Chapter 4 – Wild Instincts
“It’s so hot out here! We got to find some water!” क्रेन griped, as he walked slower and slower along the jungle path. “Don’t be a baby, Crane! आप can survive without water for three days.” replied Tigress, as she continued to look ahead for the अगला landmark. “Come on, Tigress.” क्रेन continued, “We’ve been walking all दिन and found nothing.” Meanwhile, Monkey swung from पेड़ to पेड़ above them. “I have to agree with क्रेन on this one. We need water, and I don’t see any स्रोत anywhere nearby.” “Guys, we’re almost there.” शेरनी, बाघ assured them. क्रेन sighed. “You कहा that an घंटा ago.” he whined. Suddenly, the trio came upon a clearing, and before शेरनी, बाघ could answer, the अगला landmark stood before them.
The new landmark was a statue in the shape of an unusual symbol, which none of the three recognized. “This is it?!” exclaimed Crane, “We came all the way out here for this?!” “What is this supposed to mean?!” Monkey continued, “It looks somebody messed up on this eye and covered with all kinds of various materials.” शेरनी, बाघ examined the statue carefully, and came to a conclusion. “This might be a symbol for a deity या some other आइकन for the ancient civilization here.” she stated, “Who knows who या what this was supposed to mean. We shouldn’t guess what it is. Instead, we should admire the artistry that made this piece come to life.” “Admire it?!” क्रेन shouted, “It looks like these people just put बिना सोचे समझे objects into a statue. Why should we admire it?!” शेरनी, बाघ yelled right back.
“Because it symbolizes their ancient way of life.”
“Yeah! It symbolizes the fact that they were a strange people.”
“How could आप say that?!”
“Look at the facts. They picked the worst place to live, made the strangest statue in history, and probably used up all the water here!”
“You can judge a book द्वारा its cover!”
“I think I can judge these people just fine!”
As the two yelled at each other back and forth, Monkey became increasingly annoyed. “Would आप guys stop this?! You’re arguing over something stupid!” he shouted. क्रेन and शेरनी, बाघ looked at each other and calmed down. “I’m sorry Tigress.” क्रेन said, “I shouldn’t have yelled at आप like that.” “It’s all right, Crane. I got carried away there.” she replied. “Good.” Monkey said, in relief, “Why don’t we do some और training exercises?” “Sounds good to me.” replied Crane. शेरनी, बाघ nodded in agreement. “So, Monkey, what do आप have in mind?” क्रेन asked. “Oh… you’ll see!” Monkey replied.
Monkey seemed to make no preparations for the अगला exercise. Moreover, शेरनी, बाघ and क्रेन became really puzzled. “Um… Monkey… What are we supposed to be doing?” शेरनी, बाघ asked him. “It’s simple.” Monkey responded, “You guys remember that आप trained together around those stone structures before, right?” “Yes…” they कहा in unison, slowly. “Well, the trees around आप are just like those stone structures, except for the fact that there are और of them and that they’re closer together.” Monkey continued. “So… आप want us to fight each other as we हटाइए from पेड़ to पेड़ just like आप do?” asked Tigress. “Exactly!” exclaimed Monkey. “Sounds good to me.” क्रेन said, as the he and शेरनी, बाघ jumped, climbed, and flew into the trees above.
The two kung fu masters repeatedly collided together, exchanging kicks and punches, as the two moved quickly through the trees, as Monkey kept pace behind them. “You two are looking great. Keep it up!” he shouted. As the two warriors continued to come together, however, they began to feel and hear a little growl in their stomachs. “Hold on, Tigress.” क्रेन stated, “Do आप feel hungry?” “Yes, I do.” she replied, “Monkey, do आप have any खाना on you?” Monkey put his hand behind his back and said, “Um… I did, but…” “Po ate it all, didn’t he?!” शेरनी, बाघ interrupted. “Yes…” Monkey sighed, as क्रेन and शेरनी, बाघ did the same deep sigh. “I told आप that we should’ve brought more!” exclaimed Crane. “Hold on a sec.” शेरनी, बाघ said, “There’s got to be some-” Suddenly, a Capybara appeared out of the bushes around them. It appeared to be exhausted and out of breath. क्रेन and Monkey stared at it, with no intent to harm it at all. However, the Capybara’s face turned into a fearful one when it looked up at Tigress.
Once क्रेन and Monkey looked at Tigress, they could not believe their eyes. She stared at the small mammal with an intent stare. Her mouth began to water heavily, and she कहा one word, “Food…” The Capybara screamed and ran back into the bushes. “Mine…!” शेरनी, बाघ shouted as she chased after it. क्रेन yelled for शेरनी, बाघ to come back. Monkey then put one of his hands in front of him, blocking his progress. “It’s her wild instincts, Crane.” he stated.
“Wild instincts?!”
“She’s a tiger still at heart. This is what a predator does, Crane.”
“But… She always eats noodles and dumplings with us.”
“That is true. However, if someone like her is trapped in a wilderness like this with no खाना for a good amount of time, the predator inside of them will take over.”
“So… What do we do now?!”
“Just stand here and wait.”
The two males stood there and watched as शेरनी, बाघ disappeared in the lush jungle.
