A Perfect Time for Pandas: A Merlin Mission

house again.
    “There!” he said. A small glass bottle glinted in a shadowy corner. Jack picked it up, and he and Annie stepped to the window and read the writing on the bottle’s label.
    Use only once. Take one sip and grow to five times your size. The magic lasts for one hour .
    “Five times our size?” said Jack. “That would make us about as tall as a house.”
    “Talk about weird,” said Annie.
    “Yeah, but it actually sounds like fun,” said Jack.
    “More fun than when we became teeny-tiny in India,” asked Annie, “after we saw the cobras?”
    “
Lots
more,” said Jack, “especially if we have to get away from cobras again.” He put the rhyme and the tiny bottle into his backpack, then took adeep breath. “Okay! All set?”
    “Ready,” said Annie.
    Jack pointed to the cover of the guide book. “I wish we could go there!” he said.
    The wind started to blow.
    The tree house started to spin.
    It spun faster and faster.
    Then everything was still.
    Absolutely still.

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CHAPTER THREE
The Sleeping Dragon
    O
h, brother
, thought Jack, hurrying after Annie. By the time he entered the bike shop, she was already talking with the man who worked there. “Good news!” Annie said, rushing over to Jack. “He says we
can
get to the panda center on mountain bikes! And it’s only thirty yuan a day per bike!”
    “Did he say how long it takes to get there?” asked Jack.
    “Not too long,” said Annie. She clapped her hands. Her eyes were shining. “Jack! I can’t believe this!”
    Annie was so excited about the panda center that Jack just couldn’t say no. He reached into his pocket and took out three twenty-yuan notes and gave them to the shopkeeper.
    The man handed Jack and Annie their helmets. “It’s a beautiful ride up the mountain, but be
very
careful,” he said as Annie put her helmet on.
    “Thanks! See you later!” said Annie. She grabbed a blue mountain bike and steered it out of the store.
    “Be very careful!” the man called after her again.
    Very careful of what?
wondered Jack. But tucking his helmet under his arm, he grabbed a red bike and followed Annie.
    “So the bike guy told me to go up this street and turn left onto the highway,” Annie said. “Then we just stay on it until we come to the panda center.”
    “Cool. How far away is it?” asked Jack as he put on his helmet. He snapped the strap under his chin.
    “Not far, just five or six miles,” said Annie.
    “What?”
said Jack.
    “Don’t worry, we can do it. Easy.” Annie pushed off and pedaled away. “To panda paradise!” she shouted, zooming up the street.
    “Five or six miles,” muttered Jack. “Up a mountain. Great.” He got on his bike and followed Annie. She reached the end of the street and turned left onto the highway. Jack hurried to catch up. As he pedaled up the highway, he glanced at the scenery.
    On one side of the road was a steep mountain slope. It was covered with fir trees and bushes with purple and pink flowers. On the other side of the road was a steep drop down into a river valley. The river sparkled with sunlight as it rushed through green farmland. More cloud-covered mountains loomed in the distance.

    A blue bus suddenly roared past. Jack almost lost his balance. “Good grief!” he said. “That was close!”
    Then a car that looked like a taxi flew by. “This is definitely not safe!” Jack said aloud. How could he have let Annie talk him into riding bikes on a highway? They should have taken a bus or a taxi, or better yet, not gone at all!
    “Annie!” Jack shouted. She was so far ahead that he could barely see her. “Annie!” Jack yelled again as loudly as he could. “Slow down! Annie! Slow down!”
    Annie rounded a sharp curve and disappeared from sight.
    Jack stood up on his pedals and pumped with all his might. He imagined Annie veering into the path of a vehicle or driving off the cliff!
    When Jack finally came around the curve, he saw Annie up ahead, waiting beside the road. A big grin lit up her face. “Thank goodness, you’re okay!” she called. “I was worried about you!”
    Jack rode to her and stopped his bike.
    “This road isn’t safe, you know,” said Annie.
    “You’re telling
me
?” said Jack, panting.
    “But I can understand how that dragon felt. Can’t you?” said Annie. “It’s so beautiful!”
    Jack caught his breath and looked around. “Yeah, it is,” he said. “But how much farther do we have to go? We