Cliffhanger Read Online Free PDF

Biscuits and I were
groaning
.
    â€˜It’s not my idea of fun,’ I whispered.
    â€˜You can say that again,’ Biscuits whispered back.
    We kept this up all the time Sally was explaining what we had to do. It involved a lot of running. Lots and lots of running.
    We had to run to the paddling pool and fill our buckets with water and then we had to run – with the full buckets – all the way round the field to the slide and then – still with the buckets – we had to climb up it and slide down and
then
we had to run to the sandpit and stagger across – with the buckets – and THEN we had to run to the stream and at the other side of the water there were four thirsty baby big cats desperate for a bucketful of water. Well, that’s what Sally said.

    â€˜Can you go through it again, Sally? I wasn’t concentrating,’ said Biscuits, grinning.
    Sally pretended to clip him over the ear.
    Giles was dead set on getting the rules right.
    â€˜So it’s the team that fills the painted rubbish bin first that wins, yes?’
    â€˜They’re not bins, Giles, they’re babies. A baby lion, a baby panther, a baby cheetah, and
we’ve
got a baby tiger,’ said Kelly. ‘Doesn’t it look sweet?’
    Giles screwed up his face in disgust at this whimsy.
    I thought the bins looked good. The Baby Lion bin was painted yellow, the Baby Panther bin was painted black, the Baby Cheetah bin was painted beige with black spots, and our Baby Tiger bin looked the best, painted orange with black stripes. They all had cardboard ears and beady eyes and the swing tops made excellent movable mouths. Jake demonstrated, making them open their mouths to pant for water.
    Jake jumped over the stream to get to them. He’s got long legs but it was still quite a stretch for him. And he wasn’t carrying a bucket of water. But there were four drainpipes across the stream. It looked as if we were in for a very wobbly walk across.
    â€˜And the team that fills the bin first wins?’ Giles repeated impatiently raring to go.
    â€˜Not so fast, pal,’ said Sally. ‘The first team gets forty points, the second team gets thirty, the third team gets twenty. The last team only gets ten points.’
    â€˜Guess who’s going to be last,’ I muttered to Biscuits.
    â€˜But the Crazy Bucket race isn’t just about coming first,’ said Sally, smiling. ‘We measure how much water is in each of the bins. That’s just as important. You get forty points if your bin is the fullest. Then thirty, then twenty, then ten.’
    â€˜It’s starting to sound like a maths lesson,’ said Lesley ‘I can’t get the hang of it, can you, Laura?’
    â€˜It’s all much simpler than it sounds,’ said Sally. ‘Cheer up. It’s fun!’
    Biscuits pulled a silly face at me. I pulled one back. Giles pushed us into place.
    â€˜Come on, you lot, stop messing about. We’re going to win, right?’
    â€˜Wrong!’
    â€˜Look,
try
,’ said Giles.
    â€˜My dad always tells me to try,’ I told Biscuits. ‘And I do. But it doesn’t work.’
    â€˜Right everyone,’ Sally called. ‘Get ready. One. Two. Three. GO!’
    We all started running. Guess what. Giles got to the pool first.
    â€˜Come
on
, you Tigers!’ he bawled as he filled his bucket.
    Biscuits and I were nearly last at the pool. We filled our buckets right to the brim. We certainly weren’t going to fill our baby big cat bin first, so we knew we had to bring our entire bucketful.

    It was hard going, running with a full bucket. We had to be ever so careful not to spill any. Some of the faster kids swung their buckets and sprinkled water all down their socks. Biscuits didn’t spill any, but he was slower than ever. I jogged along beside him, proud that I hadn’t spilled a single drop.
    And then one of the Cheetahs pushed past me, his bucket