8 Fasten Your Seat Belts

Chapter 10 FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS… Eek! squeaked Thudd. "Python snake!" Judy's face went white. "S-s-s-snake?" she stuttered. "Get up here, Judy!" yelled Andrew. "There's a hole in the trunk. We can hide in it!" In an instant, Judy scrambled up to where Andrew was. Andrew pushed away strands of moss that covered the hole and crept inside. Judy followed him. At first it was too dark to see. "We should be safe here," said Andrew. "Wait a minute," said Judy. "You're the one who told me that a snake's tongue can smell prey. And that they've got these little pits near their

jaws that feel the heat from warm-blooded animals —like us! So just because it's dark in here doesn't mean a snake can't find us." meep… "Oody and Drewd got peppermint smell," said Thudd. "Hide animal smell. Oody and Drewd small, small, small. Not got lotsa heat. Hard for snake to find, maybe." Andrew thought he heard a soft grumble. He remembered the strange noises he had heard deep inside the tree trunk. "There's something in here," he whispered to Judy. As his eyes got used to the darkness, Andrew made out a shape. It was a creature the size of a chipmunk. It seemed to be asleep. Its ears were as big as bats' ears. Its eyes were closed. But Andrew could tell by its bulging lids that its eyes were enormous. "It's so cute!" said Judy. "But it would, uh, probably eat us if it were awake," said Andrew.

"Yoop! Yoop! Yoop!" said Thudd. "Called sugar glider. Live in treetops of rain forest. Eat bugs. "Got flap of skin between front and back legs. When sugar glider jump from trees, stretch legs. Skin flap stretch like sail. Sugar glider glide from tree to tree. "Sugar glider is marsupial like kangaroo. Female marsupial got pouch for baby. Look." By the light of Thudd's face screen, Andrew could see a little slit where a belly button would be. "Well, it's sleeping," said Judy. "We can hide from the snake and it won't even know we're here." Eek! squeaked Thudd. "Sugar glider is snake candy! Sugar glider big enough for snake to smell, feel heat." Andrew examined the opening of the hole. "I don't know if the hole is big enough for the snake to get in," he said. "But it's sure going to try," said Judy.

For a moment, the only sound inside the hole was the sugar glider snoring. "I have an idea," said Judy. "Andrew, go see where the snake is now." Andrew peered over the edge of the hole. The snake was curling around the tree trunk. Andrew could see its thin black tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. "It's coming up," said Andrew. "But it's moving slowly." "Get into the pouch, Bug-Brain," said Judy. "Huh?" said Andrew. "Snakes eat sugar gliders." "Not if there aren't any sugar gliders to eat," said Judy. "We'll rumble around inside her pouch. If we're lucky, she'll wake up, scoot out of the hole, and glide away before the snake gets here. "Come on," said Judy. "And be careful not to wake her up till we're ready." "Wowzers!" said Andrew. "If this works, we save us and the sugar glider."

Andrew crept quickly to the middle of the furry sleeping body. He began wiggling his way into the pouch, feetfirst. It was like getting into bed with sheets tucked tightly under the mattress. Inside the pouch, it was hot and damp. The sugar glider gave a little sigh and shifted in its sleep. Judy had trouble getting in. She kicked Andrew in the head. She poked the sugar glider in the belly. The sugar glider stirred. It shook itself. It rolled onto its feet and stuck its head out of the hole in the tree trunk. Zih-zuh zih-zuh zih-zuh, it chattered. meep… "Sugar glider afraid," Thudd said. The sugar glider scurried onto the branch outside the hole and stood on its hind legs. Sss sss sss, came a hiss. It sounded close. Ssssssss… A scaly yellow-and-black head rose above the branch. From the sugar glider's pouch, Andrew looked into the snake's black eyes. The snake's

tongue darted so close, Andrew could have touched it. Suddenly Andrew's stomach seemed to jump into his mouth. The sugar glider had flung itself from the branch. The skin between its front and back legs was stretched tight like a kite. They were sailing through the jungle! The wind in Andrew's face made his eyes water. He looked down through the leafy layers of jungle speeding by and got dizzy. The next instant, they jolted to a stop. The sugar glider had landed on the branch of a small tree. She was licking her paws like a cat. "Eeeuw!" shrieked Judy. "There's something wet and rubbery in here. It's squirming against my leg!"