Tigers at Twilight (5 page)

“That doesn’t sound like Teddy,” said Jack.

Then suddenly, there was silence. A strange silence.

“Teddy?” Annie asked. Now
she
sounded worried.

Annie raised her head. She and Jack both peered over the rock.

Teddy stood tall and brave in the grass.

The tiger was limping away. He disappeared between the trees.

All the forest seemed to hold its breath—until Annie broke the silence.

“Teddy, you’re a wonder dog!” she said.

The langurs clapped and jumped up and down.

Arf! Arf!
Teddy was just like a small scruffy dog again. He wagged his tail and ran to Annie and Jack.

Annie scooped him into her arms.

“You saved us!” she said.

“How did you drive away that tiger?” asked Jack, rubbing Teddy’s head. “Did you turn into a wild dog?”

Teddy just panted and licked them both.

Jack pushed his glasses into place and looked back at the forest.

“Well, I guess we won’t be getting a thank-you gift from that tiger,” he said.

Annie laughed.

“I guess not,” she said. “I wonder where our gift is.”

“And I wonder where the tree house is,” said Jack.

Kah and Ko chattered at Jack. Then they bounded down the bank, waving their arms.

“They want us to follow them again,” said Annie. “Come on.”

She and Jack grabbed their things off the rock. They hurried down the stream after the langurs.

The water shimmered in the early light. Silver fish leaped into the air.

Teddy bounded ahead with Kah and Ko. Soon they disappeared around a bend.

Jack and Annie followed them.

When they went around the bend, they saw a man sitting cross-legged on a rock. The langurs sat close to him.

The man’s eyes were closed.

He had long white hair and a long white beard. His skin was brown.

He looked
very
peaceful.

Kah and Ko smoothed the man’s hair with their little paws and patted his cheeks gently.

The man smiled and whispered to the langurs. His eyes stayed closed.

Teddy walked up to the man and licked his hands.

The man still didn’t open his eyes. But he stroked Teddy’s fur.

“Knock, knock,” Annie said softly.

“Is someone there?” the man asked.

He turned his face toward Jack and Annie. Now his eyes were open, but he did not seem to see them. Jack realized that the man was blind.

“Hi, I’m Annie,” said Annie.

“And I’m Jack,” said Jack.

The blind man smiled.

“Good,” he said, nodding. “Would you like to visit with me?”

“Sure,” said Annie.

She and Jack sat down next to the man.

“Do you live in this forest?” Annie asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Are you a hermit?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” the blind man said.

“What’s a hermit?” said Annie.

“Hermits live far away from other people,” said the blind man. “We like to be alone to think. I live in the forest so I can learn from nature.”

“How do you learn?” asked Jack.

“I listen,” said the blind man.

“Listen to what?” asked Jack.

“To the chatter of the monkeys, the rumble of the elephant, the roar of the tiger,” said the man. “I have listened for so long, they have all begun to sound like one voice—the one great voice of the forest.”

“Did the voice tell you that a tiger got caught in a trap last night?” asked Annie.

“Yes,” the hermit said.

“And did it tell you that after we saved him, he tried to attack us?” said Jack.

The blind man smiled.

“Please bring me one of the white flowers floating on the stream,” he said.

Jack wondered why the hermit was changing the subject.

But Annie jumped up and hurried to the stream. She pulled at one of the large flowers. It came up, muddy root and all. She took it to the blind man.

“Thank you,” he said.

The man touched the flower’s large white petals and its dirty root.

“This perfect lotus blossom grows from dark, thick mud,” he said. “Its beauty cannot live without its ugliness. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” said Jack and Annie.

“When you saved the tiger, you saved
all
of him,” said the blind man. “You saved his graceful beauty—
and
his fierce, savage nature. You cannot have one without the other.”

“Oh … right,” said Jack.

“Take this lotus as a thank-you gift from all the forest for saving our fierce friend,” said the blind man. “Our world would not be complete without him.”

Annie took the gift from the hermit.

“A gift from a forest far away,” she said.

Arf! Arf!
Teddy wagged his tail.

The langurs clapped.

“We can go home now,” said Jack, “if we can just find the way.”

“Do not worry,” said the blind man. “Your house in the trees is close by. The elephants walked in a large circle. So you are back at the place where you started.”

“Really?” said Jack.

The blind man pointed to the sky.

There was the magic tree house, high in a nearby tree.

“Oh, great,” breathed Jack.

“I told you not to worry,” said Annie. She and Jack pulled on their socks and shoes and stood up.

Before they left, Annie touched the hand of the blind man.

“Thanks for everything,” she said.

The man held her hand for a moment. Then he took Jack’s hand. Jack felt a wave of calm wash over him.

“Thank you,” he said to the blind man.

Kah and Ko chattered and held out their long arms. Jack and Annie hugged the two langurs.

“We’ll miss you,” said Annie.

“You were great tour guides,” said Jack. “Good-bye.”

Then he and Annie took off for the magic tree house with Teddy scampering after them.

At the rope ladder, Jack put Teddy into his pack and climbed up.

Annie carried the lotus blossom as she followed them.

Inside the tree house, Jack picked up the Pennsylvania book. But before he made a wish, he looked out the window with Annie.

In the distance, they saw Saba and the other elephants bathing in the stream.

They saw Kah and Ko swinging on vines.

They saw the tiger sunbathing in the grass, licking his sore leg.

They saw tiny deer grazing.

They saw bright birds in the trees.

They saw the blind man sitting in front of his cave. He was smiling.

Jack opened the book. He pointed to a picture of the Frog Creek woods.

“I wish we could go home,” he said.

The tree house started to spin.

The wind started to blow.

It blew harder and harder.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

Jack opened his eyes.

Late afternoon sunlight shined into the tree house.

“Our third gift,” said Annie.

She put the lotus blossom beside the pocket watch from the
Titanic
and the eagle’s feather from the Lakota Indians.

“One more gift,” she said to Teddy, “and you’ll be free from your spell.”

The little dog licked her hand.

“Hey, tell me this,” said Jack. “How did you know Teddy wanted us to hide behind that rock?”

Annie shrugged.

“I just knew,” she said. “I think I saw it in his eyes.”

“You
did?
” Jack looked into Teddy’s eyes.

The little dog tilted his head and stared back at Jack.

Teddy’s eyes twinkled, as if they held many secrets.

“Who are you, really?” whispered Jack.

Teddy just smiled a doggy smile and wagged his tail.

“Come for us again soon,” Annie said. “Okay?”

Teddy sneezed, as if to say,
Of course!

Jack grabbed his pack. Then he and Annie climbed down the rope ladder.

When they stood on the ground, they looked up. A little black nose was poking out the tree house window.

“Bye!” they called.

Arf! Arf!

Jack and Annie took off between the trees.

Birds sang in the twilight. Squirrels scampered playfully through the leaves.

The Frog Creek woods were very tame after the forest in India.

Soon they came to their street. As they walked to their house, the last bit of daylight was slipping away.

Before they went inside, Jack and Annie sat on their steps.

“I have two questions,” said Jack. “If the hermit couldn’t see, how did he know about the tree house? And how did he know that we had traveled all night with the elephants?”

“Easy,” said Annie. “The one great voice of the forest told him.”

“Hmm,” said Jack.

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened.

He heard a car going down the street.

He heard a woodpecker pecking.

He heard crickets chirping.

He heard a screen door opening.

He heard a mom saying, “Time for dinner, kids.”

All the sounds were like one great voice—the one great voice of home.