Free Dingoes at Dinnertime by Mary Pope Osborne Page A

walking across a sun-baked clearing.
    They passed bushes and scrawny trees. Lizards ran over the dry, cracked ground.
    Arf! Arf!
Teddy barked from Jack’s pack.
    “Whoa!” said Jack.
    A pair of huge, funny-looking birds walked out from behind a bush.
    They were taller than Jack. They had fat bodies, long, skinny legs, and long, skinny necks.
    “Who are
you?
” Annie asked the strange pair.
    Jack opened his pack and took out the Australia book. He found a picture of the birds.
    “They’re emus,” he said. He read aloud:
    The emu (say EE-myoo) is a large bird that doesn’t fly. It can run as fast as thirty miles per hour.
    “Wow, that’s fast,” said Annie.
    Arf!
Teddy jumped out of Jack’s backpack and barked at the strange birds.
    The emus gave the little dog a haughty look. Then they turned and walked proudly away.
    Jack wrote in his notebook:

    “Look, a
live
teddy bear!” said Annie.
    Jack looked up.
    Annie ran to a tree at the edge of the clearing. The “live teddy bear” was nestled in the fork of the tree.
    “Aww, it’s so cute!” whispered Annie.
    The creature was fast asleep. He had large round ears, a black nose, and a furry body. His feet had long, curved claws.
    “It’s a koala bear,” said Jack.
    “Hi, sleepyhead,” Annie said to the koala.
    She patted his soft fur. He opened his big eyes and looked calmly at her.
    Jack found a koala picture in the Australia book. He read:
    The koala is actually not a bear at all. It’s a marsupial (say mar-SOUP-ee-ul), like a kangaroo. A marsupial mother carries her babies in a stomach pouch.
    “That’s neat,” said Annie.
    Jack kept reading:
    Koalas mostly eat the leaves of gum trees, so cutting down gum trees to clear land has hurt them. Wildfires are also a threat. Koalas are slow-moving and can’t escape the smoke and flames.
    Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

    “What’s wrong, sleepyhead?” Annie asked the koala. “Don’t you feel well?”
    “Don’t worry,” said Jack. “Listen to this—”
    He read more from the book:
    Koalas, like kangaroos, are active at night and sleep during the day, when the sun is hot. The name “koala” means “no drink,” because koalas rarely drink water. They get moisture from the leaves they eat.
    Jack licked his lips. His mouth felt dry.
    “Speaking of water,” he said, “I’m thirsty.”
    “Me, too,” said Annie.
    Teddy was panting, as if he was thirsty, also.
    “Let’s find those campers,” said Jack, sighing. “Maybe they can give us some water.”
    Jack put Teddy back into his pack. He tucked the book under his arm, in case he needed to look something up.
    They began walking again. Suddenly, there was a loud, harsh cackle.
    “Yikes,” said Annie.
    “What was
that?
” said Jack.

The loud cry rang again through the dry air.
    Teddy barked.
    Jack and Annie turned around in the clearing. It was hard to tell where the sound was coming from.
    The terrible cackle came again.
    “There!” said Annie.
    She pointed at a bird in a gum tree. The bird had brown feathers and a large head with a long beak.

    It stared down at Jack and Annie. Then it let out another cackle.
    “Weird,” said Jack.
    He found the bird in his book and read:
    The kookaburra (say KOOK-uh-burr-uh) is the best-known bird of Australia. There is even a popular song about it. The kookaburra is also called the “laughing donkey.” This is because the strange sound it makes reminds people of a braying donkey.
    “I know that song!” said Annie. She began singing:
    “Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree-ee.
    Merry, merry king of the bush is he-ee … ”
    Jack wrote in his notebook:

    Annie stopped singing. “Hey,” she said. “There’s another weird thing.”
    “Where?” said Jack.
    Annie pointed to a big bluish tan lump lying in a shallow, dusty hole.
    “Is it alive?” said Jack.
    They stepped closer to the big lump.
    “It looks like it’s breathing,” said Annie.
    The lump was an animal lying on its