#11 Lions at Lunchtime

When Jack and Annie saw a deerlike creature leap into the woods on the way home from the grocery store, they dashed to the woods. Merlyn handed them the third riddle to solve and a book titled ¡°The Plains of Africa.¡± When they got to Africa, they unrolled the scroll of the riddle which said, ¡®I¡¯m the color of gold and as sweet as can be. But beware of the danger that¡¯s all around me. What am I?¡¯

Out of the tree house window, there were lots of wildbeests around the river, zebras, gazelles, giraffes. While Jack was studying some animals from the Africa book, Annie tried to help the wildbeests cross the river, but she suddenly stuck into the mudhole. Jack used a fallen tree to pull Annie out of the mud. In the pond, Jack and Annie got cleaned by an elephant and then they followed a bird to a beehive. Jack read about the bird in the Africa book. The bird led a Masai tribeperson to a beehive. The bird waited for him or her to scatter the bees and take the honey. Then the bird feasted on the honeycomb. Jack and Annie scattered the bees and tasted the honey. At that time a Masai showed up and Jack and Annie made peanut butter and honey sandwiches and shared it with the Masai. While eating sandwiches, Jack found the answer to the riddle, ¡®honey¡¯.

After the Masai left they went back to the tree house. But they saw a pride of lions were near the tree house. Jack learned from the Africa book that lions didn¡¯t attack giraffes because giraffes kicks were so strong. Jack and Annie tiptoed to the giraffe nearby and got under a belly of giraffe. The giraffe got closer to the tree house, the closer to the pride of lions. Jack and Annie dashed to the rope ladder and escaped from the lions and came home, Frog Creek Pennsylvania. On the way back home, they thought the giraffe was a real honey.