Annie kept smiling at the gorillas. "Wow!" she said.
"Wow, wow, wow.""Didn't you know you were sleeping next to them?"Jack asked.
"No!" she said. "When youback, Bu-bu led me here. But I anything. It was toodark."Just then, Bu-bu left her mother's arms andbounded over to Annie. She climbed into Annie's lapand hugged her.
didn't come couldn't seeAnother small gorilla left his mother and ran overto Annie, too. He was about the size of a two-year-oldkid.
"Ho, ho!" he said. He gave Annie a playful poke.
"Ho, ho yourself!" said Annie. "Is Ho-ho yourname?"She tickled Ho-ho. She tickled Bu-bu, too. The twosmall gorillas made laughing sounds and fell ontotheir backs.
The two mother gorillas laughed, too. Huh-huhhuh,they said.
Jack felt a little jealous. He wanted the gorillas tolike him as well. But he didn't know how to join inthe fun. So he just sighed and pulled out his notebook.
He added to his "gorilla behavior" list:
Gorillas like to tickle and laughSuddenly, he heard a low growl.
He looked up. The silverback had moved closer tohim. He was glaring.
"That big guy doesn't understand what you'redoing!" Annie called to Jack. "He's never seen anyonetake notes before."Jack quickly put his notebook away.
The giant gorilla huffed. Then he turned to hisfamily and gave a short bark.
The gorillas began lining up behind the silverback.
The baby traveled in his mother's arms. Ho-hotraveled on his mother's back. Bu-bu and Annie heldhands. They all followed the silverback out of theclearing.
"Come on!" Annie called to Jack. "Let's go with' BigGuy and the gang!"Jack shook his head.
"I don't think they want me to come along," he said.
Bu-bu screeched at Jack. She held out her free handto him.
"Bu-bu wants you!" said Annie.
Jack smiled shyly. He took Bu-bu's small, warmhand. Then he walked with Annie and the gorillasout of the clearing.
On their ramble through the cloud forest, thegorillas found food everywhere. They munchedflowers and ferns and leaves They swallowed andburped.
They munched twigs and branches and pieces ofbark and bamboo. They swallowed and burped.
As the gorillas ate breakfast, it started to rain again.
But they didn't seem to mindAnnie didn't seem to mind, either She and Bu-buplayed tag in the drizzly Woods. They ran around thetrees, laughing and screeching.
Jack tried to follow them, but he gave up. He wastired and cold. Shivering, he stood under a mossy treeto keep dry.
While he was alone, Jack sneaked his note-book outof his pack. He made a new list:
Gorilla FoodsFlowersFernsLeavesTwigsBarkBranchesbambooAs he wrote, he heard a low growl. He looked up.
Big Guy had spotted him. The silverback wasstanding close by. He was frowning at Jack, his lipstucked in a tight line.
"Sorry, sorry!" said Jack. He quickly put away hisnotebook.
Big Guy kept frowning.
Jack quickly tried to act like a gorilla. He wentdown on all fours. He tore off the leaf of a plant. Hetook a bite. It tasted bitter, like vinegar. Jackpretended to munch and swallow and burp.
Big Guy huffed, then moved on. As soon as he wasgone, Jack spat out the leaf.
"Yuck, yuck, yuck!" he said, wiping his tongue.
Jack felt a tap on his back. He jumped. But it wasjust Ho-ho. The small gorilla offered him a twig toeat.
"Oh, no thanks, Ho-ho," said Jack.
Ho-ho kept holding out the twig.
"Oh, okay," said Jack, politely taking it.
"I'll eat it later." He put the twig into his backpack.
Ho-ho's mom came over to Jack. She held someberries to his lips. no thanks," Jack said.
The gorilla stared at him with a sad look.
"Oh, okay," said Jack. He opened his mouth. AndHo-ho's mom fed him the berries.
Jack munched the berries. To his surprise, theytasted good. He swallowed, then burped just like agorilla. This time, he wasn't pretending.
Bu-bu's mom then came over to Jack. She offeredhim some rainwater from a cupped plant. Jack wasvery thirsty. He sipped the water. It tasted fresh andcold.
Bu-bu's mom took Jack's hand in her wide hand.
She led him through the forest to Annie and Bu-bu.
Bu-bu screeched happily when she saw Jack. Shethrew her furry arms around him.
"Hi! We missed you!" Annie said to Jack. "Are youhaving fun?"Jack smiled and nodded.
Actually, he was having fun now. He didn't mindthe rain so much anymore. He didn't feel so left out.
Some of the gorillas really seemed to like him, hethought. They seemed to like him a lot. |