Ch6-No Big Deal

CHAPTER SIX No Big Deal Annie turned and saw the jackals running toward her. "Oh, no!" she cried. Shrieking, Koku leapt from Annie's arms and bounded across the dry, cracked ground. When the

jackals saw the baby baboon, they stopped. Then, cackling and yelping, they took off after her. Koku screeched and bolted toward the mountain. The jackals were right behind her. "NOOO!" screamed Annie. She tore after Koku and the jackals. "Annie!" Jack yelled. He jumped off his donkey and ran after her. From a distance, Jack saw the baby baboon disappear into a crack between two cliffs. Howling and cackling, the jackals followed Koku. They slipped into the crack and vanished from sight.

Annie was racing to catch up. Jack was far behind. When he finally reached her, Annie was desperately trying to squeeze through the narrow opening. "We can't fit through there!" said Jack. "We have to save Koku!" Annie cried.

They heard shrieking, yelping, and cackling above them. Then gradually the sounds faded away. "KOKU!" screamed Annie. Dead silence. "Oh, no! I think they got her!" Annie wailed. "I think they got her, Jack!" She burst into tears. "Koku, Koku," she repeated, sobbing. Jack didn't know what to say. Everything had happened so fast! Then suddenly he heard another sound. WAHOO! "Annie!" Jack grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Listen!" Annie put her hand over her mouth. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she listened. WAHOO! The sound came from high above them. Jack and Annie stepped back and looked up the steep cliff. Koku was at the very top, jumping up and down, screeching at them. "She made it!" cried Annie. "She got away! Koku, come down! Come down!" "Where're the jackals?" said Jack.

"I'll bet it's too steep for them to climb up after her!" said Annie. "Koku, come down!" The baby baboon paced back and forth along the edge of the cliff, crying. "We have to go get her!" said Annie. "She's afraid to come down." Koku screeched and waved her arms. "We can't climb up there," said Jack. "It's too steep." "We have to try!" said Annie. "We're not rock climbers," said Jack, looking up at the steep wall of limestone. "Only the best rock climbers in the world could get up there." "We can do that!" said Annie. "We can be great rock climbers." "You can't just be one," said Jack. "You have to go through lots of training and practice—" "The mist!" Annie said. "We can use the magic mist and make a wish to be great rock climbers!" "Use the mist?" said Jack. They could only use the mist once, and it was supposed to help them with their mission. But when he looked up at the baby baboon crying and waving her arms, saving Koku seemed more important than anything.

"Okay!" said Jack. "We'll use the mist to get her down. But we might have to walk back. I'll bet both our donkeys have run far away by now." "No problem! We can do that!" said Annie. "Hurry! Before the jackals come back!" Jack reached into his leather pouch and pulled out the tiny bottle. He uncorked the top. "Here goes!" Jack said. "I wish to be a great rock climber!" He slowly inhaled the magic mist. His nostrils filled with the scent of mountain air and cold, moving water. The fresh, clean smell filled him with strength and energy. Jack handed the bottle to Annie. "I wish to be a great rock climber!" she exclaimed. Annie inhaled the mist, too. Then she gave the bottle back to Jack. He corked it and put it away. Jack and Annie looked up at the steep wall of the limestone cliff. "No big deal," said Jack. "Easy," said Annie. She called up to the baby baboon, "We're coming, Koku. Don't worry. We'll save you!" "We have one hour to climb up and back down," said Jack. "First we need to take off our