Free A Perfect Time for Pandas: A Merlin Mission by Mary Pope Osborne Page B

They should have taken a bus or a taxi, or better yet, not gone at all!
    “Annie!” Jack shouted. She was so far ahead that he could barely see her. “Annie!” Jack yelled again as loudly as he could. “Slow down! Annie! Slow down!”
    Annie rounded a sharp curve and disappeared from sight.
    Jack stood up on his pedals and pumped with all his might. He imagined Annie veering into the path of a vehicle or driving off the cliff!
    When Jack finally came around the curve, he saw Annie up ahead, waiting beside the road. A big grin lit up her face. “Thank goodness, you’re okay!” she called. “I was worried about you!”
    Jack rode to her and stopped his bike.
    “This road isn’t safe, you know,” said Annie.
    “You’re telling
me
?” said Jack, panting.
    “But I can understand how that dragon felt. Can’t you?” said Annie. “It’s so beautiful!”
    Jack caught his breath and looked around. “Yeah, it is,” he said. “But how much farther do we have to go? We can’t forget about our mission.”
    “I don’t think it’s much farther. Come on, we’ll hurry,” said Annie. She climbed back onto her bike.
    “I’ll go first,” said Jack. “Let’s stay together and keep as close as we can to the side of the road. I’m serious, Annie.” He gripped his handlebars and started pedaling again.
    Leading the way, Jack hugged the side of the road. He glanced back a couple of times to make sure Annie was doing the same. As they struggled uphill, huffing and puffing, a light rain started to fall. Mist gradually descended over the valley and the highway as they biked higher and higher up the mountain.
    More vehicles roared by, but Jack tried to ignore them. He couldn’t believe they were bikingup a mountain on a Chinese highway in foggy weather!
    Finally Jack and Annie came to a sign that said:
    CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE GIANT PANDA
    “Yay! We’re here!” said Annie.
    The rain had stopped. Jack was wet, exhausted, and out of breath. “I hope you’re—you’re happy,” he said.
    Annie gave Jack a big smile. “I am,” she said. “Totally.”
    The panda center was nestled between two tall mountains. It was on the far side of a narrow river. A small bridge crossed the river to the entrance gate. Near the gate a group of grown-ups was waiting to go inside.
    Jack and Annie rode to the parking lot and parked their bikes next to a small blue bus. They took off their helmets and hung them from their handlebars.
    “Oh, no!” cried Annie. She pointed to the panda center sign. At the bottom it said:
    NO ONE UNDER 18 ADMITTED UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT
    “I don’t believe it,” said Jack. “We came all this way for nothing?” He had to admit he was secretly relieved. Now they could get back to their mission.
    “I can’t accept this,” said Annie. “We
have
to get in there.”
    “Your attention, please, everyone!” a woman in a uniform called to the group waiting outside the gate.
    “Let’s go listen,” said Annie. She ran across the bridge.
    “Annie!” Jack called. He sighed, and then hurried after her. They stood at the back of the little crowd.
    “My name is Dr. Ling,” the young Chinese woman said to the group. “Welcome to the largest giant panda reserve in the world. This is a place for scientists and animal protectors.”
    “That’s me,” Annie said, “animal protector.”
    Several people looked at Annie, as if they were wondering who she was.
    Oh, brother
, thought Jack.
    “Good,” Dr. Ling said to Annie. “Pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world. For at least three million years, they have lived in China’s dense bamboo forests. Now those same forests are being cut down to make room for farms and roads.”
    “How many pandas are left?” asked Annie.
    “Throughout the world, only about sixteen hundred in the wild,” said Dr. Ling. “Today the species is threatened with extinction.”
    “That’s terrible!” Annie said.
    “Shhh,”