1 Adventure calls

该页暂无翻译

Chapter One ADVENTURE CALLS "There you are!" Ollie whispered with a grin. The koala he'd spotted didn't seem at all concerned that Ollie was there, sitting below the tall trees. It bit off a fresh mouthful of eucalyptus leaves and munched thoughtfully. Ollie was at a nature preserve for the day, not far from his home in New South Wales in Australia. Even though there were

dozens of koalas living here, you had to be patient if you wanted to see them. A second gray shape came shuffling down the tree trunk. Another koala! Ollie thought excitedly. I might even get to see one with a baby! It was a scorching hot day. Ollie sat cross- legged on the warm ground and took out his carton of apple juice. The earth was dry and hard, like a cookie that had been baked for too long. But Ollie knew these eucalyptus trees weren't in trouble. Trees were his special interest, as well as the creatures that lived in them. In fact, he knew so much about forests that he sometimes had a very special, secret role to play…

Ollie pictured the trees' roots in his mind. Although he couldn't see them, he knew they ran deep underground. That was how they could stay alive even when the ground was dry. Their long, searching roots could find water deep below the surface and suck it up! Just like this, Ollie thought, and slurped his apple juice noisily. The long roots weren't just good for the trees, they were good for the koalas, too. Eucalyptus leaves held lots of water. The koalas could quench most of their thirst just by eating them, so they didn't have to go looking for much else to drink. Ollie could name all the parts of a tree without having to look them up. The topmost part was the crown. The layer just inside the bark was the cambium, which grew and made the tree get thicker. And the glowing

compass on the side of the trunk was… Wait! Glowing compass? Ollie leapt to his feet. He had a badge on his shirt that looked just like that. The compass was the symbol of the Secret Explorers! When it appeared like this, it only meant one thing. A new mission! None of his everyday friends knew he wasn't just Ollie, the kid from Waratah Street who liked to study trees. He was an adventurer —the Rainforest Explorer. Ollie ran up to the tree. The glowing outline of a door appeared on it. He pushed it open and ran through into dazzling white light. Strong winds roared around him...

…and the next moment, he was in the Exploration Station! "Ollie, here!" he shouted. The Secret Explorers' hidden base had gleaming walls of black stone. On one side were display cases, showing off all the different objects the Explorers had collected. On another side were the computer stations, where every Explorer could help watch over