Tiger in Trouble Read Online Free PDF Page B

much.”
    “Seriously, it says they have all kinds of big cats, not just a tiger, but lions, jaguars, leopards, a bear and —”
    “What kind of bear?” I asked. I’d only browsed the brochure myself, and I didn’t like bears.
    “It doesn’t say,” Nick answered, not looking up from the brochure. “And they also have some buffalo, a herd of deer, birds of prey, and — wow, this is unbelievable!”
    “What?”
    “They have three elephants!” Nick practically screamed.
    People in the seats across the aisle turned and stared at us. I looked away. There probably wasn’t anybody on the plane who hadn’t heard him.
    “I’m personally more interested in other things than the animals,” I said through clenched teeth.
    “What could be more interesting than elephants — except for maybe a whale?” Nick asked in amazement.
    “Things like where we’re going to be staying.”
    Nick shrugged. “That’s not very interesting. Besides, it says right here that we’re going to be staying in rustic accommodations. What’s a rustic?”
    I shook my head. “Rustic isn’t a type of place. It describes the place. It means like not modern or fancy. Old.”
    “Like a cabin?” Nick asked.
    “Or a shack,” I muttered.
    Nick snickered, “And you said I was being silly about the food. They’re not going to be putting us in a shack, Sarah.”
    I knew he was right. I hated it when he was right and wanted to change the subject. “I guess having elephants is pretty exciting.”
    “I can’t wait until I’m sitting on top of one of them and —”
    “You may have a long, long wait,” I cautioned.
    “This is only a two-hour flight, and the camp can’t be that far from the airport, so how long can it be?”
    “Not long until we get there, but no telling how long before they let you ride on the elephant. If they ever do.”
    “Why wouldn’t they?” Nick demanded.
    “Because they can’t just let some kids loose around an elephant.”
    “But we’re not just some kids! We’re experienced around exotic animals. We’ll tell them about Mr. McCurdy and his animals and all the time we spend at his farm with Buddha, Laura and Calvin.”
    “Just because we’ve spent time with some exotic animals doesn’t mean they’ll let us near these ones.”
    “So you mean we could come all this way and not be allowed as close to these animals as we are to Mr. McCurdy’s?” Nick questioned in disbelief.
    “That could happen. They may not even believe us when we say we’ve spent time around a tiger. If somebody told you they spent time every day with a tiger, wouldn’t you think they were making the whole thing up?”
    “Well, I don’t know, maybe, maybe not.”
    “Think about it, Nick. It’s not a normal sort of thing to have a tiger for your next-door neighbour.”
    “But we do. We’ll just have to convince them — you’ll have to convince them.”
    “Why me?”
    “Because people believe you. You have such an honest face.”
    “Thank you.”
    “And that’s good because you really aren’t very good at lying.”
    “That’s not true! I can —” I stopped myself. It seemed pretty stupid to be arguing that I was a good liar. Especially when I wasn’t. Nick was a different matter. He was quick on his feet and could say practically anything with a straight face.
    “So, will you talk to them, Sarah?”
    “I’ll talk to them, but even if they do believe me about Buddha and the other animals, that doesn’t mean they’ll let you anywhere near their elephants.”
    “Why not? I’ve never had any problems with elephants at Mr. McCurdy’s place,” Nick said.
    “Mr. McCurdy doesn’t have any elephants.”
    Nick smiled. “Well, you know that, and I know that, but nobody at this camp knows that.”
    “Didn’t you just say I was bad at lying? Now you’re asking me to lie for you?”
    “I’m not asking you to lie.”
    “Good, because —”
    “I can handle that all by myself. All I’m asking you to