Ch10-Panda Bread

Panda Bread The helicopter flew over the broken bridge, over the blocked highway, and over the crumbling mountains of the Wolong Reserve. Soon it roared over Wolong Town. The pilot landed in a large field lit by emergency spotlights. Two other helicopters were also in the field. Tents had been set up, and people were carrying the injured on stretchers to the helicopters. When the blades completely stopped turning, Jack and Annie carried the sleeping cubs out of the cabin and down the steps to the field. "Jack! Annie!" someone called. Four women dressed in dark coveralls rushed to greet them. "We work for the panda center. Thank you for bringing the cubs to us!" one said. Annie kissed each of the little pandas. "Be good now," she said.

Then she and Jack handed them over to the women. "We really love them," said Annie. "I am so glad," said one of the women. "We will get them to a safe new home very soon. Later the others will join them there." "We must help you, too," said another woman. "Go with Mrs. Chang to our office, and she will locate your grandmother." "Oh, that's okay…," said Jack. "We know exactly where she is." He started to back up.

Annie did the same. "That's right," she said. She pointed to the street. "We're going to meet her in a restaurant in town." "Good-bye," said Jack. "Good-bye," said Annie. Before any of the women could speak, Jack grabbed Annie's hand and started to run. They ran across the busy field, weaving around the tents and helicopters, doctors, nurses, and military people. When they came to the street, they stopped to catch their breath. "Ready to go home?" asked Jack. "No, wait," said Annie. "We still have to find the special food." "No, actually, we don't," said Jack. "What?" said Annie. "I said we don't have to look for the special food anymore," said Jack. "But why? What do you mean?" said Annie. "We… don't… have… to… look… for… it," Jack said. Annie stared at him. "Are you saying we have it?" she asked.

Jack nodded, then pulled the hunk of panda bread out of his backpack. "It's called panda bread! When I went to say good-bye to Bing-Bing, Master Lee was feeding it to her." "But what makes you think—" began Annie. Jack held up his hand, interrupting her. "Panda bread is a healthy food," he said. "It's grainy and good, baked with love, tough as wood, round in shape, and the color of sand. And it's given to those who have lost their land—the pandas at the center!" "Perfect!" breathed Annie. Jack held up the panda bread and looked at it. "This is why I think pandas will survive," he said. "Why?" asked Annie. "Because of panda bread?" "Nope," said Jack. He put the bread into his pack. "I think they'll survive because people take responsibility for them. People make healthy bread for them and carry them to safety and raise money for them. And people speak up for them because they can't speak up for themselves." "That's it," said Annie. "That's what panda bread stands for! It stands for people protecting

and saving animals." "Exactly," said Jack. "And now we have to go save Penny." "Great," said Annie. "I think the tree house is nearby." She looked around. "Yes! It's there, in that line of trees. See it?" "Yep," said Jack. "Let's go!" When they came to the grove of trees, Jack switched on their small flashlight. The beam of light guided them to the rope ladder hanging in the dark. "Wait! Our volunteer clothes!" said Annie. They took off their coveralls and left them at the bottom of the tree. Then they climbed up the rope ladder into the tree house. "Is everything still here?" asked Annie. Jack shined the flashlight into a corner of the tree house. The light fell on the emerald rose, the white and yellow flower, and the gray goose feather. "It's all here," he said. "Add the fourth thing," said Annie. Jack pulled out the panda bread from his backpack and placed it on the floor next to the feather.

"Good," said Annie. Roaring sounds filled the night. Jack and Annie looked out the window and saw another helicopter coming in. "Remember our helicopter ride in Antarctica?" said Annie. "When you hid Penny in your jacket?" "I totally remember it," said Jack. "We couldn't let anyone see her and she kept peeping, so I had to keep pretending to cough." He thought about the penguin's big eyes and her fuzzy little head. He thought about Teddy and Kathleen and the wonder and beauty of Camelot. Suddenly he couldn't wait to be there and help bring Penny back to life. "Are you ready to go to Camelot?" he asked Annie. "Absolutely!" she said. Jack reached into his backpack again and took out their note from Teddy and Kathleen. He pointed to the word Camelot. "I wish we could go there," he said. A blast of light— a roar of wind— a rumble of thunder— and all was quiet.