Free Archer's Quest by Linda Sue Park

entered the river, the water suddenly stopped swirling and foaming. It became completely still, and many dozens of large turtles rose to the surface. They arranged themselves in a wide span, layer upon layer. Their hard shell backs now formed a bridge across the water."

    Kevin couldn't stop himself. "No way!" But he snapped his mouth shut quickly, and Archie didn't seem to notice the interruption. Kevin could tell that he was still deep in the story world.
    "Chu-mong and his party crossed the river safely. As the last hoof of the last horse reached the other side, the turtle bridge broke apart, and the river returned to its raging self. Chu-mong rode up the bank, then turned to see his brothers stop short at the river, their faces astonished. Neither bridge nor boat—how had Chu-mong crossed the turbulent water?
    "And that was the last Chu-mong saw of them, their faces foolish with amazement. They had failed.
    "He was alive. Alive and free."

    Archie blinked, and his eyes seemed to clear. He looked at Kevin expectantly.
    It was unbelievable. How could the arrows have signaled the turtles? How could the turtles have known what to do? How could they have supported the weight of horses and riders?
    Impossible. The impossible things were really adding up today.
    Still, it was a good story.

    "Wow, Archer. That's amazing."
    They walked on in silence, Kevin replaying the story in his head. The desperate nighttime ride; the dawn chase; the roiling river. Those three arrows disappearing into the foaming rapids ... and then the turtles rising to the surface.
    Kevin didn't realize how long he'd been lost in thought until he saw that they had reached the turnoff for Dorchester State. The street on their left led to the front gate of the university. Kevin went to the right, toward the access road that merged onto Route 104.
    When they reached the road, Kevin glanced to his left. No pedestrian bridge. He looked to the right—there it was, more than half a mile away in the wrong direction. There was no other way to cross; they'd just have to double back once they reached the other side.
    They walked to the bridge in silence, then climbed the stairs. Kevin looked down through the metal-grating floor. The cars whooshed by underneath.
    "Wah," Archie exhaled. "So fast, your dragon-carts!" He stopped to watch them for a few moments, shaking his head. "Why such haste, I wonder."
    Kevin hoped Archie was talking to himself, because he didn't have a good answer. Archie didn't say anything more.
    Once down the stairs on the other side, they headed
for the road that led toward the zoo.
Almost there,
Kevin thought.
And then what?

    It occurred to him that maybe he should explain to Archie what a zoo was. Did they have zoos back in B.C times? Probably not.
    'Archer, we're going to a place where a lot of animals live," he began. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the highway's traffic on their left.
    Archie looked pleased. "A place inhabited by many animals!" he said. "The mountains? But I see no mountains here. A forest, perhaps?"
    "No, no. This is a place where people keep animals from all over the world. They're not wandering around free—they're in these enclosures, and sometimes they stay in cages, and people come look at them. And they get studied there, too, so we can learn more about them."
    "Ah, I have heard something of this!" Archie seemed excited. "Long ago the great Chinese emperor Wen Wang created a vast garden for animals on the palace grounds. It was known as the 'Garden of Intelligence' because wise men would go there to discuss questions about the world while viewing the animals. I never dreamed I would be able to visit such a place myself!"
    Well, that was good. Archie knowing about zoos meant he'd be less likely to flip out when they got there.
Kevin had been worried that Archie would be confused and maybe upset by seeing the animals penned up instead of roaming free. Zoos had been around a lot longer than Kevin