The loud cry rang again through the dry air.
Teddy barked.
Jack and Annie turned around in the clearing. Itwas hard to tell where the sound was coming from.
The terrible cackle came again.
"There!" said Annie. She pointed at a bird in a gumtree. The bird had brown feathers and a large headwith a long beak.
It stared down at Jack and Annie. Then it let outanother cackle.
"Weird," said Jack.
He found the bird in his book and read:
The kookaburra (say KOOK-uk-burr. uk) is the bestknown bird of Australia. There is even a popular songabout it. The kookaburra is also called the "laughingdonkey." This is because the strange sound it makesreminds people of a braying donkey.
"I know that song!" said Annie. She began singing:
"Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree-ee. Merry,merry king of the bush is he-ee..."Jack wrote in his notebook:
Kookaburra - a big kookAnnie stopped singing. "Hey," she said. "There'sanother weird thing.""Where?" said Jack.
Annie pointed to a big bluish tan lump lying in ashallow, dusty hole.
"Is it alive?" said Jack.
They stepped closer to the big lump.
"It looks like it's breathing," said Annie.
The lump was an animal lying on it back. Its pawswere crossed over its chest.
It had huge feet, large ears, a face like a deer's, anda very long tail. It also had a very fat stomach.
Just then, a small head peered out of its stomach.
"Whoa!" said Jack.
"Oh, wow! It's a kangaroo with her baby in herpouch!" said Annie.
"Great!" said Jack. "Remember we have to get a giftfrom a kangaroo!"Their voices woke the kangaroo. The animalJumped up from her shallow bed.
She glared at Jack and Annie. Her baby peeked outof her pouch.
The mother kangaroo gave an angry stamp.
"Oh, we're sorry!" Annie said. "We didn't mean towake you up."The kangaroo eyed Annie curiously. Then she tooka giant hop toward her.
Copying the kangaroo, Annie hopped toward thebig animal.
The kangaroo hopped again.
Annie hopped.
The kangaroo and Annie began hopping aroundeach other. They looked as if they were dancing.
Jack couldn't believe how graceful the kangaroowas. She seemed to fly through the air, then land assoftly as a butterfly.
He looked up "kangaroo" in his book and read:
The kangaroo is the most famous of the marsupials.
The female carries her baby, known as a "joey," in herpouch. Scientists call the kangaroo a "macro-pod,"which means "big foot." And big feet help a kangaroohop higher than any other animal in the world. With a running leap, a large kangaroo can jump over aschool bus.
"Forget the hopping contest, Annie," Jack called.
"She can out-hop you by a mile."He pulled out his notebook and wrote:
Kangaroo"big foot"can jump over a school bus!
The kangaroo began stamping her feet again.
"What's wrong?" said Annie.
The kangaroo froze.
Grrrr! Teddy growled from Jack's backpack.
Some nearby bushes moved.
A moment later, three dogs crept silently into theclearing.
They were sand-colored and mean looking.
Teddy growled once more.
But the dogs crept toward the kangaroo.
Suddenly, the mother kangaroo Sprang into the air,away from the dogs. The dogs chased after her.
"Stop!" cried Annie. "Stop! Leave her alone!"As the kangaroo jumped, she turned in midair andlanded facing a different direction. She thenzigzagged over rocks and bushes.
Howling, the wild dogs raced after the kangarooand her baby. |