9 Please Don’t Eat Us! We Taste Terrible!

Chapter 9 PLEASE DON'T EAT US! WE TASTE TERRIBLE! They all turned to look. At the top of the ice wall was a zigzag crack. "Yowzers!" said Andrew. "It's like the cave painting." Judy turned to Thudd. "Does this mean we'll get washed away in another fifteen seconds?" she asked. meep… "Not know," said Thudd. "Flood happen anytime." "Then let's move it!" said Judy.

In the shadows ahead, Andrew glimpsed a dark lump. It looked like a boulder, but it was rocking and squirming. And it was noisy! Nyeeek! Nyeeek! "What's that?" asked Andrew. Beeper ran up to it. "It's the glyptodont! It's on its back!" "Uh-oh," said Andrew. "It's awfully heavy. I don't know how we can get it back on its feet." Max went up to the glyptodont and touched it with his trunk. The glyptodont rocked from side to side and wiggled its armored feet in the air. Max shoved his enormous tusks beneath the squirming glyptodont and scooped it up! Nyeeek! Nyeeek! the glyptodont screeched. It didn't know it was being rescued. "Wowzers schnauzers!" said Andrew. "Way to go, Max!" shouted Beeper. "Good mammoth!" said Judy.

They left the forest and started climbing through snow and over rocks. They were scrambling higher and higher toward the glacier. The capybaras grunted, but they kept together and hurried along. "Whew!" said Andrew. "I'm getting pretty warm." He loosened the cape around his shoulders. "I'm getting tired," complained Judy. "Maybe I could take one of the capybaras back to our time," said Beeper. "I mean, they're just big guinea pigs." Judy rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about it," she said. Beeper stuck his tongue out at Judy and made a rude sound. meep… "Capybaras alive in our time, too," said Thudd. "Beeper can find capybara when we get back." "If we get back," said Judy.

Andrew glimpsed a long dark shape lying on the snow. It looked familiar, but it was too big to be… "A feather!" said Andrew, stopping to examine it. The feather was longer than Andrew and as wide as his foot. meep… "Teratorn feather!" said Thudd. "Andrew!" yelled Judy. "Get back here! The capys are getting away!" Andrew picked up the feather and ran back to his side of the herd. "Hot doggies!" said Beeper. "What a great feather! Can I have it?" "Maybe we can share it," said Andrew. Judy squinted at a rocky ridge ahead. "I saw something move," she said. "Where?" asked Andrew. "There," said Judy, pointing. A shadowy figure walked out from behind the ridge. "It's a person!" Judy cried.

"It's not Professor Winka," said Andrew. meep… "Not Unkie Al," said Thudd. "It's not my uncle, either," said Beeper. One by one, others joined the first figure. There were five of them. In single file, they walked slowly closer. meep… "Ice Age people!" said Thudd. "They're carrying spears!" said Judy. meep… "Ice Age people hunt mammoth," said Thudd. "Holy moly!" said Andrew, looking at Max and the little herd of capybaras. "These guys must look like lunch!" "What if they're cannibals?" asked Judy. "We'll tell them that girls taste better than boys," said Beeper. Judy poked Beeper. "Shhhhh!" she hushed. "They're almost here." The Ice Age people stopped in front of them. There were three men and two boys. Their black

hair was long and straight and hung down their backs. They wore fur jackets, leather pants, and hairy boots. Each one carried a spear. "Kah mika," said the tallest man, looking at Andrew. Andrew shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't understand what you're saying." "Iktal okook!" said one of the hunters. He gestured toward Max with the tip of his spear. "Oh, please don't eat Max!" pleaded Andrew. He pointed to Max and shook his head. The hunters aimed their spears and slowly surrounded them.