7 Move, Baby! Move!

7 MOVE, BABY! MOVE! Clutching Speedy, Annie ran down toward the muddy creek. Jack ran with her. "Rosie! Rosita!" Annie yelled. "Get out of the water!" "Come on, you two!" Jack shouted. Speedy shrieked and whistled. The baby rhino seemed to smile at them. The mother lifted her huge head out of the water. She stared darkly at Jack and Annie. The helicopter was getting closer. "Hurry, Rosie! Come out!" yelled Annie. "Try to catch us!" Rosie heaved herself up to a standing position in the creek. Muddy water poured off her thick body. "Get ready to run!" Jack said to Annie. "Wait! What about the baby?" said Annie. The calf was still wallowing in the mud.

"Rosita, get out! Run after us!" called Annie. "Move, baby! Move!" shouted Jack. He clapped his hands at the calf. Suddenly the baby bounced out of the creek. Annie rushed to the small, muddy rhino. "Good for you!" she said. "Annie, watch out for Rosie!" shouted Jack. Quicker than he'd expected, Rosie had moved out of the water onto the grass. She started slowly toward Annie. She pawed the ground and made a growling sound. "Whoa! Go! Go!" Jack called to Annie. Jack and Annie took off running as fast as they could.

They raced back toward the trees and thorny bushes. When Jack looked over his shoulder, he saw Rosie galloping after them. Her legs bounded across the grass. The calf's stumpy little legs moved fast, too. The chopping sounds of the helicopter grew louder. "Climb back up the tree!" Jack shouted at Annie. They ran to the umbrella-like tree. Annie let go of Speedy, and the bush baby leapt into the branches. Jack and Annie climbed after him. The three of them sat on bare branches. They were hidden by the thick cover of overhead leaves.

The mother rhino followed them to the tree. She stood below them and huffed and snorted. She's really mad, thought Jack. But at least she was hidden under the leafy canopy. "Stay there, Rosie!" Annie cried. She turned to Jack. "Where's her baby?" "Over there," said Jack. The calf hadn't followed Rosie all the way to the tree. She was romping in the grass. "Oh, no! Rosita!" Annie shouted. "Come over here!" Annie's voice could hardly be heard above the roar of the chopper. "What should we do?" Annie cried. "I don't know!" said Jack. "Maybe the safari bus will come back soon! Or Jomo and Shani!" said Annie. She sounded like she might cry. The helicopter could be seen clearly now. Its spinning blades made whirring, chopping sounds. "The poachers will see the baby!" Annie said. As the helicopter circled the area, the rhino calf kept playing. She could easily be spotted in the open. "I have to get her," said Annie. "No, you can't!" said Jack.

"The poachers will see her! I have to help!" said Annie. She was in tears. "Don't climb down, Annie! Please!" said Jack. "Rosie won't understand. She'll attack you!" The helicopter hovered above the dirt road. The spinning blades made a deafening sound. Slowly the machine started to descend. "They're coming down!" cried Annie. As the chopper drew close to the ground, its blades stirred up a cloud of dust. "They're landing!" said Annie. "I have to go down and protect Rosie and her baby! They're in terrible danger!" "Wait, Annie! That's it! Morgan's rhyme!" said Jack. He pulled the rhyme out of his pocket. He shouted Morgan's words above the roar of the chopper: To chase away danger, Here's what to do: Find a paper tree With roots at the top. Point to the giant. Say: "PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!"

"We need a paper tree!" cried Jack. "Paper tree, paper tree," he repeated, looking around in a panic. The helicopter had landed. The blades were slowing down. "We're out of time!" said Annie. "Hold on!" said Jack. He pulled the safari booklet out of his pocket. His hands shook as he turned the pages. He found the chart of rhino ancestors. He stared at the giant creature at the top of the chart and its descendants below. "Jack! What are you doing?" said Annie. "They're here!" "That's it!" he said. "The rhino family tree!" "What?" said Annie. "A tree made of paper!" said Jack. "With roots at the top! It's not a real tree! It's this chart of rhino ancestors! The rhino family tree!" "Oh, wow!" said Annie. "Roots can mean ancestors," said Jack. He pointed to the top of the rhino family tree. "And there's the giant!" He glanced up. Two men in dark masks were climbing out of the helicopter.