Monkey Mountain by Justin D'Ath

Author:Justin D'Ath
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742530413
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2010-02-03T16:00:00+00:00

12

WATERSPOUT

I don’t know who was more surprised – the stingray or us. It must have jumped out of the sea to cool down like all the other fish, and accidentally landed in our boat.

Now it couldn’t get out.

It was a big one – nearly two metres from wingtip to wingtip – and must have weighed fifty kilograms. Flapping and struggling in the bottom of the boat, the stingray rocked us from side to side. Water slopped in over the edges.

‘It’s going to sink us!’ cried Mr Griffin.

He and about eight monkeys were trapped down one end of the boat. I was trapped at the other end, with the rest of the monkeys and the chook.

‘Not if I can help it,’ I said.

All fifteen monkeys began shrieking in alarm as I edged towards our unwelcome passenger. They must have known about stingrays. The twenty-centimetre-long poisonous barb on its tail could kill a macaque in a matter of minutes. I might last a little longer – long enough to be killed by the lava – but I didn’t plan to get stung.

I didn’t plan to get killed by lava, either, but first I had to deal with the stingray.

It lay in the bottom of the boat, facing me. I needed to get behind it so I could grab its tail. But the stingray was wider than the boat. The tips of its broad, greenish-grey wings dangled over the sides. There was only one way to get past it – jump over.

No way, José!

I knew a bit about stingrays from a documentary I saw on Animal Planet. They spend most of their time on the ocean floor, so if something attacks them it will usually come from above. That’s why a stingray’s eyes are on top of its head. And why the poisonous barb is on top of its tail. When something attacks, the stingray will flip its barb straight up like the blade of a flick knife, so the most dangerous place is right above a stingray’s back.

A very good reason not to jump over it.

But I rose to my feet anyway. The boat wobbled all over the place. Keeping my knees bent and my feet spread wide for balance, I leaned forward until I was practically standing over the big, quivering ray. Right in the danger area.

‘Sam, what are you doing?’ gasped Mr Griffin.

I was too tense to answer. All my attention was focused on the stingray’s deadly weapon.

‘C’mon, big fella,’ I said, waving my left hand above its eyes. ‘Give me your best shot.’

Swish!

As quick as a striking snake, the ray whipped its tail up, slashing at me with the barb.

But I was ready for it. I jerked my left hand back and reached across the barb with my right hand, grabbing the long skinny tail as it swung forward over the stingray’s body.

Gotcha!

A stingray’s barb isn’t nearly as long as its tail. I’d caught its tail near the end, out of range of the deadly barb.

Gripping the slippery tail in both hands, I straightened my legs and tried to heave the big flapping fish over the side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.