathing, her round head turned red, and her eyes opened wide. The sheer vertical drops were awesome: frightening but exciting. Gatwick told her to look down at her paws for a moment, to get herself together, while he put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She soon perked up, so Gatwick went on telling her what other animals lived on Emerald Mountain.
âIn the brochure, I also saw pictures of squirrels, goats, cows and even a brown bearâ.
âA brown bear!â exclaimed Little Sister.
âYes, an enormous one. Look, Little Sisterâ.
âMy word; heâs huge. Letâs see if we can find him and talk to him!â
âGood idea! Thereâs a bear cave up there, itâs called Grotta dellâOrso. Weâll go look for him in there. Look there are also lots of different types of birds. Hey, look at this funny woodpecker, itâs red. Did you ever see a red woodpecker in your life?â
âWell, no, you donât get to see much sitting on a shelf, you knowâ.
âThen there are owls, blackcaps, kites, wrynecks, buzzards, swallows, larks, wrens, ravens, and others I donât know the names ofâ.
âI only know what ravens look like out of thoseâ, said Little Sister candidly.
âWell you see, owls are very wise and know a lot; blackcaps have black caps on their heads if theyâre male like me, and brown caps on their heads if theyâre female like you; kites can glide a long way; wrynecks have a dark line running down their backs from their necks; flying buzzards hold their wings up like a V; swallows have long tail streamers; larks get up early in the morning; and wrens are a bit dumpy, like usâ.
âGatwick, youâre so intelligent. How do you know so much?â
âOnce a passenger left a birdwatching book on a seat at Gatwick Airport, and I spent all afternoon looking at itâ.
The small steam train slowly climbed the slopes, chugging and puffing as it went. It was now above the treeline. No trees could grow above a certain height. The higher up trees are, the shorter they grow. They got shorter and shorter as the bears moved up the mountain, until there were no trees at all.
After forty minutes the train stopped and all the passengers got off. The first thing the bears did was to rush to a railing at the edge of the mountainside, press their furry noses against it, and watch the goats climbing up the mountain face. âHello, goats!â, the bears shouted down. But they didnât answer. Only one looked up quickly, a bit irritated, and then went back to eating his patch of grass. They werenât very friendly.
âLetâs try the cowsâ, Little Sister giggled. She started running towards the sound of cowbells: clang, clang; clang, clang... Swiss milk cows were taken high up in the Alps for summer grazing. They were taken up in a procession, all together like children on a school outing. These must have been the most beautiful cows in the world. They were all different: brown or black, with and without
The way soon became steep as it went through some woods. All of a sudden they were in a pitch black tunnel. The driver honked the loud horn just as the nose of the train was about to emerge from darkness.
âWhat did he do that for?â Little Sister asked Gatwick.
âItâs because there may be some animals on the tracks. There are a lot of animals up here. I saw the pictures in the brochure. The chamois is the symbol of Emerald Mountain. Did you know that their fur is light brown in summer and dark-brown in winter? Our fur doesnât change colour, does it?â
âThat is so interesting, Gatwickâ, she was hugely proud of her big brother. What a life she was having now. She briefly thought of the dusty book shelf, but soon put it out of her mind and admired the view, which was now breathtaking, really breathtaking. Little Sister stopped breathing, her round head turned red, and her eyes opened wide. The sheer vertical drops were awesome: frightening but exciting. Gatwick told her to look down at her paws for a moment, to get herself together, while he put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She soon perked up, so Gatwick went on telling her what other animals lived on Emerald Mountain.
âIn the brochure, I also saw pictures of squirrels, goats, cows and even a brown bearâ.
âA brown bear!â exclaimed Little Sister.
âYes, an enormous one. Look, Little Sisterâ.
âMy word; heâs huge. Letâs see if we can find him and talk to him!â
âGood idea! Thereâs a bear cave up there, itâs called Grotta dellâOrso. Weâll go look for him in there. Look there are also lots of different types of birds. Hey, look at this funny woodpecker, itâs red. Did you ever see a red woodpecker in your life?â
âWell, no, you donât get to see much sitting on a shelf, you knowâ.
âThen there are owls, blackcaps, kites, wrynecks, buzzards, swallows, larks, wrens, ravens, and others I donât know the names ofâ.
âI only know what ravens look like out of thoseâ, said Little Sister candidly.
âWell you see, owls are very wise and know a lot; blackcaps have black caps on their heads if theyâre male like me, and brown caps on their heads if theyâre female like you; kites can glide a long way; wrynecks have a dark line running down their backs from their necks; flying buzzards hold their wings up like a V; swallows have long tail streamers; larks get up early in the morning; and wrens are a bit dumpy, like usâ.
âGatwick, youâre so intelligent. How do you know so much?â
âOnce a passenger left a birdwatching book on a seat at Gatwick Airport, and I spent all afternoon looking at itâ.
The small steam train slowly climbed the slopes, chugging and puffing as it went. It was now above the treeline. No trees could grow above a certain height. The higher up trees are, the shorter they grow. They got shorter and shorter as the bears moved up the mountain, until there were no trees at all.
After forty minutes the train stopped and all the passengers got off. The first thing the bears did was to rush to a railing at the edge of the mountainside, press their furry noses against it, and watch the goats climbing up the mountain face. âHello, goats!â, the bears shouted down. But they didnât answer. Only one looked up quickly, a bit irritated, and then went back to eating his patch of grass. They werenât very friendly.
âLetâs try the cowsâ, Little Sister giggled. She started running towards the sound of cowbells: clang, clang; clang, clang... Swiss milk cows were taken high up in the Alps for summer grazing. They were taken up in a procession, all together like children on a school outing. These must have been the most beautiful cows in the world. They were all different: brown or black, with and without
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