Panda Panic Read Online Free PDF

would be,” Little Bear said. “Emperors always have to sleep on comfortable beds, don’t they?”
    â€œThat’s why his mattress is stuffed with rhododendron leaves,” said Ping, unable to stop the fibs from tumbling out. “And he heats his bed with a hot-water beetle. It’s the height of luxury. The servants slide a water beetle between the sheets and encourage it to run around until it’s hot.”
    Every time he opened his mouth Ping made his situation worse. There was one point, however, that he enjoyed returning to again and again.
    â€œYou have to be exceptionally brave to be a bodyguard,” he said.
    And each time Ping said it, Little Bear grew more and more impressed by him.
    â€œI think you’re very brave,” he said. “I wish I was you.”
    â€œThank you,” Ping replied graciously. “But sometimes even bravery’s not enough. Sometimes you have to be prepared to put yourself in mortal danger to save someone else’s life.”
    Little Bear asked him what the scariest fight he’d ever had was. Ping rose to the challenge and made up a story about twelve masked bandits scaling the walls of the palace in the dead of night.
    â€œIt was my job to scare them away before they could hurt the Emperor,” he said. He told Little Bear he had hung upside down off the palace roof, clinging onto the ramparts with nothing but his bare paws, and repelled them with hedgehog bombs, armadillo grenades, flamingo throwers, and anti-bandit mosquito missiles, which he’d thrown down on top of their heads.

    Little Bear squealed with excitement.
    â€œDid they fall off their ladders?” he asked.
    â€œThey fell in the moat, which I’d filled with specially trained crocodiles,” said Ping. “You should have seen the speed with which they jumped out of that water!”
    â€œWow!” gasped Little Bear. “Twelve masked bandits, specially trained crocodiles, and hanging off the roof by your toes! You are so brave.”
    Although Ping liked being called brave, the truth was that every time Little Bear said this to him, Ping felt a little bit sadder, because of course he knew that he wasn’t brave. Yes, he’d surfed down the river, but that was more stupid than brave. He’d never put his life in danger to save someone else—it was all made up. But obviously he couldn’t say this to Little Bear without breaking the cub’s heart and making himself look stupid. So he didn’t.
    Instead he offered to show Little Bear how to be a bodyguard and stop a bandit from creeping up on the Emperor.
    â€œI’ll be the Emperor’s bodyguard,” Ping said. “You be the bandit and this katsura tree can be the Emperor. Obviously he tends to move around a bit more than a tree, but you get the idea.”
    â€œYou won’t hurt me, will you?” said Little Bear nervously.
    â€œWhy would I hurt you?” Ping asked.
    â€œBecause you’re a martial arts master and you won’t be able to restrain yourself when you catch me.”
    â€œMy body may be a lethal weapon,” Ping said seriously, “but I always keep it firmly under control.” And he demonstrated what he meant by shouting “Banshai!” and kicking the tree. Unfortunately, he misjudged the distance between his leg and the trunk, kicked the air, and fell backward into a puddle.
    â€œAre you alright?” asked Little Bear, while Ping lay on his back rubbing his leg.
    â€œLesson number one,” said the panda, trying to cover his mistake. “Always let your opponent think he can beat you so that he drops his guard. Then you can attack him. Shall we start?”

    Ping and Little Bear played Bandits and Bodyguards all afternoon. They found out many things about each other. Little Bear was good at crawling on his stomach and sneaking up on Ping from behind, but Ping was equally good at looking between his legs and