We Are Not Eaten by Yaks Read Online Free PDF

them shiver, but they harnessed their courage for their father’s sake and for the hope of getting cable.
    Dr. Navel, dressed sharply in a tuxedo, saw his children standing in the entrance to the Great Hall. He wrinkled his forehead a moment at their dusty clothes and their small backpack, but then just shrugged and motioned for them to come over to where he stood with three other men, listening to a woman dressed in colorful, flowing robes tell a tale. The children, scowling, approached.
    â€œ. . . and there was the Great Oracle, the ferocious spirit of Dorjee Drakden, eternal protector of the Tibetan people, waving his sword over his head like an ancient Tibetan warrior,” she said. This was the mountain climber their father had been so excited to meet.

    â€œDad,” Celia whispered, tugging at her father’s tuxedo jacket.
    â€œShhh.” He swatted her hand away. She tugged again. He swatted her again and gave her one of those looks that parents must learn from some book. She let go of his tuxedo.
    â€œWhat do we do?” mouthed Oliver to his sister, trying not to attract too much attention. Celia scratched her head while she thought and raised a small cloud of dust.
    â€œThe oracle growled and hissed.” The mountain climber was still telling her story. “His spirit was wearing the body of a little monk like a costume, making him do things that would have been impossible for a person to do if he weren’t possessed by the Oracle. His robes twirled, and his sword whistled through the air and stopped a hair’s width from my throat!”
    She spun and slashed her hands through the air like a sword as she spoke. She winked at Celia, who stared back at her with an expression on her face like she’d just seen an infomercial for hedge clippers. Choden Thordup continued.
    â€œThe oracle demanded I prove my courage. He demanded that I jump out the window. We were in a monastery high on the edge of the Tsangpo Gorge, which fell ten thousand feet below us.” She paused and let the terror of her situation sink in.
    Celia crossed her arms, waiting for the explorer to keep talking. Oliver rolled his eyes. There was nothing dramatic about pauses, he thought. They were like commercial breaks and he wondered why storytellers always insisted on using them. Why didn’t she just get to the point? They had to warn their father already.
    Oliver decided to interrupt: “Dad, we have to tell you something.”
    â€œNot now, Oliver,” Dr. Navel said. “What’s gotten in to you both? Ms. Thordup is telling a story.”
    â€œBut it’s important!”
    â€œIt will have to wait a moment. It is rude to interrupt. I don’t interrupt you when you are watching your stories on television.”
    â€œYes you do!” Oliver objected. “All the time!”
    â€œWell, I’m your father and I’m allowed. Now, let Ms. Thordup finish her tale.” He turned to the mountain climber. “Apologies. Please, continue.”
    Oliver shifted from foot to foot while Choden continued.
    â€œThe fall would certainly kill me,” she said. “Then again, the sword at my throat would certainly kill me too. We needed the oracle’s blessing to continue our journey, so I did what any reasonable explorer would have done. I smiled and then flung myself out the window.”
    Dr. Navel looked at his son and raised his eyebrows, trying to show how impressive it all was, but Oliver just stared back with the same expression a cow might have, had it been invited to a Ceremony of Discovery at the Explorers Club.
    He was wondering if it was worth enduring the rest of this story to warn their father. Maybe they should have run away, if this was how they were to be treated when they had important news. Celia crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. Sir Edmund was probably somewhere in the crowd putting his plans into motion and their father cared more about