Ch8-SHHHHHH-WISSSSSST!

CHAPTER EIGHT SHHHHHH-WISSSSSST? The king cobra circled the leafy mound. Its skin was olive brown, the color of the dead leaves. It had speckled yellow bands that ran around its scaly body. "Back up, back up. Go slow," Jack whispered to Annie. Jack picked up his bag, and they quietly stepped backward, until they got to the edge of the clearing. "Now run!"

Jack and Annie took off. Clutching his bag, Jack ran with little steps, trying not to lose his pointy slippers. After about a hundred yards, Annie came to a halt. "Stop, stop!" She grabbed Jack's arm. "We shouldn't get too far away!" "Why not?" said Jack. "Penny!" said Annie. "We have to get the emerald for Penny!" "Right, right," said Jack. "Okay!" He took a deep breath. "First, we have to get calm." Jack took another deep breath. Then he pulled out their research book. "Okay. Let's read about cobras." Jack opened the book and found a section about Indian wildlife. He read: The king cobra is the only snake known to make a nest for its eggs. The nest is made of a mound of dead leaves. The cobra's scaly skin is the same color as the leaves, a good example of natural camouflage. "So that mound of leaves was its nest," said Jack. "And the cobra was probably a mother snake

guarding her eggs." "How does that information help us?" said Annie. "It doesn't," said Jack. He went on: King cobras cannot hear, but they have excellent vision and can feel vibrations. They will attack anything they see that gets too close to their nests. "That's bad news," said Annie. "Yep, really bad news," said Jack. He kept reading: When threatened, the king cobra flattens its neck into a hood. A single bite from the snake contains enough venom to kill twenty men or a large elephant. "Whoa," said Annie. "That must be why Morning Breeze panicked and ran away." Jack closed the book. He shook his head. "I don't see how we can possibly get close to that

nest," he said. "Then there's no way we can get an emerald rose for Penny," said Annie, "unless we go back to the Great Mogul and ask for another one." "And that's not going to happen," said Jack. "Then how can we save Penny?" asked Annie. "Think of Penny." Jack thought about Penny. He would do anything for her. "Okay," he said. "There might be a way we could get the emerald rose. What if… what if we were really small?" "Yes!" said Annie. "The cobra can't hear us, right?" said Jack. "She can only see us and feel vibrations. So if we make ourselves small, maybe we can sneak back and get the emerald without being seen." "Yes!" said Annie. Jack reached into his bag and pulled out the blue bottle. He and Annie both stared at it. "So how many sips should we take?" Jack asked. "One for ten minutes?" Annie shook her head. "Two for twenty." "Okay…" Jack took a deep breath. "But just so you know, when we get small, everything else will

be huge, like flies and spiders and—" "Spiders?" Annie said in a small voice. "Yeah," said Jack. "Hey, you know what? You don't have to do this. I can do it by myself. It only takes one person to get the emerald." "No! I'll go. You stay," said Annie. "No way," said Jack. "We'll both go." "Good," said Annie. Jack held the bottle up to his lips. "Okay," he said, "two sips." He took two quick sips, then handed the bottle to Annie. Jack felt dizzy. He closed his eyes and hugged himself. He felt as if he were falling through a hole. SHHHHHH-WISSSSSST! Suddenly the forest was filled with chirping, whirring, crunching, and squeaking. "Oh, wow!" whispered Annie. "Open your eyes." Jack opened his eyes. He and Annie were both small—very small. Their clothes and shoes and Jack's bag were all small, too.

"Oh, man, we got really small," said Jack. He looked around at the grass and the weeds and the mushrooms—they were all taller than he was! "I think we shrunk to about six or eight inches." Close to the ground, the scrubby forest was awake and alive, filled with the ripe smells of earth, noisy insect sounds, and the rustling and whispering of grasses and weeds. The dirt glittered as if sprinkled with flecks of silver. "It's really beautiful," said Annie. "Yeah…," said Jack. Wildflowers looked like elegant and luminous umbrellas with pale pink petals and silvery leaves. Berries were the size of apples. "Look up!" said Annie. "Wow!" said Jack. The tall trees of the forest were like skyscrapers. It was hard to see where they ended. WHUP! Something plopped down in the dirt beside Jack. "AHHH!" Jack and Annie grabbed each other in terror. It was a giant insect—as long as Jack's arm! It had a flat brown body, six legs, and two sets of