In the Desert : In the Desert (9780307496126) Read Free Page B

grass.
    “What’s
that
?” whispered Judy.
    meep
… “Gecko lizard,” said Thudd.
    “Another stupid bug-eater!” said Judy. She squeezed herself deeper into the rocky cave.
    The gecko was as still as a stone. Its eyes stared unblinkingly in their direction.
    meep
… “Drewd and Oody not move,” Thudd squeaked softly. “Gecko hunt what move.”
    Andrew watched the shadow of the worm jiggling just above them.
    Suddenly the gecko became a blur. Andrew felt something slam into his stomach. One of the gecko’s sharp, hard toes had pinned him against the rock! Andrew looked up to see the gecko snapping at the worm above them.
    The next second, a dark triangle appeared above their heads.
    meep
… “Death adder snake!” squeakedThudd. “Got tail that look like worm! Hide in rocks. Wiggle tail to lure prey animal.
    “Death adder got terrible poison. One bite got enough poison to kill eighteen humans.”
    In a flash, the gecko turned and darted away. The snake’s mouth stretched open. From below, Andrew glimpsed its long white fangs. The death adder sprang at the speeding gecko.
    Andrew was suddenly soaking wet! Super-smelly stuff was spraying from the rear end of the gecko!
    “Eeeeew!” hollered Judy. “Something stinks a hundred times worse than dog poop!”
    The death adder slammed its jaws shut on the gecko’s tail. The tail broke away like a loose tooth! And it kept on wriggling in the snake’s mouth!
    meep
… “Gecko spray stinky, stinky stuff at predator,” said Thudd. “If predator not let go of tail, gecko let tail go. Grow new tail again.”
    The tailless gecko raced away and disappeared behind a termite mound.
    Andrew held his breath as the last wiggly bit of the gecko’s tail slid into the death adder’s mouth.
Will we be next
? he wondered.

The death adder’s tongue flicked from its closed mouth.
    meep
… “Snake smell stuff with tongue,” said Thudd quietly.
    The thick yellow-and-brown-striped death adder slithered slowly away from the rock pile. It looped its way over the sand. Andrew and Judy watched it till it was too far away to see.
    meep
… “Sun gonna set,” said Thudd. He pointed to the sun, now lower in the sky and more orange. “Lotsa animals gonna wake up. Start to hunt. Big danger.”
    Judy slapped at her clothes, trying to get rid of the sticky, stinky gecko spray. “Yeesh!” she said. “I smell like a litter box!”
    meep
… “Nose get used to smell,” said Thudd. “In little while, Drewd and Oody not smell stinky stuff anymore.”
    Andrew shrugged. “Maybe the smell will keep some dangerous animals away,” he said.
    The sky lit up with ribbons of color— orange and rose and red and purple. Far away, Uluru rock glowed like polished copper.
    Judy lifted her sunglasses to get a better look.
    “Cheese Louise!” she exclaimed. “Wild colors!”
    meep
… “Desert sunset got lotsa color,” said Thudd, “cuz desert got lotsa dust.
    “Color happen when light bounce off stuff. Light bounce off dust in desert air.”
    “Let’s pick up the pace,” said Andrew, trudging ahead. “It’ll be dark soon.”
    Judy rolled her eyes. “It’s been hours,” she said. “And we’re only a few yards from where we started.”
    “If we could only find a way to use the wind. It’s blowing toward Uluru,” said Andrew.
    “It feels cold,” said Judy.
    meep
… “Desert air cool fast, fast, fast,” said Thudd. “Desert air not got much water. Water in air is what hold heat.”
    Big, airy tumbleweeds bounced over the sand and grass and sped away.
    Hmmm
, thought Andrew. “Maybe we could …”
    Just then, he felt the ground shake a little. He looked around.
    Behind them were dozens of leaping creatures as tall as refrigerators. They jumped as high as they were tall. Some could have bounded across a classroom in a single leap.
    “Wowzers schnauzers!” shouted Andrew. “Kangaroos!”
    “A whole
herd
of kangaroos!” said Judy.
    Some of the kangaroos stopped to