by Rhia Roberts
Immediately, the giraffe circle opened up to create a path. As he passed them, Jake thought he heard “Thank you” murmured over and over. Weird, he thought. The boy and chimp left the giraffes and walked in silence for quite a while. Then, Jake turned to take one last look at the herd in the distance. But they weren’t in the distance; the herd was following them. And they were joined by herds of zebras, warthogs, and okapis.
“Elena, there are…” began Jake.
“I know,” interrupted the chimp. “The giraffes told their friends how you helped them.”
As Elena took his hand, Jake realized that his adventure was just beginning.
Chapter 5
Hide!
Happily Jake walked hand in hand with Elena listening to the braying of the giraffes, zebras and okapis, and the snorting of the warthogs behind them. In a weird way it made him feel safe.
The worst is over, Jake decided. I was really, really afraid of being hurt by the giraffes but everything worked out fine.
The morning sun was high in the sky and, hungry, Jake asked if they could stop for a break. The chimp agreed so the two of them sat on the dusty grass nibbling on some mangoes and rice. Jake thought about Nia. What will she think of his adventure with the giraffes? Did she know that the baby giraffe needed help? Was that why she told him to be kind and brave?
Snapping out of his thoughts, Jake saw the giraffes running toward them. The zebras, okapis, and warthogs were galloping away from them toward a clump of acacia trees. Jake stopped eating, aware that something was wrong.
“Elena…” he began but had no time to say more because the baby giraffe’s mother came to a sliding stop right in front of them.
“Hide!” she bellowed. “Hide quickly!”
Without asking why, Jake looked around for a hiding place. But it was no use! They were in the middle of the flat, African plain and far away from the clumps of trees that dotted the landscape.
“Elena,” Jake said again, but this time there was panic in his voice. “What’s going on?”
“It’s the poachers,” answered the giraffe. “Being tall can be very helpful at times. We spotted the poachers near the trees over there,”
The giraffe pointed her chin toward the clump of trees in the distance.
“They are coming in jeeps and look pretty mad,” the animal continued. “You must hide…and quickly if you don’t want them to see you.”
Elena asked the giraffe how much time they had. Jake froze at the answer.
“Two or three minutes,” the giraffe replied. “You’ve got to hide and you’ve got to do it now!”
Jake was in a panic but the chimp stayed calm.
“Are you willing to help us?” Elena asked the giraffes.
The giraffes all nodded at once.
“Then cluster as close together as you can,” said the clever chimp, “and we’ll stay in the middle of the herd. That way the poachers won’t see us and they’ll keep driving past.”
The giraffes agreed, thinking it was the least they could do for the boy who’d helped them earlier. So they quickly gathered into a tight cluster around Jake and Elena. Jake could sense their fear; please let the jeeps keep driving past us, he prayed.
But an instant later, all hopes were dashed as four jeeps full of poachers skidded to a stop beside the herd. Jake could see the poachers’ faces quite clearly. They were sunburnt and nasty looking. Their eyes looked cold and mean. Jake’s heart thumped so loudly in fear that he was sure the men would hear it. He even thought he could smell their foul breath!
“This is a big herd of giraffes,” shouted one of the poachers as he pulled his gun from the jeep. “Let’s have some fun.”
“Just think of the all the cash we can get for these pelts,” added another.
Jake could see the gun-toting poacher stare at the baby giraffe’s mother with cold, empty eyes. He pulled the gun up to eye level.
“Run, run,” Jake whispered to the giraffe.
But she did not run. Instead, the brave giraffe took one step closer to the poachers and five other giraffes followed close behind. For an instant, you could almost smell the fear move from the giraffes to the poachers.
“Leave them alone…for now,” yelled a nasty-looking man who stood by the first jeep. That must be the leader, Jake thought. “We’ll come back for them later. Right now, we need to go to the village to look for the boy who thinks he’s going to get rid of us!” the man sneered.
Jake froze in terror. How did they know about him? His mind whirled as he watched the poachers climb back into the trucks, laughing at the thought of a boy getting rid of them.
He could still hear the laugher as the trucks drove away in a swirl of dust.
Chapter 6
Where’s My Mama?
Nobody said a word. Jake’s mind raced from the poachers to Nia to his parents. His knees buckled and he sat down on the ground with a thud! His hands began to shake and he was close to tears. Very quietly and gently, Elena grasped his hand and the mother giraffe nudged him to his feet.
“Come on,” coaxed Elena, “we must keep moving because we don’t have much time.”
She climbed into Jake’s arms so she could look him in the eye then added, “Please trust me, Jake. Everything will be okay as long as you remember to be kind.”
Jake nodded and forced his legs to stop shaking so he could continue walking with Elena. He clutched her hand tightly as if he was never going to let it go. Elena understood his fear and knew she had to get Jake to think about something else. So the clever little chimp began telling funny animal stories and jokes. Soon, even Jake was laughing.
“Why do elephants wear sandals?” asked the chimp.
“I don’t know,” replied Jake.
“To stop them sinking into the sand,” laughed Elena.
Then she said, “Why do ostriches hide their heads in the sand?”
“I have no idea,” said Jake.
“To look for the elephants who didn’t wear sandals,” answered Elena.
The boy and chimp cracked up at the joke.
“Oh, Elena, you are good,” laughed Jake. “I’m feeling better again and I think I can do this.”
“Just in time,” replied Elena, “because I see some other animals that need help.”
Jake looked ahead and saw rhinos. They were huge! Some of them had babies but there seemed to be something wrong with one of the youngsters. It didn’t look right.
“What’s wrong with that baby?” Jake asked, pointing toward an animal that seemed to be crying.
“I think she’s lost,” answered Elena. “Perhaps you can help,” she added.
Jake walked toward the baby rhino. Why don’t the adult rhinos go near her, he wondered. What’s wrong with her? Jake didn’t really want to be in the middle of huge rhinos because he knew they were afraid of most everything and would trample over things just to get away! But he had to find out what was wrong with the baby so, bravely, he walked toward her taking care not to frighten the big rhinos.
As he got closer to the baby, Jake understood the problem. This isn’t a baby rhino, he mused. It’s a baby elephant! No wonder the poor thing is crying.
“Where’s my mama?” wailed the baby elephant. “I...I...I...I want my mama,” she sobbed. The sound was heart-breaking and the noise drew the attention of the adult rhinos - and Jake didn’t want that. So the boy put his hand on the little elephant’s trunk and stroked it.
“It’s alright,” he soothed, “if you stop crying, I’ll help you find your mama.”
The baby elephant looked at him and tried to stop crying.
“But I’m lo-o-o-o-st,” cried the elephant, unable to stop her tears.
The rhinos now all looked at the baby elephant and edged closer, looking as if they were ready to stampede toward them. Jake remained calm and kept talking to the little elephant in a calm and soothing voice.
“I remember getting lost when I was little,” he lied, “and I remember how wonderful it
was when someone helped me find my mama. She threw her arms around me and kissed me and hugged me. Just think how good you’ll feel when I get you back to your mama…”
As he talked, Jake backed the little elephant away from the rhinos. By the time he told the baby elephant Elena’s ostrich joke, they were a safe distance away from the rhinos and he actually had his new friend laughing.
“That’s funny,” giggled the baby elephant, “I can’t wait to tell that one to my…” The baby didn’t finish her thought because, just then, the ground shook and a crashing noise came from the nearby clump of trees. Jake and the little elephant turned to look.
“MAMA!” yelled the baby elephant as she ran quickly toward the herd of elephants coming into sight.
Oh, my goodness, thought Jake, his eyes wide with amazement. If the rhinos were huge then these animals are enormous and gigantic. He’d seen elephants at the zoo but that was nothing compared to looking up at a herd that was getting closer and closer.
As much as Jake wanted to run, he didn’t. He knew he had to stand his ground and that everything would be okay. Also, he was beginning to understand the rules of life around here so he wasn’t that surprised when the biggest elephant in the herd came up to him and stroked his face with her trunk.
“You’re welcome,” whispered Jake as he watched the elephant reclaim her baby and cover her with great big elephant hugs and kisses.
Chapter 7
Lunch
As they continued toward the lake, Jake held Elena’s hand and hummed happily as he walked. He wasn’t surprised when he glanced back and saw herds of animals following them. There were giraffes, zebras, warthogs, and okapi. There were elephants, rhinos, bongos, and ostriches.
“So, I suppose the elephants are friends with the rhinos, bongos, and ostriches,” he muttered, half to himself and half to Elena. “I bet the elephants told them how I helped the baby so now they’re all my friends.”
The chimp smiled and felt proud of the boy. He was learning! She looked up at the sun and realized that the time passed faster than she’d like. We have to move quickly, she thought, if Jake is going to be ready to face the poachers.
So Elena quickened the pace and soon led Jake toward a small mound in the distance. The boy wasn’t paying much attention to the little hill but that was okay. He’ll find out soon enough what his next test is, thought the chimp. The two friends continued walking hand-in-hand and had almost reached the mound before Jake realized what was there. He’d been lost in thought and only half-looking at the rocks on top of the mound when, all of a sudden, they moved.
“Those aren’t rocks up there,” wailed Jake, “they’re lions!”
For a short moment, the boy stopped in his tracks and watched the lions. There were about twenty of them in the pride and they lazed in the afternoon sun. Although they looked tame and calm from the bottom of the hill, Jake knew that each lion had huge paws and a mouth full of sharp teeth. And he also knew that, if they were hungry, they liked to hunt at this time of day!
“Elena,” Jake began to complain but stopped himself. The lions heard his voice and roared a response. Then, to Jake’s alarm, the pride moved slowly toward them.
“This isn’t good,” Jake whispered into the breeze. “Those lions look hungry, and I think I’m lunch!”
The lions ambled toward the frightened boy. They must know I’m not fast enough to run from them, thought Jake. When the pride reached the bottom of the hill, they fanned out until Jake was surrounded by huge, powerful lions. The lioness nearest to him was now so close that he could see the drool dripping from her mouth, he could smell her breath, and he could see the flecks of gold in her eyes.
Jake was frightened but he stood his ground and remained as still as possible. He remembered reading that the worst thing to do when faced with an animal predator was to turn your back and run. The lioness picked up her front paw and seemed to be examining her claws. Jake could see the sharp claws glinting in the sun. I have to do something, thought Jake. But what?
Before he could decide what to do, Jake heard a lot of noise and commotion behind him. He didn’t dare turn to see what was happening but he recognized the trumpeting. And he’d felt the ground shaking like this before. Without breaking away from the lioness’ stare, Jake knew that the elephants were coming to the rescue!
A moment of snarling, roaring, and trumpeting was followed by a moment of yowling, growling, and scurrying. Then, from the corner of his eye, Jake saw the lions back away. The lioness in front, however, stayed where she was. She didn’t move but stood staring at Jake with hungry eyes. She’s getting ready to pounce, Jake screamed silently. This is it. I’m done for! But, just as the lion seemed ready to jump on the boy, an elephant stepped between the hunter and the prey.
Only then did Jake look around to see that he was surrounded by friends; elephants stood between him and all the lions. As one, the animals walked through the middle of the pride of lions, herding Jake along with them. The elephants are protecting me, thought Jake, just like the giraffes protected me.
At that moment, he understood. The poachers had upset the balance of nature and he was here to set it right. And he understood that the animals were here to help him. Over the past few hours, he’d come face to face with fear, and he’d won. Now he would lead the animals to face the object of their fear – the poachers.
Jake turned to Elena.
“I understand now and it’s time,” he said.
Chapter 8
The Poachers
And so it was that Jake, Elena, and the animals began the last leg of their walk to the lake. Jake and Elena walked hand in hand and were followed by giraffes, zebras, warthogs, and okapis, and by elephants, rhinos, ostriches, and bongos. Jake felt strong and brave and believed he could succeed. He wasn’t even afraid when he saw the dust kicked up by the poachers’ jeeps in the distance as they returned to their camp.
“They think I have no chance against them,” scoffed Jake, “but they’re wrong. I have the animals on my side and we will get rid of the poachers and get the balance of nature back.”
Jake and Elena walked faster and, this time, it was the boy pulling the chimp. Jake noticed that the lions hadn’t joined the parade toward the lake but he wasn’t bothered. Perhaps they have something different to do, he thought.
The distance passed quickly and soon they were almost at the lake. They saw the sun glinting on the water’s surface. “There’s the camp,” Jake said, “and it looks very ordinary.” But the closer they got, the more they felt and smelled the evil surrounding the camp.
“Be extra careful,” Elena warned. “These people only care about themselves and money. They’ll shoot you if they have to.”
Jake nodded. “I need you to tell the animals to stay where they are,” he told the chimp. “I don’t want them in harm’s way,” he added.
“But how will you beat the poachers without our help?” asked Elena.
“I’m going to reason with them,” answered Jake.
Elena shook her head. “That won’t work,” she warned her friend.
“But you must let me try,” protested Jake, believing that everyone had a kind side to them. Unhappily, the chimp agreed. She hugged her friend then scampered off to the other animals.
Jake crept toward the camp. He didn’t know how to do this so he hid behind a tree to think. Perhaps Elena was right; perhaps he did need some help. Unsure of what to do, Jake crouched lower when the poachers came out of their tents. They looked hopping mad and just plain nasty! What was I thinking sending Elena away, Jake wondered? These people aren’t going to listen to reason. Perhaps I should just creep away to find…
“Gotcha!” Jake almost jumped out of his skin as a rough hand grabbed him by the hair. It was a nasty-smelling, wild-eyed poacher. Jake’s heart sank. He was in some pretty big trouble now. This is really, really, REALLY bad, thought Jake as the horrible poacher dragged him to the camp.
“Look at the bug I found hiding beh
ind a tree,” the nasty man said to his friends.
The poachers roared with laughter.
“Ha, ha, ha! This is too funny…you thought you were going to beat us!” scoffed the leader.
“Well,” mumbled Jake, “I just thought that you’d understand why you need to leave the animals alone if I explained it to you.”
The poachers laughed and laughed until the tears ran down their cheeks.
“This is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard,” bellowed the man who had aimed his gun at the mother giraffe. Once again, he picked up his gun and aimed it…this time at Jake!
“You are going to be very sorry you came here,” he sneered at the boy. “You aren’t welcome at our camp and you’re not welcome in Africa.”
Jake closed his eyes expecting to hear a shot and then…nothing.
“Don’t shoot him,” the leader told the man with the gun. “I have a better idea. Let’s throw him in with the crocodiles later and have some fun! This is the boy who thinks all the animals like him so let’s see just how much they do…when they eat him!” The poachers agreed and roared with laughter.
“Tie him up for now so that he doesn’t escape,” commanded the leader.
So Jake’s hands and feet were tied, then he was dragged toward the lake and dumped onto the ground.
Close to tears, Jake sat in the dust. I’ve totally messed this up, he thought. How could things have gone so wrong? What should I do? Where is Elena? Why isn’t she helping me? Are the poachers really going to throw me to the crocodiles? How much will it hurt? Will my parents ever know what happened to me? A hundred questions went round in the boy’s head...but he had no answers. As he sat there unable to do anything, Jake felt so alone and frightened.
Catching sight of movement from the corner of his eye, Jake turned to look and was sickened by what he saw. Five crocodiles lay on the ground near him. Their legs and mouths were tied so tightly that Jake knew they must be in a lot of pain. Are these the crocodiles they’re going to throw me to, Jake wondered? Well I won’t let that happen, he decided. Thank goodness my hands are tied in front of me because that means I can untie these animals and give them a chance to escape, even if they choose to eat me. So, with his own hands and feet bound and with no way to run, Jake struggled to free the crocodiles. After untying the first one, Jake waited, half expecting to be attacked. But he wasn’t attacked and, instead, the predator seemed to be helping him untie the others. That’s weird, thought Jake.