A Crazy Day with Cobras

by Mary Pope Osborne

  “Why not?” said Jack.

  “Penny!” said Annie. “We have to get the emerald for Penny!”

  “Right, right,” said Jack. “Okay!” He took a deep breath. “First, we have to get calm.” Jack took another deep breath. Then he pulled out their research book. “Okay. Let’s read about cobras.”

  Jack opened the book and found a section about Indian wildlife. He read:

  The king cobra is the only snake known to make a nest for its eggs. The nest is made of a mound of dead leaves. The cobra’s scaly skin is the same color as the leaves, a good example of natural camouflage.

  “So that mound of leaves was its nest,” said Jack. “And the cobra was probably a mother snake guarding her eggs.”

  “How does that information help us?” said Annie.

  “It doesn’t,” said Jack. He went on:

  King cobras cannot hear, but they have excellent vision and can feel vibrations. They will attack anything they see that gets too close to their nests.

  “That’s bad news,” said Annie.

  “Yep, really bad news,” said Jack. He kept reading:

  When threatened, the king cobra flattens its neck into a hood. A single bite from the snake contains enough venom to kill twenty men or a large elephant.

  “Whoa,” said Annie. “That must be why Morning Breeze panicked and ran away.”

  Jack closed the book. He shook his head. “I don’t see how we can possibly get close to that nest,” he said.

  “Then there’s no way we can get an emerald rose for Penny,” said Annie, “unless we go back to the Great Mogul and ask for another one.”

  “And that’s not going to happen,” said Jack.

  “Then how can we save Penny?” asked Annie. “Think of Penny.”

  Jack thought about Penny. He would do anything for her. “Okay,” he said. “There might be a way we could get the emerald rose. What if … what if we were really small?”

  “Yes!” said Annie.

  “The cobra can’t hear us, right?” said Jack. “She can only see us and feel vibrations. So if we make ourselves small, maybe we can sneak back and get the emerald without being seen.”

  “Yes!” said Annie.

  Jack reached into his bag and pulled out the blue bottle. He and Annie both stared at it. “So how many sips should we take?” Jack asked. “One for ten minutes?”

  Annie shook her head. “Two for twenty.”

  “Okay …” Jack took a deep breath. “But just so you know, when we get small, everything else will be huge, like flies and spiders and—”

  “Spiders?” Annie said in a small voice.

  “Yeah,” said Jack. “Hey, you know what? You don’t have to do this. I can do it by myself. It only takes one person to get the emerald.”

  “No! I’ll go. You stay,” said Annie.

  “No way,” said Jack. “We’ll both go.”

  “Good,” said Annie.

  Jack held the bottle up to his lips. “Okay,” he said, “two sips.” He took two quick sips, then handed the bottle to Annie.

  Jack felt dizzy. He closed his eyes and hugged himself. He felt as if he were falling through a hole.

  SHHHHHH-WISSSSSST!

  Suddenly the forest was filled with chirping, whirring, crunching, and squeaking.

  “Oh, wow!” whispered Annie. “Open your eyes.”

  Jack opened his eyes.

  He and Annie were both small—very small. Their clothes and shoes and Jack’s bag were all small, too.

  “Oh, man, we got really small,” said Jack. He looked around at the grass and the weeds and the mushrooms—they were all taller than he was! “I think we shrunk to about six or eight inches.”

  Close to the ground, the scrubby forest was awake and alive, filled with the ripe smells of earth, noisy insect sounds, and the rustling and whispering of grasses and weeds. The dirt glittered as if sprinkled with flecks of silver.

  “It’s really beautiful,” said Annie.

  “Yeah …,” said Jack.

  Wildflowers looked like elegant and luminous umbrellas with pale pink petals and silvery leaves. Berries were the size of apples.

  “Look up!” said Annie.

  “Wow!” said Jack.

  The tall trees of the forest were like skyscrapers. It was hard to see where they ended.

  WHUP! Something plopped down in the dirt beside Jack.

  “AHHH!” Jack and Annie grabbed each other in terror.

  It was a giant insect—as long as Jack’s arm! It had a flat brown body, six legs, and two sets of wings. It looked at them with huge, goggle-like eyes. It waved its antennae and crept forward.

  “AHHH!” Jack and Annie stumbled backward.

  The giant bug stopped. Then it rubbed its front wings together. The forest erupted with shrill chirping—Creekle! CREEKLE! Creekle! CREEKLE!

  Jack covered his ears and laughed. The giant insect was a cricket! He knew a cricket wouldn’t hurt them. The cricket pushed off the ground with its long hind legs and leapt into the brush.

  “Look!” said Annie, glancing up.

  A giant golden yellow butterfly hovered above her. As if Annie were a flower, the butterfly touched down lightly on her head and opened its wings. Annie held her breath. She didn’t move a muscle. She looked like she was wearing a wide yellow hat.

  The butterfly closed its wings, then opened them, and with a whispery sound, fluttered deeper into the forest.

  Bzzzzzzzzzzz-zzzzzzzzzzz.

  A gigantic bee circled above Jack. “Whoa. Keep moving, buddy!” Jack said, ducking and waving his hands. “We’re not flowers!”

  The bee buzzed lazily away.

  “Hey, we’d better hurry and get our emerald before we become our real size again,” said Annie.

  “Oh, right!” said Jack.

  “Which way?” asked Annie.

  Jack looked around. It was hard to tell where they were. “I remember the emerald was shining in the sunlight.”

  “It looks sunny over there,” said Annie. She pointed to a clearing.

  “So let’s creep through the shade toward the light,” said Jack. “Remember, the cobra can’t hear us, but she can see us and feel our vibrations. We have to stay hidden and step lightly.”

  “Hey, I wonder where the dad is,” said Annie.

  “Don’t ask,” said Jack. “Don’t think about it. We have enough to worry about. Come on. Let’s go.”

  He and Annie crouched down and started creeping toward the sunlight.

  Jack and Annie stepped lightly through dead leaves and pushed aside feathery weeds that towered above them. They carefully climbed over twigs, pebbles, and tangled roots. They skirted around a deserted anthill as high as Jack’s knees.

  When they got to the edge of the cobra’s clearing, Jack stopped. He held up his hand and Annie nodded. They peered between tall blades of grass.

  The emerald rose glittered in the sunlight. It looked as big as a softball. The cobra was still coiled around her nest. But now she looked as big as a monster in a fairy tale.

  “Whoa!” Jack breathed.

  “What do you think we should do?” Annie whispered. “Should I just run as fast as I can, grab it, and run back?”

  “No, no!” said Jack. He was shocked by how big the cobra looked.

  “I think she’s asleep,” said Annie.

  “We can’t really tell,” said Jack. “Her eyes are hard to see because of her camouflage.”

  “So how—” started Annie.

  “That’s it!” said Jack. “Camouflage!”

  “What about it?” said Annie.

  “That’s how we’ll get the emerald!” said Jack. “We’ll use our own camouflage.”

  “You mean like leaves?” said Annie.

  “Yeah, leaves would be good,” said Jack. They looked around. “There.” He pointed to a vine with large light green leaves. He and Annie gripped one of the leaves and pulled until it tore off the vine.

  Annie held it up in front of h
er like a shield. “How’s this?” she said.

  “Great,” said Jack. “Now one for me.” He and Annie gripped another leaf and pulled until they ripped it from the vine, too.

  “Poke holes in them, so we can see,” said Annie.

  “Good idea,” said Jack. They poked holes in their leaves and then held them up, covering their faces. Jack moved his leaf around until he could see the emerald through the eyeholes.

  “Go slowly and stick with me,” Jack said. “Two steps, then stop. Two steps, then stop.”

  “Got it,” said Annie.

  Holding their leaves in front of them, Jack and Annie carefully stepped into the clearing. They took two steps toward the emerald, then stopped … two steps, then stopped.

  The cobra didn’t move. Jack desperately hoped she was asleep. He and Annie took two more steps, then stopped. The emerald glittered in the hot sunlight. They took two more steps. Then Annie gasped.

  The cobra was lifting her body above her nest! Her head was broad and flat. She swayed back and forth and looked around with staring eyes.

  Jack and Annie froze.

  Then slowly the cobra lowered her head. Jack let out his breath. Their camouflage had worked! He motioned to Annie, and they both took another two steps, then stopped.

  Jack was only a step away from the jewel now. Holding up his leaf camouflage with one hand, he leaned over and scooped up the emerald. It felt as heavy as a big rock. Holding the leaf with one hand, Jack used his other hand to shove the emerald into his bag. With Annie behind him, he stepped backward—two steps, then stopped.

  Jack kept his eye on the cobra coiled around her nest. He and Annie kept backing up.

  Suddenly a sound came from behind them—a strange hissing, growling sound. A chill went through Jack. He turned around.

  A monster-size cobra towered over them.

  “The dad!” yelled Annie.

  The male cobra had the same coloring as the female. His hood was spread out as he raised himself high above the grass. He swayed from side to side, staring down at Jack and Annie with cold, unblinking eyes. He opened his giant mouth, showing two deadly fangs.

  “AHHH!” said Jack and Annie.

  They dropped their leaves and crouched down, hiding themselves in the grass. “Go—go!” sputtered Jack. They took off, scrambling through the undergrowth of the forest.

  Jack led the way as they both half crawled, half ran over the dirt and through the grass. Jack lost his slippers and ripped his coat. Like a mouse, he clambered over sticks and twigs, nuts, seeds, bark, feathers, mosses, and mushrooms. All kinds of ants and beetles scuttled out of the way. The air was filled with screeching insect sounds.

  Jack had no idea where he was running, but he knew he couldn’t stop. He was sure the cobra was slithering after them, thrashing through the undergrowth. Maybe both king cobras were searching for them now, he thought, and all the forest was screaming about it.

  Jack stumbled over a stick. He scrambled up from the dirt and looked around wildly. Where was Annie? He didn’t see her! Had she gone off in another direction? Where were the cobras? Had they chased after Annie instead of him?

  Jack panicked. “Annie!” he shouted.

  The ground trembled. Jack heard thumping, thrashing, and bells. He crouched down in the grass and covered his head. He heard Annie shout, “Jack! Where are you, Jack?” She sounded as if she was up in a tree! What was going on?

  Jack looked up. Suddenly a gigantic snake dropped down in front of him.

  “AHHH!” Jack yelled.

  “Yay!” Annie yelled from overhead.

  The snake didn’t have the olive brown skin of a cobra. It was gray and wrinkled. It wasn’t a snake at all! It was the trunk of an elephant!

  Before Jack could think, the tip of the elephant’s trunk curled around him. Clutching him like a banana, Morning Breeze lifted Jack up in the air. Jack clung to his bag so he wouldn’t lose the emerald again. The trunk curled back, and Jack could see the sky whirling above him.

  The elephant uncoiled her trunk and let go of Jack. He plopped down into the straw carriage. Annie was already there!

  “Morning Breeze!” Annie cried. “She came back for us!”

  Jack was so small, he couldn’t see over the sides of the carriage. He tried to stand up to look for the cobras. But just then Morning Breeze bellowed and bolted through the forest. Jack lost his balance and fell backward.

  Jack and Annie both laughed as they bounced around in the basket on the back of the elephant. They were safe from the cobras! They had their emerald rose! And Morning Breeze had risked her life to save them!

  SHHHHHH-WISSSSSST!

  Instantly the straw carriage felt small and cramped. Jack and Annie sat up and looked at each other.

  “We’re big again,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack, dazed.

  “Where’s the emerald?” said Annie.

  Jack opened his bag. The jewel looked tiny again, but it was there. “No problem. I have it,” he said.

  “It was kind of fun being so little, wasn’t it?” said Annie.

  “Yeah, until we nearly got killed by humongous, superpoisonous snakes,” said Jack.

  “Thanks for saving us, Morning Breeze!” called Annie. She reached out from the carriage and patted the elephant’s wrinkled skin.

  “Yeah, thanks,” said Jack.

  Morning Breeze made a trumpet sound and swayed from side to side as she tramped through the low, scraggly brush.

  “I wonder where she’s going,” said Jack.

  The elephant slowed down. She sniffed the air with the tip of her trunk. Then she stopped near a clump of bushes and made a low purring sound.

  A snuffling noise came from behind the bushes. Branches and leaves shook and parted.

  “Ohhhh, wow!” breathed Annie.

  A baby elephant bumbled out into the open. He had a fuzzy head and bright, shining eyes.

  Morning Breeze lowered herself onto her knees. She stretched out her trunk and stroked her baby. The little elephant nuzzled against her.

  “So that’s why Morning Breeze had to escape the fort!” said Annie. “When they captured her in the wild, they took her away from her baby. She was desperate to get back to him.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack, “and after she found him, she came back to help us.”

  Annie climbed out of the straw carriage and carefully slid down off the elephant’s back. Jack followed her.

  Annie patted the elephant’s back. “I guess you’ll be staying here now that you’ve found your baby.”

  Jack rubbed his hand over Morning Breeze’s skin. Her huge, wrinkled body smelled of grass and heat and trees. The elephant actually looked as if she were smiling.

  “I don’t think you need to wear this stuff anymore,” said Annie. She reached up and lifted the rope of silver bells off the elephant’s neck. The bells jangled as Annie dropped them into the grass.

  “Or this,” said Jack. He took the fringed cloth off the elephant’s head.

  “And especially this,” said Annie. Together she and Jack unbuckled the strap that held the straw carriage in place on Morning Breeze’s back. They pulled the carriage off and set it on the grass.

  “Doesn’t that feel better?” said Jack.

  Morning Breeze stared at Jack and Annie. Her eyes were bright and clear. She trumpeted and rose to her full height.

  “Before you go, can we pet your baby?” asked Annie.

  The large elephant didn’t seem to mind as Annie reached out and stroked the baby elephant. “Whoa,” Annie breathed. “Pet him, Jack.”

  Jack rubbed his hand slowly over the baby’s head. The elephant’s fuzzy hair felt coarse and tickly. Jack laughed.

  “Enjoy being home in the wild again,” Annie said to Morning Breeze. “Jack and I have to go back to our home now.”

  “Thanks, Morning Breeze,” said Jack. “Good luck.”

  “We love you,” said Annie.

  Morning Breeze flapped her ea
rs and waved her trunk at them. Then she turned and lumbered off with her baby at her heels. The two of them kicked up grass and dirt as they disappeared into the brush.

  “Wow,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack.

  Annie turned to Jack and laughed. “We look like we’ve been in a train wreck,” she said.

  “No kidding,” said Jack. They’d both lost their pointy shoes, and their coats were torn and dirty.

  “At least we have our emerald rose,” said Annie. “And Morning Breeze is back with her baby.”

  “Mission done,” said Jack.

  “So let’s go back to the tree house,” said Annie.

  “Yeah,” said Jack. He looked around. “But … where the heck are we?”

  “I think the big field we came through is over there,” said Annie, pointing. “I hear a lot of bug noise. Let’s look.”

  Jack and Annie headed for the field. “Oww! Oww!” Weeds and rocks jabbed their bare feet. Jack just missed stepping on a large anthill. He and Annie picked their way through the scrubby forest, until they came to the edge of the yellow field.

  The sounds of buzzing and chirping filled the air. The tall grasses rustled in the dry, hot wind.

  “That’s it,” said Jack. “So to get back to the tree house, we cross the field, then go on the dirt path, then head back through the bazaar and down the road to the Red Fort. Got it?”

  “Got it,” said Annie.

  “I just hope we don’t get eaten alive by bugs,” said Jack, “or get heatstroke or get clobbered by those angry guys in the bazaar or—”

  “Enough, stop,” said Annie, grinning. “One thing at a time. Come on, don’t be chicken. The bugs are more afraid of us than we are of them. Run!”

  Annie and Jack started running through the dry, dusty field. Their torn silk coats billowed behind them. Jack could feel grasshoppers and all sorts of buzzy and jumpy things bashing against him, but nothing really hurt. His feet crushed the dry, tough grass, until he and Annie finally reached the dirt path.

  “Yes! We—we made it!” Annie said, out of breath. “Oh! Look …”

  Jack was burning up. He felt dizzy. “Whew, we—”