Read Online Panda Panic by Jamie Rix - Free Book Online Page B

move,” the eagle yelled. “I’ve got someone up here who wants to see you.”
    As the eagle spoke, a second bird flew alongside, only this bird was much smaller with feathers that glistened in the moonlight.

    â€œPing!” it yelled. “Where have you been!”
    The weary panda cub recognized the voice instantly.

    â€œHui!” It was his friend, the grandala bird, who had come to take him home.

    After Ping had given Little Bear a hug and promised to come back to see him soon, and then given him another hug, and then waved to the whole family, and then gone back to Little Bear for a third hug, Hui called time on the goodbye.
    â€œCome on, Ping. It’s not as if you’re never going to see each other again.”
    â€œHe’s right,” said Little Bear’s mother. “Your mother will be worrying, Ping. Now, GO!”
    Which was just the motivation Ping needed to send him on his way.

    It was a long walk home. For Ping, that is. Hui simply sat on the panda cub’s shoulder and went along for the ride.
    â€œAre we almost there?” Ping asked, after ten minutes on the trail.
    â€œNo,” said the grandala bird. “It’s going to take all night.”
    â€œIsn’t it a bit dangerous walking in the dark?” said Ping.
    â€œI thought your middle name was danger,” chuckled Hui.
    â€œI don’t think I’ve got a middle name,” Ping observed after a moment’s reflection. “If I did have one I’d like it to be Brad. Sounds like the sort of person an Emperor would take on as a bodyguard, doesn’t it?”
    â€œYou don’t give up, do you?” said Hui, as Ping stumbled on a rock.
    â€œI told you it was dangerous walking in the dark,” he complained.
    â€œWait here,” said Hui, taking off from Ping’s shoulder and flying into the trees.
    â€œWhere are you going?” shouted Ping. “Don’t leave me here on my own in the middle of a dark forest!”
    â€œBack in a sec!” hollered Hui. “Besides, now that you’ve scared a snow leopard I thought you were brave.”
    Hui had a point. Ping decided to test himself to see if he was brave. He cupped his ears and listened for spooky forest sounds. And even though he heard the wind whistling, the leaves rustling, and the occasional twig snapping, he discovered that they didn’t scare him quite as much any more. Besides, he wasn’t alone for long. Hui returned ten seconds later with a swarm of fireflies.
    â€œTo light our passage,” he explained. “Shall we continue on home?”

    They arrived home just as dawn was breaking over Mount Tranquil. An ran to greet Ping as he walked into the clearing, and they hugged each other warmly. His mother had her back to him and was chomping on a stick of bamboo. Remembering what a scene he’d made yesterday morning when he’d stomped out of the clearing, Ping tiptoed up behind her and spoke softly in her ear.
    â€œI’m sorry I was rude to you,” he said. “Can you forgive me?”
    His mother turned around, startled by the sound of his voice.
    â€œPing!” she gasped, letting the stick of bamboo fall from her mouth. She jumped to her feet and wrapped him up in a giant hug. “Where have you been, you naughty boy? I’ve been so worried about you. You missed supper, you know!”
    â€œSorry,” Ping muttered sheepishly for the second time.
    â€œWhat have you been up to?” she asked, pushing him away from her so that she could check him for cuts and bruises. “You haven’t been doing anything dangerous, have you?”
    Ping suddenly found himself faced with a choice. He could tell his mother the truth, about the rushing river, the roaring waterfall, the scary forest, the bandits, and the snow leopard that wanted to eat him, or he could save her some worry and tell her a little white lie instead.
    â€œIt wasn’t a