Dingoes at Dinnertime (5 page)

“Don’t worry, Joey,” Annie said. “We’ll stay right here till your mom comes back for you.”

If she hasn’t already come
 … Jack thought worriedly.

Jack and Annie stood in the rain with Teddy and Joey and waited.

They waited and waited.

The rain turned to a drizzle. Then the drizzle turned to a light sprinkle.

Still, they waited … 

Jack grew sadder and sadder.

Maybe the mother kangaroo
had
come and left. Or maybe she had been caught by the dingoes. Or maybe she had been killed by the wildfire.

Jack was afraid to look at Annie, afraid to say anything.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said finally.

Jack patted Joey’s head and sighed.

“Let’s wait a little longer,” he said. “If she doesn’t come back soon, we’ll take him home with—”

Arf!
Teddy barked softly.

“
Listen
,” said Annie.

Jack listened.

The sound was very faint at first. But then it grew louder.

It was a squishy sound. It was a squashy sound. It was the sound of big feet slapping through mud!

The mother kangaroo bounded out of the trees.

She landed ten feet away from Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Joey.

They all were still for a moment, as if they all were holding their breath.

Then Joey tried to jump out of Jack’s backpack.

“Hold on,” said Jack.

He put his pack on the ground.

The little kangaroo leaped out.

He leaped again … then again … and dived headfirst into his mother’s pouch!

Joey turned himself over inside the pouch. Then he peeked out at Jack and Annie.

“Yay!” said Jack and Annie together. They laughed and clapped with relief.

“He looks happy to be home,” said Annie.

“His mother looks happy, too,” said Jack.

The mother kangaroo was gazing down at her joey. She patted his head with her small paws.

Then she looked at Jack and Annie with soft eyes.

“She’s saying thank you to us,” Annie said.

“You’re welcome,” Jack said.

“It was no problem,” Annie told the kangaroo. “You have a great joey.”

The kangaroo gave a little nod. Then she bent over and used a front paw to pick up a small piece of bark from the wet grass.

The kangaroo held the piece of bark out to Jack and Annie.

Jack took it from her.

“Oh, man,” he whispered. “It’s our
gift from a kangaroo
.”

The kangaroo then sprang into the air. She bounded gracefully away through the charred forest.

“Thanks!” called Jack.

“Bye!” called Annie. “Good luck!”

Arf! Arf!
Teddy barked.

The rain stopped as Jack studied the piece of bark. There was a tiny painting on it. It was just like the snake painting in the cave.

“I wonder what the snake means,” said Jack.

Jack opened the wet cover of the Australia book. He carefully turned the damp pages. He found a picture of the snake painting.

“Listen,” said Jack. He read:

“See?” said Annie. “That explains everything!”

“Explains what?” said Jack.

“We put our hands on the painting of the Rainbow Serpent,” she said. “It was like a special ceremony. So the Rainbow Serpent sent the rain to put out the wildfire.”

Arf!
Teddy barked.

Jack frowned.

“But it’s not a real creature,” he said. “It’s in
Dream
time. Not
real
time.”

Annie smiled.

“Then how do you explain
that?
” she said. She pointed at the sky.

The rain clouds were gone. The sun had come back out.

A rainbow curved across the blue Australian sky
.

“Oh, man,” whispered Jack. Though the air was warm again, he shivered.

“Teddy led us to the painting,” said Annie. “We should thank him.”

“How did he know about the Rainbow Serpent in the cave?” Jack asked.

“I told you,” said Annie. “He has a touch of magic.”

They looked down at the little dog. Teddy tilted his head and seemed to smile.

“Hey, we have all four gifts now!” said Annie.

“Oh, yeah!” said Jack.

“Let’s go home and see if Teddy’s spell is broken!” said Annie.

Arf! Arf!

Jack put the bark painting and the Australia book in his pack. Then they all headed through the wet, steamy forest in the direction of the tree house.

“I hope the tree house didn’t get burned!” he said.

They went past the clearing, past the gum trees and bushes.

The tree house was waiting for them.

“
It’s still here!
” said Annie.

She grabbed the rope ladder and started up.

Jack put Teddy in his pack and followed.

Inside the tree house, Teddy wiggled out of the pack. He pawed the Pennsylvania book.

Arf! Arf!

“Okay, okay,” said Jack. He pointed at a picture of the Frog Creek woods. “I wish we could go there!”

“Over the rainbow!” said Annie.

And the wind started to blow.

The tree house started to spin.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

“Welcome back,” came a soft, lovely voice.

Jack opened his eyes.

It was Morgan! They hadn’t seen Morgan in a long time.

“Morgan!” cried Annie.

She threw her arms around the enchantress. Jack jumped up and hugged Morgan, too.

“It’s good to see you both,” said Morgan.

Arf! Arf!

“And it’s good to see
you
, too,” Morgan said, smiling at the little dog.

“Look,” said Annie. She reached into Jack’s pack and pulled out the piece of painted bark. “A gift from a kangaroo.”

“We have all four gifts now,” said Jack.

“Good work,” said Morgan.

She picked up their first gift. It was the pocket watch from the
Titanic
.

“Once upon a time, there was a boy who wasted time,” Morgan said. “This watch teaches him that time is very precious. It must be used wisely.”

Morgan picked up their second gift, the eagle’s feather from the Lakota Indians.

“Sometimes the boy was afraid to stand up for himself,” she said. “The eagle’s feather teaches him that a small creature can be one of the bravest.”

Morgan picked up the lotus flower from the forest in India.

“Sometimes the boy did not respect nature,” she said. “This flower teaches him that nature holds many wonders.”

Morgan picked up the piece of bark with the painting of the Rainbow Serpent.

“Sometimes the boy didn’t want to study other times and places,” she said. “This painting teaches him there is mystery, magic, and wisdom in the traditions of ancient peoples.”

“What boy?” Jack asked.

“Who are you talking about?” asked Annie.

Morgan didn’t answer right away. She placed her hands on Jack’s and Annie’s shoulders.

“Thank you,” she said, “for helping this boy learn his lessons. Thank you for breaking the spell.”

“What boy?” Jack asked again.

Arf! Arf! Arrrrrrrf!

Jack and Annie looked over at Teddy.

Then something magical happened.

In a flutter of time … 

in the spin of a whirlwind … 

Teddy was changed.

He was no longer a dog.

He was a
boy
.

The boy was on the ground on his hands and knees.

“Meet my young helper from Camelot,” said Morgan.

The boy glanced up. He had a friendly freckled face and twinkly dark eyes. His hair was the same color that Teddy’s fur had been. He looked a bit older than Jack, about ten or so.