Poppy on Safari by Gillian Young

Author:Gillian Young [Young, Gillian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Matador
Published: 2019-08-21T16:00:00+00:00

This left Harley in full view. He stood looking from Poppy to the young rhinoceros until deciding to roll over too. Poppy flipped over on to her paws. She watched with amusement as the pup and the calf stared at each other.

‘So, you’re not Cain?’ Harley growled, tapping Wylde gently on the chin with his big white paw.

Wylde blinked against his touch. He dipped his head and gently pushed Harley with his nose. ‘Who’s Cain?’

Bushes began rustling and swaying. Branches snapped and fell to the ground.

‘Someone you do not want to upset,’ a voice bellowed.

Harley jumped to his feet. Poppy didn’t move. Fear rendered her motionless as a huge rhinoceros stomped through the bush, crushing branches and leaves beneath its powerful feet.

Harley was at Poppy’s side in an instant. Poppy pulled her ears back. She slipped her tail between her legs. She sensed that any sudden movement could be fatal for them. She watched Wylde, her eyes wide with fright as he turned towards the huge creature.

A whimper escaped her lips. Despite being terrified, she knew she had to do something to protect the youngsters.

But before she could make up her mind what to do, Wylde snorted loudly, ‘Mum, these are my new friends, Poppy and Harley.’

Wylde’s mum stopped. With her head down, eyes fixed on them, she stood growling.

Poppy gulped. She felt Harley press his body against her, no longer the cocky, confident pup he had been in the camels’ enclosure. She tried ignoring the two horns on the top of Mother Rhinoceros’ nose, her broad chest, the short neck rippled with muscle, and her three-toed feet, which could probably trample both her and Harley as easily as those bushes.

‘We mean no harm,’ Poppy whined, her voice wobbling and croaky.

Mother Rhinoceros’ growls quietened into grunts.

‘We are looking for our family.’

Mother Rhinoceros’ ears twitched.

Poppy took a deep breath and continued. ‘We’ve been searching the park but we can’t find them. My family are in a big green car. My pawrents are called David and Kate, and my human brother and sister are Jack and Evie.’

Poppy was about to mention Harley when Mother Rhinoceros stepped closer.

‘You poor things,’ she grunted softly. ‘To think of you both roaming this park alone…’

Poppy and Harley pulled their ears back. Poppy whined quietly; she couldn’t help it seeing Mother Rhinoceros bearing down on them. But the giant rhinoceros only pressed her nose gently against them. Her warm breath tickled their fur. When she stepped back, Poppy’s fear turned into hope seeing the expression on her face.

‘I did see a big green car drive past…’

Poppy looked around the enclosure. She watched the cars go by. Some of them stopped. Humans leaned out of the windows, pointing at Wylde and taking photos. Thankfully, Poppy and Harley were hidden behind the broken bushes and Wylde’s mum.

‘A little boy and girl were sitting inside, and I heard someone call the boy Jack.’

Poppy’s heart raced. She wagged her tail and her mouth stretched into a beaming Goldie grin.

‘I will take you as far as I can,’ Wylde’s mum grunted.

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.