The Secret Zoo Read Online Free PDF Page B

children stood with their faces pressed against the tunnel wall. Their breath clouded the glass. Silence hung in the air and time passed.
    Then, out of nowhere, Richie said, “I got a joke.”
    â€œWhat?” Ella moaned.
    â€œA joke! I got a joke.”
    Without looking away from the pool, Noah said, “Go ahead.”
    â€œReady?” Richie asked.
    â€œFor crying out loud,” Ella said, “stalling isn’t going to make it funnier.”
    Richie cleared his throat and said, “What’s white and furry and shaped like a tooth?”
    â€œWhat’s what ?”
    â€œWhat’s white…and furry…and shaped like a tooth?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Noah said. “What?”
    â€œA molar bear!”
    No one laughed. Noah and Ella just stood and peered into the water.
    â€œA molar bear,” Richie repeated. “Don’t you guys get it?”
    â€œOf course we get it,” Ella said. “We’re just not six anymore.”
    â€œGeez,” Richie said. “I guess—”
    â€œQuiet!” Noah said. “I see something!”
    â€œWhat? Where?” Richie said.
    â€œLight! I saw light!”
    Noah had seen a beam of light inside the pool, but it had come from the bottom of the tank.
    â€œI don’t see anything,” Ella said. “Where?”
    â€œIt was out there, but only for a second. A ray of light—just like the light that Megan described!” Noah said.
    â€œYou sure it wasn’t coming from the sky?” Richie asked.
    â€œNo, it wasn’t!”
    The next moment, the scouts heard a high-pitched sound coming from the room behind them—the room they’d entered the tunnel from. It sounded like a big metal door opening. They turned in the direction of the noise.
    â€œWhat was that?” Ella whispered.
    â€œI don’t know,” Noah said. “Maybe someone who works here.”
    They pushed away from the glass and tried to act casual. Ella fluffed her ponytail, and Richie ruffled the pom-pom on his cap. The scouts heard another high-pitched sound, followed by the sound of something slamming shut.
    â€œThat’s too loud to be a normal door,” Richie whispered.
    Suddenly, through the layers of glass that formed the winding tunnel, the scouts saw movement. Something had entered the room. Something big. And white.
    From where she stood, Ella could see around the corner. A moment later, her face turned pale.
    â€œUh…guys?”
    A new sound filled the exhibit: wwwrrrooooowwwlll !
    â€œWhat is it?” Noah said.
    Before she could reply, the head of a huge polar bear emerged at the opening of the tunnel. The bear snarled,swung its snout from side to side, and fixed its black eyes on the scouts.
    Noah tried to say something, but only a flat, meaningless sound came out. “Unnnhhh…”
    The bear threw back its head and roared. Its tongue looked like a slab of meat. Its ivory fangs were razor sharp.
    Noah glanced into the pool. Only one bear was out there. It was Frosty, the smaller bear, which meant this was Blizzard. Somehow Blizzard had entered the tunnel.
    The scouts stood frozen in place. Noah’s friends looked like statues with goofy headgear—one with fluffy earmuffs and the other with a stocking cap.
    Ella nervously broke the silence, whispering, “Hey, Richie, any good jokes we can tell it?”
    â€œDon’t move,” Noah warned. “Just keep perfectly still.”
    Blizzard stepped out of the room and into the tunnel. Water dribbled off his fur and formed large puddles on the floor. He closed to within ten feet of the children and rolled his daunting head.
    â€œThe room behind us—it has an exit,” Noah said.
    â€œRichie, can we run faster than this thing?” Ella whispered.
    â€œI don’t know,” he replied.
    Blizzard swung his head around at Noah and growled. Noah carefully eyed the bear. Suddenly a