07 Eating Out

7 Eating Out Annie kept smiling at the gorillas. “ Wow! ” she said. “ Wow, wow, wow. ” “ Didn't you know you were sleeping next to them?" Jack asked. “ No! " she said. “ When you didn't come back, Bu-bu led me here. But I couldn't see anything. It was too dark. ” Just then, Bu-bu left her mother's arms and bounded over to Annie. She climbed into Annie's lap and hugged her.

Another small gorilla left his mother and ran over to Annie, too. He was about the size of a two-year-old kid. “ Ho, ho! " he said. He gave Annie a playful poke. “ Ho, ho yourself! ” said Annie. “ Is Ho-ho your name?” She tickled Ho-ho. She tickled Bu-bu. too. The two small gorillas made laughing sounds and fell onto their backs. The two mother gorillas laughed, too. Huh-huh-huh, they said. Jack felt a little jealous. He wanted the gorillas to like him as well. But he didn't know how to join in the fun. So he just sighed and pulled out his notebook. He added to his gorilla behavior" list: gorillas like to tickle and laugh

Suddenly, he heard a low growl. He looked up. The silverback had moved closer to him. He was glaring. “ That big guy doesn't understand what you're doing! " Annie called to Jack. “ He's never seen anyone take notes before. " Jack quickly put his notebook away. The giant gorilla huffed. Then he turned to his family and gave a short bark. The gorillas began lining up behind the silverback, The baby traveled in his mother's arms. Ho-ho traveled on his mother's back. Bu-bu and Annie held hands. They all fol-lowed the silverback out of the clearing. “ Come on! " Annie called to Jack. “ Let's go with Big Guy and the gang! Jack shook his head. “ I don't think they want me to come along, " he said.

Bu-bu screeched at Jack. She held out her free hand to him. “ Bu-bu wants you! " said Annie. Jack smiled shyly, He took Bu-bu's small, warm hand. Then he walked with Annie and the gorillas out of the clearing. On their ramble through the cloud forest, the gorillas found food everywhere. They munched flowers and ferns and leaves. They swallowed and burped. They munched twigs and branches and pieces of bark and bamboo. They swallowed and burped. As the gorillas ate breakfast, it started to rain again. But they didn't seem to mind. Annie didn't seem to mind, either. She and Bu-bu played tag in the drizzly woods. They ran around the trees, laughing and screeching.

Jack tried to follow them, but he gave up. He was tired and cold. Shivering, he stood under a mossy tree to keep dry. While he was alone, Jack sneaked his note-book out of his pack. He made a new list: gorilla foods flowers ferns leaves twigs bark branches Bamboo As he wrote, he heard a low growl. He looked up.

Big Guy had spotted him. The silverback was standing close by, He was frowning at Jack, his lips tucked in a tight line. “ Sorry, sorry! ” said Jack, He quickly put away his notebook. Big Guy kept frowning. Jack quickly tried to act like a gorilla. He went down on all fours. He tore off the leaf of a plant. He took a bite. It tasted bitter, like vinegar. Jack pretended to munch and swallow and burp. Big Guy huffed, then moved on. As soon as he was gone, Jack spat out the leaf. “ Yuck, yuck, yuck! ” he said, wiping his tongue. Jack felt a tap on his back. He jumped. But it was just Ho-ho. The small gorilla offered him a twig to eat. “ Oh, no thanks, Ho-ho, " said Jack.