Adventure Book:
Daniel and Dinner |
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Imagine how excited Lily was when she heard her Uncle Dave on the phone.
“I’m coming to visit you with a Point and Shoot camera and some animals who need your help,” he said.
“Waiting for surprises makes a girl all googly,” complained Lily.
“Well,” said mother, “patience is a virtue.” But she was feeling a little googly herself.
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And then, there he was. He had a camera with film and four very flat animals—
an elephant, a giraffe, a lion, and a zebra. Then he pulled from his backpack a large bag of poly-fil® stuffing.
“Make them come alive Lily. Here’s the stick to stuff them with.”
And stuff them she did, until they were round and happy.
All the animals stood around a little awkwardly. Lily looked at them, and they looked right back at her. What to do?
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“Get to it, Lily,” said Uncle Dave. “They all need stories, and the stories need
pictures.”
Lily grinned because she was very good at telling stories, and as for the pictures, she would use the camera for that.
“Go out in the backyard,” said Lily’s mother. “It’s a jungle out there.”
And indeed it was.
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“Imagine I was a world renowned
photographer and I came out into the
jungle to photograph all of you,” Lily spoke to the animals.
Then she stood high on a rock to shoot a picture of the lion on the grassy plain.
“Stay far enough away so he won’t catch your scent, Lily.”
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There’s an elephant getting a drink. Maybe if I sneak through the tall grass, I’ll catch the light just right and snap. I’ll get it. I creep on my belly like a snake. I don’t make a sound. I am very quiet. Then... snap, snap.
They won’t believe this, thought Lily.
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Shhh, there’s a zebra out in the grasses. I hide behind a bush, and just at the right moment I throw a rock into the brush. Just as he begins to run... snap, snap.
That was beautiful. Zebra on the run. He thought I was the lion waiting for his dinner.
Amazing camera work, Lily.
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I see a stand of trees. The sun is in the branches. I hide behind a tree, and as the sun peeks through the leaves, I see the giraffe... and snap, snap. I catch the giraffe as he is eating his lunch. What a shot!
Wait until I show my editor!
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“Back to the kitchen to report on our adventure,” said Lily. “Maybe there are cookies and milk, just in case I need to keep
up my strength.”
“Have you named the critters yet?” asked Mother.
“Never considered it,” said Lily.
“Well consider it now,” interjected Uncle Dave. “They need names.”
“Well,” said Lily, “if I were an elephant, I would be known as Effie Longnostril, and if I were a zebra, my mother would name me Sam. Wilhelmina would be a nice name for a giraffe, and, of course, the lion’s name is Daniel... because he told me so.”
And that settled that.
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“Back to the jungle,” announced Lily. “I’ve got to teach Daniel to do something while he’s being a lion.”
“Hmm,” said Uncle David. “I always
wondered what one did while he was being a lion. Maybe Daniel could do sums.”
Well, that caught Daniel’s attention!
“Do you mean I could just lie there and add numbers in my head? One gazelle, two gazelles, three gazelles, four... five gazelles, six gazelles, seven gazelles, more. Ridiculous! All I need is one for dinner. No, I have no desire to do sums.”
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“So you’re not counting,” said Lily. “Perhaps you’re thinking great thoughts.”
“Which thoughts are those? Like, where is my dinner?”
The other critters looked worried, and edged away to another spot.
“No, no, no,” said Lily. “Think about world peace.”
“Oh,” said Daniel, “well, perhaps after dessert.”
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“Perhaps you could dig holes and put bones in them? Neaten and tidy up a bit,” suggested Lily.
“Dig holes!? Why, after my dinner the buzzards pick those bones clean. They give me something to look at while I’m waiting for my next meal.”
The other animals moved even further away. Lily could see that it was hopeless. Lions were just lazy, and all they thought about was eating. If they weren’t so pretty lying there, they’d be no use at all. So she snapped another picture, and it proved
to be the last of her film.
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| Written and illustrated by elinor peace bailey |
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