3 Making friends

Chapter Three MAKING FRIENDS Cheng broke into a run, splashing through the steaming springs, doing his best to keep his eye on the puppy. For such a little thing, it was fast! Cheng sped up. Leah was just behind him. The trees beyond the hot springs were thinner than the rainforest they had left behind. Cheng caught glimpses of the ocean

through the twisting trunks and branches, and found he was closer to the beach than he'd realized. The roar of the surf thundered ahead as he ducked under the overhanging branches, startling a few birds with leaf- green plumage. The birds skittered into the sky with alarm. Cheng and Leah stopped on the edge of a wide, curving beach.

"Where'd that puppy go?" Leah asked through panted breaths. The sound of the surf was louder here, with breakers smashing and foaming on the white sand. Cheng glimpsed surfers bobbing around in the waves, riding brightly colored boards. Their glistening black wet suits reminded Cheng of sea lions. Cheng shaded his eyes. The puppy crouched in the sand several yards in front of him, looking back with wide brown eyes. "There you are!" he said, and started to run again.

Right away, the puppy sprang to its feet and took off down the beach. "Come back!" he roared, running faster. The puppy wasn't listening. It skipped and dodged, and ran around. It was clearly having the time of its life. "Cheng, this isn't working!" said Leah, as Cheng tried in vain to grab the little animal, and fell onto the soft sand. "Chasing the puppy is just making it more excited. It thinks this is a game." Cheng wrinkled his nose in thought. "So how are we going to catch it?" Leah rubbed her chin. "We make it come to us," she said. A bright yellow ball was lying in a dip in the sand, near the line of the trees. Leah walked over and picked it up. "Here we go," she said. "Wish me luck!"

She waved the yellow ball at the puppy. "Come and play, puppy," she said. "Look at this pretty yellow ball. Come and get it!" The puppy stopped running around, and stared at Leah and the ball. It tipped his head to one side. Then it crouched into the sand, with its bottom in the air and its tail waving. "It looks like it's going to run away again," Cheng warned, propping himself up in the sand with his elbows. "Patience," said Leah. She waved the ball again. "Come on, puppy! Come and play!" The puppy leaped to its feet. It let out a little bark of delight and scampered toward Leah, who scooped it up with her free hand. "Success!" she said triumphantly, giving the ball to the puppy as a reward.

"Well done, Leah!" Cheng got to his feet and clapped. "Impressive animal knowledge," he said. He went to Leah and gave the puppy a little scratch behind its soft brown ears. "Now all we have to do is find your owner, little guy."