Paw Prints in the Snow by Sally Grindley Read Free Book Online

bear.
    Joe couldn’t believe his eyes. There were five more frames, all of them starring the bear, which was standing in the clearing in front of the camera, eating a nut from the tree.
    ‘It’s so cute!’ said Joe.
    ‘It looks like a right monkey to me,’ said Peter.
    ‘Funny, ha, ha, Dad,’ said Aesha.
    ‘They’re not really very cute at all,’ said Iona. ‘There are quite a few bears in the reserve, and although they’re herbivores, they can be pretty aggressive to humans. But they love acorns and they love climbing, so they climb up and try to grab them before they all fall to the ground and before other animals get to them.’
    ‘The white stripe across its chest makes it look as if it’s wearing a T-shirt.’ Joe giggled.
    ‘Or a bra,’ said Aesha.
    There was nothing else on the film, but seeing the bear made up for any disappointment Joe might have felt about the absence of a tiger.

Chapter 14
    Joe and Aesha were left to their own devices the next day as Binti went to work with the vets and Peter decided to accompany her. Iona assured their parents that the village was perfectly safe for them to explore, and that the Museum of Nature was well worth a visit.
    ‘We’ll be back some time in the afternoon,’ Binti said. ‘Don’t stray beyond the village, will you?’
    ‘Don’t fuss, Mum,’ scoffed Aesha. ‘We’re used to looking after ourselves and I’m perfectly happy to chill for a day.’
    Joe was keen to have a look at the exhibition of tiger paintings and the butterfly collection Iona had mentioned. He didn’t want to go on his own, though. After some persuasion, Aesha agreed to accompany him, but as soon as they had seen all the exhibits she declared that she was tired and was going back to their room for a nap.
    Joe decided it was a good opportunity to take some photographs since there would be nobody to hurry him on and he could spend time creating arty shots. I’ll surprise Dad with them , he thought as he collected his camera and set off along the village streets.
    Iona had told them that most of the villagers were farmers or hunters. Local children stared at him curiously or waved at him as he walked by, which made him feel very self-conscious, as though there were something different about the way he looked. He would have liked to take their photographs, but didn’t dare in case he upset them. Instead, he took photographs of the park headquarters, the ferry, the old bus, the houses, the shops, the café and the museum.
    As Joe was walking along one of the streets leading away from the village centre, he thought he saw a raccoon dog a little way ahead of him .
    Wow! he said to himself. Dad will definitely be impressed if I come back with a photo of a raccoon dog!
    He hurried after it. The animal began to run and Joe found it difficult to keep up on the slippery pavement. When he lost sight of it, he followed the tracks it had left in the snow. There were fewer and fewer houses now and the tracks were heading towards the forest.
    That’s so frustrating , Joe thought . I was so close!
    He stopped and prepared to turn back.
    It was probably only an ordinary dog anyway , he told himself.
    Its legs had seemed a little too long for a raccoon dog, if he was honest. And snow was beginning to fall again, the sky thick and darkening.
    Joe packed his camera into its case. At that  very moment he heard an almost imperceptible, low growling noise coming from a dilapidated building set back from the road and apart from the nearest house.
    Has the animal somehow found its way there? Joe wondered.
    He decided to have one last attempt at photographing it .
    If I were Dad , he said to himself, I wouldn’t let an opportunity like this go .
    He crept slowly over to the building, straining his ears for any noise that would give away the animal’s position. The building looked unoccupied. With no further sounds to guide him, Joe approached the front, then stood and listened. There was silence apart